{"id":12253,"date":"2020-04-08T15:03:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T13:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.univie.ac.at\/?p=12253"},"modified":"2026-07-14T16:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:00:09","slug":"using-this-crisis-productively","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.univie.ac.at\/en\/humans-of-university-of-vienna-en\/using-this-crisis-productively\/","title":{"rendered":"Human of #univie Melanie: “Using this crisis productively”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn 2017, I quit my full-time job and started studying Education at the University of Vienna<\/a>.
\nUntil recently, my everyday life on weekdays consisted of commuting from my place of
\nresidence to Vienna to enjoy my courses. I spent the weekends trying to make a living from
\nwriting reports for a regional newspaper. A few weeks ago, all of that changed. After the press
\nconference held by the Federal Government on 11 March, I received an e-mail from the
\nRectorate of the University of Vienna: Teaching was now going to take place in the form of
\nremote learning.<\/a> Initially, not much changed for me, since independent studies are already a
\nbig part of studying at the University. The situation even benefited me: I no longer had to
\ncommute three hours to Vienna and back home again.<\/p>\n

Only a few days later, all of my courses were changed to remote learning. Lectures now
\nconsist of reading books or watching videos that teachers provide on the University\u2019s learning
\nplatform. For seminars, we now have to complete more written assignments, have discussions
\nin forums and use podcasts or video conferences. I also got to make the interesting experience
\nof giving a presentation in the form of a PowerPoint video for the first time. On the university
\nside, things are running smoothly, but I am a bit worried about my financial situation.<\/p>\n

Since I only started studying after eight years of working full time, I am eligible to receive
\nfederal aid for students. This is barely enough to survive, so from the beginning of my studies,
\nI was also working as a freelance editor, but the number of assignments has dropped due to
\nthe current pandemic. Nevertheless, I still consider myself lucky. After all, this scholarship
\nallows me to at least pay my fixed expenses. Many people have lost all of their income
\novernight and are now faced with a dire situation. What makes me angry and puts me in a
\nfighting spirit is that, once again, the people working in precarious forms of employment
\nreceive hardly any support during this crisis. It is again the people already living in a
\nprecarious situation, who now have to struggle even more to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

I am participating in the research project Distancing and Solidarity that was launched by my
\ndegree programme and that investigates the social dimensions of the corona pandemic. My
\ndegree programme has also made me aware of social inequality over the last few years. For
\nthat reason, I now focus my work in the research project on people living in a precarious
\nsituation. This proves to me once again how wonderful my degree programme is: This crisis
\nis not just a matter that we all have to deal with individually, but it can also be used
\nproductively to study its effects on people.\u201d \u2013 Melanie Grubner<\/em><\/p>\n

Melanie is studying Education<\/a> at the University of Vienna.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn 2017, I quit my full-time job and started studying Education at the University of Vienna. Until recently, my everyday life on weekdays consisted of commuting from my place of residence to Vienna to enjoy my courses. I spent the weekends trying to make a living from writing reports for a regional newspaper. 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