Dean's letter: Coming to the end of 2020

As we approach the end of the year, Professor Paul Kofman wishes all students a relaxing summer break and shares some of the latest research news from the Faculty

Dear Students

Congratulations on completing the academic year of 2020. We are in the final week of examinations. For those of you who still have papers to submit and exams to sit, good luck! This has been an extremely challenging year; I want to acknowledge that and hope you take some time to reflect on your personal, as well as academic, achievements this year. More than ever, I hope you all find the time to relax and enjoy the much-deserved break.

Some of you will be graduating shortly and will join our global alumni community. I encourage you to stay connected by keeping your details up-to-date and joining the LinkedIn Group for Faculty of Business and Economics Alumni. We will continue to share alumni news and events via regular alumni newsletters and on Faculty social media channels. I look forward to being able to host you at one of our alumni events before too long.

In the latest faculty news, we have had major grant successes, with 7 of our researchers being awarded over $1 million in Australian Research Council funding for economics research on various projects. Congratulations to Prof Chris Edmond, Prof Nisvan Erkal, A/Prof Mei Dong, Prof Bruce Preston, A/Prof David Byrne, Prof Matthew Pinnuck and A/Prof Jenny Lye.

The Faculty's Melbourne Institute has also released the latest Household Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) Survey results. The reports discuss how happy Australians are, where most of our wealth lies, who is most likely to be religious, and for the first time, what our pets say about us. This is one of Australia's longest-running economic surveys and the data is used by policy makers and the government to consider future social and economic policy. Look for #HILDA2020 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to find out more or read the articles on pursuit.unimelb.edu.au.

Now that restrictions in Victoria have lifted, I hope that you have been able to enjoy the company of friends and family. I wish you a wonderful upcoming summer break, and look forward to reconnecting with you again in the new year.

Paul.

Paul Kofman