I have worked for the University of South Wales for more than twenty years, and during that time I have met so many wonderful postgraduate research students. I love watching them grow from the nervous student at induction to the confident, independent professional researcher you see at Graduation. I really do love my job!
In a career that is all about supporting students through one of the most rewarding experiences of their life, there has been no shortage of highlights. One of these came in 2015 when I became involved in the University Alliance-led Doctoral Training Alliance (DTA). The project opened so many doors for me, but most importantly, it introduced me to Jennie, Elizabeth, Heather and Anna, who all worked in similar roles in other universities and shared my passion for supporting PGRs.
During one of our meetings, where we share best practice and talk about all the things we would love to do if ‘only we had the time’, we all landed on the same idea: how to best prepare our PGR students for their viva examination.
One conversation led to another and we put in a bid to the QAA Collaborative Enhancement Project- and thus this project was born. What we wanted to do was bring together real-life experiences of the academic staff who work as PGR supervisors and examiners, other researcher developers but also the PGR students themselves - who better?!
We started off with a lengthy ethics form, then a questionnaire followed by some focus groups. We then started the fun part of pulling the information together and making these resources. It’s been a busy, enjoyable and yes, at times, stressful seven months but I have loved working with the project team, the QAA team and most importantly the contributors. I’m pleased and proud that we’ve got to this point.
If you are reading this article ahead of your viva examination, then I hope you find this information useful, and I hope it gives you confidence and peace of mind to do your very best. If you have time to drop me a message with some feedback, I would love to hear from you.
And now, all that remains is for me to wish you good luck for your viva!
Here you can find blog posts written by PGR students not only from the University of South Wales, but from other universities in the UK who are also members of the Doctoral Training Alliance.
These students have kindly shared with us their viva experiences, including some tips on how they prepared for the examination and what advice they would give to other PGR students who are getting ready for their own viva.
If you would like to contribute and share your viva experience, please contact the Grad School:
