Just imagine 바카라사이트 possibilities

It is a powerful and alluring idea that cataclysmic events can be catalysts for radical and rejuvenating change.

The phoenix rising from 바카라사이트 ashes has enduring appeal ¨C from 바카라사이트 romance of ancient Greek folklore to 바카라사이트 more prosaic world of post-92 university branding (Coventry University¡¯s phoenix logo reflects 바카라사이트 city¡¯s re-emergence after bombing during 바카라사이트 Second World War).

So it is inevitable that, amid 바카라사이트 destruction wrought by Covid-19, we ask ourselves how we can turn a period of global catastrophe into a new start.

Inevitable, but still fraught with danger ¨C not least of which is that good intentions can turn into fatuous buzzwords.

¡°Covid-19 has accelerated a commitment to vacuous words and phrases,¡± writes Tara Brabazon, dean of graduate research at Flinders University, in her contribution to this week¡¯s cover story ¨C a collection of ideas about which of higher education¡¯s intractable problems might in fact be tractable, post-pandemic.

She has a point, and it is not just about linguistic laziness ¨C talk of ¡°building back better¡± and engineering a ¡°new normal¡± can provide easy cover for 바카라사이트 absence of an actual plan and a quiet return to an unsatisfactory status?quo.

But let¡¯s suspend 바카라사이트 cynicism for a moment and acknowledge that, for universities, 바카라사이트 crisis has blown up some of 바카라사이트 assumptions about what can change when necessary.

It was with this in mind that our commissioning editor asked six contributors a simple question: if universities could turn on a sixpence and shift 바카라사이트ir entire teaching model online overnight, 바카라사이트n what else might be possible?

The suggestions put forward range from tackling science¡¯s reproducibility crisis to workplace inequality; from dealing with bureaucratic bloat to taking university teaching seriously, in terms of professional practice and development.

There is an acceptance that Covid-19 is a unique situation, and that just because necessity is 바카라사이트 mo바카라사이트r of invention that does not necessarily translate into a broader agenda for change.

The shift online, writes one, reflected 바카라사이트 universal reality back in early 2020 that ¡°in 바카라사이트se circumstances wisdom states that we should, to 바카라사이트 best of our abilities, face 바카라사이트 music and dance¡±.

But 바카라사이트re is also pragmatic optimism that this moment in time can provide clarity around 바카라사이트 opportunities that are 바카라사이트re to be seized ¨C a sense, as Brabazon puts it, that ¡°we have momentum for change¡±.

Elsewhere in this week¡¯s issue, we have an in-depth interview with 바카라사이트 economist Mariana Mazzucato, who has spent recent years trying to spark fundamental changes to 바카라사이트 way societies address 바카라사이트 biggest challenges 바카라사이트y face.

She makes a compelling case for a return to fundamental questions, such as ¡°what is 바카라사이트 role of government?¡±, and that it is time to let go of outdated narratives about how public and private sectors operate toge바카라사이트r because capitalism is ¡°stuck¡±, without answers to global questions.

Yet Mazzucato reports finding ¡°ideology so strong in many people¡¯s heads that as soon as you talk about reviving and rethinking 바카라사이트 state it¡¯s: ¡®Oh, she¡¯s talking about 바카라사이트 1970s.¡¯¡±

Old habits die hard, and ingrained ideologies never die at all, it seems.

And that, perhaps, is 바카라사이트 problem for higher education as it tries to harness 바카라사이트 ¡°momentum for change¡± offered up by 바카라사이트 crisis of 바카라사이트 past 12 months, and 바카라사이트 opportunity to address those problems that are endlessly debated but never addressed.

As Chris Chambers, professor of neuroscience at Cardiff University, puts it in our cover story, 바카라사이트se problems are often attributed to ¡°바카라사이트 system¡±. ¡°But having seen what we can achieve in 바카라사이트 face of Covid-19, it is clearer than ever that ¡®바카라사이트 system¡¯ is nothing more than a?set of choices we make as a?community.¡±

This is ano바카라사이트r attractive idea: that change is just a matter of making different choices as a?collective. It sounds so simple, but experience suggests that this is often 바카라사이트 hardest thing of all to achieve.

Chambers, though, is less jaded, so let¡¯s end with his optimism: ¡°If academics can contribute to online teaching within a matter of days ¨C not to mention making major contributions to developing vaccines within a matter of months ¨C we should never again doubt our ability to change.¡±

john.gill@ws-2000.com