“我敢肯定，这种情况将引起许多关于如何组织事件的新想法。”
Afonso Bandeira is Professor of Mathematics in the field of data science. He has been at the Department since September 2019. This Spring Semester he has taught the Mathematics of Data Science lecture, which is a course for Master’s degree students. Like many scientists, he works closely with colleagues from all over the world. In this interview, he tells us how the coronavirus pandemic has affected his teaching and research life.
What was your first thought when you heard that due to the coronavirus pandemic the ETH Executive Board had decided to close all ETH buildings as of 16 March and had asked everyone to work from home?
I remember being quite shocked. But when I think about what had happened in the weeks before, I somehow expected something was coming. Therefore, after my last lesson on Thursday 12 March, I decided to record my lessons. So I put a camera in my office, stayed behind late and recorded as many lectures as I could. And then the very same evening – when I was on my way home – I saw the message from theExecutiveBoard announcing that ETH was to close!
您的教学如何受到远程学习的变化影响？
首次录音后，我开始使用白板在家中通过Zoom教书。首先，我问学生他们喜欢什么，事实证明，当我直接在董事会任教时，大多数人都喜欢它。这几乎是正常的教学，从某种意义上说，我能够指出董事会上的事情，学生可以更轻松地观察我的肢体语言。
In normal classes I try to involve the students as much as possible by asking them questions to help lead onto the next step. Sometimes, even their expressions alone function as answers. But in video meetings, it is very difficult to read the audience. If I end up doing distance learning again – now that both the students and I are more used to it – I will try to have a system in which students are encouraged to participate more. The goal would be to lessen, as much as possible, the increased lack of interaction inherent to video sessions.
How did your research life change during this time?
I started to do weekly group meetings with students to make sure I saw everyone each week. Now that we don’t have as many chance encounters – in the corridor or at the office, for example – I think it is important to meet with people on a regular basis. Also, remote interaction with collaborators has become very common. But I must admit that remote meetings are much more tiring, especially when two or more people are sitting together trying to discuss a mathematical problem.
Are there any new projects you are involved in?
我开始组织远程数学和数据以及研讨会，以尝试在我的研究领域保持社区感。这是与纽约大学（NYU）的同事一起的联合研讨会。我还设置了一个YouTube频道，我们在其中发布了该研讨会的录音。我希望在世界恢复正常之后，这将继续下去。我们将尝试将其转换为多站点研讨会，例如，我们将在ETH上有一位演讲者在ETH上用相机和屏幕在观众面前进行演讲。这个屏幕将在纽约大学展示一个房间，那里也会有听众，并且有机会在ETH问题上向演讲者询问。这种方法将使我们能够在两个受众之间建立数字链接。
There is another seminar I am involved in which goes even further: the One World: Mathematics of INformation, Data, and Signals (MINDS) seminar. This seminar is a bit different to the other one I’ve mentioned. It is intended to be more global and therefore has organisers from many locations. These new kinds of seminar are now springing up in large numbers in different fields and I think some will live on after the crisis. While they certainly do not replace traditional seminars, they do complement them in some way.
您过去几周学到的最重要的东西是什么？
总的来说，我当然对事情的表现感到惊讶。我认为人们的反应很好。
With regard to seminars and conferences, I’m sure this unprecedented situation will give rise to many new ideas on how events like these can be organised. I also think that many conferences which would normally be face-to-face events will start to include some form of infrastructure for remote audiences. This would be a huge opportunity to be more accommodating to people in more isolated places and to those whose personal circumstances or health conditions prevent them from attending in person.