A university has been told to pay a student £5,000 in compensation for lost teaching time during the first coronavirus lockdown.

Restrictions saw many universities move learning online but for students studying subjects with vital practical components, this may have left them at a disadvantage.

A number of students have made official complaints about the impact of the pandemic on their accommodation situation and their learning.

The student awarded £5,000 was an international medical student who had been studying at an unidentified university with fees of £38,000.

The university stopped clinical placements due to the pandemic, leaving students without vital practical experience.

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) said the award was due to the “severe disappointment and inconvenience” the student experienced because the final year of studies had been “less valuable” than expected.

Also among the cases were:

• A healthcare student given £1,500 after a lab-based research project was cancelled as part of their master’s course, which left them disadvantaged in the job market, they argued
• £200 for a student who missed out on 14 hours of learning time due to industrial action late in 2019 and the coronavirus

Felicity Mitchell, independent adjudicator, said: “The case summaries reflect the hugely challenging and complex situations that students and providers have faced as a result of the pandemic.

“Where possible we try to reach a settlement and we are pleased that in many cases providers and students have been very open to this.

“The summaries illustrate our approach to deciding what is fair and reasonable in these kinds of situations. We hope they will be helpful to providers and students.”

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “We have been clear that the quality and quantity of tuition should not drop, and should be accessible to all students, regardless of their background. The Office for Students is monitoring online teaching to ensure this is the case.”

The National Union of Students (NUS) has demanded debt relief and refunds for people whose studies were disrupted.

It is calling for a more simplified complaints process, claiming students have been “passed from pillar to post” and that some institutions have disregarded their concerns.

Students have up to 12 months to lodge a complaint, but must first air their grievances with their university.

In this first of a three-part series on design innovation, Senior Education Correspondent Sandra Davie talks to Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran on how design thinking has been used in formulating government policies and programmes

Meet Mr Michael Hon, 63, who has persuaded scores of seniors – who once shunned e-payments – to use them on a daily basis.

The semi-retired businessman, who signed on to become a digital ambassador during the circuit breaker period last year, has a special touch when teaching seniors how to use digital tools.

He encourages them to take notes which they can refer to. To reinforce the teaching further, he gets them to practise in front of him.

“Most of the time, they are worried about security issues when using e-payments, so I tell them how I had the same worries when I started, and what are the ways to protect oneself.”

He does not just tell the seniors and hawkers that they need to adopt technology. He also explains why they need to adopt technology using life examples that they can relate to.

He is among the 1,000 digital ambassadors who have been hired and trained by the SG Digital Office to help hawkers and seniors make the leap.

Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran said using seniors like Mr Hon was just one of the ideas hatched using design thinking, a human-centred interactive process, to ensure that no one is left behind in Singapore’s continuing digitalisation push.

He added that the SG Digital Office teams drawing up the plan realised that their ambassadors must be able to communicate and empathise with the difficulties faced by different groups of people for them to get on board the digital bandwagon.

“So for the seniors, we have the young people in their late teens and early 20s, whom the seniors can relate to as they are the age of their grandchildren,” he explained. “And then you have those who are in their 50s and 60s who are their peers and who have the same fears and difficulties learning how to use digital tools.”

He noted that the other important part of the plan was for the digital ambassadors to be within easy reach – to be embedded in the community.

“So, they are at the community centres, libraries and at the hawker centres, coffee shops and wet markets, for the hawkers and market stallholders whom we are trying to convert to using digital e-payments,” he said, adding that more hawkers have joined the Hawkers Go Digital scheme, with 10,000 stallholders now accepting e-payments.

In an interview with The Straits Times, he brought up various other instances where Singapore has used design thinking and put the well-being of citizens at the heart of its public sector improvement initiatives.

Q: What is design thinking as applied to government policymaking?

A: The way I see it, there are two parts to it – one part of it is in the focus, and the other is in terms of the process. Design thinking’s focus is on human centricity. In the case of government policymaking, the focus is on the citizens.

Whatever it is we are crafting, whether it is a product, service, programme or a policy, the end result must be to enhance lives, livelihoods and well-being of our citizens and society.

• About S. Iswaran

• Mr S. Iswaran, 59, is currently Minister for Communications and Information, focusing on strengthening the infocomm and media sectors, and accelerating digital transformation across the economy.

  He also oversees policies and strategies to build a digitally ready community, as well as efforts to develop libraries of the future and enhance government communications. As the Minister-in-charge of Cyber Security, he oversees efforts to ensure a safe and secure cyberspace.

  Mr Iswaran is also Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where he oversees various bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations.

  He joined the Singapore Administrative Service in 1987.

  He served in the Ministries of Home Affairs and Education, and was seconded to the National Trades Union Congress, and later to the Singapore Indian Development Association as its first chief executive.

  Mr Iswaran was director of international trade at the Ministry of Trade and Industry in the lead-up to Singapore’s hosting of the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in 1996.

  He then joined the private sector as director for strategic development at Singapore Technologies. He was previously also with Temasek as its managing director.

  Mr Iswaran has been elected as a Member of Parliament in six general elections since Jan 2, 1997. Prior to his Cabinet appointment in 2006, he served on several government parliamentary committees, and as Deputy Speaker of Parliament from September 2004 to June 2006.

  Mr Iswaran read economics at the University of Adelaide and graduated with first class honours. He also holds a master’s in public administration from Harvard University.

• Register for Design Innovation Forum

• listen to more of Communications and Information Minister S. Iswaran’s views, you can register to attend the virtual Design Innovation Forum by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) in partnership with The Straits Times.

  British inventor and Dyson founder James Dyson, architect Brian Yang and SUTD president Chong Tow Chong will also speak.

  Registration is free.

  SUTD DESIGN INNOVATION FORUM

  March 19, 2.30pm to 4pm Speakers

  • Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran

  • Sir James Dyson, chairman and founder of Dyson

  • Mr Brian Yang, partner at architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group

  • Professor Chong Tow Chong, president of SUTD

  Moderator

  • Mr Mark Wee, executive director of DesignSingapore

  To register, go to: str.sg/SUTDForum or scan the QR code

The other part of design thinking is the process. First, you have to understand what is the problem you are trying to solve – some people call it a problem statement. Some will say it is understanding the needs of your customers.

Then, you have ideation – coming up with new possibilities and designing a solution. It is about turning these initial ideas and research efforts into value.

Finally, the real test is in execution or implementation of these programmes. In Government, it is about helping our citizens understand the programme or policy, so that they can respond to it. For example, we launched the SG Digital Office and embedded 1,000 digital ambassadors in the community as we understood that some of our seniors had concerns and challenges going digital, and required support on their digital journey.

It is not that different from a product – taking it from design to manufacturing, and then, ultimately to the consumer. Nonetheless, it must be an iterative process. You must be willing to learn from experiences, adapt and respond to changes, such as technological developments, demographic trends and globalisation.

Q: So do you think design thinking is becoming relevant to a whole lot of areas in government?

A: Yes indeed. It has been infused in many areas of government – in providing transport services to cutting waiting times at hospitals. Even our libraries and Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix races that we host yearly use the design thinking approach.

Our National Library and the regional libraries – they are very popular and well patronised, partly because of the way they have been designed and conceived.

They provide a whole host of programmes and services, both at the libraries and online.

NLB (National Library Board) aims to deliver an integrated customer experience – a patron can go from accessing the resources online, and then attending an event in person at the library. The experience should be seamless. So, in that sense, our libraries are an omni-channel service provider.

Design thinking has been and is also being used to design and curate the look and feel of the physical spaces, as well as the resources we provide and activities we run in our libraries.

In designing our libraries, NLB looks at the profiles of the library users as well as the larger communities they are located in. They analyse their behaviour, such as borrowing trends, so that the regional libraries can cater to the needs of different groups of people – whether they are children and families, teens or working professionals.

One example is [email protected] , which has won awards for its design. It has a design studio concept that provides spaces for learning, reflection and collaboration, and carries the largest public library collection on design and applied arts.

Q: You mentioned the Formula 1 race – how has design thinking been used in organising the yearly races?

A: It is not just about holding a car race. We wanted to achieve other things. It was an opportunity for us to enhance Singapore’s positioning as a global, vibrant city. So, yes, we decided that it will be a race in the heart of the city, but we also had to think about what else we wanted to lay around it.

So, we added on different layers of activity around the race: business networking events, lifestyle events – food, fashion, shopping and tourism. To bring it all together and showcase Singapore, you need good, thoughtful planning and execution.

Q: How do you think the design thinking approach can be made more pervasive?

A: The universities are teaching design thinking and the Singapore University of Technology and Design, of course, offers a unique design-centric and interdisciplinary education. More broadly, we must encourage problem-solving and critical thinking in our schools, through approaches such as project work, so as to start seeding a design thinking approach in our students.

We have to also go beyond our schools, to make this approach pervasive in our businesses, community and the Government, such as the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s Pixel Design Thinking programme, where companies which are keen to apply design thinking methodologies can receive support to start a digital innovation project or to facilitate their design innovation process.

Ultimately, design thinking is a habit of the mind that can and should be developed. We must infuse it into our approaches to problem-solving and innovation, so as to ensure that our products, policies or programmes continue to meet the needs of our customers and citizens.

The government should resume research into graduated driving licences, a committee of MPs has said.

The Commons Transport Select Committee has said that there is evidence graduated driving licences (GDLs) can be “effective in reducing crash rates”.

Eighty-eight drivers aged 17-24 died on Britain’s roads in 2019, with a further 1,234 seriously injured.

Graduated licences mean new drivers have tougher restrictions for a certain time period after they pass their test.

These could include not being allowed to carry passengers, having to abide by a curfew, lower alcohol limits, and mandatory P plates.

The system is used in countries such as the US, Australia, Sweden and Canada.

The Department for Transport said in July 2019 that they were being considered for England but the process was paused in autumn last year, partly because not having a driving licence could affect young people’s employment chances.

The Commons Transport Select Committee did not go as far as recommending GDLs for England but said the Department for Transport should work with the Northern Ireland Executive as it conducts a pilot scheme.

Tory MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the committee, said “fully equipping learner drivers for driving in different situations” is “essential” to increase safety.

He went on: “The committee balanced the current work of the department with the lack of evidence demonstrating the impact of GDL on the economic and social prospects of young people at this time, particularly in rural areas.

“The committee also took into account the need for young people to be given the freedom to drive without further restrictions being imposed upon them.

“However, we are asking the department to resume its research in this area.”

AA president Edmund King said: “We have always been supportive of elements of a graduated licensing system. A logbook, for instance, can help make sure learners experience different weather and daylight conditions.

“However, we have raised concerns about the social and economic implications for new drivers of a heavily restrictive system post-test and will be interested to see the results of the study.

“It is vitally important any changes that include post-test restrictions are thoroughly tested before being implemented.”

A man who claims he has fathered dozens of children by offering sperm donations online says demand has risen during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 29-year-old American – who uses the name Kyle Gordy to discuss his sperm donations – claims he has produced at least 35 children and has another six babies on the way.

He runs two Facebook groups for people seeking sperm donors which have attracted thousands of members, and plans to travel to the UK later this year to meet a woman who has contacted him about having a child.

It comes after reports some women are turning to social media to find sperm donors amid shortages at fertility clinics in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

A UK charity which supports people affected by fertility issues has urged Facebook to ban unregulated groups which facilitate sperm donations via the social media site.

Meanwhile, the government body which regulates fertility clinics in the UK has warned that donating sperm away from licensed clinics “can carry significant risks that can impact everyone involved”.

Mr Gordy, who lives in Los Angeles, says he created the private Facebook group Sperm Donation USA about four years ago and it now has nearly 15,000 members.

It describes itself as a “safe” environment for “sperm donors and recipients in the United States to connect… without the expensive costs of a sperm bank”.

Mr Gordy says he also runs another Facebook group called Private Sperm Donors which has 8,000 members from around the world, including the UK.

He told Sky News: “I just wanted to be able to have a place where people could find a donor without a sperm bank.

“I was looking at sperm banks but I just felt they were too cold and clinical so I didn’t really feel comfortable using them.

“You don’t really know who you’re donating to. It may be someone who I may not like and I wouldn’t want to donate to. I didn’t go down that route.

“I wasn’t planning on having kids of my own in a relationship, so this was an alternative.”

Mr Gordy, who is a part-time accountant, says he does not charge a fee for his sperm but asks that the “recipient” covers his travel expenses.

He also claims he is still in contact with most of the women he has fathered children with and has met seven of his offspring.

He says: “I guess in a sense I would be considered a dad, but to them I’m more like the uncle figure.”

“It’s pretty cool helping these people out,” he adds.

“I get to travel to interesting places. It does feel like an adventure sometimes.

“I’ve been busier because of the pandemic. There’s definitely been an increase in women requesting sperm.”

Mr Gordy says he was 22 when he first donated sperm to a lesbian couple who wanted a baby and he now has a website where women can contact him.

He says that “90% of the time” he uses artificial insemination but other times he uses “natural insemination” – meaning sexual intercourse.

“The women decide how they want go about it,” he says. “Usually women who want to do natural feel it’s going to be more effective so that’s why they choose that route.”

Mr Gordy says he is tested for sexually transmitted diseases “two or three times a year” and plans to travel to London later this year after being contacted by a single woman who wants a child.

“I’m like; ‘Let’s get it done’. I get a free trip to the UK, you get a baby – win, win for everyone,” Mr Gordy says.

“Of course, when I’m over there I’ll be donating to other women.”

Why are there calls for Facebook to take action?

The charity Fertility Network UK says sperm banks in Britain are “extremely well regulated” and warns that men offering sperm donations through social media may not have had the necessary health checks.

Its chief executive Gwenda Burns also says she has “huge concerns” about men who have offered sperm donations online having sex with the women who contact them.

“The potential risks outweigh any benefits they think may come from going down that route,” she told Sky News.

“I find the whole thing really concerning.”

Ms Burns says Facebook has “a duty of care to its users” and urged the social media giant to remove unregulated groups facilitating sperm donations in the UK.

“In the UK, the fertility industry is regulated and therefore this type of practice, due to risks, should not be allowed,” she added.

“If there’s not been any health screening for medical conditions, such as infectious diseases like HIV or hepatitis, and the family medical history has not been taken into account to identify any serious inheritable diseases, that poses a huge risk to both the recipient, but also – if successful – to the unborn baby.”

Ms Burns says Fertility Network UK has seen a 300% increase in calls from people seeking their support services during the pandemic.

She adds that “without a shadow of a doubt” sperm banks have recruited fewer donors due to the pandemic.

“We’ve definitely seen a reduced amount of donations due to the pandemic,” Ms Burns says.

“If you look at the current rules, you wouldn’t be able to go in to donate.”

‘It’s a dark side of fertility treatment for sure’

Joyce Harper, professor of reproductive science at the Institute for Women’s Health, University College London, says she is aware that some men offering sperm donations online claim to have fathered “literally hundreds of children”.

“If that donor has created hundreds of children, you would potentially have hundreds of half siblings,” she added.

“Imagine doing ancestry testing and finding you have 500 half siblings.”

Professor Harper says she is also concerned some women may be coerced into having sex by men offering sperm donations online.

She told Sky News: “Some of the men make it very clear in their advertising that they would be happy to have intercourse.

“I went through seven years of fertility treatment and I know how desperate you become to try any treatment that might help you get pregnant.

“It really worries me that women who are desperate to have a child might go to any lengths, rather than going to a regulated fertility clinic.

“It’s a dark side of fertility treatment for sure.”

What does UK law say about donating sperm in a ‘private arrangement’?

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates fertility clinics in the UK, warns that donating sperm away from licensed clinics “can carry significant risks that can impact everyone involved”.

The government body told Sky News: “In the UK, licensed clinics are required to screen and test the sperm for a wide range of diseases and genetic illnesses that even a conscientious unregulated donor might miss, putting mother and baby at risk.

“Clinics also ensure that registered donors can only be used to create up to 10 families to avoid too many genetically related siblings.

“That’s why we always encourage sperm donors and patients to use a licensed clinic, where these issues are taken care of for them, and where the welfare of the child is always the primary concern.”

Sperm donors at regulated clinics in the UK can receive compensation of up to £35 for each clinic visit, according to the HFEA.

For men who donate sperm outside of a fertility clinic in a private arrangement, the UK law on who will be the child’s parents is “not straightforward”, it adds.

A woman who gives birth is always the legal mother but it is possible a sperm donor in a private arrangement will be the legal father of the child “with all the parental and financial responsibility this involves”, the regulator says.

Men who donate sperm in these circumstances cannot opt-out of being the legal father of the child, even if the mother agrees to that, and any agreement drawn up to that effect “has no legal standing”, according to the HFEA.

The government body recommends sperm donors planning to engage in a private arrangement seek independent legal advice before going through with it.

What does Facebook say?

A Facebook spokeswoman said: “We allow people to discuss sperm donation on Facebook, but we work closely with law enforcement to remove content that breaks local law.

“We want to keep people safe and encourage people to report behaviour they believe doesn’t belong on our platforms, so we can take appropriate action.”

Facebook guidelines state it does not allow content which “facilitates, encourages or coordinates sexual encounters between adults”.

Fertility Network UK provides support, advice and information for anyone affected by fertility issues. Their website can be found here .

The prime minister has offered Britain’s stadiums for the whole European Championship while eyeing a bid for the 2030 World Cup.

The tournament was postponed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The semi-finals and final are already set for Wembley in July but Boris Johnson told The Sun: “Any other matches they want hosted, we are certainly on for that.”

He added: “We are very, very keen to bring football home in 2030. I do think it’s the right place.

“It’s the home of football, it’s the right time. It will be an absolutely wonderful thing for the country.”

The government will provide £2.8m to pursue the bid by England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland to host the 2030 World Cup.

In a statement, the football associations said they were “delighted” that the UK government had promised to support the bid.

“We will continue to undertake feasibility work to assess the viability of a bid before FIFA formally open the process in 2022.

“Staging a FIFA World Cup would provide an incredible opportunity to deliver tangible benefits for our nations.

“If a decision is made to bid for the event, we look forward to presenting our hosting proposals to FIFA and the wider global football community.”

FIFA is planning for its congress of 211 football nationals to choose the 2030 host in 2024.

A rival bid is being prepared by Spain and Portugal and it has been reported that UEFA wants just one bid from the continent.

There is also a bid shaping up from South American countries Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile.

China could throw its hat in the ring too if FIFA changes its rules on the rotation of World Cup hosts, with the Asian confederation also staging the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

The 2026 event will be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.

Also on Monday night, the government announced plans to provide an additional £1.2m to support the FA to stage the Women’s Euro football competition next year, with the money to go towards extending contracts of the delivery teams, host city resource costs and the opening ceremony.

The competition will see England welcome 16 teams playing at 10 venues in eight cities.