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Annual Ph.D. exam is a required procedure for every Ph.D. student at the end of the each year (typically, in October) to successfully make the transition to the next study year. But what is this scary event about, how afraid students should be, and what are the rules and guidelines?
Well, it is basically not a case for any Ph.D. student to skip the year somewhere on Bali, doing nothing than surfing on tall waves and enjoying the life (deep and sad sigh). Not at all! Especially for our department. So, generally, you should not be afraid, if your year was busy with research activities, studying and other required for our daily research life activities.
But there are several differences and expectations according to the year you are currently studying in. Lets take a look to this slight differences and requirements:
Transition from the 1st to the 2nd Year:
Good news - you are just started and there are a lot of "fun" waiting for you on the next years. It is expected that you put your eyes on some scientific papers related to the area of your interest, took some courses and obtained some skills; if you participated on some conferences, or by maximum - published some paper(s), then you had done your best, just include this on your presentation, breath deeply and wait for the exam day! But keep in my mind, that it is not mandatory for the first year to publish the paper or participate on the conference! The most important at this step is to show to the commission your dedication to the course. Also if you had done some work activities related to the Ph.D. course, it will be considered positively. Please, do not make the presentation longer than 10-15 minutes, it is maximum time for the 1st transition.
The main objective is to show that you have acquired several competences, from general (OR, codig, artificial intelligence, languages, ...) to specific of your broad topic (methodologies, algorithms, ...). Then, you should also show that you have a good research direction agreed with your tutor and thus you are able to propose a preliminary title of your work. The chances of failing are low and are related on you doing nothing or too few things and/or not having a fruitful relation with your tutor, with whom you are expected to do activities of different kind, incuding projects, teaching, exams.
For additional information, please refer to the guidelines prepared for you especially by our representative Marta Galuppi (click me to see the guideline).
Transition from the 2nd to the 3rd Year:
It is expected that Ph.D. student already published a paper on the second year and has clear understanding of hers/his research area. A precise title of your work is now required and you are expected to present some preliminary results. By research area on the current stage it is considered clear and specific topic, under which you can continue to develop and finalize your research thesis on the third year. Difference with the first year presentation will be higher attention to your paper, research work that you have done during this year and your plans regarding thesis. The presentation time for the 2nd transition can be longer than 15 minutes, but still remember - "conciseness is a sister of talent" (A. Chekhov). This passage has some more concrete chances of failing if your research direction is still vague. The presentation should be almost exclusively focused on your research activities and results.
Students in the end of the third year has clear understanding of their thesis topic, they understand what to discuss with commission, and their main activity will be dedicated to final thesis preparation - so, basically this guide is not for them. We wish them good luck and a lot of power and patience during their final step!
As you may already understood, there is nothing to be worried about, instead 15-30 minutes presentation is not even enough to express all your achievements during the whole year.
In addition to the presentation there are obligatory bureaucratic procedures in order to complete the transition to the next year - please, refer to this link to see all additional information and required procedures.
Do not hesitate to contact us for any questions, comments or doubts - we are here in the same boat with you!
Have a nice day!
Kindly yours,
Marta Galuppi
Arif Huseynov
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