Dr Chrissi McCarthy is the founder and Managing Director of Constructing Equality. Over the past decade and a half, she has formulated and implemented research-based methodologies to bolster equality within diverse organisations. Her client portfolio spans prestigious institutions including the National Health Service and Bristol City Council.  Chrissi’s PhD explored equality, fairness and inclusion and fed directly into her work with Constructing Equality.   In this episode Chrissi...

Dr Rose Aslan was a tenured Professor of Religious Studies who found herself burnt out and, on a sabbatical in Istanbul, decided to step away from academia. From her current perspective, Rose explores what she would do differently if she were to do her PhD again. Rose acknowledges that, although there were some good moments, she didn’t really enjoy her PhD experience and, with the benefit of hindsight, she can identify where an approach with prioritized well-being would have greatly...

Dr Eve Grubin is the author of Morning Prayer (Sheep Meadow Press), The House of Our First Loving (Rack Press) and Grief Dialogue (Rack Press). She is a lecturer at NYU in London and a tutor at the Poetry School. Eve received an AHRC / TECHNE  scholarship to write her PhD thesis (Kingston University): ‘Boat of Letters and the Poetics of Reticence: A Creative and Critical Thesis’.    In this episode Eve reflects on how, as a professional poet, she came to mastering academic writing...

Dr Inès Amami holds a PhD from Sorbonne Nouvelle University in French literature and civilization.  Her research is about the representation of the West and the Muslim world in the Encyclopédie de Diderot (18th century).   Ines is also a political activist in the field of women’s rights and fights against all kinds of violence.  She is a single mother of an 11 year old daughter.     In this episode we talk about the challenges that Ines has faced over the course of her PhD journey which...

It’s the 100th episode of The PhD Life Raft Podcast! Fleur Farish-Edwards - a gorgeous member of the PhD Life Raft community - is leading the celebrations with a reflection on the way in which the podcast has been party of her PhD journey. Fleur is an experienced counsellor and supervisor, and along with her wife, facilitates creative workshops as “Two Birds Therapy”. Fleur is also a university lecturer in counselling and is currently working on a professional doctorate, researching the...

Yulia Karpova is undertaking her second PhD!  Yes, for her, once though the journey just wasn’t enough!  In this week’s episode we talk about how things are different the second time around.   Yulia is currently studying at the University of Southern Denmark. She also holds a PhD in History (2015) from Central European University. From 2016-18, she held a Maria Sklodowska Curie postdoc at Aarhus University and, from 2021–2022 she was a postdoc in the project ‘Exhibiting across the Iron...

Kate Henry  is a productivity coach, independent scholar, and author who lives outside Boston, Massachusetts in the U.S.  Kate received her MFA degree in Creative Writing and her Master's degree and Doctoral degree in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.     In this episode, we focus on an upcoming event ‘A Month of Mondays’ - which is designed to help PhD researchers plan for a productive Summer.   We talk about getting ready for the summer and Kate...

David Mendes is the host of Papa PhD, a podcast that shares stories of post-PhD career journeys.  He is also the co-founder of a media agency dedicated to serving the research community.   In this episode David reflects on his own journey as, at the end of his PhD, he chose to look to for work beyond academia.     We also talk about why the world needs PhDs - and the valuable skills and experience that doctoral researchers can bring to the workplace and society at large.   David shares...

Stella Duffy is completing a doctorate training in Existential Psychotherapy and her research is in the embodied experience of postmenopause.  Alongside her therapy work, Stella is an award-winning writer of seventeen novels, over seventy short stories and fifteen plays and worked in theatre for over thirty-five years as an actor, director, facilitator and improvisor. She has been active in equalities and inclusion work in the arts, LGBTQ+ and feminist communities for many decades, and was...

Welcome to Season Eight of The PhD Life Raft Podcast!! We are kicking off with a fabulous interview that gives a wonderful overview of the PhD journey. Steven Segal is a psychologist and academic who also practices as a philosophical counsellor.  His PhD was in the philosophy of Education and his work as Associate Dean of Higher Degrees Research, as well as his own supervision of doctoral candidates, led him to develop a framework of understanding around the transition from novice to...

Welcome to the final episode of Season Eight of The PhD Life Raft Podcast! In this interview I am talking with Lucy Nevitt, a freelance professional proofreader who specialises in working with academic texts and doctoral theses in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences fields. Lucy did her PhD in Drama at Royal Holloway, then spent a decade working as a full-time academic at UWE Bristol. For several years she ran editorial administration and submissions support for Research in Drama...

Lisa Woodruff is the founder & CEO of Organize 365®.  She shares strategies for reducing the overwhelm, clearing the mental clutter, and living a productive and organized life.    Lisa is the author of four books including, How ADHD Affects Home Organization  and The Paper Solution and has recently started a PhD in psychology.   In this episode Lisa shares how she has employed her organizing tactics to her PhD journey.  She talks about scheduling; strategies for reading and managing...

Anna Clemens is an academic writing coach with a background in Chemistry and a experience as a science journalist.   In this episode we talk about undertaking training to support your PhD journey.   We talk about the unexpected learning that is part of the doctorate and how to identify your priorities.    Anna advises on how to find courses that can support your professional development - from checking with your university to professional associations - as well as how to potentially...

Jen Harrison earned her PhD from the University of Wales, and has since worked in academia as a lecturer and researcher at a number of institutions worldwide.  As well as publishing books and articles in her own field (children’s literature), she has served as an editor and reviewer for a number of peer-reviewed publications, as well as freelancing as an academic editor.   In this episode we talk about the feeling that you don’t belong in academia.   Jen highlights the fact that learning...

Rebecca Suart has been a Social Researcher in the Civil Service since graduating from her PhD in Education at the University of Nottingham in 2022. She started her academic journey and onto a PhD in her 40s after taking a career break from Further Education. Alongside her PhD, Rebecca worked in a number of universities as a lecturer and researcher in the field of Vocational Education and Training. In this episode, Rebecca shares how the menopause crept up on her during her academic studies,...

Catherine Pope was awarded her PhD in the field of Victorian Literature  by the University of Sussex in 2014. She then went on to publish that material as a monograph.     In this episode Catherine draws on her experience as an author, publisher and coach to share advice on  the options for publishing your work- either as a book, a chapter in an edited collection or journal articles.   Catherine emphasizes the importance of gaining clarity on why you want to publish as well as being...

Elizabeth Pritchard is the Co-founder and Director of WALT Institute typically working with institutes, health services and universities. Elizabeth is also a research fellow in Public Health at Monash University.    This episode recognises stress as a common experience on the PhD journey.   Elizabeth differentiates between the different types of stress - eustress and distress - and posits that stress can be a useful motivator and performance enhancer.   We talk about how to stop stress...

Natasha is a researcher, facilitator, and theatre-maker.  Her PhD research, specializing in applied theatre approaches to Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.    In this episode we discuss how Natasha has turned her research into a business.   Natasha shares her journey into the PhD and how she drew on her practical experience with a Theatre Company to shape the scope of her project.   We talk about how her work developed - even...

Graham Green is currently working towards his Ph.D. at the University of Southern Queensland.  He has a background in the education, management and aviation sectors and holds a Masters Degree in Aviation Management from the University of New South Wales. He is an active member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators as well as a member of the Australian Society of Air Safety Investigators.  He is also dad to 3 year old Luke!   In this episode we talk about scheduling work...

Nathan Ryder runs skills training for PhD students with a signature course entitled ‘Viva Survivor’ and daily blog of viva prep help.     In this episode Nathan talks about his new book ‘Keep Going ’which is full of advice for the PhD journey and we focus in particularly on preparing for the PhD viva.     Nathan shares thoughts on how to fit in viva preparation around the many other things that you might be doing in the period between submission and examination.   We discuss the...

Dr Kate Mukungu is Chief Executive of Riverside Community Health Project in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. In September 2022 Kate completed her part time doctorate at Northumbria University researching women’s human rights activism relations in post conflict contexts.  As well as being the source of great richness to Kate, the dual interest of working in the voluntary and community sector and conducting research carries some frustration, due to difficulty of pursuing both fully at the same...

Milly Mulcahey is a second-year PhD student in the Center for Indigenous and Settler Colonial Studies at the University of Kent. Milly has worked actively with Indigenous educators since her undergraduate degree in Social Anthropology at the LSE and through a Master’s by Research at Durham University. She is a neurodivergent researcher passionate about improving accessibility within academia and is seeking that elusive work-life balance.   In this episode we talk about managing the festive...

Iain Jackson is an architect and historian at the Liverpool School of Architecture. His research is mainly focused on 20thC architecture in ‘the tropics’.  Iain is currently PI on a Leverhulme Trust funded project to research the buildings of the United Africa Company.  He supervises 8 PhD students and has examined PhDs in Europe, Asia, and Australia.   In this episode we talk about the importance of project management for the PhD.   Iain suggests ways of breaking down the project into...

Katrina McChesney is a senior lecturer in education at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Her research focuses on adult education, including doctoral education and supervision. She is currently co-leading the #DistanceDoctorates project which seeks to support, raise awareness of, and advocate for candidates who undertake doctoral research off-campus.    In this episode we talk about Katrina’s own experience of undertaking distanced doctoral study - whilst working, having a baby and...

Leanne Sobel is a Strategic Design Consultant and Researcher. She has a background in communication design and strategy and is passionate about the opportunities for design in business. Leanne is currently a PhD Candidate at the University of Technology Sydney, investigating the role of design in strategy. Leanne brings a wealth of experience to her practice, having worked on public and private sector projects in roles spanning design, strategy, management, research, and education.    In...