Professor Simon Maddocks
Mel talks with Professor Simon Maddocks, Vice-Chancellor and President CDU.
The stress and anxiety our students are experiencing – like others in our immediate community – as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak is very evident and distressing to see.
Many of our VET and domestic students had complex lives even before the outbreak: working full-time, studying part-time and juggling family responsibilities. And now, to exacerbate this, some of them are among the one million people in Australia who have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19.
Our international students, who are much-valued members of our multicultural country, are also severely impacted because their part-time or casual work has disappeared overnight. In most cases, they are far removed from the support of their families.
As their University, we are stepping up to ease some of the immediate stress our students are experiencing by providing financial help to those who need it most.
We have launched the CDU COVID-19 Student Assistance Grant for students suffering financial hardship. The scheme is open to all our students: international, domestic, VET and research.