The content shift in my course started before the COVID-19 pandemic, discussing the role of institutions in applying fiscal reforms to matters related to debt sustainability and productive resource economies.

What we did was add a new topic, The Economics of COVID-19, in which students analyzed the economic and social costs of the pandemic on Lebanon and ways to mitigate them through good governance, strong institutions, planning, fiscal and monetary aid. The final projects also tackled issues related to COVID-19.

Given that the internet connection was irregular, we created a WhatsApp group where we shared posts related to COVID-19 and where students could reach me at any time.

What struck me throughout this process, was the students’ enthusiasm and resilience in adapting to the crisis and remote learning, which made me strongly believe that we should find a way to capitalize on such skills when all this is over.

Overall, this experience was enriching both on the personal and academic level. Having to use more online platforms was a rewarding learning curve, and I believe LAU was exemplary in adapting to the situation quickly and efficiently.