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Nathan

Say Thank You

Daily Post

Thanksgiving isn’t a UK holiday but I think it’s a nice nudge to remember what someone is thankful for and to encourage the spirit of saying thank you.

Say thank you to your supervisors and other academic supporters for what they’ve done to help steer and guide your progress. Remember that there’s a lot they can do to help you as you finish your PhD journey.

Say thank you to your friends and colleagues in your department for the community that you’ve created together. They can continue that as you get ready for your viva as well. Remember to ask them about their viva experiences to help build your understanding of what to expect.

Say thank you to your university’s researcher development team and check in with them to see what else they can offer to help you get ready for your viva.

Say thank you to family and friends! Make sure they know what their support means to you. Be clear when you ask them for support as you get ready for your viva.

Say thank you to your examiners after your viva. Be thankful for their work, their questions and the discussion that has been integral to your PhD success.

There’s a lot of support around you and a lot of thanks to give out. Passing your viva is down to you and your efforts but you have a lot of help around you before then.

 

And whether this is your first Viva Survivors post or your thousandth, thank you for reading!

Nathan

Community Support

Daily Post

July was a busy month for me!

I tried to promote two lovely things when they happened but realised I hadn’t shared them via the blog. Do indulge me today while I share these with you in case you’ve not seen them and in case they help.

 

First: The #VirtualNotViral Tweetchat!

The @PhD-VirtualNotViral community has done amazing things in the last year and a half, building a regular space to support PhD researchers around the world. The #VirtualNotViral tweetchats have covered many topics with guests contributing their insights and responding to questions. I was very flattered to be asked back on July 5th to respond to questions about the viva and share ideas to help. The archive of that discussion is available as a Twitter Moment here. We cover a lot of viva topics and if you’re interested in this blog then the Moment will be of interest to you.

 

Second: The PhD Life Raft Podcast!

By chance, the next day an episode of The PhD Life Raft Podcast was released by Dr Emma Brodzinski which featured me as a guest! We recorded this several months ago, and it was lovely to see it released. Emma asked brilliant questions and it was great to be part of her podcast. It brought back happy memories of the old Viva Survivors Podcast – though I’m glad I was just being interviewed because I also remember the hard work of editing that goes on behind the scenes! You can listen to the podcast episode here – do take a look at the archive, because like Pat and Anuja of @PhD-VirtualNotViral there’s a lot of great work that Emma has been doing and this kind of project needs to be shared widely.

 

It was a lot of fun to do both of these and it’s got me thinking…

Do I have space in my work and life to do a regular Viva Survivors tweetchat?

Do I have space in my work and life to do a regular Viva Survivors podcast again?

More broadly, do I have a little space to do a little more to support others?

 

And do you have a little space to do a little more for your community, wherever you are?