Blog: Post-Doctoral Work

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Hello again! It's been a LONG time since I last did one of these here blogs, and part of the reason for that is that I have been spending loads of time getting to the end of my PhD. I actually handed it in WAY back in October, but since then it has been a lengthy process of STEPS, REVISIONS and ADMIN.

Once it was handed in I had to wait until mid-December before I could do my actual VIVA - this is basically an interview where two or (in my case) three academics QUIZ you about what you've written. I was looking forward to it being them saying "So Mark, tell us at great length how very clever this all is" but it was NOT like that. It was more "Tell us, one by one, why your thesis is NOT about the following list of things instead". It was, to use the proper parlance "combative" but we got through it and at the end I was given a pass but with Amendments.

This meant that after Christmas I got a REPORT which told me what the required amendments were. Some of these were FINE and HELPFUL, some of them were more "Why is it not about this OTHER thing instead?" so I then spent about a month doing all THAT, then had a bit of back and forth with my Supervisors, and then finally handed it in properly about a fortnight ago.

After all THAT however things moved at high speed. A week later, last thing on the Friday, I got an unoffical email to let me know that my internal examiner had PASSED it. There was MUCH relief and subsequent HALLOOING, and then on Monday I got an OFFICIAL email saying the same.

This, however, was not the end of it, as you're not allowed to swan around calling yourself "Doctor" until you've had an Official Letter from The Vice Chancellor. Funnily enough, on Tuesday I went to an EVENT with the aforesaid VC which he left fairly early on. "He's off to sign my letter" I QUIPPED, and lo and behold that is exactly what he WAS doing (probably) as the next morning the letter (in PDF form) arrived and THAT was very much THAT. I am now officially DOCTOR HIBBETT, DOCTOR OF DOCTOR DOOM!

It has been a LONG old process - it makes the above description seem SHORT - but I am IMMENSELY relieved it is over, not least because it means I can get back to OTHER stuff - other stuff which I shall tell you ALL about NEXT time!!

posted 28/3/2022 by MJ Hibbett

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Comments:

Congratulations, Doctor Hibbett!
posted 28/3/2022 by Gareth

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