Patrice Perreault, teacher at the Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development, finds it interesting to see how students are coping with this situation. “I have weekly Skype meetings with two groups of students who are in the middle of experimental research. They have to prepare some slides and present their progress and challenges. It is interesting to see how their original projects have shifted to simulation projects.”
“They are doing really well. Based on their weekly advancements, I see how much further I can push the complexity of their work. We even had one student doing the experiments from home. She had to measure the velocity and dimensions of droplets of liquids using a cell phone and open source software. We just ordered a powerful light for her so she can capture nice and neat images of the liquid droplets. Students really surprise me with the quality of their work.”
“As for me personally, I would be really depressed without my family. I know a PhD student who doesn’t have any family here in Belgium. It is very difficult for her. For me, the kids are a source of distraction, as I have to keep them moving.”
“Luckily, one week before the COVID measures came into force, I went to the Kringwinkel to buy forks and cooking utensils and I randomly bought badminton rackets too. I play badminton with my ten-year-old son every day. Even my four-year-old is learning. He managed to send a shuttlecock onto the neighbours roof 😊. We play a lot of board games, play football in our small garden, make paper aeroplanes and so on. We also cook a lot. Yes, I am gaining weight! And on top of all that, I work 😊 I am preparing funding proposals and a review article. It’s not always easy to combine everything, but we manage.”