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In safe hands
Universities Australia chair and UQ VC Deborah Terry . Photo : John Gass and a community united against a common threat .
“ It also owes much to the fact that , from the outset , our governments listened to and acted on the advice of our medical experts and researchers .
“ They ’ ve provided timely evidence and guidance to anticipate the likely course of the virus , map its path , and understand more about how it operates .”
Terry also spoke about how critical the higher education sector will be in finding solutions to the myriad challenges facing both Australia and the world , adding how pleased she was with one of education minister Alan Tudge ’ s remarks .
UA chair highlights how academics have ‘ inoculated ’ the public during the pandemic .
By Wade Zaglas
Universities Australia chair Professor Deborah Terry recently addressed the National Press Club to highlight the importance of university experts delivering evidence-based , trusted advice to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic .
An analysis , commissioned by UA and conducted by media intelligence organisation Isentia , found that university researchers provided commentary on 67,000 COVID-19 media stories during the pandemic , covering a range of topics including mask wearing , vaccines , mental health and domestic violence . The culminating report concluded that expert advice on mask wearing , in particular , “ served to normalise the behaviour and so contributed to a consensus about their use in Australia ”.
The UA chair and vice-chancellor of the University of Queensland used the address to underscore the report ’ s key finding that Australians put their trust in “ university experts during the crisis ”, which helped to counter the deluge of misinformation online .
“ Those epidemiologists , virologists and public health experts inoculated the public against the contagion of misinformation that infected many online forums and contributed to so much death and heartbreak overseas ,” Terry said .
“ University-based experts explained everything from the goal of flattening
the curve , to the mathematics of social distancing , and the dynamics of panic buying . And , in doing so , they helped us navigate the disruption and uncertainty .
“ They kept us safe and prepared us for recovery .”
The research conducted by Isentia also found how important expert commentary was at the beginning of the pandemic in March last year , with one in every five stories on masks and a third of all stories on vaccines including commentary from university experts .
The findings in the Isentia report back up a new survey by JWS Research , which found that university experts are among the “ most trusted groups of any major profession to ensure facts and evidence are part of public debates ”.
The JWS national representative survey was conducted between 12 and 19 February this year and included 1500 Australians .
“ We trust our university-based experts , because they help us to make better decisions – informed by evidence – for the benefit of our families , our communities , our nation ,” Terry said .
“ Universities are places where new ideas are tested – and conventional wisdom challenged .
“ Our universities promote and progress knowledge – and protect us from ignorance .”
Terry ’ s address also emphasised how Australia ’ s “ relative success ” can also be attributed to state and federal governments tapping into the expertise of the university sector .
“ Fundamentally , I believe Australia ’ s relative success reflects strong leadership
Our universities promote and progress knowledge – and protect us from ignorance .
“ If our nation wants to find the best solutions to the hardest challenges we face , we need the university sector ,” Terry says .
“ We need their expertise , their innovation , their research .
“ That ’ s why I was pleased when Alan Tudge recently said : ‘ We want our universities to be our partners in policy making . We need our best minds to help us solve our biggest challenges .’ “ I couldn ’ t agree more .” In the last part of her address the UA chair discussed how important the commercialisation of research innovation will be to Australia ’ s national recovery , arguing that we are underperforming when it comes to “ innovation outputs ”.
Despite being ranked 13th out of 131 economies in the 2020 Global Innovation Index in relation to “ innovation inputs ”, the UA chair pointed out that Australia is ranked 31st in terms of “ measuring innovation outputs ”. In a nutshell , Terry said Australia is a global leader at the “ front-end of innovation ”, but “ under-performing at the back-end ”.
“ Not enough of our research is being translated to drive social and economic benefits for the nation .
“ Not enough of our inventions are being commercialised in a way that creates new industries and jobs , here , in Australia .
“ In short , we ’ re missing opportunities to make our own future .” ■
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