Biosecurity and the Goals of This Course

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. 

This introduction to the course underscores its focus on mitigating the risk of catastrophic pandemics, a specific aspect of the complex and multidisciplinary field of biosecurity. It clarifies various interpretations of 'biosecurity', categorises different sources of pandemic risk, and underscores the need for collaboration across numerous disciplines and skill sets to effectively prevent pandemics. We also highlight the core values of the course - a scout mindset, healthy scepticism, active learning and community.

Original text:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1niZllKaLbYhVvA2ls9c5pVxgJyJfXr_IiU1XYaf9jCM/edit?usp=sharing

Author(s): 
Will Saunter

A podcast by BlueDot Impact.

Chapters

• 1:50 Definitions of biosecurity and related terms
• 2:16 Definitions of biosecurity that are relevant to the content of this course
• 4:00 Definitions of biosecurity that are outside the scope of this course
• 5:46 Related terms
• 7:05 What do we mean by ‘extreme’ or ‘catastrophic’ pandemics?
• 9:20 Sources of pandemic risk
• 11:51 The interdisciplinary nature of biosecurity
• 13:58 Values of the course