I’m Nathan Ryder.
Hello!
I started Viva Survivors in 2012 as a podcast to support the work I do. I’ve been very fortunate as an independent researcher-developer to help a lot of PhD candidates prepare for their viva. I’ve delivered over 475 viva preparation sessions and helped 9500+ candidates.
The Viva Survivors Podcast is a valuable resource but became an infrequent project. I have ideas I want to test and share, and I want to help as many PhD candidates as possible feel ready and confident for their viva. Over time I realised that I needed to do something other than the podcast to make a difference.
So in April 2017, Viva Survivors became a daily blog of viva help. As of April 2025 there are over 2800 posts on this site! These cover all kinds of topics related to the viva: preparation, examiners, expectations, experiences, the end of the PhD, reflecting on the journey, confidence and a lot more!
You can find out more about my approach to viva help by taking a look at the blog. I’m always looking to do more and share more to help people prepare for the viva. I’m really happy to be sharing an idea or something helpful every day. You can support the blog by sharing posts with friends, subscribing to the blog and exploring my publications. Get in touch!
If you want to email then get in touch via nathan@nathanryder.co.uk. If you find me on LinkedIn then say hi, but I don’t currently use other social media platforms.
Finally, privacy is really important. Viva Survivors has a simple policy, which is, essentially, to totally respect your privacy. You can find the full privacy statement here.