Week two of RSI 2025 is nearly over, marking the beginning of the mentorship phase of the program. This week, I started working on my research project, which focuses on visual attention, specifically on what are known as LBFTS errors—“look but fail to see” mistakes. These are the moments when we overlook something that’s right in front of us: for example, missing a typo while proofreading slides or searching for keys that are in plain sight.

The goal of the research I’m involved in is to better understand how and why these errors happen. This kind of work has important applications in fields like radiology and airport security, where missing a crucial detail can have serious consequences. More broadly, the project contributes to the ongoing development of models of visual attention—something my mentor and many other researchers have been working on for years.

This week, every RSI student was asked to give a first presentation and write an initial research paper outlining our projects: what we plan to do, the methods we’ll use, and any preliminary results we might already have. It was fascinating to see the incredible variety of projects everyone is working on and to learn from the deep knowledge that RSI students bring—not just in their chosen fields, but in many others as well.

We also had the chance to attend several remarkable lectures. One of the founders of a major tech company guided us through a tour of its headquarters and shared insights into his work. We heard from one of the key figures in the development of CRISPR-Cas9, a groundbreaking gene-editing tool, who gave an inspiring talk about the current and future applications of this technology. We also attended a lecture by a physician and researcher known for advancing the use of computational tools in biomedical research—many of which he helped create himself.

We celebrated Independence Day on July 4th, with a day full of activities: trips around the city, games, sports, and a picnic near the river. In the evening, we gathered to watch the fireworks, which were as beautiful as I had imagined.

On a personal level, I’ve managed to keep up my exercise routine: I still go for a morning run before my mentorship sessions and fit in a workout afterwards. I’ve had to cut back on some social time to make this possible, but for me, it’s been worth it. I’ve also been getting slightly more sleep, though I still find myself very tired by the end of the day.

That said, I’m still having a lot of fun with my new friends here. We’ve been playing football, basketball, and frisbee whenever we have free time, and we eat most of our meals together, which has made the experience even more enjoyable.

Looking ahead, this weekend will bring new events, including the Wacky Olympics—I’m not entirely sure what to expect, but it sounds like it will be fun. On Sunday, we’ll have International Night, where international students present their countries, wear traditional clothing, and share food from home. I hope I’ll be a good representative for Switzerland, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone else will share.

I’ll tell you all about it in my next post, along with updates on my project, the next round of lectures, and whatever new surprises RSI has in store.

More soon,

Aliocha Faurisson