The Viva Is The Viva
The viva is a conversation. The viva is a test. The viva is the end of the PhD. The viva is pass or fail. The viva is inevitable. The viva is something you can prepare for. The viva is an...
Daily viva help for PhDs
The viva is a conversation. The viva is a test. The viva is the end of the PhD. The viva is pass or fail. The viva is inevitable. The viva is something you can prepare for. The viva is an...
As preparation for the viva read three recent papers by your internal examiner. Read three recent papers by your external examiner. Look for links between your work and their work. Look for connections between your interests, methods and the kinds...
In my earliest academic days I was given the following advice for structuring a presentation: tell them what you’re going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them. “Them” in this case was the audience. Over the years...
I was talking with someone recently about the first-year viva. Sometimes it’s called a transfer viva or an upgrade viva. The person I was talking to referred to it as “the baby viva” and in that second I smiled and...
On Monday I shared a post about my new Viva Survivors anthology, Keep Going! The book will be available via the Amazon Kindle store and through my Payhip site from Thursday 26th May, but I’m now very excited to announce the...
A long time ago, my supervisor asked me to think about who could be a good external examiner for my PhD. He suggested initially that I go to conferences and look for people who did the same sort of work...
My mum called in a panic: her electricity had gone off and she had no power. By the I time I got to her house, she had checked and reset the main fuse box. The power was on again. It...
About a month ago the Viva Survivors blog celebrated five years of daily posts! With this milestone in mind I’ve been working on something a little special. I’m thrilled to announce Keep Going, a Viva Survivors anthology: Keep Going is the...
You do the research and you write a thesis. Two examiners, one from your institution and one from elsewhere, prepare to examine you. They read, make notes, think and discuss what they need to to do at the viva. On...
If you’re looking to build your confidence, consider the hero moments of your PhD journey. When did you do something that was extraordinary? A comic, show or movie featuring superheroes often shows them in day-to-day moments doing something that someone...