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OVERVIEW First surging in March, Covid-19 had a severe impact on the higher education sector globally in 2020. However, our staff and students rose to the challenge, rapidly switching to various combinations of online and on campus teaching within our BA Animal Welfare and Society (BA AWS), as national lockdowns came and went. Our MSc Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law (MSc AWSEL) was not directly affected, as it has been entirely online since its 2016 inception. However, Covid-19 had significant direct or indirect effects on literally everyone. One effect seemed to be a dramatic spike in enrolment numbers into our MSc – much as we like to hope this was purely due to the growing reputation of the programme! MSc student numbers were already greatly in excess of
Grounds Supervisor Mark Blake checking our fish in their new home at Basingstoke Crematorium, July 2020. Photo by Maurice James.
national averages, and this resulted in some very high academic workloads. I’m very grateful to our staff who have done, and continue to do, an amazing job, given very high student numbers. Our BA and MSc both entered their fifth years of operation in 2020. The BA relocated back to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, whilst the MSc and Centre for Animal Welfare (CAW) remained in the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing. In 2020 we were also joined by Visiting Prof. Paula Sparks. Prof. Sparks is Executive Chairperson of the UK Centre for Animal Law, and teaches animal law and policy to our BA students. Prof. Knight was also assisted by lecturers Jenny Mace and Natalie Light, after receiving over £39,000 of funding for
