Presentation of the main results of the survey conducted by EURAXESS China
The outbreak of the new Coronavirus is having an impact on the research activities conducted in China, also forcing many researchers to leave – at least temporarily – their host universities.
EURAXESS China decided to conduct a survey among his members to try to better understand the extent of the impact and what could be done to improve the situation.
The survey was filled by more than 50 researchers based in China, 88% of which are European researchers.
The first question was about the extent of the impact of the virus outbreak on the members’ work and research activities: for 85% of the respondents the virus and the resulting prevention-and-control measures are having a high or medium impact, with less than 2% stating they don't find any impact on their normal activities.
When asked if they left China amid the virus outbreak, 47% of researcher replied positively; among these, 63% are not planning on returning to China or are uncertain when they will.
Another relevant element is that of the introduction on new online tools – such as online classes, webinars, online meetings and group works – as an alternative to the normal activities: over 80% of the researchers reached by the survey stated they were working to this end, with over 60% having already implemented such tools by the end of February 2020.
With regards to China-Europe collaborations and the potential negative spillovers resulted from the virus outbreak, 68% of the respondents believe the collaborations will be affected to some extent, while less than 6% thinking there will be no relevant impact.
Finally, there is great uncertainty among the researchers interviewed as to then they will be able to fully resume their work.
To view the main charts with the results of the survey please follow the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-Y7JYVRJ9/