The Learned Academies of Australia have combined to launch a searchable database of leading experts to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering

The COVID-19 Expert Database will allow governments, researchers, businesses and other decision-makers to easily access the expertise they need across a wide range of fields.

Leaders of the academies behind the initiative are calling on Australia’s experts to add their name to the database. “With events developing rapidly, it’s vital that decision-makers have access to targeted, evidence-based advice” said Kylie Walker, CEO of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. “We all need to pool our knowledge and skills to help humanity address and recover from this crisis. If you’re an expert who can contribute, we urge you to register on this database.”

The database aims to provide access to expert insights into the COVID-19 pandemic and its scientific, health, social, cultural and economic implications. Users of the public database will be able to search for credible expertise in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, health, humanities, arts, and social science.

“This is a complex issue affecting all facets of society, so it’s important that our response is an interdisciplinary one,” Walker said.

Australia’s Chief Scientist and former ATSE President Dr Alan Finkel AO is also championing the initiative. “I encourage those whose knowledge and experience can inform us in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic to register their details as soon as possible,” he said.

ATSE has also prepared a fact sheet outlining the ways that technology is helping people respond to the coronavirus in Australia and across the world, such as through identifying outbreaks, tracking the disease and minimising transmission, vaccine research and development, supporting business, facilitating social connections and disseminating fact-based information about the virus and its effects.

The database is a collaborative initiative from the following organisations:

• Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering
• Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
• Australian Academy of the Humanities
• Australian Academy of Science
• Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
• Australian Council of Learned Academies.

View database: https://www.science.org.au/covid19/experts