If you are thinking of quitting your PhD, listen to this first! with Gordon Morrison
Release Date: 02/17/2025
Making PhD Dreams a Reality with Cynthia Fasola
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Cynthia Fasola is doctoral candidate at the University of Greenwich with a background as a research manager. Her Phd explores feedback practices and the barriers that people from ethnic minority backgrounds face within academia. In this episode we talk about building confidence and strong foundations in the PhD process. Cynthia shares advice on navigating the PhD application process. She reflects on the significance of the supervisory relationship and the importance of finding the right person for you! Cynthia also touches on the importance on...
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Managing big changes in your PhD with confidence with Kay Danes
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Kay Danes is an award-winning author, human rights advocate and humanitarian. In this episode Kay shares the transformative experience of reshaping her PhD research and provides insights for other PhD candidates facing similar obstacles. Kay posits the importance of recognising challenges as part of the academic process. She reflects on her own major shift of both subject and department within her doctoral study. Kay also offers a useful perspective on how to approach feedback and stay focused on your research goals. You can find out...
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"None of this is your fault": Managing the PhD with a Chronic Health Condition with Louise LePage
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Louise LePage was in her 30s when she did her MA in Drama and Performance (University College Dublin) and fell in love with academia and performance. Immediately afterwards she undertook a PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she was also a Teaching Fellow. She has since held positions at University of Reading and University of York. ...
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If you are thinking of quitting your PhD, listen to this first! with Gordon Morrison
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
In this episode Gordon shares his reflections on his PhD experience - particularly the times when he wanted to give up! Gordon discusses the challenges of balancing full-time work and the PhD. He shares the strategies that he used to stay motivated and managing time - in particular the pomodoro method. We explore how to deal with doubts, overwhelm and exhaustion and the importance of the right kind of support. Gordon also offers some insights from his own experience of the viva and gives some valuable top tips. You can find out more about the pomodoro...
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What you need to know about the PhD annual review with Charlotte Haines Lyon
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Charlotte Haines Lyon has a background in Youth and Community work. She worked in a variety of youth and community settings and moved on to Adult Education including working with Age Concern. She gained a Masters in Philosophy and Religion at Heythrop College (UCL) and a PhD at York St John University. She worked as a freelance writer for a variety of charities and more recently has been developing Democratic Methodologies in Educational Research. In this episode we look to demystify the annual review process. Charlotte shares her own difficult...
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Navigating Reasonable Adjustments as a Neurodivergent Scholar with Alex Chapman
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Alex Chapman is an AuDHD Music Psychologist based between the Royal Northern College of Music and Drake Music Scotland, funded through a Collaborative Doctoral Award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK Research & Innovation). They focus on neurodivergent musicians and audiences’ experiences and challenges in live music settings, specifically auditory processing. They are well-versed in accessibility and reasonable adjustments, and are part of various networks relating to neurodiversity, music, and accessibility research and practice; these promote accessibility in music...
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What No-one Tells You About Academic Writing with Anne Wilson
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Anne Wilson is an award-winning scriptwriter, journalist and careers counsellor. After doing an MSc and a PhD in social psychology at the LSE, and publishing a book on children’s identity, she became a freelance journalist, writing for publications such as Just Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, the New York Times, Good Housekeeping and the Guardian. Anne moved on to writing for screen media and has won numerous awards for her films in the corporate sector. She has also published two crime novels, featuring Sara Kingsley, a single-mother detective — Truth or Dare and Governing Body — both...
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On Being a First Generation PhD Scholar with Nicole Patrie
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Nicole Patrie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Safety and Justice Studies at MacEwan University, and a PhD student in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta, specializing in Adult Education. Nicole has been involved in prison education at all levels: as a teacher, administrator, and now researcher, for over 15 years. Her research focus is on the role of education and learning in the criminal justice system. In this episode Nicole shares her own journey as a first generation PhD scholar. We talk about a range of challenges from practical...
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Navigating US PhD Programmes as an International Scholar with Vicky Laina
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Vicky Laina is a learning scientist with a focus on educational technologies in mathematics teaching and learning. She designs and studies learning experiences where the use of technology can support epistemic transparency and collaborative thinking amongst youth, with the goal of helping students reimagine what doing mathematics can look and feel like. Vicky has lived, worked and studied in 5 different countries and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria. In this episode we explore the challenges and benefits of being an...
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Managing Your Supervisor with Gina Holmes
The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Gina Holmes has worked both in industry and academia - with over two decades of experience in Higher Education. As well as her own research experience she has worked with dozens of doctoral candidates and hundreds (maybe more) of Master’s students, supporting them to complete theses they are proud of and which enable them to move on in their career. In this episode we discuss the relationship between the PhD researcher and the supervisor/supervisory team. We explore the issues that may arise and how you might navigate them in a way that supports both...
info_outlineIn this episode Gordon shares his reflections on his PhD experience - particularly the times when he wanted to give up!
Gordon discusses the challenges of balancing full-time work and the PhD.
He shares the strategies that he used to stay motivated and managing time - in particular the pomodoro method.
We explore how to deal with doubts, overwhelm and exhaustion and the importance of the right kind of support.
Gordon also offers some insights from his own experience of the viva and gives some valuable top tips.
You can find out more about the pomodoro technique here: https://thephdliferaft.com/the-pomodoro-technique-and-phd-research/
You can find out more about Nathan Ryder and Viva Survivor here: http://viva-survivors.com/about/
If you would like a useful weekly email to support you on your PhD journey you can sign up for ‘Notes from the Life Raft’ here: https://mailchi.mp/f2dce91955c6/notes-from-the-life-raft