“I am passionate about inspiring the next generation”

– Prof. Robert Booy

Omega was birthed with the simple idea

Can we inspire the next generation to better understand science and even to create the next vaccine which will immunise millions against future deadly, infectious diseases?

Now, more than ever, our students should learn the science of immunisation and ‘Be the Omega‘, the educated ones who will change the world

Meeting year 9/10 biological science curriculum components

The lessons have been designed to meet year 9/10 Biological Science Curriculum Components from The Australian National Curriculum

See more here at The Australian Curriculum

Biological sciences

Describing how the requirements for life (for example oxygen, nutrients, water and removal of waste) are provided through the coordinated function of body systems such as the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, nervous and excretory systems

Explaining how body systems work together to maintain a functioning body using models, flow diagrams or simulations

Investigating the response of the body to changes as a result of the presence of micro-organisms

Scientific understanding, including models and theories, is contestable and is refined over time through a process of review by the scientific community

Advances in scientific understanding often rely on technological advances and are often linked to scientific discoveries

People use scientific knowledge to evaluate whether they accept claims, explanations or predictions, and advances in science can affect people’s lives, including generating new career opportunities

Values and needs of contemporary society can influence the focus of scientific research

Formulate questions or hypotheses that can be investigated scientifically

Analyse patterns and trends in data, including describing relationships between variables and identifying inconsistencies

About Prof Robert Booy

Professor Robert Booy is a Senior Professorial Fellow at the Children’s Hospital Westmead, University of Sydney in Australia

He is an Honours medical graduate of the University of Queensland (1984) and trained in Paediatrics at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane

He held a range of positions in the UK between 1990 and 2005 including Professor of Child Health with the University of London, Lecturer in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at St Mary’s Hospital London, and Research Fellow with the University of Oxford – since 2016, he has chaired the Scientific Committee of the Immunisation Coalition

About Omega

Omega is under the umbrella of the Australian Immunisation Coalition – it is a series of 10 lessons developed to comply with the Australian Biological Science Curriculum requirements available as a free digital learning resource

It is a remarkable journey into the science of infectious diseases, epidemics and immunisation – we call it “Infectious Science”

 

  • Learn the science of what infectious diseases do and how vaccines work
  • Explore the history and social impacts of infectious disease and vaccines
  • Use mathematics and apply critical thinking to prevent disease outbreak
  • Understand how to develop a vaccine and the ethics of clinical research

Classroom or home lessons

Innovation and equal access, inspiration for all

This mobile and web based program provides hands-on learning that enables students to see and “experience” disease from the safety of the classroom

Students will have unprecedented exposure to infectious disease experts, cutting edge research projects, higher learning, industry groups and companies

Each lesson contains:

  • Short videos of explanations and interviews
  • Relevant theory, examples or background content
  • Short quiz that can be used as testing or discussion questions