Ian Jacobs: use opportunity to enrich lives

Ian Jacobs, president and vice chancellor at UNSW Sydney, discusses the impacts of scientific research and the scientific method throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this interview, he highlights the continuous trials and errors experienced by scientific researchers in the recent months is not proof of the failures of science but rather, a vindication of the scientific method. 

He believes increasing access to higher education around the world will result in new and improved technologies that will, in turn, produce a higher quality of life worldwide. 

He strongly supports the ability of universities to offer mixed teaching models that allow online access, particularly to disadvantaged students, and is optimistic that the integration of more virtual resources will be an invaluable addition to higher education.