Summertime
It’s summer! There’s no days off for Viva Survivors, there’ll continue to be a new post every day, same as always, but I will be taking more time off for August so if anyone drops me an email or tweets...
Daily viva help for PhDs
It’s summer! There’s no days off for Viva Survivors, there’ll continue to be a new post every day, same as always, but I will be taking more time off for August so if anyone drops me an email or tweets...
A couple of months ago I got an interesting question at a workshop: “How can you tell when the viva is going badly versus when you just think it’s going bad?” This is a good question. Sometimes when we perceive...
FWOOOOOOSH-ZAP! The portal opens between here and the antimatter universe! Look here! We’ve found it. A small and unremarkable planet orbiting a cold yellow sun. Don’t be deceived. Many things are different in this strange and weird place, but some...
I advise candidates to annotate their thesis, but the word really in my mind is augment: To make something greater by adding to it… You’re not just adding some notes or bookmarks, some Post-its or highlighted sections; your thesis will...
In ten years of working with researchers I’ve met one person doing their second PhD. PhDs are fairly rare in the population; a person with two is like finding Bigfoot riding a unicorn! For most candidates though, PhDs feel quite...
In the viva, as with the rest of your PhD and life in general, there are things you can control and things you can’t. You can control what goes into your final thesis, but you can’t control what your examiners...
I really don’t like rollercoasters. I’ve been on two, hated them both, and don’t intend to go on any more. They’re just not for me, but if you’ve never been on one you should give one a go if you...
Or rather, Maximum Effort! if you’re a fan of the Deadpool movies. It’s not quite a catchphrase, just a fun thing that the anti-hero says before a couple of cool moments in the films. I was away for work last...
We all know looking for a needle in a haystack is a fool’s errand. I understand why PhD candidates are interested in being well prepared for questions in the viva. Too often though the desire is expressed as wanting to...
One experienced candidate waiting to be done, Two prepared examiners hoping this is fun. Three years (or more) leading to this day, Four key threads of prep can help along the way. Five seconds pause can help get a...