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I have been neglecting this blog (for like, the 100th time), I know. I'm sorry. Shall I name work as an excuse again? Yeah let's do that..
You see, when you're a PhD at ETH, there is apparently this thing called a 'Proposal Defence'. Before getting into ETH, I had never heard of it, as it is not common in the Netherlands. The proposal defence is one of the two major deadlines during your PhD (the other being the defence of your actual thesis): before the first year is up (but at the end of your first year), you have to present your 'proposal' for the rest of your PhD to the committee. In order to make it appealing, a mere schedule and some vague plans are not enough: you basically have to show everything you have done so far (or generate results very quickly), and give a very detailed plan, including methods, time estimation, etc. This is also one of the most likely stages where you could potentially get fired. After this, you are pretty safe. So: it's a big deal.
Needless to say, when the date for your proposal defence comes nearer and nearer you realise more and more that you actually do not have enough results to fill the 'approximately' 10 pages report. So, you go into panic mode and work. At least, that is what I did. I sacrificed a total of 3 weekends (farewell!) and worked more hours than usual during the week, although I did not work crazy hours: I know I'm not productive when I try that. In the end, I did have a report of 37 pages and some (nice?) results, so I guess it was worth it? In any case, the committee let me pass (after a discussion/question round, which made me sweat a lot. I know they should ask me things, but it was nerve-racking.. )
My proposal defence was July 11, 2016 and I started really working on it (or rather: generating the results) somewhere in May. Busy times.
Unfortunately, these two months of work coincided with a lot of travel (most of them work related), so I was (and still am) a bit knackered.
To get over this, I am going on a (well-deserved) holiday soon to ... *wait for it* ... Japan! Not sure if I'll be completely rested afterwards, but it should be at least very awesome.
Before I will post pictures of Japan though, I wanted to share my recent (work-related) trips with you.
The first trip (which was just for fun, not work) was Tatort Jungfrau during the Pentecost weekend: a detective game in the Swiss Alps (Jungfrau region), where you have to find clues located everywhere in the area. It was a fun way of discovering one of Switzerland's most beautiful scenery.
Snowy landscapes at Kleine Scheidegg
I love how serene and unspoiled it all looks: no one has walked on this snow!
Photo taken from Wengen of the valley and mountains.
Landscape in Wengen
The Staubbach Waterfall in Lauterbrunnen
Landscape in Grindelwald (where we stayed in a youth hostel)
We also visited Mürren, but I didn't have any amazing pictures from there, so... Suffice it to say that Mürren is also very beautiful and you have very nice views from there (it is located quite high).
Next trip I will tell you about is the PhD retreat in the black forest in Germany. Stay tuned!
You see, when you're a PhD at ETH, there is apparently this thing called a 'Proposal Defence'. Before getting into ETH, I had never heard of it, as it is not common in the Netherlands. The proposal defence is one of the two major deadlines during your PhD (the other being the defence of your actual thesis): before the first year is up (but at the end of your first year), you have to present your 'proposal' for the rest of your PhD to the committee. In order to make it appealing, a mere schedule and some vague plans are not enough: you basically have to show everything you have done so far (or generate results very quickly), and give a very detailed plan, including methods, time estimation, etc. This is also one of the most likely stages where you could potentially get fired. After this, you are pretty safe. So: it's a big deal.
Needless to say, when the date for your proposal defence comes nearer and nearer you realise more and more that you actually do not have enough results to fill the 'approximately' 10 pages report. So, you go into panic mode and work. At least, that is what I did. I sacrificed a total of 3 weekends (farewell!) and worked more hours than usual during the week, although I did not work crazy hours: I know I'm not productive when I try that. In the end, I did have a report of 37 pages and some (nice?) results, so I guess it was worth it? In any case, the committee let me pass (after a discussion/question round, which made me sweat a lot. I know they should ask me things, but it was nerve-racking.. )
My proposal defence was July 11, 2016 and I started really working on it (or rather: generating the results) somewhere in May. Busy times.
Unfortunately, these two months of work coincided with a lot of travel (most of them work related), so I was (and still am) a bit knackered.
To get over this, I am going on a (well-deserved) holiday soon to ... *wait for it* ... Japan! Not sure if I'll be completely rested afterwards, but it should be at least very awesome.
Before I will post pictures of Japan though, I wanted to share my recent (work-related) trips with you.
The first trip (which was just for fun, not work) was Tatort Jungfrau during the Pentecost weekend: a detective game in the Swiss Alps (Jungfrau region), where you have to find clues located everywhere in the area. It was a fun way of discovering one of Switzerland's most beautiful scenery.
Snowy landscapes at Kleine Scheidegg
I love how serene and unspoiled it all looks: no one has walked on this snow!
Photo taken from Wengen of the valley and mountains.
Landscape in Wengen
The Staubbach Waterfall in Lauterbrunnen
Landscape in Grindelwald (where we stayed in a youth hostel)
We also visited Mürren, but I didn't have any amazing pictures from there, so... Suffice it to say that Mürren is also very beautiful and you have very nice views from there (it is located quite high).
Next trip I will tell you about is the PhD retreat in the black forest in Germany. Stay tuned!
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I really would like to go back to the Jungfrau region at some point and explore it a bit more (go up the mountain, instead of racing past it to find the clues) :)