Defense Toolkit: Preparing for the PhD Defense

The defense is an important milestone on the way to the doctoral degree. Presenting orally in the defense situation is a big challenge and often linked with insecurities and stage fright. The defense or disputation is of critical importance: first, the defense is an integral part of the examination of the PhD-degree and, second, it shows your ability to argue and present your achievements and the results of your research convincingly.

This workshop aims at preparing PhD candidates for their defense. They will be introduced into formal regulations and frameworks, procedures and typical settings in a defense. Thinking on their feet during the questions and answers session as well as responding strategies to typical defense questions will also be practiced in simulated scenarios. Coaching techniques and online training sessions will support the training of individual coping strategies to gain more security during the defense. 

Contents

• Awareness-rising for formalities and deadlines
• Formal procedures and regulations
• Do’s and Don’ts in oral PhD examinations
• Training units for preparation of the talk and the defense
• Coping strategies with unexpected or difficult questions

Participants are asked to attend a 3-5 minute presentation of their dissertation topic for the 2nd day.