Daria Liutina is a first-year Bioinformation technology student at the School of Electrical Engineering. She started studying at Aalto University in autumn 2020. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, she has studied remotely and has not been able to experience student life on campus. Despite the remote learning, she has made new friends with whom she can study together virtually.
For me, remote studying has been a bit tricky. At first, it felt truly weird to participate in Zoom lectures and exercise groups, as it was nothing I expected from studying in university. But eventually, I got used to it and now it's much easier. I also realised how much flexibility remote studying gives me, I don't have to study at a certain time. I can study whenever I want. So, I've actually enjoyed remote studying a little bit. It's not as terrible as it seemed.
I have learned how important the routines are during the pandemic. When the situation changes so rapidly, it's nice to have something stable in my life. Like, getting up at the same time every morning, which I still struggle with... I have also learned that taking good care of myself is crucial right now. I have to sleep enough, eat healthy, and exercise to maintain my physical and mental health. I still need to practice with this, but I have gotten much better already.
I used to study alone, but right now it's impossible. There's so much new information to process. I was really happy to find some similar minded people to study together with. At first, it was a bit tricky as we had to do it completely remotely but now we are fluent with it. I think it's really nice that we are encouraged to study in a group. Personally, I learn so much more when I study together with other people. It's also cool that we are kind of mental support for each other. None of us needs to struggle alone with homework. We got each other's backs and it's really awesome.
The autumn was rather challenging for me. There has been a lot of social isolation and I've been really missing my friends and family. I've also been struggling with building new routines like getting up in the morning to watch lectures. I still struggle with it, though... But I've gotten a much better with it! So, now I'm just waiting for the spring. I think the situation will be much better then already.
The highlight of my week is participating in some kind of social event, like something organised by our student guild or studying together with my friends. It feels great that even though all of those events are organised virtually, I don't have to struggle all alone. We are in this together and there are other people around me. I think it's really great that student organisations come up with the new ideas of events that can be organised during the pandemic and keep everybody safe.
While studying remotely from his home in the US, Aaron Geldert has needed to adapt new daily routines. Despite the challenges, he’s glad that the studies are interactive and productive.
