One of the areas of recruitment most adversely affected by COVID-19 is that of conferences and events, which until 2020 had been almost totally based on on-site attendance. With long-term health and safety measures in place affecting and restricting public gatherings, it is now time to rethink budget allocations and put them towards online broadcasting facilities as well as equipping your conference environment with the tools to continue, remotely.

With university life still suffering major disruptions and COVID fatigue reaching new heights, we at INOMICS felt it time for the latest instalment in our ‘online course’ series.

In recent years, an epidemic has enveloped university campuses across the world - and it's not the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Compared to any other generation of college students in history, current students experience more mental health issues than ever before. Some reports suggest that 35% of freshers in American universities experience anxiety disorders - and this percentage is compounded by the fact that, terrifyingly, nearly 10% of students have considered suicide in the previous twelve months. Since the 1950s, rates of suicides on American campuses have tripled, and it’s now the second most common cause of death among students. In the United Kingdom alone, a student commits suicide every four days.

Although recruiting efforts were initially slowed due to the coronavirus pandemic, things are picking up again. Companies, organizations and academic institutions all seem to be getting back into the swing of things.

Four years ago, the world adopted an ambitious set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) designed ‘to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030’. Despite rising life expectancy and the eradication of many endemic diseases, more than 400 million people in the member states of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) still live in absolute poverty, subsisting on less than US$1.90 per day. It is, perhaps, these countries that face the greatest challenges in fulfilling the SDGs. Traditional methods of development finance have struggled to alleviate the extreme poverty in some regions of the world, leaving the poorest populations without the basic building blocks needed to lead healthy lives and build dignified livelihoods. Many remain deprived of primary healthcare, protection against infectious diseases, a sufficient and nutritious food supply, potable water, clean power, and sanitation.

COVID-19 has undoubtedly brought about fundamental changes in the ways in which we have traditionally approached recruiting. Job recruiting strategies have to be flexible and dynamic to ensure they fit with the current climate.

The current circumstances can be tough: being isolated from families and friends is difficult, and having to spend most of our time inside isn’t particularly healthy. However, there is one thing you can spend a lot of time doing which will improve your quality of life exponentially: reading!

Coronavirus has had a broad impact on the global economy. Particularly affected were the tourism, trade and industrial sectors, including the export and import markets. Demand for and consumption of goods decreased, and so did the international freight transport sector. The COVID-19 crisis continues to severely affect the container transport market and the current economic situation gives no hope for short-term recovery.

Before you start considering what crazy lucrative job you are going to get with your economics degree, consider this fact: a lot of rich people don’t like their money. Many complain about not knowing what to do with it all, yet simultaneously having huge anxiety they’ll lose it. They moan about their friends treating them like walking bank accounts, being judged for not looking the part, and no longer being able to visit - how to put it delicately? - less refined establishments. Many work like dogs in jobs they don’t find fulfilling to top up the coffers, only to realise they never have any time to have fun with it. And all jokes aside, some studies suggest that, while earning more money than the national average does improve life satisfaction, once you get past a certain salary threshold, money stops making you any happier. (Depending on where you live, this is around $100,000.)