It’s a Wonderful Viva
A few days ago I was inspired by A Christmas Carol. Today my mind turns to It’s a Wonderful Life, which is my favourite Christmas movie. I could write a lot about how this movie makes me feel, what I...
Daily viva help for PhDs
A few days ago I was inspired by A Christmas Carol. Today my mind turns to It’s a Wonderful Life, which is my favourite Christmas movie. I could write a lot about how this movie makes me feel, what I...
In 2019 I have… …published 360 posts on this blog! …delivered my Viva Survivor session a total of 51 times… …which is the most I’ve ever done in a year! …helped 888 PhD candidates at my session, which is more...
I’ve mentioned before on the blog that I arrive early for my Viva Survivor sessions to get everything set up. I put my brain on the right frequency for Viva Survivor by listening to a few tracks from the soundtrack...
Let’s imagine you get good at walking on a tightrope that’s six inches off the ground. Weeks of practice, perfect balance, good footwork. You can do it in front of people with a smile on your face, step, step, step,...
When your viva is a few days away, take thirty minutes to reflect on the following questions: What was the first day of your PhD like? How about the end of your first month? What was it like at your...
Stories can be very persuasive. Do you have a story that says you need to do this or that in order to be ready for the viva? You might be unable to not listen. You might have to wear those...
Before your viva remember: You don’t know everything. You can’t know everything. You’re not expected to know everything. But you know a lot. You know a lot more than when you started. You know enough.
Verb. To grow, develop and be successful. If your viva is soon, you must have thrived during your PhD. You could have had difficult days, wobbly weeks or miserable months, but you can’t get to the end without growth, development...
I’ve thought a lot about what candidates have told me for the last ten years. I’ve been in a fortunate position to meet many thousands of postgraduate researchers, and to help them get through various stages of their PhD. And...
Picture two friends: the first has just passed their viva, the second is trying to unpick what happened… …I was really lucky with the questions- -lucky? Why, were they easy? Well… No, they were pretty challenging in places. I was...