Tag: ziferblat

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What does a great workshop need?

There are five things that great workshops need…

…and I hope my upcoming Viva Survivor workshop will meet all of these. After six years of running effective viva preparation workshops in universities around the UK, I took the plunge in June and ran an independent version. PhD candidates from around the UK – and beyond, someone flew in the night before! – came to the session to learn about how to prepare for the final hurdle of their PhD.

After the dust settled and I had time to think, I decided that I would run it again, with a couple of small tweaks, and so my next independent workshop will be 14th September 2016 at Ziferblat in Manchester. Like I said, I think all great workshops have five things that they need in order to be great – and I hope this workshop will have all five qualities.FYVwordle1

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news viva work

Finding Ziferblat

My independent Viva Survivor workshop is taking place on June 29th at Ziferblat in Manchester. I’ve felt stuck about doing an independent workshop for a long time, partly because I couldn’t find a great venue. Fortunately, I went to Ziferblat in April, and Ziferblat is a really great venue:

  • It has good transport links, halfway between the two major train stations in Manchester, and there’s a good car park nearby too;
  • The staff there are really great and friendly;
  • There’s a wonderful range of refreshments;
  • It’s a beautiful space, and the private space that we’ll be using for the workshop is lovely.

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Ziferblat does things a little differently from other venues; there’s a great cafe/public meeting space, and several fab private rooms. We’ll be in the Classroom, which is made out to look like an idyllic primary classroom of yesteryear – it feels right that a workshop about the pinnacle of formal education should go back to basics!

The atmosphere is wonderful at Ziferblat – as are the refreshments provided. No lukewarm tea urns or coffee jugs, no two-packs of biscuits. Proper coffee, proper tea, fruit juice, cake, biscuits and a heck of a lot more. And if you arrive early to take advantage of these or want to hang around afterwards you’ll be more than welcome.

This is where we’ll have our workshop. Viva Survivor can help ease viva anxieties, make sure you know what to do to prepare and answer all of your questions about the process. But if can only do that if you come along to Ziferblat. Are you coming? Check out the booking page soon, as there are only limited places available. Can you help me spread the word about the workshop by telling others who might be interested?

Thanks for reading – check back on Thursday for details of books that will be included in the participant packs for this workshop!

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)

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news viva work

Why am I doing an independent workshop?

I announced a few days ago that I’m delivering an independent viva preparation workshop in Manchester on June 29th. You can find full details and how to book at this page; I said that I’d be regularly blogging between now and the workshop about the process of preparing for it, and some of the cool things that I want to do and share at the event.

But first I think it’s right to say a little bit about why I’m doing this. Quite simply, I want to help PGRs prepare for the viva. I am fortunate to have directly helped around 2000 PhD candidates over the last six years through workshops that I have developed. I’m the fortunate one, because it’s helped me to find a passion and – I think – a talent, an area that I can do good in. It’s great to have something like that in my professional life, and part of my success has been down to helping people in this area. I’ve written two books on the topic, and run a podcast that I’m told really helps people, which is, again, a great feeling.

Still, there are a lot more PGRs that I could help, and I currently deliver workshops at less than 10% of the universities in the UK. An independent workshop is a way to connect with all of the PhD candidates who want some support in preparing for the viva but don’t know quite what to do or where to turn.

I also want to see if it can be done: is it possible for a small freelancer like me to deliver a workshop directly to PGRs? There are many freelancers like me who work with universities and PGRs, and I’m not the only one who wonders if it’s possible to do something like this. I’d love to show that it can be done. Delivering an independent workshop is an experiment and a challenge – and most importantly a chance for me to grow. Already I’m being stretched in how I manage the logistics of this, I’m developing original materials to support the workshop that I would never have thought to do in a university setting (but which now seem like such a good idea that I will probably start using them in my university workshops too!).

I like to scheme and dream, and I did that a lot during my PhD. It’s only since then that I’ve found I can actually put my schemes and dreams into reality. If you’re interested in learning how to prepare for the viva effectively then please check out my workshop; or if you know someone who has their viva coming up, then please share my workshop with them! And if you want to know more, then please get in touch, I’d be happy to chat about it with you.

Thanks for reading! More posts about the development of this exciting new project next week.

Nathan (@DrRyder and @VivaSurvivors)
PS – here’s a not so subtle hint of one of those resources that participants will receive at the workshop! Hopefully more details next week.