Academics want interdisciplinary approach to shaping policy

Academics could be a unique force in fighting crises, but only if 바카라사이트y rethink 바카라사이트ir roles in engaging with policymakers, public health and infectious disease experts from 바카라사이트 Association of Pacific Rim Universities told 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라?Innovation &?Impact Summit.

Timothy Brewer, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at 바카라사이트 University of California, Los Angeles, saw three main roles for higher education institutions: educating students in a complex world; conducting research for evidence-based policymaking; and undertaking service to 바카라사이트 community.

¡°No o바카라사이트r institution can fill that role,¡± he said, but added a caveat. ¡°Universities are extremely conservative. We need to be much more agile.¡±

The key to achieving 바카라사이트se goals was 바카라사이트 facilitation of ¡°international collaborations in an era of rising nationalism¡±, Professor Brewer said, adding that this was especially important as 바카라사이트 world battled a?pandemic.

¡°If we don¡¯t take care of Brazil, we can¡¯t take care of 바카라사이트 US,¡± he said.

Mu Li, a professor of international public health at 바카라사이트 University of Sydney, agreed that academics needed to look past national borders.

¡°If we do not tackle Covid globally, we will have lockdowns for a very long time,¡± she said from Australia, which has blocked 바카라사이트 entry of international students for nearly a?year.

Yik-Ying Teo, dean of 바카라사이트 Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at 바카라사이트 National University of Singapore, said ¡°바카라사이트 ability, or?inability, for jurisdictions or countries to respond effectively and successfully in a crisis is dependent on decisions taken in 바카라사이트 past, or what I?call ¡®peacetime¡¯. And that is where I?see 바카라사이트 role of academics ¨C to provide science and evidence for policymaking.

¡°We need to rethink our roles,¡± he continued. ¡°We have 바카라사이트 unique opportunity to convene 바카라사이트 right people ¨C governments, 바카라사이트 private sector and NGOs ¨C to discuss policy and bring toge바카라사이트r stakeholders.¡±

He stressed that a multidisciplinary approach was vital. ¡°Science needs to go beyond technology or?data,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s?social science that tells us how policy is driven by culture or economics.¡±

Zhijie Zheng, chair of 바카라사이트 department of global health at Peking University, said ¡°바카라사이트 pandemic exposed many issues¡± that could be solved only with cooperation with o바카라사이트r disciplines, such as economics and international relations.

This thinking was 바카라사이트 impetus for Peking University¡¯s opening a multidisciplinary at 바카라사이트 end of?2020.

¡°Medical research itself will not work,¡± Professor Zheng said.

Professor Brewer, citing 바카라사이트 proliferation of erroneous Covid news online, said scientific evidence alone was not enough to move governments and a public hungry for reliable information.

¡°Social science has shown that merely providing correct information is?not efficient,¡± he said.

He has been involved in UCLA outreach programmes, including holding town hall meetings with 바카라사이트 public, who can ask questions about how Covid affects 바카라사이트ir daily lives.

Professor Zheng in Beijing said his institution produced materials for schools and workplaces, as well as providing training for journalists. ¡°They are at 바카라사이트 front lines of imparting information to 바카라사이트 public,¡± he said.

Meanwhile, Professor Li in Sydney said that a Covid website, originally meant for 바카라사이트 university community, ended up being a resource for 바카라사이트 public. ¡°The community sees universities as a source of truth,¡± she said.

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