Easy Mode
I enjoy playing video games where I can alter the setting to “easy” and feel powerful. I can advance through the story, feel present and connected to the world of the game (as enemies don’t knock me down every two...
Daily viva help for PhDs
I enjoy playing video games where I can alter the setting to “easy” and feel powerful. I can advance through the story, feel present and connected to the world of the game (as enemies don’t knock me down every two...
In our house we’re all fans of Saturday morning cartoons and adventure shows. If someone or a group have magical items, secret abilities, arch-enemies or a world to save, then we are there to watch and enjoy the story! Often,...
It could be that, like me, having to wait for something means your thoughts turn to asking “What if…?” These questions aren’t always helpful for keeping calm or confident. Sometimes they even prompt nervousness. They could be natural to ask,...
Take some time off. Get a little distance from your work and rest. Viva prep is not a full time job. You need to read your thesis, you need to rehearse for the viva, you need to reflect on your...
Say it with emphasis as you get nearer to the viva: “If I’ve come so far, I must be so good.” Not perfect, not omniscient, not without nerves for such an important event. You’ve come so far on your PhD journey,...
If you could wave a magic wand and improve some aspect of being ready for your viva, what would you do? Perhaps you could memorise your thesis. Would you want to know all of the questions in advance? Maybe it would...
That’s your thesis. Before the viva they have to read it, think about it, make notes, think some more, read papers and write reports and then think some more because that’s the job they’ve agreed to do. That’s the role of...
In your research you might disagree with something: a position taken by another researcher, the results of a paper or conclusions of a thesis. Your examiners might disagree with a method you use, the way you interpret something, or your...
Big, open questions in the viva like “How did you get started?” or “Can you tell us why this method is valid?” could have big, open responses. It might be necessary to talk about a lot of different things to...
It can be useful as part of viva prep to read your examiners’ recent publications. A little time invested exploring their recent work can help give a little perspective on their research interests, the questions, methods and topics they are...