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...

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...

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...

Wafaa Aldhfairi is a PhD candidate at UNMC, specializing in pharmaceutical sciences with a master's degree in the field. She's also the creator of the "Pharma Weekly Digest," a newsletter that shares the latest pharmaceutical news, making industry updates accessible to all.    In this episode we discuss the PhD journey, research and how substack can contribute!   Wafaa shares her experiences of how she has used substack both to inform and disseminate her PhD research.   We talk about...

  Naomi finished her PhD in 2006, worked part-time and then full-time in commercial research and then re-entered academia as a Research Fellow at University College Cork, Ireland. She gained permanency in 2010 at the University of Plymouth, UK, but then decided to leave academia (again!) and started her entrepreneurial journey in 2019. She now runs Research Your Way Ltd, which provides bespoke research, evaluation and impact services to social purpose organisations.    In this episode we...

Amal Abuzeinab, PhD is an architect, advisor, and academic at De Montfort University (DMU), School of Art, Design, and Architecture (ADA). Prior to joining academia, Amal practiced both in Sudan and UK.Amal is the Institute Head of Research Students – Institute of Architecture. Her leadership is guided and informed by the principles and practices of flourishing human from Positive Psychology. Amal supervises and examines Postgraduate researchers (PGRs) since 2016 focusing on Architecture,...

If you are feeling paralysed by anxiety as to what your supervisor might think of your latest chapter or just doubting whether you are even capable of finishing the PhD at all then this is the episode for you!   Mandy Lehto is a reknowned executive coach.  After her doctorate she worked in investment banking and has also been a columnist for ‘Psychologies’ magazine as well as contributing to a number of other publications including ‘The Huffington Post and The Times.  She now hosts “Enough...

Piangfan Naksukpaiboon is currently an Early Stage Researcher and doctoral candidate in Medicine focusing on cancer genomics at the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen's University Belfast on the SPaRK program which is a Horizon2020 funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral training programme. Her move to Norway was when she discovered that she has Asperger’s Syndrome. However, she never let it define who she is.   In this episode Piangfun discusses her experiences...

Krysten Blackstone is a Lecturer in International and Military History at the University of Salford, where she has been since 2022. She is a social and military historian of Early America and her current work examines the morale of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783.  As a PhD student she worked on and was chair of the blog Pubs and Publications: The PhD Experience where she wrote a number of blog posts on similar topics. She also works on the book reviews team for...

Arun Ulahannan is an Assistant Professor at Coventry University, where he leads a range of user research and UX projects on transport accessibility, future transport, and gender inclusivity. He is passionate about creating and sharing knowledge that can inform and inspire policy, practice, and education in the transport sector and beyond. He also co-hosts the How to PhD podcast, a show that helps PhD candidates with the practical and essential skills they need for their academic journey.   ...

Dr Elizabeth Yardley graduated from Aston Business School in 2007 with a PhD exploring young parent’s experiences of stigma. She has worked in UK universities since then, teaching and researching a range of social science subjects including sociology, social policy and criminology. In 2021, she set up Degree Doctor to help overwhelmed PhD students experiencing a range of issues including perfectionism and imposter syndrome. Her resources not only help students with the how-to elements of a...

Victoria has more than 10 years experience as a consultant medical herbalist and functional medicine practitioner and is also a trained wellness coach.   In this episode Victoria reflects on her journey through her PhD and into her career as a research scientist where she struggled to manage a chronic health condition that left her in pain on a daily basis.  She shares the changes she made that enabled her to improve her long term health and become pain free.   We focus on the Solstice...

Allan Johnson is Associate Professor in English Literature & Associate Dean (Doctoral College), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.  Alongside this work he is also a mindfulness teacher and co-facilitator of The PhD Circle with Emma Brodzinski.   In this episode Allan shares his own “fork in the road” experience that led hime into his research topic.   Allan highlights the different phases within the doctorate and why some moments might feel more difficult than others.   He...

Dr Kathleen Vacek is an academic writing coach who researches lived experiences of doctoral writing and scholarly publishing. During the course of her PhD, she became a mother and left her full-time academic staff position. She was supported on this rocky journey by a doctoral writing group she formed with members of her program cohort.   In this episode Kate shares how her group was formed and maintained and reflects on her experience of what worked and what was not so useful.   She also...

Amy Bonsall has completed her PhD at Leeds University. Her thesis was recognised as demonstrating exemplary research in the field of practice-led research in intercultural Shakespeare theatre performance. She is also the associate artistic director of Bilimankhwe arts and continues to direct professional, commercial theatre productions. Amy founded the Women in Academia Support Network #WIASN a group of 10,000 women academics from around the world.   In this episode Amy shares the...

Denise Venturi is Ph.D. Candidate in International Law at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.  Her research focuses on the concept of vulnerability with reference to LGBTIQ+ asylum-seekers and refugees. At present, she is a Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (Halle-Saale, Germany). She has worked for UNHCR in various protection roles, with a focus on refugee status determination, capacity building, and law and policy analysis. She has been Asylum Liaison...

Nicholas Dirks is President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, one of the oldest scientific organizations in the United States. Previously, Nick served as Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley and Executive VP and Dean of the Faculty for Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. He is the author of eight books, including the forthcoming book, City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University.   In this episode shares his own experience of the PhD and starting...

Jen Polk did her PhD in History from the University of Toronto and went on to launch from Ph.D. to Life, a career coaching and speaking business.  She specialises in graduate education and careers for doctoral degree holders. She’s also a guest speaker on university campuses and academic and professional conferences throughout North America and beyond.    In this episode we focus on life after completing a PhD and the transition from academia to the professional world.   Jen emphasizes...

Dr. Kate Massey-Chase is an academic, facilitator, activist, performer and writer. She’s a Lecturer at Plymouth Marjon University, where she’s leading a new MA in Arts, Health and Wellbeing. As a creative arts practitioner, she has worked across a range of educational and community settings, including delivering theatre-based and creative writing projects with young migrants, recovering addicts, prisoners and mental health service users. In this episode Kate shares her remarkable journey...

Samir Morsli is a postdoctoral research associate in the Munoz-Espin lab at The University of Cambridge. His research focuses on the early stages of lung cancer initiation and progression, primarily involving zombie-like senescent cells. During his PhD Samir carried out an Internship and worked as part of the Public Engagement team at The Babraham Institute.   In this episode Samir shares his experience of how he arranged and completed a mandatory internship during their PhD. ...

Laura Revilla is a PhD candidate in Heritage Studies at Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) in Cottbus, Germany. Her research focuses on understanding diverse forms of heritage and security in Mexican communities through bottom-up practices and decolonial thinking. Through her journey, she aims to discover the uses and relevance of heritage in our everyday lives.    In this episode Laura shares her PhD journey and how it has been shaped by her cat Chobi. Laura explains how Chobi has...

Dr Kaisa Pankakoski is a writer, researcher, translator, and multilingualism consultant. For her PhD at Cardiff University she looked at multilingual families’ language ideologies, strategies, and experiences in Finland and Wales. During the course of her PhD, she gained grants from eleven different funding bodies in her two home countries to complete the thesis. In this episode Kaisa reflects on the turning point when she decided to return to academia and focus on researching multilingual...

Rachel Campbell completed her PhD in visual culture, celebrity studies, and musicology. Her thesis, 'The image of musical celebrity in the Nineteenth Century' considers the way visual representations of musicians influenced how they were seen as celebrities through analysis of oil portraits, busts, prints and other ephemera. She also holds a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) and is a professional musician and has been a music teacher for nearly 20 years. She has three children who play...

Professor Laurajane Smith completed her PhD part-time between 1990 and 1996 while working as a full time teaching and research academic at both Charles Sturt University and the University of New South Wales. She is currently Director of the Centre of Heritage and Museum Studies, Research School of Humanities and the Arts, the Australian National University. She is also a fellow of the Society for the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. In 2010-12, she worked to establish the...