Department of Computing staff and students continue to inspire with their stories of support during lockdown.

Moving teaching and assessment online was just the beginning for members of staff at Imperial College London’s Department of Computing. Throughout the Covid crisis, staff and students have continued to inspire us with their stories of support and success. 

“The support I have received from our Head of Department, Professor Daniel Rueckert, during the Covid crisis has been invaluable. With the additional pressure of securing a permanent position during this time, both Daniel and Ms Katherine Bellenie have provided the greatest of support. Katherine has also been organising “virtual café’s” to help colleagues in our research group relax from the tension of lockdown and isolation.” 

Online examinations could not have been possible without our Computing Support Group (CSG). In particular, the CATe system creator Dr Silvana Zappacosta Amboldi:

“Our Teaching Fellows have been fundamental in delivering online teaching and assessment this term, and I think we can all agree that the transition to remote assessment was eased by our existing framework for distributing and collecting module assessments, created by Dr Silvana Zappacosta Amboldi. As a Department, we would have struggled to turn things around so quickly had it not been for Silvana and CATe!” 

“I’d like to thank Dr Lloyd Kamara and Geoff Bruce for sorting out any connectivity problems promptly. No matter how busy they are they are always responsive, reassuring and patient.” 

DoCSoc, Imperial College London’s Computing Society have continued to support their members by hosting online social events throughout the lockdown period. The committee, led by Kelvin Zhang, third year MEng Computing student, have put together a welcome video for students joining the department in the new academic year. 

Dr Amani El-Kholy, Postgraduate and CDT Administrator, says that she loves what she does and in no way does she feel like she is doing anything extra:

“Since lockdown began, we have been aware that PhD students are in a grey territory - their daily routine is similar to staff but they are still students. The first thing we did was to contact each student to check what additional support they might need. Weekly updates have been sent to PhD students providing tips, resources and recommendations - not only promoting positive mental health and wellbeing, but also providing information, motivation and support. We have an incredible group of PhD students who will go on to be our ambassadors all over the world. They deserve the best, and we have a duty to look after them the best we can.” 

The weekly updates sent out by Amani have been a huge hit with students who might otherwise feel disconnected from their colleagues during this crisis: 

“Thanks for keeping in touch with all of us during this period. While we might have been passive in receiving these emails, please know that they are well appreciated.”  

Dr Jackie Bell, Senior Teaching Fellow for Equality, Diversity, Outreach and Public Engagement, was thanked for being a ‘champion for all people’ and ‘active and supportive personal tutor’ in the department:  

“With her positive attitude during these difficult times she made the department a much more pleasant place to work. She is a fountain of knowledge, always keeping us aware of the important issues that might be overlooked during these anxious times.”  

Ahmed Abdullahi Idle, Digital Communications Officer, was also thanked:

"For accommodating every request of updating our webpages during these challenging times. Ahmed is always available and patient with anxious people who can at times demand immediate action.” 

Dr Abhijeet Ghosh, Reader in Graphics and Imaging, gave a special mention to Research Associate Dr Valentin Deschaintre for the support he has given to members of his group and the wider research community:

“Valentin has continued to run weekly research group meetings during lockdown that have fostered a sense of community, and has provided PhD students with a second level of mentoring. Valentin has also supported myself and colleagues from UCL with the annual EGSR 2020 conference, dedicating time to developing a new virtual structure for the conference.” 

Our staff and students also appreciate the support of wider members of College. Dr Timothy Ebbels, Reader of Computational Bioinformatics, was specially thanked by Research Associate Jianliang Gao for going the extra mile:  

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Timothy Ebbels from Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction. He provided me with support during this time by answering my questions, writing reference letters and giving me some tips regarding preparation on job interviews.”