Completing a major project can be a rewarding but also challenging task. The end is in sight, but the road seems to be less straight than you would have expected or at least hoped. At the same time, completing goes with a loss: the “companion” of so much time will be gone and with it some aspects of the structure and the orientation which the project entailed. So, how to cope with the challenges and how to get prepared for what comes next?

If you are experiencing something of the kind, you aren’t the only one. The workshop is an opportunity to share your experience, to get fresh ideas and some practical advice. It will offer you input for action and reflection based on what are your issues, some answers to your questions and some ideas resulting from your peers’ experiences and best practices.

You can register for Day 1 or Day 2, or for both days.

Day 1 – getting ready for submission

5 March 2024, 12:30–17:00

12:30–15:30 Self-organisation: final decisions, final efforts, final revisions

Especially at the end of a project, motivation and self-organisation tend to be “vulnerable”: the excitement of the beginning has transformed into work to be done, introduction and conclusion must be written, to-do-lists are getting longer and longer, and the time scheduled for something often reveals itself to be at least challenging. While certain deadlines are approaching at an impressive speed, you possibly lack the milestones which would help structuring your working process. Moreover, it’s hard to decide if what you did is good enough, and therefore the supervisors’ feedback is at the same time needed and feared.

So, what could a useful self-organisation mean in your case? How could you improve your time-management? What about your priorities? How to get the support you need from your supervisor/s? How to set a realistic submission date and to stick to your time frame? And finally: How to transform duty into something more attractive – that is, a perspective?

Coach: Lea Pelosi

16:00–17:00 Get everything in order: formal requirements and review

Which font should I use in my thesis? What should I do if parts of my thesis have already been published? How do I find potential reviewers? What kind of funding does the University provide for the final phase? And, what is the role of my supervisor/s in all this?

Join us for a Q&A with colleagues from the StudiesServiceCentre and the ViDSS and clarify all questions related to the submission and the review of your doctoral thesis and the public defence.

Inputs: Danièle Lipp and Birgit Muskovich (StudiesServiceCentre Social Sciences/Doctoral Studies), Eva Kössner (ViDSS)

Moderation: Roman Pfefferle

Day 2 – public defence, letting go … and what comes next?

9 April 2024, 12:30–17:00

12:30–15:30 Preparing for transition/s

Defending your thesis is an important act of committing to it. How and what do you want to highlight? What kind of questions and (critical) remarks are you expecting based on the reviews and how to position yourself in relation to them? But while the defence forces you to focus on what you have done, you have to project yourself into the future and to think about the next steps. Continuity is not granted. Eventually you will give up a relatively defined and stable working environment and perhaps even “being part” of academia. The perspective is unclear and perhaps it’s even scary because you don’t like the prospect of competition or the idea of moving around. Even worse if you get the impression to be the only one without a plan or a perspective.

What kind of preparation does your public defence need, that is, what is – besides the scientific competence – an appropriate attitude towards its strengths and weaknesses? What does the transition into (a different kind of) professional life mean to you? And what could be a »fix« to the insecurity that comes with it?

Coach: Lea Pelosi

16:00–17:00 Getting through the final phase of your doctoral studies

Meet graduates from the doctoral programme in Social Sciences who have recently completed their doctoral studies. How was it for them at the end of this long “journey”? How did they prepare themselves for the public defence? How did they stay motivated and how did they navigate the transition?

Guests: Jasmin Eppel-Meichlinger (Nursing Science), Pouya Sepehr (Science and Technology Studies), Josefa Stiegler (Political Science)

Moderation: Roman Pfefferle