Essex Explores University responses to pandemics Lessons from the past and the response to COVID-19

As part of our Essex Explores online lecture series, Dr Alejandro Quiroz Flores will discuss 'University responses to pandemics: Lessons from the past and the response to COVID-19'.

Dr Alejandro Quiroz Flores, Reader at the Institute of Analytics and Data Science and the Department of Government, Chief Scientific Adviser to Essex County Council, and Deputy Director of the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre, University of Essex

Universities have documented the outbreak of infectious diseases in their campuses at least since the Black Death hit Europe in the 14th Century. More recently, universities had to manage the effects of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak.

This long history of crises has given universities experience to prepare and respond to outbreaks of disease. Yet, there is large variation in the implementation of measures across universities as well as a mixed rate of success. In this lecture, Dr Quiroz Flores will comment on the historical interventions implemented by universities, and present a new study that uses Big Data to measure and understand how universities in the UK have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please register in advance for this lecture