Coronavirus and moving abroad for a Masters: Is it Chalk & Cheese or actually doable?

We are currently living through unprecedented times, and its especially true for Bioinformatics & Biocomplexity master’s student Empar Baltasar Pérez. Moving abroad for a masters is difficult at any time but how different is it during a pandemic?

Empar decided to do a master’s in the Netherlands after doing an undergraduate internship in Amsterdam and becoming enthralled with the Dutch style of life. “I liked a lot the way of working and the environment of institute I was at in Amsterdam. I came to Utrecht as I liked the smaller city and the university is good.” When she moved to Utrecht, Empar found a nice environment and good friends by living in student accommodation. She recommends doing this over living alone, as there is little opportunity to meet up with other students safely.

But how does a student keep their optimism during online learning? Empar has found that moving around at least once a day to be a big help. “Sometimes I get a bit sad as I’m not going anywhere and I do the same every day without any purpose. When I start to get in this mood, going outside for a walk run or even to the supermarket helps me.”

“Sometimes I get a bit sad as I’m not going anywhere and I do the same every day without any purpose. When I start to get in this mood, I go outside for a walk, run or even to the supermarket.”

Sometimes I get a bit sad as I’m not going anywhere and I do the same every day without any purpose. When I start to get in this mood, I go outside for a walk, run or even to the supermarket.

Although she is naturally positive, it wasn’t easy for Empar to find a major research project as she found it difficult to find a project that she liked and that the supervisor liked her. “I think it’s vital to find a project that you like as you’re doing it for 9 months and it’s very important for you because if you don’t like it you will not enjoy this time.” Although there is a student led database of potential projects, this is not utilised enough therefore there is very little choice. It would be nice if this were used more, especially for students without a large network of researchers.

So what works for online learning? In her opinion three things are extremely important firstly, building on a topic with simple steps before moving onto more complicated work makes the course much more enjoyable. Secondly, only using one platform decreases the chaos of online learning. “The e-learning is good as you have everything there, all documents in one place rather than in all different websites. Having it all in one place makes it less chaotic.” Finally, one of the biggest aids in helping international students create a support network is groupwork because you can speak to each other and make it more personal. “If you are only doing individual work, you sit in your room not speaking to anyone”.

Despite all the challenges she has faced since moving here, Empar remains optimistic and is looking forward to starting her major research project.