June 7, 2017, by Lisa Chin
Summer Course: Preparing for the Viva
Handing in a PhD thesis is a tremendous achievement, but it is not the end of the journey for doctoral students. The next step is to prepare for an intellectually-gruelling hurdle: a viva.
This oral examination is where you will defend your thesis. To put it simply, you should think of it as a verbal counterpart to your written thesis. Your thesis demonstrates your skill at presenting your research in writing while your viva demonstrates your ability to participate in academic discussion with research colleagues and experts.
Viva involves lots of intensely penetrating questions and conceptually complex debates which is why it is infamously terrifying.
To best prepare the students for their viva, we offered the ‘Preparing for the Viva’ as our first summer course and it was held on 5th June 2017. Delivered by Dr Lee Jiin Woei, Research Training Development Manager, this course considered the main purposes of the viva and discussed the examination process and criteria. One of the key learning outcomes was students would have generated some possible responses to typical viva questions which will then help them to mentally prepare for their viva. The course also provided useful information regarding the different possible outcome of the viva and some essential skills to consider in the lead up to, and during the viva itself.
Missed out this summer course? Don’t worry. A selection of the Researcher Development Programme (RDP) courses is being offered over the summer! It is a unique opportunity to get ahead, stay on track or catch up while still enjoying summer downtime on campus.
| Date | Time | Course |
| 9 June 2017 | 10am – 12pm | Introduction to the Skills of Teamwork for Researchers |
| 14 June 2017 | 10am – 12pm | Writing Research Proposals |
| 14 June 2017 | 2pm – 4pm | Publishing in High Quality Journals |
| 19 June 2017 | 10am – 12pm | Preparing for Your Annual Review |
| 21 June 2017 | 10am – 12pm | Getting Going on Your Thesis |
| 22 June 2017 | 10am – 4pm | Academic Job Interviews |
| 26 July 2017 | 10am – 12pm | Word Essentials for Researchers – Advanced |
| 28 July 2017 | 10am – 12.30pm | Creating a Poster in PowerPoint |
| 31 July 2017 | 10am – 12pm | Using Posters to Communicate Research |
| 2 August 2017 | 10am – 3pm | Presentation Skills |
| 4 August 2017 | 10am – 1pm | Further Presentation Skills |
To register or find out more about these courses, log onto Moodle using your University credentials following this link: http://moodle.nottingham.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11606.
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