UPDATE: VIVA SURVIVORS IS LIVE!

The website for the Viva Survivors Podcast series is now live! You can find it here, and you can follow @VivaSurvivors on Twitter for more information.

What?

I started a series of free-to-download podcasts for postgraduate researchers, primarily to help with thinking about and preparing for the viva. As time went on I realised that that was only one aspect of the podcast, and that it was important to capture the context: what people had done for research, why they had done it, and what they had done since. Central to the ongoing podcast are interviews with a variety of PhD graduates from different disciplines and backgrounds. The podcast will be aimed at PGRs in UK institutions, but it would be great to interview PhD graduates from many countries.

Why?

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.

Who?

I am looking for PhD graduates of all backgrounds and disciplines. It doesn’t matter if you are still in academia or not – it would be great to interview you for the podcast: to hear about you, your research, what you did to prepare for your viva, what your viva was like and what advice you have for people preparing for the viva. And if you’re a PGR then please tell people about Viva Survivors if they might find it valuable!

When?

The Viva Survivors Podcast will hopefully be released twice a month, as my work schedule allows. My current aim is to release thirteen podcasts over six months, take a break of a month or two, and then start a “second season”. The first podcasts were released in June 2012.

Where?

If you are local to Liverpool or Manchester, then I will try to arrange a time to meet in person and interview you. If you are elsewhere in the world, we will arrange a convenient time and I will record our interview over Skype.

How?

Each interview takes less than an hour, and from that I will edit down the material to an appropriate length. If you would like to be interviewed for the Viva Survivors Podcast I will send you a short questionnaire to get some background details, as well as some questions I might ask. I have secured domain names for the site that will host the podcast.

Go on, say yes!

For more information, send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you, and to maybe hearing you on the Viva Survivors Podcast!