The objective of this double symposium (Part I and Part II) is to present the first results from the cross-cultural CRTS-Study (Coronavirus Related Teaching Situation) which was conducted during the first Coronavirus-related lockdown in spring 2020. Based on data from the common online survey distributed to university teachers, plus additional qualitative data, researchers from Israel, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Russia, and the USA analyse the current situation of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT).

In the Part II of the symposium the first presentation addresses the question of how lecturers’ connectedness with students affected their experience of online teaching during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK. The second contribution analyses gender-specific differences during the immediate transition from conventional to online teaching, based on data from the CRTS survey in Germany. The third presentation describes the transition to online teaching at the university level during the COVID-19 lockdown in Russia and discusses its unique features and implications for effective online teaching under regular and emergency conditions.

Overall, this session provides unique insights into organisational and pedagogical challenges in Higher Education institutions in different countries resulting from university lockdowns in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also discusses the digital and pedagogical potential that has evolved through adaptation efforts during the COVID-19-related situation of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) at universities.

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