Science Undergraduates’ Lives and the Pandemic
The second decade of the 21st century was about to end. The world was busy in its daily routine. Students were bored in their regular classes, and the media was busy covering Bollywood news. Meanwhile, a new virus took birth in Wuhan, China. To date, no one knows, for sure how it came to existence, but soon enough, it was able to mark its presence.
When Indian students were busy complaining about long assignments and that never-ending pending lab journal work, the first Coronavirus case was observed in November 2019. Time passed, flights took off from one place and landed in another, and no Airport Security got the slightest idea about this little devil traveling for free. By March, it had reached most parts of the world and increased its family size. In 3 months, it expanded its population at such an alarming rate that on January 30, 2020, the World Health Organisation(WHO) declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Fast forward to March 11, 2020; this crisis was infamously honored as the Pandemic.
Online Institute of Education
As soon as the pandemic started spreading in India, universities and colleges asked their students to leave, expected for 15–20 days, which later changed to 18 months. And then the Havoc started. When hands-on lab work was stopped entirely, laptop screens became the virtual campus. Soon enough, Google Meet and Zoom meetings were the new classrooms, and PDFs were the new books. Many colleges promoted students without final exams. The concerning situation is that students were promoted without learning all they were supposed to learn by the end of the year.
Not just the education but the social aspect of a student’s life was hit hard, too. College is that magical place where careless and seemingly uncivilized homo sapiens become responsible citizens of tomorrow. Among these is the next generation of researchers and scientists who will maybe give rise to another paradigm shift in the field of science. But the COVID took a toll on these magical places.
While adjusting to the new learning environment wasn’t easy, no or very few social contacts left students depressed. ‘Existential Crisis’ was one of the most used words among students. Availability of the internet, not having a good laptop at home, and a suitable studying environment were the first challenges for students. Some were even required to drop a year due to lacking resources. Different colleges respond differently to pandemic situations. The live classes, during which students sometimes nap, were changed to recorded videos or audio, where students could sleep peacefully. All attendance criteria were removed. Critical thinking discussions came to a halt. Exams were moved to online platforms, which were heavily prone to cheating. Labs were replaced with their online simulation forms. Yet somehow, students coped with these problems and accepted the new forms of learning.
With the increasing number of vaccinated people in the country, institutes are set to bring back their campuses to glory. Where the current priority is for postgraduate and Ph.D. students, undergraduates are expected to wait a few more months. Till then, new and better ways could be adopted to make learning better. We have learned a lot of new experiences in the past year, and now this generation is ready to cope with any challenge.
Meetrooms and Simulabs
It’s 8:30 AM already, half an hour, and you need to brush, bathe, run, and grab some particular seat. Classes are the most essential and, strangely, the most fun aspect of undergraduate student life. A lecture might be boring for some and very insightful for others. But here and there, some moments arise, which later turn into memes. These classes bind our schedule and also motivate us to keep thinking critically.
Suddenly, all black/green/whiteboards were gone, and an LED screen with a substantial amount of harmful blue light appeared. All the rush to grab the first seat disappeared, and all those fresh, sleepy, excited, or ‘red due to running’ faces changed to alphabetical letters. Teaching a muted class must be challenging for instructors, too. Finally, the pandemic led everyone to miss what was their sleep-breaker.
The online mode was a disaster for those with poor internet coverage. Some students were even required to drop a year. Taking classes was even more challenging for those having a COVID-19 patient at home. Even if not for these, the online shift was initially very tough for all. Faculties are trying to figure out better ways to convey knowledge satisfactorily, and students are trying different ways to grasp the concept while having minimal interactions. Additionally, studies showed that online platforms have led to an increase in the number of eye diseases. Watching videos increased screen time for students and created an imbalance where meager natural light was reaching the eyes.
The most significant impact took place on mental health and creativity. Without hands-on experience with lab equipment, students were required to watch simulations and learn from the theory. Questions about why only a particular instrument is used, or the other physical ways of designing the same experiment felt suppressed. A few institutes opted for sending lab kits to their students, but a significant chunk of lab experiments could only be done in real labs. Students interested in experimental aspects of science can best utilize this time to hone their computation and analysis skills. Other than that, only hope is left for real experience.
With time, the learning environment has improved a bit. Though nothing could be compared to traditional teaching methods, technological advancements have saved us from wasting time. The recorded lectures can also serve as Open Online Courseware and reach a greater audience. Animations can also be incorporated to make the subject matter more straightforward. Teachers in some institutes are also promoting more open-book assessments and critical thinking-based examinations. Such approaches can increase the quality of education and make students ask decisive questions. Group activities should also be encouraged to ensure a continuous influx of soundful thoughts and enhance students’ ability to work in groups. In the tech age, the pandemic has made all of us focus more on utilizing technological advancements. Now, students can also be encouraged to take up more tech-related projects. Soon enough, education can integrate traditional and modern/computer-based methods to enhance the learning process.
Let’s Discuss
The best and most creative solutions to scientific problems are the ones discussed at the dining table or maybe tennis table and sometimes badminton courts. All of a sudden, such an inflow of ideas stopped. While the pandemic forced us to stop engaging in physical meetings, overall, it led to better and stronger discussing communities.
With the advent of online modes of meetings, a more extensive, global network of discussions has been established. Online communities have seen increased participation, be it on platforms like Discord, slack, or our old Google groups. It is easier than ever to explore what ideas are evolving in different parts of the world. ‘The world really seems like a village now.’ The technology was there before the pandemic, too, but its essence is felt only during the pandemic.
Most discussions in undergraduate science students’ communities have crossed their bounds of 5–10 people in a group to 100s of people storming ideas on a problem collectively. Many times, we end up learning new approaches to our questions. In such groups, it is also easier for mentors to interact with students conveniently. The chat groups have created a more informal environment where questions can be asked without hesitation instead of formal classes.
Such platforms are evolving faster now, where video calls and audio talks have become more common. With a touch of fun, the discussion sessions have become more exciting and involving. Online platforms can also share complex simulations and animations to understand complicated concepts. Easier to handle and able to attract a larger audience simultaneously from the convenience of our home or comfortable workplace, online meeting platforms encourage everyone to be a part of a larger group of science enthusiasts.
Even after the complete end of the pandemic, the technological aspect of learning will keep its place as it is. Easier access to a broader spectrum of knowledge will make the scientific community more curious and aware of the latest developments worldwide.
Brain Pains
Learning from home is hard, but socializing from home is more arduous. We can be a part of a group and work out problems as a project, but forming strong bonds beyond academic aspects is not something one can do in a group. This shrink in social circles indeed harms student’s mental health. As a result, most students faced depression, anxiety, and loneliness.
The need for counselors has increased in due course of time. Mental counseling has become more common, and students also realize the importance of mental health in their academic and social lives. To cope, sessions on mental health were arranged by many institutes. This is the right time to acknowledge the importance of counselors in the workplace, and their availability should be ensured in each academic institute. Moreover, students should be encouraged to schedule regular mental health sessions.
In academics, with an increasing level of expertise, stress also increases. Especially this long career path of research is filled with not only uncertainties about the future but also emotional challenges. Failures are inevitable in a scientific career, and coping with failures is essential to ensure continuous motivation towards new research. During the Pandemic, many experts have come forward to tell their stories, their failures, and life decisions, which are a strong motivation for new researchers. Earlier, such stories were often told only to students working under them. Now, the space is open for all, unwillingly, thanks to the pandemic. More generalized interactions with senior professors and knowing their life experiences could inspire young minds to do research. Moreover, it creates a sense of deep belonging to their community.
You, me, and Community
On a sunny holiday, that long roller coaster ride with friends became the reason to spend a few days thinking about the heavy machinery involved. Such experiences are pretty common among science students. Everyday interaction with nature around us drives the curiosity that keeps us entangled with worldly problems. Out of textbooks, there is an entirely open, incomplete encyclopedia of phenomena that wants us to fill in its details. It’s more fun to solve the quizzes when brainless humans like themselves are involved. The pandemic has taken away this fun and forced us to befriend a screen you can’t pinch or make fun of.
Our relations have substantially changed during the pandemic. While most of us got a chance to meet our high school friends, our potential academic partners and friends in college were limited. Sensational comments by friends got exchanged for scrolling memes on Instagram. WhatsApp took over ‘while walking around the campus’ talks, and YouTube videos replaced lunch and dinner conversations.
For a long time, even close friends weren’t talking much, adding to anxiety and loneliness. In a survey, 70.3% of youngsters accepted that they aren’t socially well-connected. Lack of face-to-face interactions reduces their ability to communicate. Online communication mediums help lower hesitation, but body language maintenance and personality development are where students lack a lot.
With the lifting of strict lockdown, the streets are open to walk, though with precautions. This is the time to come out of the home shell and communicate with people. In our hometowns, we can meet relatives and elderly people in the family. While contacts with friends in other cities are still limited to calls, we can start making new relations, increasing our knowledge about our surrounding environment. Most essential is to leave the social media apps and start conversations on calls when a physical meeting is not possible. As more people are getting vaccinated, it is safe to take up some outdoor activities such as joining a gym, membership in a local book reading club, or attending some music classes.
We all wish to return to our workplaces as soon as possible, but we should ensure that our mental health and social skills are good enough until then. So that when we greet our mates again, hopefully soon, we look confident and joyful.
End Note
The pandemic has had a devastating effect on everyone’s life. For some months, the world lost its momentum, and all activities came to a halt. In depressing situations, it was very challenging to bring things back to normal. An increasing number of people getting vaccinated gives hope of recovery, but the already set up ‘new normal’ will also drive this revival.
These conditions deeply hit education. Different measures were taken to control the loss of education. With every step, new challenges arose, but some new and unforeseen aspects were also discovered. The pandemic has taught us to be ready to face any harsh situation and has also taught us how to use the available resources to our best.
Despite empty campuses, scientific ideas are being exchanged, students are learning, teachers are teaching, and scientific advances are at their maximum speed. With the hybrid of traditional and modern methods, education will soon be on track again.
