The release of the 2011 film Contagion starting Kate Winslet introduced the world to contact tracers: highly skilled individuals who use a range of methods to ‘trace’ infections humans and those with whom they have come in contact. As COVID-19 ...
More »Remote invigilation: How UNE handles online exams
The University of New England is sharing lessons from its approach to online exams as institutions work to maintain schedules in a pandemic. Nearly two-thirds of UNE's subjects are already eligible for online examinations, and the university was moving to ...
More »Australian university students call for ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ grading changes
Students at two of Australia’s highest-ranking universities are urging their peers to sign a petition to change the grading system this semester to either a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. As universities across Australia and the world turn to online learning amid ...
More »Prioritising staff, expecting to lose thousands of students: Professor Rufus Black outlines UTAS’s immediate future
The University of Tasmania’s vice-chancellor Professor Rufus Black said in the face of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic he would prioritise keeping staff, despite expecting to lose thousands of students both this year and next. Instead, UTAS intends on staying afloat ...
More »Tuberculosis vaccine to be given to healthcare workers in fight against COVID-19
Australian infectious disease researchers are trialling a vaccine against COVID-19 on healthcare workers. Professor Kathryn North, director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), today announced the multi-centre randomised controlled clinical trial of a tuberculosis vaccine to test whether it ...
More »COVID-19 ‘likely’ to affect Australia’s birth rate, relationships and population
A leading demographer believes Australians will be less likely to have babies, and the nation will experience changes in population and the way we form relationships as the COVID-19 uncertainty drags on. Dr Liz Allen, a population expert at Australian National ...
More »US uni draws ire for inviting students back to campus
A US university is in hot water over its decision to invite students back to campus amid the country’s COVID-19 crisis. Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, broke step with other US and international institutions – who have been sending students ...
More »Staying socially connected in an isolated world: Professor Marc Stears
While it might sound trite, the world as we know it has changed for now. Not only has this "invisible enemy" killed thousands around the globe and sent economies into a nose dive, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a slew ...
More »ANU professor recommends HECS-style loans to soften COVID-19 economic crash
The architect of Australia’s original Higher Education Contribution Scheme – known as HECS – is calling on the government to roll out income and revenue-based loans to soften a likely world recession. Australia National University leading economist Professor Bruce Chapman ...
More »Cambridge students push for option to retake final year, grading alternatives
University of Cambridge students have called on their pro-vice chancellor of education to let them opt for the postponement of exams and coursework deadlines until the COVID-19 outbreak passes and, if preferred, restart their final year. The letter, addressed to ...
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