While undeniably confronting and challenging, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have afforded Exciton Science and its members opportunities to demonstrate the flexibility, determination and strong team spirit that makes the Centre such an effective and supportive environment in which to learn and work.
After receiving advance notice and reading eye-witness accounts of the early stages of the outbreak from colleagues in China, by March it became apparent that Australia, like the rest of the world, would not escape the extraordinary effects of the emerging global health emergency.
Travel schedules to attend conferences, seminars and symposiums were optimistically delayed and then postponed indefinitely, while students and researchers in Australia and around the world had their plans to study and work within the Centre thrown into confusion.
Exciton Science’s leadership and administrative functions have worked tirelessly to mitigate the impact of this disruption on degrees and careers, although uncertainty remains about when valued existing and future collaborators can resume or commence their important projects.
Domestically, the Centre was required to suspend its regular seminars, which had been hosted monthly throughout 2019, rotating through each of our five node universities. In lieu of these valuable opportunities to meet, network and foster collaboration and impact in person, Exciton Science introduced highly successful weekly online seminars, which you can read more about here.
The Centre’s leadership committees and representative bodies continued to meet virtually, joining the hundreds of millions of people around the world suddenly living out their professional and academic lives through the mediums of Zoom, Teams and Webex.
Exciton Science sought where possible to safeguard the wellbeing of members negatively affected emotionally, psychologically and financially during the pandemic. This involved keeping regular and varied lines of communication open, between supervisors and students, managers and staff, within research groups and teams, between mentors and mentees, and in more informal contexts, such as lunchtime quiz sessions and end-of-week online catch-ups.
Members were offered access to the counselling and support services provided by each of our node universities, encouraged to form reading and study groups, and to participate actively in exercise and self-care routines, such as yoga and meditation. Financial support was also made available.
With these mechanisms in place, and undeterred by the tyranny of distance and challenges posed by physical separation, the Centre has continued to excel across all focus areas. Research collaboration and publication has remained highly productive, assisted by the staggered return to laboratories and workplaces enabled by Australia’s effective suppression of community transmission.
The pandemic did not impede Exciton Science’s determination to form new, productive links with relevant businesses and organisations, as the Centre’s Connect Program was successfully launched in August, followed by two engaging and thought-provoking online workshops, which included an introduction from Victoria’s Chief Scientist Dr Amanda Caples.
Outreach initiatives were rapidly adapted to respond to the new conditions, with public lectures delivered online and Centre members participating remotely in events during National Science Week, which also saw the launch of ‘It’s on like Exciton!’, a series of renewable energy-themed, arcade-style video games produced to inspire audiences to learn more about the work taking place within Exciton Science.
The translation and promotion of research news to target audiences continued unabated, with members demonstrating great commitment to meeting online to discuss their work and collaborate on the production of press releases, website stories and social media content, including pioneering new techniques of communicating research news through video interviews.
Adapting to COVID-19 has undeniably been a major challenge for individuals and the Centre as a whole, and while the impacts of the pandemic are likely to be felt for many years to come, Exciton Science members can be enormously proud of the resilience, courage, patience and camaraderie that has enabled them to continue thriving and achieving in the face of remarkable adversity, leaving the Centre in position to hit greater heights during what are hopefully more favourable conditions in 2021 and beyond.