Contribution Matters
Not which papers you didn’t read, or which things you got stuck on. Not the title of your supervisor or the uni you did your undergrad at. Your significant, original contribution matters. What did you do? How did you do it?...
Daily viva help for PhDs
Not which papers you didn’t read, or which things you got stuck on. Not the title of your supervisor or the uni you did your undergrad at. Your significant, original contribution matters. What did you do? How did you do it?...
If you feel nervous before your viva there is typically a simple explanation: you’re recognising that the viva is important. You need to pass, you’ve invested a lot of work to this point, and even though the vast majority of...
Thirty minutes is a meaningful block of time to move you closer to being ready for your viva. There’s lots you could do. Set a timer and then: Read your thesis. Focus on a particular section to help you think...
For a reduced-pressure, easy-going period of viva preparation you might need a month. Between thirty minutes and an hour of work each day will cover you. Read your thesis at least once. Make notes and additions to help your thesis...
The viva process could perhaps best be described as non-obvious. It’s not obvious what the process is like because viva experiences haven’t traditionally been shared all that much. It’s not obvious what to expect because regulations only tell one aspect of what...
Because even on Valentines Day it might be a bit much to hope that people love their viva! You could like your viva because… …you’re almost done! …you get to talk with two academics about your work! …you know you’re...
Video games have been a big part of my pandemic coping strategies. Interactive stories, complex challenges, puzzle solving and sometimes great big emotional experiences to distract me from the background of life right now. Save points have featured a lot...
The viva experience might be sometimes unclear, but it’s not mysterious. There’s a variety of experiences, but a clear range of common expectations. There’s structure from regulations, academic practice and norms from departmental procedures. Every viva is necessarily unique, but...
You can’t somehow look ahead and know the outcome of your viva. You can take a good guess that it will be a pass and minor corrections. You can’t grab hold like a birthday present and give it a squeeze...
We’ve not quite found the new form of the viva. In the UK, they’re all over video for now, but it’s too soon to say if that’s going to be normal from now on. There’s definite benefits: potentially greater choice for...