I am interviewed about my PhD research and my experience of the viva in the new episode of the Viva Survivors podcast. This podcast, by Nathan Ryder (@DrRyder), interviews PhD graduates about their research, the viva and life afterwards.

Nathan says:

I see this as a great resource for researchers, research staff, academics and those who support researcher training. On the run up to my viva I had great advice from my supervisor, but I didn’t know about other resources that might help me prepare. The Viva Survivors Podcast will provide listeners with stories from people who have been through the viva, and give some insight on what to expect, what to do to prepare, and where to turn for help.

On the run up to my viva, I listened to a lot of the back catalogue and read Nathan’s e-book ‘Fail Your Viva: Twelve Steps To Failing Your PhD (And Fifty-Eight Tips For Passing)‘. Having used this in my preparation, I volunteered to be interviewed (you can offer to be interviewed too). The description for my episode says:

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Peter Rowlett, who recently completed his PhD at Nottingham Trent University. Peter’s research was multidisciplinary and was in the areas of computing and maths education; he did his PhD part time as well, and so we had a lot to talk about for this episode!

Viva Survivors Episode 23: Dr Peter Rowlett. Or subscribe.

Drinking game idea: take a drink every time I say “viva” when I clearly mean ‘thesis’.

Aside: Nathan is conducting a survey of PhD graduates of UK institutions since 2000. He explains why in a blog post. Consider filling it in.