Tag Archives: PhD

A sham marriage (Rousse)

The others instantly recognised me as an academic. One told me that she had previously considered me a suitable candidate to co-supervise a PhD student with her, even before I confirmed my identity. Encouraged by her enthusiasm for my work, … Continue reading

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Charity shop Whimsies and a sand slide bring joy to the office (Rousse)

My new office space was appalling. I was shown to a tiny table with a computer at the end end of a long narrow room that accommodated around a dozen academics and research students. On the blue desk next to … Continue reading

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Unethical practices of rail companies (Rousse)

The three women in the train carriage were all plain-clothed police officers. I knew this because I had been allocated the role of PhD supervisor for one of them. The woman in question, however, was unaware of this because she … Continue reading

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A French language refresher course in Paris (Rousse)

I accepted the offer of a place in Paris to undertake a six-month long refresher course in French. Although downhearted at the prospect of a long time apart, TPR kindly accompanied me to France to help me settle in. The … Continue reading

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The value of writing concisely (Rousse)

‘The greatest skill that we learnt as undergraduates’ announced JS to the audience seated before her on rows of hard wooden chairs ‘Is how to write concisely. I can turn one person’s long-winded paragraph into three neat sentences – as … Continue reading

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A paper on the informational content of food – rejected (Rousse)

SM agreed to leave the house and type an email to the conference organiser at Sunderland University. ‘If you ask for a start time of 4pm, I can attend after conducting a PhD viva’, I suggested. When SM learnt that … Continue reading

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An undeserved PhD (Rousse)

In a meeting chaired by ED I heard that JM had submitted his PhD thesis five months early, yet I had not seen a draft of the tome. Another academic at the meeting, who had nothing to do with this … Continue reading

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How long does it take to write up a PhD? (Rousse)

By my calculations (in pencil, on a grid) it would take at least another 38 days to complete the write-up of the thesis. This was double the student’s estimate. It also meant that the submission would be delayed even further … Continue reading

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Decline in international standards at doctoral level (Rousse)

The senior examiner M-LH was ready to approve the award of PhD, and it looked that GW would also agree with this outcome. However, I was adamant that the student make major corrections to the thesis. This said something to … Continue reading

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Staying with friends during house renovations, and a parsnip cheese (Rousse)

While their flat was being renovated BM and RG initially stayed with MSB and DB, but now it was our turn to play host. We didn’t have much space for them because there were many others also in residence at … Continue reading

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