No matter what type of student you are – on-campus or online – it’s a tough time to concentrate on anything right now.

For many of us the changes seem easy: stay at home and wash your hands.
Everything for the moment has been temporarily moved online – from work and school to pub quizzes and birthday parties.

Yet mentally, being at home with all our responsibilities nagging and distracting us can be exhausting.

Not many people do everything from their houses and this includes online students, who despite voluntarily being “online” for their studies are more than likely facing similar difficulties to on-campus students.

UNE’s online students are made up of both domestic and international students! That may be a pleasant surprise for some, or maybe you knew this from reading introductory posts in your Moodle forums.

We have close to 350 online international students who study from all over, including Hong Kong, South Africa, Poland, the UK, Malaysia and Western Samoa just to name a few! Studying online for them is what studying online for a domestic student looks like.

Globally, every one of our students are affected by the current crisis. On-campus students can’t escape to the Dixon library after their lecture to prepare for their tutorial, and online students in a similar fashion can’t go to their local study centre after work to focus on a big assignment.

But despite all the disruptions and changes that both online and on-campus students have to temporarily accommodate, the online UNE community has very much shone through during this uncertain dark patch of time. Right now it doesn’t matter what type of student you are as we’re all in the same boat (at a socially safe distance).

Students, both on-campus and online, domestic and international, are reaching out and supporting one another by sharing tips and fun links through the Bunker Down Facebook page. UNE departments are also creating helpful guides, relevant webinars and engaging events and activities to keep us occupied and make this whole experience a lot more sociable than we initially thought self-isolation would be!

I for one am enjoying all of the engaging posts by different UNE groups; like to Zoology Departments Endangered Animals Tournament (although every animal I vote for seems to lose), and the Women’s Wellness Program run by our International Office – having a recording of a yoga lesson could not have come at a more welcomed time as we sit hunched over screens trying to get on with our responsibility and daily lives. 

So during this time, no matter what your situation is or where you are in the world, if you’re stuck with your large extended family – or you’re by yourself in an apartment – make sure you reach out for help and take advantage of what’s available to you. Use the links students are sharing; like the live streams of the northern lights, or make a video of yourself for the Global Connections Program to share your story. Whatever it is, let’s all continue to grow our online community so we can all stay connected, no matter where in the world we are. And remember, we’re in this together!

Author: Genevieve Stewart 

Other Links
Women’s Wellness Program 
Bunker Down
Global Connections Program 
UNE Zoology Society

Student FAQs – Welfare and Support

#InThisTogether