Right

Your viva happens at the right time, after you’ve had plenty of opportunities to do good work and become talented.

It happens in the right place – in a seminar room or online – but private, with space and time to fully engage.

It has the right process, rigorous expectations and fluid structure to allow for a valuable discussion.

The right people are involved, knowledgeable and experienced and who know what’s expected of them.

And the right person is there to be the focus, the only person who could be there.

A singular event like the viva is important, which tends to make those involved nervous, but that’s not bad. It’s just recognising the importance.

In short: right person, right place, right time.

Right?

Nine Noes For The Viva

No way your thesis is perfect.

No expectation it should be either.

No chance you’re not an expert in your research.

No way to predict exactly what will happen in the viva.

No excuse for not having expectations either (there are lots of people who have had them before!).

No examiner has lived through doing your research.

No possibility you got to submission without doing something good.

No way you can do the work without being talented.

No chance you’re not ready when the viva comes around.