Running Updates
Updates need to be installed. How do you feel when your computer gives you that notification? Updates need to be installed. It’s not a suggestion. It’s not something you can do if it sounds good. It needs to happen. Maybe...
Daily viva help for PhDs
Updates need to be installed. How do you feel when your computer gives you that notification? Updates need to be installed. It’s not a suggestion. It’s not something you can do if it sounds good. It needs to happen. Maybe...
Every building has multiple blueprints or plans. On one plan are the walls, but another diagram shows where pipes and cables go. If you compare building plans for different buildings you’ll notice similarities and differences, but look closer and you’ll...
Perhaps when you annotate your thesis to get ready for the viva you won’t strictly write “between the lines” – but you will need to consider what things mean and draw something out. Maybe you’ll spot a keyword or two...
To get ready for your viva you need to focus on the whole of your research, your thesis and your PhD journey. You need to know that your examiners could ask you about everything: why you did the work, how...
Keep a tally of your viva prep. Every day you do something to help your preparations, big or small, make a mark. One mark per day, not one mark per task. Watch as the number of marks build over time....
Two words that really summarise what you need to do in the viva. Respond: you don’t have to have an answer for every question. You may or may not have an idea or opinion that’s fully formed. The viva is...
Where peers are your friends, colleagues, acquaintances and whatever other titles you can think of! Ask about their vivas. Ask about their experiences. Ask what they know about the viva. Ask them what they did to get ready and if...
Preferences are the things that we’d like, but which we could work around if needed. Preferences for your viva and viva prep might include: Starting in a morning; Reading your thesis with a fresh pot of coffee; Knowing your external...
You could have many things to do when you’re getting ready for your viva – work, family life, responsibilities and obligations – and viva preparation might not break into your top ten time commitments. It won’t help to be stressed....
Or, a handy guide to the scope and scale of various viva preparation activities! Small Tasks Downloading regulations for your institution. Putting a sticky note at the start of each chapter of your thesis. Bookmarking the staff pages of your...