"By living in a different country, I have grown a lot as a person"
Cella Florescu is in the final year of her Bachelor’s studies at ETH Zurich. Despite the challenges of moving to a new country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, she embraced the opportunity to join the student association VIS, meet new people, and learn about herself along the way. Today, she feels that her voice is heard, and takes pride in contributing to positive change at ETH.
Hello Cella. You are doing your Bachelor’s at the Department of Computer Science. Where were you before that and when did you start?
I grew up in Bucharest, Romania. I first went to a humanities school where I learned German as a native language. Later on, I discovered computer science and liked it so much that I decided to switch to a high school that specialised in computer science and mathematics. I am now in the sixth semester of my Bachelor’s here at ETH Zurich.
I started in the Autumn Semester of 2020, when most classes were still being held online. It was very intimidating at first, because I had just moved to a new country and did not know anybody. But I think ETH handled the situation very well and I had a very positive experience given the circumstances. I managed to build my own bubble, meet people and make friends. When the restrictions were lifted, it became even better.
What made you decide to study computer science?
When I was about ten years old, I loved playing video games and wanted to know how to program them as well. I heard that computer science would enable me to do that, so I started looking into it. I learned about programming and algorithms, and about the mathematics behind it. Although my dream of programming computer games never came to be, I discovered the field of computer science as a whole and became passionate about it. I also started coding and participating in programming competitions, which I really enjoyed. This is the reason I chose to go to a specialised high school, and by the time I finished I was sure that I wanted to study computer science. I was looking forward to coming to ETH, to experience it from a more academic point of view.
How did you hear about ETH Zurich?
A little by chance. I already knew that I wanted to study abroad, and when I asked my teachers for suggestions, one of them mentioned ETH.
I was initially looking at English-speaking countries and universities, but I then realised that since I also spoke German, I could come here as well; I looked at the curriculum and how the studies were structured, and quickly felt that ETH Zurich would be a good fit for me. I participated in one of the “Try-Out Day” (Schnuppertag) organised by VIS, which convinced me to apply.
How do you feel about studying abroad?
I am extremely fortunate that my parents encouraged me to pursue my passion and support me to have a good education. I would say that by living in a different country, I have grown a lot as a person. Simply taking yourself out of your familiar environment, putting yourself in something new, is as challenging as it is enriching. You learn so many things about yourself this way.
Do you have a professor or a lecture that inspires you?
Not exactly one person or lecture in particular. What is most inspiring to me is that everybody’s background here is different. When I am reading the department’s news articles, or the Visionen (the magazine written by VIS), I do not feel like I have to fit a certain pattern to be successful. It feels like there are no real limitations.
You recently spent a semester at MIT in Boston. How was your experience there?
I went to MIT thanks to the departmental exchange programme, an agreement between our computer science department and MIT. There, I took part in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, which allows students without a Bachelor’s degree to do a research internship in a laboratory for a semester. You are typically supervised by a doctoral student or a post-doc and get to explore new topics in your field. First and foremost, you can see the academic and research sides of computer science and discover what it is like to work with a professor. I believe, in a sense, this prepared me well for my Bachelor’s thesis.
On a personal level, it was a wonderful experience, once again putting myself in a new and different environment. The true highlight for me was the people I met at MIT: I was lucky to get to know many interesting individuals and discuss personal projects and opportunities.
“I strongly advise anybody who has the opportunity to do an exchange abroad. You grow and learn about yourself so much!”Cella Florescu, third-year computer science Bachelor’s student and member of the VIS university politics (Hochschulpolitik) committee
Did you work on something related to what you are doing now in your Bachelor’s thesis?
No, at MIT I was working on formal verifications. My Bachelor’s thesis focuses more on theoretical computer science. My next goal is to do a Master’s and I think it is important to explore different topics and research fields to be able to decide which one really speaks to me. There are many interesting things to learn in many different fields; for now, I want to keep my options open.
Did you consider staying in Boston, or going back there for your studies later?
Right now, I want to do my Master’s at ETH Zurich. I like the teaching here, the way the studies are structured and the liberty we have to organise our study time ourselves. I also prefer the more theoretical parts of computer science, and ETH is really strong in this area.
Is there anything you learned in Boston that you wanted to bring back with you?
Of course, this is one of the reasons I went. I would have liked to have something similar to the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program at ETH for instance. However, I also realise that some things are not easy to translate because MIT is much smaller than ETH Zurich, with only about 5,000 Bachelor’s students.
Walking around campus, you soon notice that you have seen most people before, at parties, events, or lectures, or just in the hallways sometimes. Student life is also quite different because of this. Everything is in the same place, and you do not need to commute between parts of the campus. Most of all, I appreciated the diversity and representation of cultures at MIT. Almost every nationality has an association, and it is easy to meet new people and explore different cultures. This gave me a sense of community that made it easier to connect with the other students. It would be interesting to see if something similar could be implemented here, since at times I feel like it is easier to stay in your already-established bubble of computer science students.
But ultimately, I think that most of the things that could be changed are done better at ETH. For me, university politics and student representation are excellent. They are well structured and properly organised here.
You are a member of VIS, the Association of Computer Science Students at ETH Zurich. What do you do there?
I joined VIS during my first semester at ETH. At the beginning, I was in the “NachKomm” (short for “Nachwuchskommission”), the committee that takes care of future computer science students. Among other things, we organise the “Schnuppertag”, where prospective students come for one day to discover what studying computer science at ETH is like. This was a good way for me to give back to the community, since I had benefited from this opportunity myself. I then led the Nachwuchskommission and organised several events such as the Prestudy Events or the Welcome Day, in collaboration with the department.
I am now in the university politics committee (Hochschulpolitik, or “Hopo” for short). I felt this was a natural continuation for me, from working for future students to working for current students and cooperating with the department to implement different measures. In Hopo, we have different task forces and work on multiple projects at a time. As a member, you can freely join and help with anything you want, have your own project, or help with other open tasks.
What project are you mainly working on at the moment?
My focus now is the Diversity Task Force. The goal of the project, which has been running for some time now, is to make ETH a safer and more welcoming place for all students. Last semester we organised a survey and collected answers from around 180 students. We are currently looking at the results and defining what students think we should change or implement to make everyone feel welcome at the department.
This is no small task, but we are happy that we can do it. We can go to the department and talk about these issues, and we are taken seriously. I feel that at ETH, I have a voice, and this is very important to me. It is true at VIS, but also as a student: during the semester, we have many opportunities to give feedback about lectures, online courses and so on. Professors make real efforts to accommodate each student. I am not sure how many universities implement student feedback so well and take it that seriously.
What was your motivation to do this on top of your studies?
A strong motivation for me at the beginning was the partial lockdown when I arrived in Switzerland in 2020. I saw it as a good way to network and take part in VIS events. Maybe I also wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something new, rather than only studying the whole day. I soon met many people and learned a lot about the university as well. What kept me involved is the fact that we can change things. It is rewarding to take decisions, engage with students and participate in shaping our community.
What are your plans for the next year?
Next autumn, I will begin the Master in Computer Science (the other options would have been the Cyber Security, Data Science or Robotics, Systems & Control Master’s programmes). In this Master’s, you can select a major and a minor; I like the fact that I can choose a branch to specialise in, but also complement it with a minor. I do not want to specialise too early without having given each field a chance, since I consider it necessary to be passionate about, and dedicated to my work.
Cella Florescu
Cella is a third-year Bachelor’s student and as a member of VIS active in the Hochschulpolitik committee.
Before joining ETH Zurich, she received the second prize at the NSS Space Settlement Design Competition (2019), the silver medal at the International “Tuymaada” Olympiad (2018) and the bronze medal at the International Autumn Tournament in Informatics (2017).
Association of Computer Science Students (VIS)
VIS is the first point of contact for computer science Bachelor’s and Master’s students to learn about events, excursions, study support and representation.
About 130 volunteers organise a wide variety of events including a welcome weekend for first-year students, exam preparation courses and the largest academic company fair for computer science in Switzerland, called the Kontaktparty.
VIS is part of the Association of Students at ETH (VSETH), the umbrella organisation of all student organisations at ETH Zurich.