No Choice
You have no choice about having a viva or not. No real choice about who your examiners will be. No choice about how they feel or what questions they ask. No choice about how much time you’ll have after submission...
Daily viva help for PhDs
You have no choice about having a viva or not. No real choice about who your examiners will be. No choice about how they feel or what questions they ask. No choice about how much time you’ll have after submission...
If you feel good about your viva, ask yourself, “Why?” If you feel nervous about your viva, ask yourself “Why?” If you feel forgetful, ask yourself “Why?” If you feel excited, ask yourself “Why?” Different emotions seem good or bad...
“What’s the best time of day to have your viva?” Some candidates want to know! My answer always comes in two parts. Part One: Anecdotal pros and cons. Vivas usually have to finish by 5pm at the latest, so a...
Our washing machine broke a few months ago and blew a fuse. The power was off all around our house. In the moment, I knew the sort of thing I needed to do in our fusebox, but couldn’t tell which...
This is the 1000th daily Viva Survivors blog post! A friend said to me, “That’s crazy! What are you doing to celebrate?” And I said, “….Erm…..” Hmm. Nothing really. That got me thinking about celebrating milestones in general. I remember...
When I was a mathematician, some of my colleagues said maths research was like sculpture. A big block of stone was chipped away at until you had the art you were trying to make. You have to start with everything...
Who are your supporters for your PhD? Your supervisors, I hope! Your friends and colleagues from your department, probably. Academics you’ve met at conferences who keep in touch. Internet-people on Twitter and other networks who are part of your community....
You have all the days you spent working for your PhD. You have all the nights you spent as well. You have all the questions you asked. You have all the answers you found. You have all the lightbulb moments...
If you could click your fingers and make your viva better, what would you do? CLICK! You don’t feel nervous! CLICK! You have a perfect memory! CLICK! Your examiners only have praise for you! CLICK! You have a picture in...