Studying during the pandemic: A year that tastes like change
The pandemic has been demanding a great deal from everyone and is constantly forcing us to think anew. How did our students manage to adapt to the new situation? What challenges did they experience and what lessons did they learn? What will remain?
A personal (b)log article by Temur Umarov, IMME student at OVGU.
The unsuspicious beginning
"September 2019. After exhausting 7 hours flight from Central Asia to Germany, I have finally begun my journey into myself: A two-year master program at OVGU Magdeburg. The first semester was marvelous for two reasons: 1) travelling two times per month and 2) attending interesting lectures on “International Corporate Strategy” and “Business Decision Making”. These are the two official indicators of useful time. We also had unofficial reasons to be happy: participating in students’ events, playing football on Saturday mornings and attending various parties. I was allowing myself to be young, but prohibiting to be too lazy, otherwise I would have double problems. It is better to be young and bright. And we were!
Shaping my perspective on life
Spring 2020.The pandemic came out of blue. University, in theory, is the most interesting place in the world. This is a place for knowledge, research, creativity, reflection, discussion, experimentation, innovation, discovery, enlightenment, personal and professional development… This is a learning community with a noble mission and aura. And suddenly the aura disappears. Therefore, spring 2020 is linked in the neurons of my brain with the lack of emotions and monotonous routine at home.
After being too tired of doing nothing and being by myself, I decided to order more than 20 books on management, entrepreneurship and psychology. I started reading a lot, reflecting on my thoughts and asking myself important questions on the mission of my life, my goals and values. In particular, “The Kaizen Way” by Maurer has taught me to appreciate the little moments every day and that big dreams can be best achieved by taking small steps. For instance, I started doing three exercises every day and taking a little walk. Now, after a year, it became a useful habit. Looking back from now, I would state that the time in quarantine was very useful for me to crystalize my aspirations and values.
Good things find you when you least expect them
August 2020. Online teaching has one obvious advantage: all the lectures are stored digitally. It is truly convenient to go through all the recorded materials several times. Especially before the exams, recordings taste much better. I have received incredible 45 credits in one semester and was feeling that I deserve some good rest. I decided to make a bus trip to my friend in Vienna. In between Magdeburg and Vienna, I spent life-changing transit hours in Berlin. I entered a park, took some photos of ducks and fell in love with the atmosphere of the city. It was such a strong moment, that two months later I have moved to Berlin. Fortuna likes me a lot for some reason because in December 2020, I started an internship at Bayer AG. I have to admit that such flexibility and improvisation in life symphony would have been hardly feasible under offline learning conditions. Therefore, if anyone asks what pandemic is for me, I would say: “change”.
Right now, I am a happy student on the verge of finishing my studies. Like many others, I wish there was no pandemic. Yet, history doesn’t like “if” constructions. It happened, and the best response we can choose is to be flexible and adapt to the new reality. I appreciate everything that has happened to me in 2020 and 2021: there have been plenty of great moments to remember as well as hard challenges to learn from. Enjoy your life and stay healthy, dear reader!”
Thank you, Temur, for sharing your insights with us. What are your thoughts on studying during the pandemic? If you would like to tell your fellow students about it, please contact anika.rosner@ovgu.de.