Right Summaries
I’ve shared a lot of thoughts on the importance of writing summaries as part of viva prep. They can be a useful way to explore an aspect of your work. They can help to focus attention and simplify complicated ideas....
Daily viva help for PhDs
I’ve shared a lot of thoughts on the importance of writing summaries as part of viva prep. They can be a useful way to explore an aspect of your work. They can help to focus attention and simplify complicated ideas....
Viva prep can sometimes seem like a huge project. Existing pressure, personal responsibilities and fatigue can all add to overwhelm. There are no shortcuts to getting ready, but you can start the process by completing tasks that take very little...
I’m not a fan of the abstract in my thesis: This thesis uses Kauffman skein theory to give several new results. We show a correspondence between Kauffman and Homfly satellite invariants with coefficients modulo 2, when we take certain patterns...
When you’re getting ready for your viva it could help to ask yourself why a lot. If something is particularly strong in your research: why is this good? If you find a typo or a part that needs changing: why...
In preparation for the viva it might help to push yourself, to make that extra effort even if it’s hard. You don’t have to do a lot, push yourself, just a little. Push yourself to read your thesis, even if...
I’ve said those four words probably hundreds of times since the start of the pandemic and my shift to working from home. For any webinar that I deliver I have to produce joining instructions way in advance. Then I check...
It’s an established tradition at Viva Survivors that I finish each year by sharing a selection of posts before the New Year. Over the coming days I’ll share long posts, short posts and posts on confidence; today we start with the important topic...
Bring a quality of kindness to your preparation for the viva. Don’t overload yourself. Don’t start late so that you put pressure on your work. Don’t rush so that you can make the most of it. Don’t be afraid to...
There are desirable outcomes for viva prep but lots of paths that could lead to those outcomes. Strategy is an overall type of activity that helps a candidate; tactics are the many approaches that could help someone. Effectiveness depends on time...
Since March 2020, for every session I’ve delivered, I’ve created a Zoom meeting, written up joining instructions for participants, been responsible for hosting the session and had to send all of the information through in plenty of time. I’ve had...