FOCUS:
Impact of COVID on Research of RE-City’s Scientists in Charge
2020 may be behind us, but the pandemic continues to turn our lives upside down. In previous posts we have asked our PhD colleagues to tell us about how the pandemic has impacted their research. While trying to write a thesis in times of pandemic is a great challenge, PhDs are not the only ones who have to rethink their research activities and work lives.
We asked our supervisors to share their thoughts on how COVID has impacted their daily work. From teaching to personal, between faculty admin, daycare and thesis supervision, from southwestern Germany to the Netherlands: our interviewees this week were Prof. Karina Pallagst from TU Kaiserslautern (Germany) and Dr. Marco Bontje from the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands).
This is the first article in a series dedicated to how the pandemic is handled by experienced researchers.
What was the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on your institution?
Marco: As of mid-March, access to our campus in Amsterdam (UvA) was drastically reduced and everyone was encouraged to work and study at home as much as possible. Teaching moved largely online, and teaching on-site has become the exception.
Karina: In Germany, the pandemic changed the way TUK usually operates. In terms of teaching, classes had to go online within a short period of time, just as in the Netherlands. Concerning research, business trips to risk areas were no longer allowed. Administratively, many procedures went online as well so that people could work from their homes or take turns when it came to working on-site.
Marco: At UvA, too, research projects were impacted with especially plans for fieldwork being cancelled or postponed. But also regular meetings among colleagues had to be replaced by online versions if possible.
What changes did you have to implement in your way of work?
Karina: The pandemic requires a high level of flexibility from everyone. What is important to mention is that online meetings demand a lot more organization. However, the challenges encountered apply to the personal level, too. One such challenge was home schooling: the work schedule needs to be coordinated with the family schedule, which can of course be complicated at times.
Marco: Indeed! I have hardly seen the UvA campus since mid-March. What you see in the photo is where I worked since March and will probably still work most of the days in the coming months: my office at home. I agree with Karina that online teaching, if you are doing it for the first time, is very time- and energy-consuming. As a result, my work has become almost full-time teaching and teaching management, with unfortunately very little time left for research and writing. I have also not been outside of my home country since mid-March, which is very uncommon for me. As a geographer I like travelling of course. Hopefully more travels are possible in 2021!
How did the pandemic affect the research of your institution?
Marco: Most ongoing projects continued somehow, and our researchers kept developing new ideas in line with their expertise and specializations. But of course we also noticed that more and more calls for research proposals were focusing on possible impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, next to doing our best to keep ongoing research running, we are also trying to add some new projects about COVID-19 impact, as long as they fit well with what we are already good at.
Karina: For us, the research focus did not change to a large extent – ongoing projects still need to be carried out in line with the work plan. However, some scholars at TUK started individual smaller projects on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well.
What steps did you take to support the researchers under your supervision, including the early stage researchers in the RE-CITY project?
Marco: We try to meet online as much as possible and to keep in touch as much as possible, though we are aware that this can never replace ‘meeting in real life’ of course. Yet we make use of what is available and possible. It is important to let the PhD students and early stage researchers feel they are still part of a group, a research team; not only in the RE-CITY project but also in our UvA research group Urban Geographies and our Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development Studies.
Karina: On our side, we took safety measures and developed a hygiene plan for the office environment of course. But we also gave our PhDs the choice to either work from home, or at the office – depending on their preferences. In terms of their projects, we discussed in detail the organization and timing of secondments.
Marco: With regards to secondments, it is really a pity to see how the pandemic has affected the ESRs’ fieldwork and stays abroad with partner institutions. Unfortunately, we could hardly be a host for the ESRs that visited UvA in Spring 2020. They had to work remotely for most of the time instead of at our department. As a result, our interactions were mainly virtual.
Karina: Apart from the secondments, one big step for us as coordinators of the network was the transition of one ESR from one institution to another. Already challenging as process, it had to be in sync with safety measures and regulations for quarantine.
In your opinion, how will the coronavirus pandemic affect the organizational and research culture of your organization in the long term?
Karina: I believe that we will possibly see a greater flexibility within the work environment.
Marco: Yes, many people are likely to continue working from home more, and less at the office, with many meetings likely to continue taking place online. We will probably travel less, and if we do, less by plane and more by train. However, I do expect at least a part of our processes to return to what was ‘normal’ as soon as possible: meeting ‘real people’ instead of only seeing them on your screen will remain important!
Could you imagine any positive effect for shrinking cities from the impacts of the pandemic?
Karina: In my opinion this depends on the type of shrinking city; in some areas, a move to the countryside could be observed, as people were allowed to work from anywhere. This could be a gain for shrinking rural areas, but it is yet unclear if it will be a larger trend. However, the pandemic might hit those communities hard which have a low tax base – thus shrinking cities can be affected to a large extent.
Do you observe any new dynamic or trend that could favor shrinking cities in the medium term?
Marco: I agree with Karina about the fact that lower density areas, such as those found in shrinking cities, could become more attractive. People living in high-density growing cities may see shrinking ones and their affordable housing as an attractive alternative. Consequently, some cities and regions that until recently were used to continuous growth, like Amsterdam for example, may now realize what is like to be a shrinking city. This could increase the mutual understanding between growing and shrinking cities and regions.
[Disclaimer: The responses were lightly edited for length and/or clarity]
RE-CITY: Reviving Shrinking Cities 