ECCV 2016 Daily - Wednesday

Zeynep: I didn’t really know what I would become or have any special dreams. It didn’t worry me. I thought to myself, whichever subject I choose, in the end I will have to work very hard to become good at it. This can be something that I really, really love so maybe it will be easy to work hard. I also thought that if I select something, one of my hobbies for example, if I have to work really, really hard on that, then maybe it’s not going to be my hobby anymore. Therefore, the choice for me was mostly logical. I will be able to find a job, and computer science seems to be an interesting area which has a lot of different subjects. If I don’t like computer vision, I can move to computer graphics. If I don’t like that, I can move to theoretical computer science. I thought this is a subject that I can change when I want to, if I want to. ECCV Daily: Have you always been a hard worker? Zeynep: Yes ECCV Daily: Are you also a perfectionist? Zeynep: Maybe, a little. ECCV Daily: When did you decide to leave Turkey? Zeynep: After I finished my Bachelors. I decided to go to Europe to do a Masters and to have experience. ECCV Daily: What was your choice? Zeynep: I applied to a lot of places in Germany because you don’t have to pay anything for the education. It’s free. I wanted to learn another language. This was another motivation. That’s why I chose Germany. ECCV Daily: Were you encouraged by teachers, family, and friends? Zeynep: Yes, my mom. She said you will try it and there is no question. You will just go. ECCV Daily: Did anyone oppose you? Zeynep: No, no one opposed me. ECCV Daily: Do you think that you grew up in an environment which was supportive of what you would become? Zeynep: Yes, of course, my parents gave me direction. They told me their opinions, but they didn’t really force me in terms of subject choices. ECCV Daily: Is it the same for all young women in Turkey? Zeynep: No, I don’t think so. I know that I’m quite privileged for that. ECCV Daily: When did you decide to take the next step? What happened? Zeynep: After, I was writing my Master’s thesis. I found out about a computer vision summer school in France. I decided to submit my thesis paper. ECCV Daily: To learn another language? Zeynep: Partially, maybe - Also good food, sunshine, and good wine.... [she laughs] ECCV Daily: Whereabout in France? Zeynep: Grenoble - Basically, I went there and presented my work. Then, I got the best poster prize. That gave me courage to talk to the head of the group, Cordelia Schmid. I talked Women in Computer Vision 11 ECCV Daily: Wednesday