Dear all,
in March, the EGG ran a poll mainly regarding the choice to be made between a 2021 virtual or in-person school. Based on the results and the current pandemic conditions, we have decided to have a virtual venue for the EGG this year.
We would like to give the opportunity to everybody to exchange on this and related issues on Friday April 30th at 3 pm CET (Novi Sad/Berlin/Paris etc. time) in this room:
https://univ-cotedazur.zoom.us/j/9226426304
See you there!
Dear all, after skipping last year’s EGG because of the pandemic, we decided to avoid two years without an EGG, so we’ll make it happen this year, come what may.
We’re still considering the option of holding an EGG in person, as usual, but obviously there are many factors we cannot plan for. If that doesn’t work out, we’ll host a virtual EGG this year and we’ll try to make the experience as close to the real thing as possible, so there’ll be classes (of course), open podium nights, and online social events so you can hang out with your fellow students and the teachers.
We’d like to ask you for your thoughts on how the EGG could work best for you — please fill out the questionnaire by 31 March to help us plan. Also, we’ll organise a zoom Q&A in the beginning of April to answer any remaining questions you might have.
Stay safe and healthy!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfiixNyshgURcWLGzgV0RKRnRl5qm0DPQWjMYufReKmwe6tOA/viewform
Hello all!
The EGG committee has changed a little over the past year! First, Marketa has left the phonology team last year and in her stead, Gienek Cyran has joined us. Gienek is a phonologist in Lublin and an EGG veteran.
Also, Sandhya Sundaresan is leaving the EGG committee — our new member following her is Berit Gehrke, a semanticist working in Berlin, whom many of you will also know as an EGG teacher.
Last but definitely not least, Petra Charvátová has joined us to help with organising the schools, something that you will have seen her do very well in recent years already.
I want to thank both Marketa and Sandhya for their work in organising EGG schools over many years and welcome our new members.
As for the EGG school in 2021, there’ll be more soon… so stay tuned!
We have discussed whether there should be a virtual version of the EGG this year (either synchronous or asynchronous). What you say in the spreadsheet is a mixed bag. An important argument made there, in our view, is the fact that much of the EGG and much of its attractivity lies in extra-classroom interaction. And hence that a virtual EGG wouldn’t be an EGG. We have thus decided not to go virtual.
We have also decided to try to make a copy of the 2020 EGG in 2021: same location, same teachers. Provided, of course, they will be able to come in 2021. Maybe with the same classes for those that had already be announced, but there may be updates, or teachers may change their mind in a year’s time.
So see you all, hopefully, in 2021 in Novi Sad !
We said Corona doesn’t exist at the EGG until it does, and that moment has now come: we are desperate to have to cancel the 2020 edition of the EGG. Stay tuned, we’ll tell you about the next steps when we have news. But sure in the meantime you may continue using the spreadsheet in order to spread your tears…
Here is how things have played out. There are a number of relevant factors, every single one being able to kill the school. Among them are: dorm accessibility, classroom accessibility, teachers being able to attend, students being able to attend, international travel from and to Novi Sad, general sanitary regulations in Serbia and possibly other countries (people would travel through). The school could survive only if every single one of them were set to green. Since Corona-related things are rapidly moving these days, we have postponed our decision
We have worked on these factors as much as we could in order to get information in. The poll was one element of that. It turns out to be a mixed bag, some prospective students say they would attend in person, others that they won’t. One point that was made by a number of spreadsheed entries is that an important piece of the EGG takes place outside of the classroom, and that this contributes a lot to its attractivity. If Corona restrictions prevent or inhibit interaction onsite, that’s a substantial downside (and this was also mentioned by those who would miss this part if the EGG went virtual). And of course, relating to the poll, it wouldn’t make sense to have a real EGG with, say, 20 students.
So here is some information. Serbian airports are open, but this does not mean that you can fly in and out: airlines need to reestablish their connections. Land borders are or will be open without (Serbian) quarantaine, but that does not mean everybody can reach Serbian land borders. Dorms and classrooms are available (this was confirmed by local University authorities), but Corona restrictions apply: masks and gloves everywhere on campus, and classroom capacity cut by two thirds. The latter is a serious handicap: the biggest room designed for 200 people boils down to 66, and the two smaller rooms to 40. On regular attendance that won’t do. The final push that killed the school was teacher attendance: some teachers were not able to make it to Novi Sad, for a number of reasons (one factor here are travel bans issued by their home Universities).
So that’s it for now, sadly…. Hope you all stay on board for the next steps: the EGG is dead, long live the EGG!
Marijn van ‘t Veer teaches a two-week intro to Element Theory. The abstract is now online on the Classes page.
Chris Golston’s abstracts are online now. Have a look at the classes page.
As announced, we will see what the Corona situation looks like by the end of May, to determine whether the school is still standing. One input for that is you: if nobody would attend the school anyway for Corona reasons even if the local and traval situation allowed for coming to Novi Sad, there would be no school.
So if you are a prospective student, could you please answer the following question on this shared spreadsheet (if you don’t want to leave your name or prefer a nickname that’s fine of course) :
if the travel and local situation allowed for attending the EGG in Novi Sad in August, would you attend?
Thanks and hopefully see you there…
Check out the Classes page. More to come…
We said we pretend Corona does not exist while organizing the Novi Sad EGG, but we can’t do that forever. Here is what we plan to do:
Stay tuned…