“I did’t feel like anything was lacking”
New university students have suffered particularly from the measures and restrictions during the coronavirus-pandemic. Kyriaki Karava and Florian Hugi, members of our new Biotechnology Master student cohort are reporting on their experiences at D-BSSE.
You are rather new to the D-BSSE as you started the Master’s programme in Biotechnology in fall 2021. What did you do before you came to D-BSSE, where did you do your Bachelor’s degree..?
Florian: I did my Bachelor’s at ETH Zurich in biology. I am actually one of the surprisingly few people with this type of background. This year, it almost seems as if we have more people from Imperial College in London than from ETH Zurich.
Kyriaki: I also did my Bachelor’s in biology, but I did so in my home country Greece, at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
How did you get to know about the two Master’s degree programmes at D-BSSE and what made you decide for it..?
Kyriaki: I knew I wanted to approach biology a bit differently and learn how to implement engineering principles in my methods. And I knew that ETH Zurich could provide me with the tools necessary to do this and realise my goals. However, during my participation in the iGEM competition in 2019 I had the opportunity to talk to some people from ETH who gave me an insight into the fascinating research happening here at D-BSSE. That made me really curious and, after looking at the Biotechnology programme and the opportunities offered here in Basel, I knew it was the right pick for me.
Florian: I learned about the Master’s programme in Biotechnology from a friend who does his Master’s Thesis here. I also like the interdisciplinary approach, combining computational and wet-lab approaches, and also this engineering-based mindset: You have a problem which you then try to solve using biological systems. This seemed much more tangible and direct to me in comparison to the more classical approach to biology that sometimes can feel a bit like tapping around in the dark, hoping to stumble upon something interesting and useful.
“People here are highly motivated”Kyriaki Karava, MSc Biotechnology student at D-BSSE
You have seen the external pagenew film on the Biotechnology Master’s programme: What was your immediate reaction - does this film match with your experiences at D-BSSE? And, does it provide the relevant information to help potential students decide for studying at the D-BSSE - ?
Kyriaki: I think the film is very representative, at least from my personal experience here at D-BSSE. It gives a great insight about the programme. It is true that studying here can be really challenging at times, but it is also highly rewarding and a fun process. The film also correctly mentions that we are a small cohort, but that makes it easy to stay in touch with everyone and have fund together… It also leads to more engaging conversations during the lectures because we are such a small number of students. In general, people here are highly motivated.
Florian: Yes, I agree. I also liked how the film was made, it looked really high-quality to me. The content seems to be quite accurate and reflects how I experience the D-BSE on the corridors. This point of the studies being challenging is true; even though I studied at ETH Zurich before and had some idea of what is expected from us. This expectation increased even more with the beginning of the Master’s programme - and I really like it. Because many times during my Bachelor’s when we prepared for the practical courses people were asked to prepare but many did not properly prepare and it did not matter in the end. That’s different at D-BSSE: everybody is expected to come prepared and be ready to actually do the experiments, and this is something that is very positive to me.
You started with the Biotechnology programme in fall 2021. How was this start for you during the pandemic? How much of the curriculum was held virtually and how much in classroom/in person?
Kyriaki: For me, all of my courses were in-person but there was always an option to either follow the course online or watch the recorded version of the lecture, which is always welcome because while studying for the exams you might want to go back to the lecture and see if you missed some points or you pay more attention to some of the more difficult topics in the course. It was also great to see that a few weeks into the first semester the director of studies, Professor Dittrich, and the Student administrator, Swantje Pless, invited us to discuss our overall experience here at the department and give input on various aspects of the curriculum, pandemic-related and in general.
Florian: I also didn’t feel that anything was lacking: all the courses that needed to be in-person were in-person, and I also like that for most courses there was a hybrid version offered, meaning: you can show up if you want to or you participate in it from home if you feel safer there or prefer this kind of learning.
What about the exam season…?
Florian: The exam season finished last week and as always at ETH Zurich it lasts really long and there is not much off-time. And this year, the exam season was particularly long, I had my last exam on Thursday last week, just a few days before the start of spring semester. Apart from that it was really good that we had all the preparatory materials available online which is a big advantage compared to how it was before the pandemic.
Kyriaki: I have very similar experiences to Florian. I had a mixture of in-person and online oral exams and I felt it was a very smooth process.
“I did’t feel like anything was lacking”Florian Hugi, MSc Biotechnology student at D-BSSE
You already know what to expect in the upcoming spring semester..?
Florian: Yes, it looks like we are going to continue like we did last semester: most courses are held virtually at the moment but some of these courses plan to transfer back to in-classroom lectures in April. Although I was sick for a week and had to stay at home because of COVID-19 I could easily follow all of the lecture because all lectures were made available online in some shape or form. That was really great!
Kyriaki: To add to what Florian said, I think that no matter if the lectures were held in person or online, the professors are trying really hard to keep the conversations in the virtual courses engaging and to make the courses a lively experience, which is highly appreciated.
Many thanks, Kyriaki and Florian, for your time and all the very best for your studies and life at D-BSSE!
I would like to mention that I also invited CBB students to join this interview but they must have been too busy with their exams to respond to my emails.
This interview took place during the D-BSSE Digital Campus held on 1 March 2022.
Find information on the D-BSSE Master programmes; learn about the Biotechnology Student Association and other D-BSSE initiatives.
Find the new films on the MSc Biotechnology programme and the MSc Computational Biology and Bioinformatics programme on our external pageD-BSSE YouTube channel.