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Tag: viva experiences

Nathan

Assume

Daily Post

What assumptions are you making about your viva? Here are some I think are generally valid for the viva.

  • Assume your examiners will be prepared.
  • Assume you’ve written a good thesis.
  • Assume that perfection is out of reach.
  • Assume you have enough time to get ready.
  • Assume that you have what it takes.
  • Assume your viva will follow the general pattern of vivas.
  • Assume that it will be different to every other viva you’ve heard of too.
  • Assume that you will pass.

I like to assume – and think it’s fair to assume too – that once you’ve passed you’ll go and do something even more impressive.

Nathan

Imagine That

Daily Post

There’s a lot of negative possibilities that candidates imagine for their viva.

They worry they won’t be ready. They fear potential questions. They’re concerned in case something bad happens.

The viva’s important, so it’s natural to have concerns. But passing is way more likely than failing. A good viva is far more probable than a bad on. It’s far more useful to imagine all the good that could happen.

So imagine that you’re prepared. Imagine you get interesting questions. Imagine getting minor corrections. Imagine passing, smiling, breathing a sigh of relief maybe, but being done.

And remember that not everything is out of your control. What will you do to make your imaginings a reality?

Nathan

Unique, Not Unknown

Daily Post

Your viva, in a nutshell.

A unique exam, arising in response to a unique thesis, written by a unique candidate. There has never been a viva the same as yours before; there will never be another the same again.

But there are regulations: the rules that frame how vivas have to happen. There are academic practices: ideas from research culture about what makes a viva good. There are expectations: built up from all of the stories of past candidates, relatively probable situations, structure and outcomes for the viva.

Your viva will be unique, but not totally unknown, not totally unexpected. You can never have total certainty for it, but the more light you can shine on the probable circumstances the better you will feel for your once-in-forever experience.

Nathan

Is Survival Enough?

Daily Post

Every candidate needs to survive their viva, and given what is needed at the viva, every candidate can survive their viva.

You can want and have more though.

  • You can survive and enjoy your viva. It could even be fun!
  • You can survive your viva and learn from it. Pick up interesting ideas from your examiners or discovering something for yourself.
  • You can survive and thrive in the viva. Grow through it, be re-energised.

You can do more than survive, but survival could be enough. It may be all you get. As with so much about the viva, and life in general, it comes down to how you approach it. If you want to enjoy your viva, what could you do to tilt things in that direction? If you want to learn, what questions might you need to ask? If you want to thrive, how might you need to prepare?

Surviving is the default; is it enough for you?

Nathan

Subjective

Daily Post

Some parts of the viva’s expectations and experience are subjective. Is two hours a long viva or a short one? Is it better for an examiner to be an expert or not? Should you have a mock viva, yes or no? These can vary by circumstance, by preference, by perception even.

Some aspects just don’t have neat answers, but they invite questions that can help people to decide for themselves.

Is two hours a long viva or a short one?

  • What makes you feel that might be long?
  • Do you have needs that would require breaks over that sort of length?
  • What could you do to help your concentration?

Is it better for an examiner to be an expert or not?

  • What do you think you’d look for in an examiner?
  • Who have you cited, and how would you feel about them being an examiner?
  • Are there any experts in your particular field of research?

Should you have a mock viva?

  • Do you feel anxious at the thought of being in the viva?
  • Do you have time in your schedule to have a mock?
  • (actually, they’re generally regarded as helpful, so unless you either have lots of practice already or you are just too busy it will probably help!)

Lots about the viva comes down to individual circumstances, but there are objective elements.

You did the work. You can prepare. You’re there to pass.

If you get caught up in wondering about maybes or trying to decide on what could be best for you, then stop and try to find the solid ground underneath first.

The subjective elements of the viva come second.

Nathan

Dobble and the Viva

Daily Post

Dobble is a simple-but-tricky card game. In our house it’s firm favourite for quick fun. A deck of circular cards covered with colourful symbols, the trick is that every card matches every other card in terms of one symbol: it’s kind of like snap, but where every card matches only one detail on every other. You have to be the first to spot the symbol to “snap”.

I love Dobble, despite the moments when my six-year-old daughter beats me.

(every game)

I mention it because it strikes me that Dobble cards are a lot like vivas: they’re structured, you know the general shape of them, there’s a pattern and a method to how they’re organised, and the details can be very similar.

But they’re always different, with no exceptions.

By studying a handful of Dobble cards you can’t divine some special thing to tell you about the card you’re about to draw, but it can give you something to think about. You can learn to expect things. This goes for vivas too: asking about your friends’ experiences or looking at the regulations won’t give you exact details for yours, but they can helpfully influence your expectations.

The repeated symbols you hear about in viva stories can give you a sense of what to expect when it’s time to play your own game.

Nathan

When It Matters

Daily Post

Before your viva, for weeks or maybe months leading up, it might feel like the only thing that matters.

During your viva, perhaps it really is the only thing. You might forget everything else. You might genuinely be surprised or confused at how quickly time has passed while there.

And afterwards, there might be a brief spell where you think it was the peak. Maybe. But I have a hunch that the achievement will come to dominate more than the event.

I’ve been keeping thoughts of my viva as a little companion for a long time, but that’s because of work. In the twelve years since my viva I’ve done far bigger things. I’ve had much more important life events. I couldn’t be here today without going through my viva, but my viva doesn’t matter that much now.

Not as much as what I did during the course of my PhD, and not as much as what’s come after.

Perspective takes time, but trust me, if you’re finding any part of the time leading up to or around your viva tough, in future you will find some comfort.

Nathan

Fumble

Daily Post

Things might go a little wrong in your viva.

You might forget a word.

You might mis-pronounce something.

You might go blank.

You might mis-remember a reference.

You might start a sentence and half-way through lose your thread.

You might have no other response apart from “I don’t know.”

You might forget your examiner’s name!

You might forget your own name!!!

All of these – at their absolute worst – are fumbles. They’re what happens occasionally to the most highly-talented, knowledgeable and capable people in moments of pressure. They keep you from being perfect in that moment.

And they’re not awful or disqualifying. They happen in lots of ways and for lots of reasons, and if they happen to you in your viva you have to breathe, do what you can and move on to the next thing.

You won’t fail for a fumble.

Nathan

New Expectations?

Daily Post

It’ll take time to figure out what vivas look like now.

Old, settled norms of “vivas are about this long” or “vivas have this kind of structure” will be in flux a little. Examiners will have to tweak their approaches, candidates may need to consider things in their setup for the viva, and so on. That might not be a bad thing.

Remember though: the circumstances might change, but the reasons remain the same. Your examiners are there to examine, you are there to pass. You still need to prepare, and while you might need to practise differently – checking tech, being sure of any changes to regulations – the practical prep tasks you’ll complete to be ready will be largely the same.

If you need to, dig deeper into expectations by finding others who’ve had a remote viva. Focus on getting ready just as others have before; there may be new expectations for the viva now, but lots of old ones will remain.

Nathan

The Default Viva

Daily Post

Not the worst, not the best.

Not amazing, not terrible.

No great corrections needed, friendly comments but no effusive praise.

Lots of amazingly good or heart-stoppingly bad things could happen at your viva, but they probably won’t.

It will most likely be a good day rather than bad, but it probably won’t change your life by itself. It may not live up to the hype that you and others have built it up to.

The viva is an exam. It’s a conversation. It’s a test. It’s a pass. And it comes after years and years of effort, thought and feeling. If it doesn’t live up to your great expectations it’s probably because very little could, compared to what you’ve already done.

You may not get the amazing, award-winning, fantabulous viva.

You get the default viva. The basic model.

And that will be alright.

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