We are now opening booking for the following two workshops for PGRs entering their final year or close to completion of their thesis.
These workshops also form part of the LDC Postgraduate Researcher Week and further details of that programme will be sent out by the Liverpool Doctoral college soon.
Please note: Both workshops are delivered by an external presenter. If you book a workshop, please record this in your diary/calendar and contact gssp@liv.ac.uk if you can no longer attend
Please following the links below to book a place.
PGR: Plan Your Final Year, 7th June 2016 09:15 – 12:30
The final year of PhD research can be difficult. Finishing research, thesis writing, viva preparations, job hunting – candidates have many different things to accomplish and balance. In this session, participants will be given practical tools and space to plan the time leading up to thesis submission and examination. Project planning concepts will be applied to personal situations and during this interactive workshop, participants will:
• explore essential steps for planning;
• identify the different goals and components of their final year;
• start a plan detailing important targets and milestones.
PGR: Viva Survivor 7th June 2016 13:15-16:30
The viva is the culmination of the PhD process: a lot of work has led to this point, but a feeling of anxiety can go hand-in-hand with the sense of achievement at completing one’s thesis. For many PhD candidates the time leading up to the viva is filled with stress about the day, and uncertainty about what their examiners may ask or how to prepare.
Viva Survivor is a session for postgraduate researchers close to submitting their thesis who want to gain insight on how to be well prepared for their viva. In this session participants will:
• identify sources of support for their viva preparation
• develop strategies to prepare themselves and their thesis for the viva
• explore questions that are frequently asked in vivas.
Dr Nathan Ryder completed his PhD in Mathematics in 2008 (University of Liverpool) and has since worked freelance as a skills trainer and consultant. He has delivered training sessions to nearly 5000 postgraduate researchers and research staff. Nathan’s main interests are in creativity, collaboration, productivity and helping postgraduate researchers prepare for the viva. In 2012 he created the Viva Survivors podcast which features interviews with PhD graduates talking about their research and their viva
Further resources: PGR development offer a range of further resource to help those preparaing for their viva: