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Month: June 2016

Nathan

Episode 59: Dr Helen Kara

Episode

Hello! 🙂

In this episode we’re not looking at viva experiences, but catching up with a previous guest on the podcast. Dr Helen Kara shared her experiences in Episode 33, and told us about how she completed her PhD part time and what happened in her viva. For Episode 59 she’s sharing her experiences as an alternative academic, and telling me a little about what it means to be an independent researcher. Helen shares some great advice for anyone who is thinking about this as a career path – plus we make time to talk about our recently self-published book Self-Publishing For Academics!

Self-Publishing For Academics - 625sideYou can find Helen on Twitter as @DrHelenKara and I recommend checking out her Amazon author page for a full listing of all of the books she has written for researchers. If you’re just starting out on your PhD, or know someone who is, then check out her book Starting Your PhD: What You Need To Know, it’s 100% free and 100% helpful.

Get in touch if you’d like to be a part of a future episode, it’s always great to hear from people who want to share their PhD and viva experiences. If you have any questions, comments or suggestion then email me, tweet at me or leave a comment on this post. And if you’ve found the podcast useful then please pass it on! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Episode 58: Dr Hamish Cox

Episode

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Hamish Cox, who had his viva earlier this year at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Hamish’s research looked at creating an intervention for positive youth development through sport. His PhD was part of the KESS programme, and we talk about that as well as how he prepared for his viva and what happened on the day. You can find Hamish on Twitter as @PhD_Sport_Psy.

As ever, it was great to create this episode and I’d love to do more. Please get in touch if you want to come on the podcast to share your PhD and viva experiences: you can find me on Twitter as @DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors, or you can email me. If you’re looking for more information on viva prep then check the Other Resources page, the Archive and my ebooks on viva preparation.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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Nathan

Viva Survivor Workshop Update 1!

Update

A week ago I announced my viva preparation workshop, Viva Survivor, which is taking place on June 29th in Manchester. I’ve been delivering these workshops in universities for six years, but this is the first time that I’ll be offering it directly to PhD candidates – and I want to make it extra special for people who are coming. Over the next four weeks I’ll be blogging here and over on my work blog about the behind the scenes things as I prepare for this workshop; this is my first update over here, so let’s recap:

I’m writing a blog post soon for my main work blog about books, but here is a sneak peek: I’ve created a paperback print run for my first book Fail Your Viva!

PrintRun1

Participants at the workshop will receive a copy as part of their participant pack, and I made a print run of 100 copies to be able to offer the book directly. I’ve created a books page where you can order them from me, and have a stack of padded envelopes ready and waiting to send them on their way. I love reading books on my Kindle, but there’s something awesome about a print book. If print is more your thing, then maybe this is what you’ve been looking for! Check here for more details.

I have some more great things to share about the workshop over the coming weeks – and plus next week the podcast is four years old, so I’ll do something fun over the week to celebrate that 🙂

Thanks for reading – check out the Eventbrite page for more details, and if you know someone who might be interested then feel free to share this with them!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)