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General Information for students
Localization
Hotel
All students will be housed at Quality Oscar Freire at Rua Oscar Freire, 1948, in the Pinheiros neighborhood. The School will cover the costs of lodging in double occupancy rooms. The hotel provides a continental breakfast in the morning, which is included. The hotel is a quick walk to the School of Public Health (see map below). The closest Metro (subway) stop is Hospital das Clinicas. Your stay is booked from July 9 to July 23. 12 pm for check-in and 2 pm for check-out. When you arrive, go to the reception, there will be a reservation under your name.
Reaching the hotel from the airport
From Guarulhos Airport
We advise only using official taxi or private transportation apps services (like Uber), and not entering any cars that are not registered. There are Taxi and Uber services at the airport. For Uber and other transportation apps, you can order a car from your mobile phone. For Taxi, you can request a taxi at the service desk. Both taxis and apps services are located on the arrivals floor. The estimated fares from the airport to the hotel are 140-150 BRL for Taxi or 90-115 BRL for private transportation apps like Uber.
There is a specialized bus transfer service from Guarulhos Airport to Avenida Paulista in São Paulo. For the bus fare and bus schedules, see: https://www.airportbusservice.com.br/. This bus will drop you at Metro Consolação, one subway station away from Metro Clínicas.
Metro Clínicas is only 450m from the Quality Hotel.
There is an express train between the international Guarulhos Airport to the metro station Estação Luz which takes 30 minutes and costs about one dollar. To take the train, you need to first take a shuttle bus from your airport terminal to the train station (about 15 minutes). After purchasing the ticket at the train station, the train leaves every hour on the hour from the Airport station between 5 am until midnight (5 am, 6 am, etc). If you decide to take public transport, you will need to change money at the airport.
From Congonhas Airport
We advise only using official taxi and Uber and similar app services, and not entering any cars that are not registered. There are Taxi and Uber services at the airport. For Uber, you can order a car from your mobile phone. For Taxi, you can request a taxi by waiting in the taxi queue. Both taxis and ubers are located on the arrivals floor.
Registration and School Secretariat
The School’s registration will start on the opening day, Monday, January 10th, at 8:00 am. Please note that classes will start at 9:00 a.m., so please arrive early to guarantee your registration. Throughout the two weeks, there will be a SPSAS Epidemic Preparedness office at the School of Public Health at USP (FSP-USP) located at Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 715 – Cerqueira César, São Paulo – SP.
Important information about activities
Opening Session, Lectures and Roundtables
The Opening Session, Lectures, and Roundtables will take place at the João Yunes Auditorium (left side entrance, School of Public Health – USP), Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 455 – Cerqueira César – CEP: 01246903. Please see the program for further information.
Labs
On July 13 and 14, participants will select to participate in one of four applied labs. The lab sessions will take place in the entire afternoon of both days. Students must sign up for one lab track and participate in both days.
Course Materials and Readings
There are no course syllabi for the SPSAS Epidemic Preparedness, but data, readings and lecture materials will be available at this site or placed in a shared folder.
Teaching Fellows
The SPSAS Epidemic Preparedness will have teaching fellows who will be working with faculty instructors in the situation rooms that take place during the second week of the intensive program. The fellows are experienced in working in emergency situation rooms.
SPSAS Epidemic Preparedness Poster Exhibition
The SPSAS Epidemic Preparedness has organized an opportunity for students to share their research projects to enhance networking between students and with instructors, as well as furthering opportunities for academic exchange during the School. On Thursday, July 20th, the SPSAS Epidemic Preparedness will sponsor a poster session from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. The poster session provides students with an opportunity to receive feedback on their research endeavors and enhances networking among participants. During the session, poster authors answer questions and discuss their research findings. We hope that all of you take the time to browse the exhibition to learn more about the students and their work.
The posters must be printed and be a maximum size of 0.8 m X 1.4 m. The poster should include a title, the author’s name, and institutional affiliation, the study’s research question, the working argument (and any relevant hypotheses), the research method(s), any findings (preliminary or expected), and the contribution of the study to future research. The poster should be presented to the School Secretariat during your registration.
Since we have to plan the exhibition space in the lobby, we ask you to inform us of your willingness to participate in the initiative by sending the poster’s title by July 1, 2023, to the School Secretariat (coordenacao@sinteseeventos.com.br).
Meals
Coffee Breaks and Snacks
The School will host short coffee breaks in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon most days. See program for exact times.
Lunch
The School has made arrangements for students to eat lunch in the canteen of the USP Medical School (further details will be provided on the first day). This is a free lunch at no cost to students. You will be receiving an email with a QR code from the FMUSP (The sender is horus@usp.br). Please save this email as you will need to present this QR code to enter the Medical School.
If you wish to pay to eat elsewhere, there are also several other options for lunch nearby. We will circulate a list of restaurants and recommendations on the first day of the School. There are several options for lunch nearby. Otherwise, on every day of the School, your lunch is covered.
Computer and internet facilities
Internet Access
We have arranged a login and password to grant you permission to have wireless access within the FSP-USP. These passwords will be distributed during registration. USP is also a member of Eduroam. If your home university uses this service, you can access this wireless network using your home university login and password.
Laptops
If you own a laptop, we encourage you to bring it to the School. When walking around and outside campus, we recommend keeping your laptop in a backpack. Please note that the electric plugs differ in Brazil, and you will need an adapter.
WhatsApp Student Group
We will be creating a SPSAS Student Group moderated by students. We hope it helps to create a community, and to also be a source of assistance to those of you who are new to Sao Paulo, and who would like to connect with other students. Please feel free to accept the invitation.
School Policies
COVID-19 Prevention Policy
We want to share our thoughts on how, together, we can do our best to have a Covid-free meeting, granting everyone the opportunity to enjoy it fully. Although Brazil does not currently require the presentation of COVID-19 vaccination, negative COVID test results, or the use of face masks in most public places, including ground and air transportation, we have adopted a protocol to prevent the spread of infections of this and other viruses during our meeting.
We believe having a protocol is particularly important for two reasons. First, as a School for training “Epidemic Preparedness” with students and faculty traveling from all over the world to attend and participate in an intense on-site meeting, we believe we should be committed to providing coherent planning in this domain. Second, we hope that by having a protocol in place, we can ensure that as few of us and our loved ones will become symptomatic and also to ensure that those who are ill can still participate in the meeting remotely. We want to stress that we have put much effort into organizing this meeting, and we feel it is our collective responsibility to have a plan.
We therefore propose the following:
- Presentation of COVID-19 vaccination record.
- Use of N-95 face mask during indoor activities (to be provided by the School).
- SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing upon arrival (on the 1st and 3rd days of the meeting and on the 1st day of the second week of the meeting), or if the person has symptoms that are suspect of a respiratory infection. The antigen tests have been donated by Hilab and will be provided by the School.
- Remote participation of those who develop covid-19 compatible symptoms and repeated testing. For those testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, we recommend that you not attend the meeting for five days, counting from the first day of symptoms. If the test results are negative, the test should be repeated after 48 hours. The School will provide rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests.
- The School provides emergency travelers’ health insurance. If symptoms require medical attention, the School’s staff will ensure a medical professional sees you.
- In addition, we highly recommend using N-95 face masks during your trip, which we believe will increase your chances of not getting infected and fully enjoying the meeting.
If you test positive for SARS-CoV-2
- We will provide you support to access medical care, if necessary.
- We will provide you an individual room at the hotel (your or in other nearby), or move you to share a room with someone who also tested positive.
- You will not be able to attend the meeting with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2.
- You should not have your meals at the restaurant. Room service will be provided for you.
- You will repeat the SARS-CoV-2 antigen test on day 4, following the first positive test and, if negative, you will test again on day 5 and, if negative, you may return to the meeting.
Anti- Harassment Code of Conduct
The goal of the School is to contribute to the professional development and scholarly and educational interchange among participants to ensure our societies are better prepared to handle future emergencies. Consequently, harassment of students, colleagues, and other participants is considered by the School to be a serious form of professional misconduct.
Attendance Policy
Participants who successfully satisfy the attendance requirements will receive a completion certificate. Please note that certificates will not be issued if your attendance was less than 75% of the sessions. Attendance will be recorded by the School Secretariat twice daily and the percentage of attendance will be based on the tabulation of both sessions counted as separate classes. The Secretariat will record attendance during the first 15 minutes of class in the morning and in the last half hour of class in the afternoon. Class attendance will only be granted to participants who attended the specific morning and afternoon sessions and not for the full day. Please note that the School’s Attendance Policy is strict. No changes will be made retrospectively to adjust the attendance roster.
School Certificates
Participants who successfully satisfy attendance requirements will receive a printed certificate.
School Evaluation
As part of the SPSAS Epidemic Preparedness, students will complete an anonymous online evaluation of their experience. An overall evaluation report will also be compiled and sent to Fapesp, the School’s faculty, and other institutions which provided funding for the School’s operation.
Additional Useful Information
Dress
Dress is informal. No jackets and ties, or similar attire, will be needed. If you generally feel cold, you should carry a light sweater as the classrooms and laboratories are air-conditioned (though you will have access to the controls). It is frequent to have rain and storms in the late afternoon so please also bring an umbrella.
Safety
São Paulo – like much of the larger cities of the world – suffers from crime. With some basic care, it is possible to avoid problems during your time here and the vast majority of students have a trouble-free stay. The University itself may suffer from “target of opportunity” crimes: they happen mainly to those walking around with a visible cell phone, laptop, or flashy jewelry – or something of the sort. If you try to avoid conspicuous displays, you are less likely to be a target for such crimes. If you also try to avoid walking alone in more isolated settings, you are also less likely to be a victim. Additionally, avoid using cell phones while in the streets, or use it briefly, if strictly needed. Please keep your cell phones, laptops and any other valuables with you at all times to avoid problems, and let us know if you need any help.
Lost and Found
If you find something which belongs to (a known or unknown) someone else, please bring it to the School Secretariat.
Emergencies
In case of emergency and if you can not reach the School Office, the telephone number of the university’s security service (Guarda Universitária) is +55 (11) 3091-4222, and the police can be reached by dialing 190.
São Paulo School of
Advanced Science on
Epidemic Preparedness
