Monthly Archives: December 2016

PhD Thesis Step 6: 48 hours

Microblog of the 48 h hours around my to my PhD defense.

15.12.2016

09:00 – Working on the PhD presentation
13:00 – Short walk to Bella Casa to order 18 Pizzas for tomorrow
14:00 – Chat with other PhD students about previous oral exams.
14:30 – Last chat with my advisor before the defense, as usual we talk about everything an nothing.
15:30 – Final edits to my presentation.
17:30 – Presentation dry run with useful feedback from Herbert
18:30 – Christmas social at the office
19:15 – Shopping for beer, champagne and snacks
19:45 – Delivering beer and snacks to the uni campus
20:30 – Last minute studying of “Microwave Engineering” by David M. Pozar
23:00 – Brushing my teeth and going to sleep
24:00 – Realizing that there won’t be much sleep tonight.

16.12.2016

07:30 – Good morning!
08:00 – Ironing a white shirt
08:20 – Final dry run before the actual thing
08:50 – Realizing that I have my black shoes at my parents place. – The dark blue will have to do
09:00 – Short walk to the university
09:20 – Connecting to the projector. Having my friend Reinhard print some last minute paperwork.
09:45 – First guests arrive
10:00 – The show starts
11:15 – Yay! You may now call me Dr. Schmid
11:45 – The party starts: Champagne, beer and pizza for everyone!
13:00 – So many people have shown up to party with me! Me, happy!
16:00 – We move to a pub
17:00 – We move to a restaurant
21:00 – I arrive back home – still, happy!
22:00 – I fall asleep.

17.12.2016

05:30 – Getting up, I have a train to catch
07:15 – Boarding the train to Flughafen Wien.
10:20 – Boarding the plane to Athens
13:45 – Landing in Athens
14:30 – Boarding the Metro
15:30 – Arrival at the hotel for the Region 8 OpCom meeting
16:00 – Joining my last IEEE Region 8 OpCom Meeting
xx:xx – Still feeling happy!

PhD Thesis Step 5: All Set for the Final Date

If there’s one thing that I have learned about my PhD advisor over the past years, it’s that he’s a last minute kind-of-person. Now that all reports are in (on the last possible day), the university has officially announced my defense!

2016_12_16

Two thoughts that keep me going:

  • In 6 days from now I’ll have officially eared my PhD.
  • In 7 days from now I’ll enjoy a cocktails with a view on the Acropolis of Athens.