I did it!
Remember my post about the many and varied endpoints of a PhD? Well, four days ago I passed my viva with minor corrections. Hooray! We primarily discussed stats, confirmation bias and future work, although there were plenty of other topics along the way. Of course, it was a very intimidating occasion from my point of view, but it was also wonderful to discuss my work with the examiners: it’s not often you get a few hours of focused attention from such folks as Wendy Hall and Alan Dix!
My EngD isn’t quite finished, of course: I need to do the corrections (which are thankfully very minor), bind and submit the thesis, and of course attend graduation. The viva was the last of the Big Hurdles, and I’m really very pleased to have it done… and grateful for the support of the many wonderful people in my life!
This brings me to the second part of this post — the death of a blog. Big words, no? Well, as I’ve documented at length in recent posts, I’m now working at the TU/e. It strikes me as a touch misleading (or at least confusing!) to actively maintain an ECS-hosted blog when my connection with the School is “I just finished a degree there, I’ll be graduating soon.”
As such, I shall be continuing my blogging on more neutral digital ground, over at http://clarehooper.wordpress.com/. I’d be delighted to see you there!
#1 by Richard Craig on June 6, 2011 - 5:25 pm
Hi Clare
Congratulations on getting to the end of the EngD, I’ve just started myself so have been looking for other EngD bloggers. I’ll have to start from the begining and read through. Any and all advice is welcome!
#2 by clare on June 6, 2011 - 7:41 pm
Thanks! I’m glad you found me, and I hope you find the blog helpful. Feel free to get in touch with any questions that arise along the way — like any doctorate, an EngD can be a long (and sometimes painful!) process — it’s fab that you’re looking out helpful information.