Highlights
- The pandemic changed how most students would learn and study.
- At the height of the pandemic in Australia, more than half of the country's 41 universities opted to remote delivery of courses.
- Despite its challenges, students had to adapt to the changes including with complying to health advices such as social distancing.
There's a big difference when you are at the university campus and at home studying, in particular with the available research equipments, compares the PhD Candidate in Physiotherapy.
"When you are in uni, there's already an existing learning system, those next to you are also studying, I can easily access the robotics I am using to help my research participants. Unlike at home, it's comfortable, you're next to your bed, you have housemates who would chat with you, "says Esminio Rivera II.
Mr. Rivera is currently in his second year of PhD studies which he hopes would help rehabilitate stroke patients through advanced neuro-rehabilitation technology, such as the multi-faceted robotics, his research is focused on.
Adapting to the 'new normal'
Like most of us, dealing with the changes brought about by the pandemic was not a walk in the park for Esminio Rivera II.
He suffered severe anxiety thinking about how he would go about his studies and it took several months before he got used to doing his research at home instead of on campus.
And in adapting to the new system, he learned the importance of knowing how to prioritise.
"Learn to prioritise things. Sometimes we rush to do things, but if you appreciate small improvements, you will realise that those are achievements already. "
Amidst the pandemic, the 2nd year PhD student realised that not all relationships that come into our lives would last long and “we should not be too sad if we lost some of them”.
During the pandemic, Mr. Rivera misses the convenience of easily accessing research equipments available in university campus pre-pandemic. Source: Supplied
"There are relationships that are meant to be broken so you would be able to move forward."
New year, new hope
Despite the health challenges and problems this Physiotherapy graduate had faced in 2020, he's still grateful for the blessings that came his way.
He was able to convert his scholarship, from his initial Master of Physiotherapy he's currently doing his PhD in Physiotherapy.
He hopes that in the new year and with more vaccines against COVID-19 being distributed around the world, everything will return to normal.
"Just hold on. And as we held on, we must also follow the health experts' advice such as wearing a face mask, while we all wait for the vaccines to arrive. In this way we'll be able to do our part in preventing the spread of the coronavirus ", concludes Mr. Rivera.
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