UniSA virus experts develop COVID-19 information and safety course
By Dan Lander
As part of UniSA’s ongoing commitment to combating the coronavirus pandemic, two of the University’s infectious disease experts, immunologist Dr Maurizio Costabile and virologist Adjunct Associate Professor TuckWeng Kok, have authored an online training module for COVID-19 information and safety.
The five-minute digital course delivers essential knowledge about the disease and outlines techniques to prevent its spread. It is aimed at frontline workers who must continue to engage directly with the wider public during the pandemic.
“The module provides information which relates to the nature of COVID-19, how it is spread, and how people should act to limit the spread to others in the community,” Dr Costabile says.
“The information in the course is applicable to everyone, but there is an emphasis on those workers who are still in roles that are face to face with the community.”
The course was developed in partnership with Kineo Asia Pacific, a leading digital learning platform for business and industry. Kineo APAC’s Simon Sentance says the COVID-19 module is being provided free to current clients and is being rolled out around the world.
“Kineo APAC’s reach is across all industry verticals, and as of today, we have 4.07 million accounts on our platform,” Sentance says.
“But we’re also part a global organisation under our parent company the City & Guilds Group, out of the UK, and the COVID-19 course has been rolled out by our colleagues in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”
One-third of Kineo APAC’s clients are in the healthcare and social assistance sector, and the company believe this is where the main use of the course will be. This sector is a key area for the learning platform, and UniSA has collaborated with Kineo APAC to successfully deliver similar content in the past.
“We were approached to work on this course after having successfully developed a course for Kineo on influenza, which is also a viral infection,” Dr Costabile says.
“I have been an active researcher and teacher of immunology at UniSA for 22 years, and Assoc Prof Kok is a well-known virologist, so between us, we were able to bring a lot of experience and expertise to this project.”
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