Tsinghua GSS 2022 Essay Submission

1. My personal information:

Full name BUI BAO NGOC

(Family name, First name)
Home University Tsinghua University
(Where you are currently enrolled)
Degree Program BA in Social Science
(e.g. BA in Fine Arts, or MSC in Chemistry)
Essay word count 2075
(Main body of the text only)

2. The Six Masterclasses You Studied in GSS 2022:

Please tick Theme and Date

six
√ Masterclass 1 The Chinese Economy: Prosperity and Prospects (4
July)
√ Masterclass 2 Sustainable Design and Creative Thinking (4 July)

√ Masterclass 3 From Superman to the Common Man: A Sustainable

Approach of Beijng 2022 (5 July)
Masterclass 4 Digital Technology Empowers Sharing and
Sustainable Development (6 July)
√ Masterclass 5 Tsinghua University and Sustainable Development (7
July)
Masterclass 6 Global Energy Transition toward Carbon Neutrality
(7 July)
√ Masterclass 7 Effective Learners: Insights on College Student
Engagement Research (8 July)
√ Masterclass 8 Positive Psychology for the Post-Pandemic Era (8
July)
Masterclass 9 Digital Innovation in Healthcare: Concepts and Case
Studies (8 July)
Masterclass 10 Health and Sustainable Development (9 July)

3. My Essay for Tsinghua GSS 2022:

To this day, universities and college campuses are places where students live and study near each
other. They are also buzzing hubs where students are brought together from nations worldwide.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the global academic community, especially
higher education, to explore new ways to adapt to this situation. Unesco estimates over 1.5
billion students are out of school due to the pandemic. 
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic caused by Covid 19 -
an infectious respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus that first appeared in Wuhan,
China. As of April 1, 2020, more than 3.4 billion people, accounting for 43% of the world’s
population, are under social blockade and isolation in more than 80 countries and territories in
more than 80 countries around the world. Blockades and social isolation measures have a strong
impact on higher education. Education is more disrupted than ever, but the fact that schools are
closing lecture halls does not mean shutting down. On the contrary, faced with many challenges,
they quickly responded and found new solutions to previously unknown problems, and new
ways to continue learning, scientific research, and social service. 
To be honest, we can not deny that Covid-19 brings to us some positive effects on higher
education. For students, Covid-19 has accelerated the adaption of digital technology to deliver
lectures. Educational institutions move towards blended learning. The pandemic situation forced
people to learn and use digital technology, leading to an increase in digital literacy. Before, most
students used technology devices for basic needs, like watching movies, and chatting… but now
they change their mind and their attitude. Nowadays, students use these devices mostly to learn
new things like lectures related to the use of Zoom, and Google team. They became smart and
more adaptable to all the changes in the future. Not only that, these impacts included decreased
commuting time and expenses, more time with family, more time to complete their own goals,
and more time to rest. And how about our teachers? The pandemic comes, and many
opportunities come to our teachers. In this situation, teachers can prepare their own notes on each
subject and provide them to students for convenience. They also improve their children's solving
skills in less time by building multiple choice questions for online exam questions. It is a good
time for teachers and students to become closer than ever. During the pandemic, teachers not
only help the country, and schools take control of the pandemic's breakout, but they also can be
more caring by always asking about students’ health/mental problems and trying to solve them.
Besides that, teachers can gain their digital knowledge which is related to their subjects, and new
teaching methods through Covid-19. 
However, what is the negative impact of Covid-19 on higher education? First of all, that is
necessary when universities and colleges close and move to online education to prevent the
outbreak of this pandemic and ensure student’s health, but countries and schools have not been
prepared in advance for change to the same extent. Universities and colleges in developing
countries face serious difficulties in IT infrastructure and the reality of Internet access. At the
same time, Covid causes some serious effects on students. When schools hardly instituted social
distancing measures and turned to remote instruction, students were left off campus. The
disturbance caused by the sudden closure of campuses and the rapid transition to online
education has disrupted the lives of students worldwide. Students from minority groups were
particularly severely affected; they face economic difficulties, connection difficulties, and mental
breakdowns. With declining academic performance and declining students, many students will
not have enough learning experience in the 2019-2020 academic year. In addition to negatively
impacting the quality of educational experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health
problems among students have also increased. Prior to Covid 19, in the past academic year, the
trends in mental health have dramatically worsened [as noted by Alan I.Leshner and Layne A.
Scherer (2021a), Mental Health, Substance Use, and Wellbeing in Higher Education] as a
student has been deprived of the ability to engage with others; participate in educational
extracurricular activities and travel; and to pursue many professional and personal opportunities
such as internships, fieldwork, and spring break. Faculty, who have long faced tremendous
dysfunction in career expectations and work-life balance - especially for early-career faculty of
color - are also depressed, stressed, and burned out [as noted by Alan I.Leshner and Layne A.
Scherer (2021b), Mental Health, Substance Use, and Wellbeing in Higher Education]. As a
result, it reduces resources, changes demand, closes, and restructuring. The crisis has exposed
structural weaknesses in the existing financial models of many higher education systems and
institutions that rely entirely on tuition fees or for international students, this is a harsh challenge
for financial viability. A large number of students with limited resources can completely drop out
of college. The consequences can be severe in many low-income countries, which have
traditionally allocated insufficient public finances to higher education, often below 0.5% of
GDP. Meanwhile, graduate students lost access to facilities integral to their research, from office
to laboratory analytical equipment to field sites. The closure of laboratories and travel
restrictions mean that researchers can not continue experiments or field investigations unless
experimental and collaborative work can be done remotely. A growing concern for all research
universities is the possibility of funding reductions in coming years, with the exception of
research programs directly related to COVID-19. The study's productivity, data, showed that
female academics were more severely affected, reflecting deviations in the division of domestic
labor. 
In the face of these challenges, what are the solutions we need? The social mission of higher
education plays a vital role in this case. In addition to universities with hospitals at the forefront
of the fight against Covid-19, many universities around the world are helping their local
communities by allowing the use of campus facilities as places to isolate infected patients,
publicize studies, or inform local communities of preventive measures to prevent the spread of
the disease. Although Covid-19 is an unprecedented challenge for universities around the world,
universities are actively implementing initiatives to prevent epidemics and minimize disruptions
caused by pandemics. Besides that, global cooperation is an urgent task for global citizens.
Lacking cooperation, vaccine search, and Covid-19 treatment will be slower and ineffective;
teaching will only benefit a small percentage of students, exacerbating inequality; and the
benefits to society will be reduced to a minimum. We have not yet accurately predicted the
medium- and long-term effects of the pandemic on health, the economy, and the socio-cultural
aspects of society as a whole, but they will be very diverse and difficult to mitigate. It is time for
the actions of the nation’s mitigation policies. Along with global cooperation, we need activities
of the International Association of Universities to promote global cooperation. The International
Association of Universities (IAU) has launched various initiatives to promote this problem and
support universities. The IAU initiated a global survey of the impact of Covid-19 at universities
worldwide. The results of the survey will help to better understand the impact of the pandemic
on universities in different parts of the world. Once the pandemic is over, the IAU plans to
conduct a second version of the survey to monitor the medium to long-term impacts and the
action maps taken by universities such as the immediate response to the pandemic as well as a
pandemic in the future. The IAU is also collecting and sharing resources on Covid-19 and will be
conducting a series of webinars on the future of higher education in the post-Covid-19 world.
One of the most practical actions is the financial support of the government. Some high-income
countries have quickly approved economic rescue packages for colleges, universities, or
students. A small number of low-income countries also offer significant support packages. The
authorities also need to improve connectivity and online education. Many countries have tried to
enhance Internet connectivity for higher education institutions and students. Governments in
sub-Saharan Africa have increased broadband capacity through the National Research and
Education Network (NRENs). And, we need flexibility in quality assurance and evaluation from
our authorities: The third intervention at the national level is an effort towards a more flexible
application of quality assurance criteria and assessment methods, especially problems with
online exams. Furthermore, universities have an important position in the fight against the
disease. The first step to making it easier to move to online education is to provide training
courses that use digital platforms and apply effective techniques to online learning and teaching.
Schools with a full range of teaching and learning function services find themselves better
prepared to support the school’s academic community. The consistency of the curriculum,
pedagogical methods, and assessment methods are at the core of the success of the online
educational experience. It is also consequential to recognize that online teaching is not about
recording a traditional lecture and putting it on the organization’s Website, but applying
pedagogical methods to engage students in inspiring educational experiences. Finally, many
schools find it impossible to ignore the strengthening of academic and psychological support
systems for individual students affected by the health and economic crisis and who are struggling
to adapt to online education. 
The crisis also tested the leadership prowesses of college and university principals in
unparalleled ways, forcing them to make quick and critical decisions to protect the health of the
academic community and maintain the continuity of the organization. The lesson to be learned
from this crisis is the importance of effective and frequent communication to honestly and
transparently explain the challenges and unknowns presented by Covid-19. Schools need to
speed up the process of inventing new operating models. New opportunities may arise in the
post-pandemic area. Higher education institutions may seriously consider accepting adult
learners as a legitimate segment of their target student population. Adopting a lifelong learning
model that emphasizes prioritization of learners, recognizes competencies acquired on the job,
and meets the learning needs of a more diverse group of customers. Higher education institutions
can also form university alliances to award joint degrees, teach joint courses and conduct
research collaborations, effectively combining their talents and financial resources. Lastly, one
of the priority tasks of many higher education institutions immediately after the closure of
campus activities is to alleviate the hardships of students from low-come families and minority
groups. Financial assistance includes additional subsidies, interest-free loans, and access to food
banks. Many schools have donated devices to students and provided Internet packages for online
access to bridge the digital technology gap. 
In conclusion, the strengthening of colleges and universities has never been more severely tested
than during the current pandemic. The health crisis has exposed the digital technology gap and
economic inequality as uncomfortable realities that directly affect students’ ability to cope with
the Covid-19 crisis. While the world's top universities are unlikely to suffer long-term adverse
consequences, for many higher institutions, financial survival will be a serious challenge.
Millions of students with limited resources can drop out of college altogether. The pandemic has
exposed the depth of digital divides and socioeconomics inequalities, further widening the stark
gap between countries, higher education institutions, and students. It is therefore essential to
consider, at the national and institutional levels, measures that focus on achieving equity in
higher education for students from low-income families, female members, and ethnic and racial
minorities. And, to sum up, there are no best practices for universities and higher educational
institutions to mimic and no known models to follow. Post-pandemic educational institutions
may need to identify the issues that they may face and prepare to take tough decisions in the
coming months. The university communities will need to take into consideration their
educational vision and mission to ensure student learning outcomes and standards of educational
quality are not compromised. Teachers and students must be constantly innovative; change their
thinking and attitude; actively engage with new digital platforms; enhance their self-learning
ability, and have a balanced lifestyle to adapt to a “new normal” status. After all, to have a strong
education across the globe is not only the responsibility of governments, schools, teachers, or
students, but it is a joint effort of the global citizen. Each person needs to have the responsibility
to comply with regulations to repel the crisis; contribute to the construction and renovation of
education, and provide education with the best conditions for development. 
References:
[1] O. M. M. H. E. M. B. L. R. L. L. M. A. R. A. D. S. C. J. T. E. C. M. &. N. R. Iryna Sharaievska,
"Messy transitions”: Students’ perspectives on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on
higher education," 2022. [Online]. Available:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-022-00843-7.
[2] A. Biomed, "WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic," National Library of Medicine, 2020.
[3] S. S. J. Saima Firsdaus Mohammed Yaseen, "Positive impact of Covid-19 on Edducation,"
RSP Science Hub, pp. 183-184, 2021.
[4] T. H. Education, "The impact of coronavirus on higher education," Times Higher Education,
2022.

i
i
[1]
[3]
[4]
[2]