All eyes online

Professors Rob Hyndman and George Athanasopoulos from the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics are winners of the Monash Business School’s 2020 Dean’s Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning.

Together, they have authored a free online textbook, Forecasting: Principles and Practice (FPP), that is being used by 4.2 million users worldwide.

In 2020, FPP allowed for interactive workshop style lectures, which helped motivate and inspire students to learn.

“It was a challenging time for educators, as we adapted quickly from teaching in a physical space to online, but we were able to accommodate all students, including those across different time zones,” says Professor Athanasopoulos.

As evidence of their high-quality teaching, they received strong positive feedback from students and growth in forecasting unit enrolments.

“Our students are learning to deal with large data and solve complex problems using modern data science tools and with forecasters in high demand, it means they’re job ready,” he says.