Side Quests
I love a good open world video game. They often feature a big map to explore, an interesting story and characters to follow, missions to complete, a character to develop and more. What I like most of all is a...
Daily viva help for PhDs
I love a good open world video game. They often feature a big map to explore, an interesting story and characters to follow, missions to complete, a character to develop and more. What I like most of all is a...
From time to time I’ve been told that the viva is unfair because candidates are at a great disadvantage due to the position they’re in. Examiners can ask what they want, they have more experience, they get to decide the outcome,...
You need to feel prepared and confident for your viva. What does that mean for you? I don’t know. I can make some guesses: You might feel you need to read your thesis a lot, so it sticks in your...
We’re in our third year of the pandemic changing our lives. After all this time it’s reasonable to assume, at least for the next few years, that it’s a topic that might come up in the viva. Your examiners will...
Things happen during a PhD. Deadlines slip, feedback is delayed or a promising idea reveals a sticky situation that has to be avoided. Plans change and alternatives must be found. One way or another you get the research done. You...
At the start of a new academic year I’m reminded of how much my life has changed over the last few years; while for the most part I am very happy with where I am now, I still remember vividly...
It’s understandable that the nature of the viva could make a person worry. It’s understandable, given what any PhD candidate has to do to get to the viva, that the person being examined might be concerned or worry about how...
If they’ve read my thesis, why would my examiners need a presentation from me to start my viva? This was one of the last questions I was asked at a webinar before I started my summer break. There are many...
I have heard stories of candidates that are asked to correct and resubmit their thesis after their viva. Resubmission is a formal process; it can mean that the candidate has to have a second viva. It could be that the...
Viva expectations are a collage of different kinds of information: possibly dry regulations glued next to stories heard on the grapevine that then line up with the boundaries of firsthand, close-to-home experience. Often, you simply need to realise that your...