Mini-Viva Modifiers
In a few months it will be five years since I first published 7776 Mini-Vivas – a little game to play and get practice for the kinds of discussion you might face in the viva. I’m going to do something...
mini-viva
The Prototype Viva
A mock viva or mini-viva is like a prototype for the real thing you’ll experience. Does it have all of the questions you’ll be asked at your viva? No, but it has enough to get a sense of what to...
A Mini-Viva Reflection
A mini-viva is what I call one possible set of questions from the Mini-Vivas resource that I developed a few years ago. There are 7,776 possible combinations of five questions possible from that resource; of course, in practise this would lead...
BOOST Your Mini-Viva
I like my mini-vivas resource, a tool to create valuable practice responding to questions before the viva. I like the acronym BOOST for feedback – Balanced, Observed, Objective, Specific, Timely – a neat way to remember how to frame constructive...
Demo Discs
I’m old enough to remember demo discs: CDs or DVDs that came with gaming magazines and which allowed people to try new games or software before the full release. (I’m actually old enough to remember demo cassettes, but let’s put...
Host A Mini-Viva
Message a friend with a viva coming up and offer to host a mini-viva for them over Zoom or Skype to give them some practice. There’s full instructions at this resource link for how you might use one of 7776...
A Week Of Prep
Let’s say you’re a few weeks away from your viva. You’ve read your thesis and it feels familiar. You’re busy with life outside of your thesis. You want to be prepared for your viva, you feel the need to do...
Four Mini-Vivas To Kickstart Your Viva Prep
A year ago I first shared 7776 Mini-Vivas, a resource to create useful summaries, reflections and conversations as part of viva prep. I love seeing people share the resource, and I continue to tinker with it to find other ways...