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Nathan

Viva Help in 2025

Event, Update

“The session last week was so, so helpful. I really appreciated the practical guidance, which made so much sense and feels do-able and will help my confidence going into the viva. It helped that your manner in the training was calm, clear, concise, and full of empathy and understanding.”

I received these kind words in my inbox in mid-December, from a participant of my first independent Viva Survivor session. It was a really nice early Christmas present!

Viva Survivor is a 3-hour session I’ve now delivered to more than 7500 postgraduate researchers. Through it I help PhD candidates see that being ready for the viva is within their reach. They’ve done the work, they can learn what to expect and what to do and generally find confidence for the viva day.

I’m typically invited by universities and doctoral training programmes to share Viva Survivor with their researchers, but I decided to offer it up for open registration in December. One day, one time, any PhD candidate welcome to register. A 3-hour live session with follow-up supporting materials and a catch-up recording.

Would anyone be interested?

Thankfully yes! In fact, seven PhD candidates attended. There was a lovely atmosphere created by my cohort. It also felt good to write to people individually before and after the session. It might be impractical for university sessions, but I’d love to do more to recreate this in the future.

 

“Just a quick note to say I passed my viva with minor corrections! Your webinar was very useful and definitely helped to allay some anxiety regarding the whole process.”

My second early Christmas present was the above message: one of my attendees at the independent session had their viva within weeks of Viva Survivor and had succeeded! As you might imagine, it felt fantastic to have played a part in helping them get ready.

I want to help many more people in 2025. I’m happy to say that I have a lot of dates in my diary with universities over the coming months, including my 400th Viva Survivor – and I’m very happy to announce that registration is open now for independent Viva Survivor sessions on March 27th 2025 and June 25th 2025!

These are months away, but if your viva is this year do take a look at what I’ll be covering and what you get by registering and attending. If you have questions about the session or format then please email me. I’ll be happy to respond.

And if you know someone who might be interested in Viva Survivor please pass the details on!

Thank you for reading 🙂

Nathan

Nathan

Looking For Viva Help?

Update

This is an extra blog post today to say thank you for subscribing. This post is public on Viva Survivors but I won’t be publicising it on Twitter etc. It’s really just for you.

I’ve been writing this blog for over six years now and I have no plans for stopping. There are so many reasons why I keep doing it.

  • I know that people, like you, subscribe and read what I write.
  • I know that it helps people.
  • It’s helped me to have a practice, inspiration and an ongoing project.

It really does help to know that so many people like you subscribe. Thank you.

If you ever read a post and it sparks a question or you’re getting ready for your viva, do get in touch. I’m always happy to respond with some thoughts.

And if you’re looking for viva help right now then please take a look at my upcoming 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva sessions.

7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva is a tried and tested 1-hour live session where I break down what the viva is all about, how you can engage with it and what you can do to pass. It’s a 1-hour confidence boost and I’m thrilled to be offering at different times on three consecutive days.

If this sounds helpful, check the dates and register soon: space is limited and I won’t be running more until at least the autumn. To continue saying thank you for your support, if you book in the next three days and use code CONFIDENCE you can save 20% on the registration.

If you’ve already had your viva and have valued my writing or sessions in the past then please pass this on to someone who might need 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva.

Thank you for reading and thank you for your support!

Nathan