Week 3 of RSI 2025 is now behind us, which means we’re officially halfway through the program. It’s been another busy week, but first I’d like to tell you about the weekend at the end of Week 2, as promised.

On Saturday, we had the Wacky Olympics, a fun tradition where the Counselor groups compete in all sorts of unconventional challenges — from a watermelon-eating contest and long-distance water balloon toss to racing with a spoon and egg in our mouths. My group didn’t win any individual event, but we placed in the top three for nearly all of them, so I assume we earned some valuable Counselor Cup points.

I realized I haven’t explained how RSI is organized. Each student is part of a Counselor group, led by recent RSI alumni — all of our counselors this year are from RSI 2024. They’re here to guide us through daily life at RSI, offer advice, and organize fun activities. We do most of our off-campus outings with our Counselor group. So far, we’ve been to the movies, rock climbing, shopping, and more. These groups quickly become like a second family, even though I’ve also made close friends in other groups — we often play basketball, football, or frisbee together.

There’s also the Counselor Cup, a friendly competition between groups where students earn points for helpful behavior (like cleaning up after events) or lose them for things like talking during lectures. No one knows what the final prize is, but it’s all in good spirit. My group isn’t in the lead, but I couldn’t be happier with the people I’ve been grouped with.

In addition, we’re each part of a Tutor group, which focuses more on academics. Tutors help us with our research papers, presentations, and anything related to our mentorships. Most of our practice presentations take place within these groups.

On Sunday, we had International Night, where many international students shared dishes from their home countries. I would’ve loved to prepare a traditional Swiss fondue, but finding the right ingredients and equipment wasn’t easy. Still, it was a great evening — we got to taste food from all over the world, and many students gave short presentations about their countries or U.S. states. They were fun, informative, and very well done. I gave a presentation about Switzerland and think it went well.

During Week 3, I continued working on my research project. I’m not making any major discoveries (yet), but I do feel like I’m making progress — and I’ve come to understand that this is what research often looks like. On Saturday, we presented our projects in a new format: a three-minute pitch, without slides or posters, given in a large open space to whoever came by. It was great practice in distilling our work into something brief and understandable, the kind of quick explanation you’d give in a casual conversation outside your field.

We had some incredible lectures again this week. My mentor gave a talk on visual attention, which offered useful context for my project. We also heard from two RSI alumni: one is now a well-known physician, and the other works in quantitative finance. On Tuesday evening, there was a college fair with representatives from several U.S. universities. I’m not necessarily planning to study in the U.S., but it was still interesting to learn more about the system and how these institutions differ from what we know in Europe.

On Saturday night, we had the RSI Talent Show. Many students performed — singing, playing instruments, or sharing other talents. Our Counselor group even did a dance together. It was a great reminder that RSI students aren’t just academically gifted — they’re also incredibly creative and well-rounded people.

On Sunday, we took a trip to Spectacle Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands. We spent the day swimming, playing volleyball and frisbee, exploring the island, and just relaxing in the sun. It was a welcome break from the usual pace.

On the personal side, I’ve managed to maintain a healthy routine. I’m still running in the mornings and working out in the afternoons. I’ve kept a decent sleep schedule, even if I’m still tired by the end of the day. Finding good food with limited time and TechCash isn’t always easy, but I do my best. I know many students are getting far less sleep — it’s tempting to stay up late socializing, and some try to catch up on weekends, but that can mean missing out on activities. Few are managing regular exercise. RSI demands that we each set priorities and make trade-offs, and that’s something future participants should keep in mind.

That’s all for Week 3. The second half of RSI has now begun, and I’m sure there will be plenty more to share in the coming weeks.

More soon,

Aliocha Faurisson