What did you expect from your PhD journey when you started? Were these expectations met so far? In Episode 17 of Doctor it!, our hosts Adityo Darmawan Sudagung and Emily Genatowski talk with Aleksandar Anđelović from the Department of History and Ying Liang Zhang, doctoral candidate in African Studies, about initial expectations, unexpected challenges and transformative moments. Listen in when they explain why they conduct their doctoral research in Vienna, how they carved out their research projects and why they adopted their plans on the way. About accumulating skills, academic criticism, peer feedback and changing career plans – listen to Episode 17 of Doctor it! and learn what Aleksandar and Ying Liang would do if they had a time machine.

This episode was written and produced by Adityo Darmawan Sudagung, Emily Genatowski and Ying Liang Zhang, recorded and edited by Christian Lendl, and hosted by Emily Genatowski and Adityo Darmawan Sudagung. Pictures by Christian Lendl. Special thanks go out to our guests, Aleksandar Andjelovic and Ying Liang Zhang.

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While most PhD students have accepted that their research probably won’t change the world, they at least want to make some impact on society. But how? In Episode 16 of Doctor it! we discuss strategies of making our research more impactful, and we share experiences of being personally impacted by our research fields. Emily Genatowski and Martin Pokorny talk with Nora Hansl from the Department of Political Science about her research on valuing vaccination and Stefan Sonntagbauer, doctoral candidate in German philology, about his research on horror movies. Learn about how Nora and Stefan try to follow the logic of academic impact factors while making a difference in the world through personal encounters in the field. Do you want to find out why impact is not a one-way street? Do you want to know how Stefan and Nora cope with the psychological effects of conducting research on highly controversial topics involving parent-child relationships and ghost encounters? Listen to Episode 16 of Doctor it!

Article mentioned in the episode: “Nur online studieren macht depressiv”, derfalter.at

This episode was written and produced by Emily Genatowski, Martin Pokorny and Adityo Darmawan Sudagung, recorded and edited by Christian Lendl and hosted by Emily Genatowski and Martin Pokorny. Special thanks to our guests, Stefan Sonntagsbauer and Nora Hansl.

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Are you wondering whether your next conference presentation will be a career booster or just a waste of the time that you need for writing your dissertation? Do you want to know how other PhDs have navigated their first-ever conference? Then this is the right episode for you! In Episode 15 of Doctor it! our hosts Adityo Darmawan Sudagung and Martin Pokorny talk to Birte Leonhardt from the Department of Communication and David Smrček from the Department of History about their experiences in conferencing. Join us as we delve into the world of presenting and networking. Find out how Birte and David choose the “right” conferences, how they connect with experts in their fields, how they get useful feedback and how they try to avoid the classical pitfalls. Getting funding, identifying fake conferences and controlling the social environment – this and more in Episode 15 of Doctor it!

Interested in hearing more about your colleagues’ experiences with science communication? Listen also to Episode 3 of Doctor it!

This episode was written and produced by Giorgia Zogu, Adityo Darmawan Sudagung, Olga Malashkina, Christian Lendl and Martin Pokorny, edited by Christian Lendl and hosted by Adityo Darmawan Sudagung and Martin Pokorny. Special thanks go out to our guests, David Smrček and Birte Leonhardt.

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