ABSTRACT
Your PhD trajectory will typically take a minimum of three years and can take as long as ten years. In any case, it is a huge intellectual and organizational endeavor that will occupy you fully for years and will require an immense effort. And yet there is a pinnacle to this journey! What is it exactly? You say: thesis submission?… Ah yes, that too! Indeed, that is a culmination of all your research and writing up. However, your thesis submission is followed by another (real) pinnacle; that is your thesis defence. Your PhD defence is an event where you defend your thesis in front of experts in your research area. You will present your research, show your contribution to your scientific field, demonstrate that you actually can do an independent research study, and show that you have done it by yourself and that you know what you are doing. You will be examined on how well you can present and communicate your work and how deep is your understanding of the subject and of the results you have produced. You will be assessed and evaluated during your PhD defence and you will receive the final judgement at the end of it. You will be pronounced a Doctor of Philosophy (a PhD). This is the moment when one of your life’s dreams comes true, the moment of accomplishment and relief.
