Alexandre Chapiro, doctoral student
Brazil
If you could do your PhD at any university in the world, would you still choose ETH above other institutions? Why or why not?
In my opinion, ETH has one of the best environments in the world for a PhD student. Academically, ETH is one of the top ranked schools worldwide for computer science and this shows a lot in the quality of the classes and of the students in general. ETH students have easy access to superstar researchers in their preferred topic, which means there is a possibility to learn directly from the best.
Being located in Switzerland is another big advantage. Doing a PhD is hard work and the fantastic quality of life in Zurich helps a lot. One major difference to most places is that Swiss PhD students get paid a good salary, and this is a very important sign of respect towards the work you are doing.
How would you describe your life as a PhD student up to now? What do you like most about it? What has been particularly memorable?
A PhD at ETH is a big commitment and it requires a lot of hours spent in the lab. Sometimes it’s nice to go outside as well though, and in Zurich there are a number of good opportunities. So far I’ve taken advantage of the ETH infrastructure to do short courses in archery, wind surfing and learned some snowboarding. I even participated in the city-wide swimming event across Lake Zurich beginning of July!
If you were given the opportunity to change one thing at ETH, what would it be?
The downside of working with researchers at ETH is that as a rule everyone is very busy and there’s little time for one-on-one interactions. Research labs at ETH tend to be much bigger than in Brazil, which means each individual student ends up getting less attention. Of course this depends on specific labs and could be true for any big university. If I could change anything, I think I would try to find a way to give students more hands-on guidance for their research.
By choosing to do a PhD in Switzerland, this country has, to some extent, become a new “home”. Which part of you is actually Swiss?
One thing I’ve noticed when I came to Switzerland is that Swiss people are avid travellers. Whenever one of my colleagues goes on holidays they’re always exploring the furthest reaches of the globe. After a few months hearing about my friends’ adventures, I started travelling myself and I think it’s going to be a lifetime hobby. In the last four years, I’ve been to the most fantastic places - from Cambodia, to Zambia, to Patagonia, and I want to keep going.
Assuming after the successful completion of your PhD, you decide to remain in Switzerland. What are your personal and professional aspirations in this country?
Professionally, the job market for computer science graduates is very favourable in Zurich at the moment. If I decide to stay in Switzerland I will probably look for a job that challenges me and makes use of the skills I developed during my PhD at ETH.
On the personal side, I would like to continue learning new things and enjoying the Swiss lifestyle. Switzerland is a beautiful country and I’ve just started to explore it. I also definitely want to get a Bernese mountain dog!