Daria Vilkova is a Master 2 AIRE student at the Learning Planet Institute. She studies, lives and works here, much to her delight. Here, Daria has found a second family and is passionately pursuing her dreams: she is also an educational engineer and has created an interdisciplinary research laboratory. Meet a fulfilled and determined student.
Hello, my name is Dasha and I wouldn't leave this place for the world.
We are on the premises of Learning Planet Institute, one evening in January, following a day of winter team seminars. Daria - who calls herself Dasha - has just uttered this sentence, her eyes full of mischief and her gaze bold.
Dasha arrived at the Learning Planet Institute almost two years ago, having explored many places despite her young age (she's 25). A student in Master 2 AIRE (Interdisciplinary and Innovative Approaches to Research and Teaching) in learning sciences, she is also an educational engineer in augmented and virtual reality learning, and co-director of the LIXR (Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Research on Extended Reality). 2-year program’Université Paris Cité, The AIRE Master's program, deployed at the Learning Planet Institute, is aimed at students, future researchers and entrepreneurs, eager to receive scientific training to help them develop innovative and useful projects within an international community of recognized researchers.
« I live here, I study here, I work here »says proudly the woman who also lodges on campus, in the heart of Paris« Marais district. " It's been a long road, since my childhood, that has brought me here. »smiles Dasha. From an early age, she has been interested in a variety of subjects, eager to gain new perspectives, meet new people, express her curiosity and expand her knowledge in many different spheres. Originally from Moscow, Russia, Dasha has been a member of a choir for 11 years. « We traveled four times a year for our concerts. There were 200 of us and we went to other countries. Our singing teacher is one of the best I've ever had. »And with good reason: the teacher was already adopting the interdisciplinary approach that so suited the young girl: she taught music but also philosophy, physics and languages. « She was demanding and challenged us all the time. She even pushed me to learn languages, even though it had little to do with the choir.. »
Curious about everything, little Dasha learns languages naturally: she speaks Russian, English, Spanish and Czech, and her French is no exception! At Moscow State Pedagogical University, she chose to study languages and educational policy. « I wanted to create a bridge between the two disciplines. The world is changing and we need to adapt the methodologies with which people learn and teach. »
During her Bachelor's degree, Dasha studied in four different countries. At the age of 19, she went to Barcelona in Spain, then lived in Krakow in Poland (where she studied Polish and Italian). After returning to Moscow, she realized that she missed the international aspect, so she moved back to the Czech Republic, while teaching Russian to Czech students. Are you still following? It's the end of The Bachelor. Dasha is 22.
When it came to choosing her Master's degree, she did some research on the Internet and stumbled across the Learning Planet Institute. « And then I said to myself, «This place looks like me. ». I watched a lot of videos. It was so inspiring! »Since she had no reason to stay in the Czech Republic, Dasha decided to move to France. « I didn't have any friends in Paris, but I thought «Why not? And off I went. It was a big step for me. »
In September 2021, the young woman will begin her Master's degree in Learning Sciences (Master of AIRE), where she explores new methods of learning and teaching, with a highly research-oriented approach. A logical way to continue exploring learning in an international, interdisciplinary framework that suits her perfectly. « The first month goes by, then the second, then the third, and each time you're so surprised by the richness and diversity of the people you meet here... I wanted to take part in all the projects! »Her first year of the Master's program is enabling Dasha to discover immersive technologies, and to familiarize herself with them.
In the spring of 2022, she interned at the Learning Planet Institute with Iryna Nikolayeva and Eric Cherel around the platefome Projects which lists the projects of the Institute and its partners. In April, with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Dasha launches and co-organizes with Iryna Nikolayeva and others “Hack for Peace”a hackathon for peace.
« It worked well. And all this showed me that I wanted to focus on immersive technologies (virtual reality, artificial intelligence) even though it wasn't at all part of my initial background or field of study. »
At Learning Planet Institute, there are no barriers. You learn by doing, and they give you all the confidence you need to try new things. It's a real opportunity.
Dasha jumped at the chance. As their interest in technology grew, they came up with the idea, along with Esra Çaki, a doctoral student at’FIRE Doctoral School (training hosted by’Université Paris Cité on the Learning Planet Institute and co-accredited by’Université Paris Sciences et Lettres), to create a laboratory. « We thought it was crazy to do this, but as time went on, we realized it was possible. »Esra is writing her thesis on virtual reality, Dasha is also interested in the subject but also in artificial intelligence, and how these tools can enhance learning.
We said to ourselves, «We have access to everything here: the technological equipment, the space to create and experiment with things!»
In April 2022, Esra, Dasha and Valentin Corneloup, the Master's pedagogical coordinator, are launching the LIXR (Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Research on Extended Reality) within the Learning Planet Institute. « Our idea is to see technology as a tool that everyone can use. We take an interdisciplinary approach to our research, and want our advances to benefit everyone.»
The approach adopted by Dasha and the team is based on experience in the field: « We immediately had big dreams and great ideas, but you have to start from the ground up. In the first year of Master AIRE in digital sciences,I help students to familiarize themselves with the lab's technologies, starting with simple things like putting on headphones...», explains the young woman, pragmatically. « A similar approach will be taken with teachers.»
« We've written a paper based on this experience. We're due to present it at THE major international conference in June in Canada, for the International Society of the Learning Sciences (International Society for the Science of Learning) »she explains with pride and enthusiasm. The idea of this paper is to show how our experience at the Lab can be reproduced by the public and by other researchers in the same field.
« We asked ourselves: how can we make this replicable? Or: how can institutions be inspired by the Learning Planet Institute and its unique learning system? »explains Dasha.
The student is passionate about her research. She spent the whole summer learning to master these technologies, which are relatively new to her. « I loved spending my summer here, learning and perfecting my skills. »
And when Dasha wanted a break, she changed floors and went to help biology researchers. « I met people and gave them a hand. They'd show me how to do it, and I'd evolve the bacteria, extract DNA - it was incredible. »she says with a big smile, revealing the pleasure she takes in learning new things, and her gratitude for evolving in an environment that suits her.
This place gives you the keys to enter new fields, to find answers. Then you work hard on your subject, you look at other things that nourish you, but you always come back to the initial subject. You have to know your limits and how far you can go to find answers, the answer. Sometimes, you really have to dig deep into the subject.
And this is what Dasha is passionately pursuing, as she is doing a sandwich course at the Learning Planet Institute since autumn 2022. The Lab is part of it, and she has the space to grow it with her comrades. She also works in parallel with’Inclusion team under the direction of Johann Pons, manager of the Inclusion program and his mentor Omar Kamara, to enrich existing programs: in particular, it is developing a digital treasure hunt game for learning the «soft skills» that the Inclusion team wants to promote.
After her Master's 2, Dasha wants to continue with a PhD in her new chosen field, adding artificial intelligence to her field of research. « Ne'll be creating an «artificial intelligence» branch at the Lab, to explore the ways in which we can adapt, use AI, and what we can learn and teach with it. »she explains with a twinkle in her eye.
There's no point asking Dasha where she sees herself tomorrow, in five or ten years' time...
I've found a new family here. Even though I'm a student, I'm listened to, I'm heard, I can develop my projects as I wish. There's so much interest in working together and sharing ideas! I'm really grateful to be here. My name is Dasha and I wouldn't leave this place for the world...
A portrait of Marie OLLIVIER
Cover photo ©Daria VILKOVA
LEARN MORE
- Discover the Master of AIRE
- Discover more portraits of our community members
