Covid-19 has challenged some of the world’s strongest economic systems, the medical, the education and the manufacturing sectors to adapt to new norms and form new trends.
Highveld Chronicle recently spoke to Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg Tshilidzi Marwala regarding the impact of covid-19 and the expectations of the post corona world. According to the UJ’s Vice-Chancellor, understanding the post-corona world is a daunting task because the impact of the pandemic on the world economy and other sectors has already been so severe yet an end does not seem in sight.
“Much of the conversation around this is speculation because there is no way to predict whether a post-corona world entails one with a vaccine or one where we adapt to this constant threat. Arguably, the pandemic has hastened the shifts that the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) would have brought,” Professor Marwala said.
“We are already seeing this through the adoption of the gig economy and the shift towards remote working. It is already clear that the economy will take a substantial knock. We will see deep recessions in both the global economy and locally,” Prof Marwala added.
Prof Marwala noted that with the growth of unemployment brought by the pandemic, there will be an online and remote work shift adopted by companies where many of these jobs will be superfluous when we return to a semblance of normalcy. “We will see tourism and travel relooked at – this could include the establishment of “travel bubbles” which will entail free movement between countries who have manageable rates of infections or it could see the incorporation of digital identification into visas, for instance,” he said.
In the education sector, some of the top universities with regular contact learning platforms have had to adjust to online teaching and learning. He said UJ has always had a business contingency plan that kicked into action at the onset of the pandemic. “We have constantly been monitoring the external situation and working to mitigate risks internal to the university. This has required the establishment of COVID-19 crisis committee. In addition to this, the Management Executive Committee (MEC) has met daily to ensure that the university is able to discharge its functions despite the national lockdown,” he said.
Learning and teaching, he said, were not halted by the pandemic, however, the academic calendar was readjusted while introducing completely remote teaching and learning programme. “Our students have accessed platforms such as Blackboard and uLink, which are valuable resources for both staff and students regarding teaching and learning remotely. Our academics have disseminated short videos, Zoom calls and WhatsApp communication with our students, for instance,” he added.
The unique circumstances of the students whose access to the internet is dependent on data affordability, bandwidth, network and smart device/computer availability have also been considered, according to Marwala.
How the post corona world would affect Climate Change?
According to Globe Business, a recent study by Nature Climate Change, the daily emissions declined around 17% between January and early April when compared to 2019 levels. Furthermore, the study suggests that emissions will decline anywhere between 4.4% to 8% by the year’s end which substantiates Professor Marwala’s statement that the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects this year’s annual emissions to be down by just 6-8%. However, experts warn that this trend is unlikely to continue as restrictions around the world are lifted.
“Yet, many of these adjustments, such as online teaching and working could reduce transportation demand and emissions if they continue post lockdown. There have been some notable positives,” he said. “For instance, pollution levels have dipped while urban wildlife has flourished through our behaviour changes. Perhaps the pandemic will make us more conscious of our impact on the environment,” he concluded.
