Doctor it‪!‬ Doctoral School of Historical and Cultural Studies & Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences

In Episode 14 of Doctor it! Adityo Darmawan Sudagung and Penelope Faithfull talk to Nyamadzawo Sibanda (also known as Max) from the Department of Development Studies and Emily Genatowski, doctoral candidate in History, about the support systems PhD students may rely on during their studies. Our guests share personal experiences of arriving in Vienna, finding housing and navigating the language barriers in bureaucracy with support from relatives, colleagues and supervisors. Listen in when they discuss the ups and downs of adjusting to new academic cultures and blending into social and academic life in Vienna. Find out why Emily and Max agree that institutional support and personal engagement are crucial, how they themselves now provide support to others, and what a can of Japanese matcha and a belt have to do with getting support as a PhD student.
If you have other experiences dealing with support systems during your PhD, leave a comment on one of our channels or send us an email!
This episode was written and produced by Penelope Faithfull, Christian Lendl, Martin Pokorny and Adityo Darmawan Sudagung, edited by Christian Lendl and hosted by Penelope Faithfull and Adityo Darmawan Sudagung. Special thanks go out to our guests, Emily Genatowski and Nyamadzawo Sibanda.
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In this semester’s first episode of Doctor it! we have invited Michela Vignoli from the Austrian Institute of Technology and Marvin Stecker from the Department of Communication to talk about the use of AI in the humanities and the social sciences. Together with our host Emily Genatowski they discuss why Michela trains AI models to analyse images and texts from the 16th century and how Marvin applies machine learning in his research about contemporary political identities. Listen in when they explore the future of AI in academia beyond doomsday scenario and techno-utopia, and learn about the ethical questions that Michela and Marvin address in the daily use of AI for their PhD research. Why the movie Matrix and setting a timer with Siri are important for them: This and more in Episode 13 of Doctor it!
This episode was written and produced by Penelope Faithfull, Emily Genatowski and Martin Pokorny, edited by Martin Pokorny and Adityo Sudagung, and hosted by Emily Genatowski. Pictures by Christian Lendl, Martin Pokorny and Adityo Sudagung. Special thanks go out to our guests, Marvin Stecker and Michela Vignoli.
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“Don’t forget to write your thesis!” – In this episode of “Doctor it!”, our guests Timo Aava, doctoral candidate in East European History, and Sophie Minihold from the Department of Communication share their experiences with the ultimate boss of any PhD-journey: the thesis. The thrills and troubles of academic writing, the benefits of peer exchange and support during this – supposedly – lonely task, and when to find time for focused writing are just some of the topics they touch upon. Our host, Rasmus Wardemann, asks Timo and Sophie where and when they found a starting point (as it turns out: at very different moments of their PhD) and discusses with them the differences between taking notes and doing writing. Learn about the painful step of deleting text and what to do when things just don’t seem to go right at all. One idea, as we found out, is joining – or even organising – a writing retreat. What monasteries, mineral water, and forest sounds have to do with writing a dissertation: all of this and more in Episode 12 of Doctor it!
Websites mentioned in the episode:myNoiseDSHCS Summer School, August 2021
This episode was written and produced by Angelika Hudler, Maximilian Brockhaus, Martin Pokorny, Rasmus Wardemann and Giorgia Zogu, edited by Martin Pokorny and hosted by Rasmus Wardemann. Special thanks go out to our guests, Timo Aava and Sophie Minihold.
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What happens when you graduate from a doctoral programme? Tune in to episode 11 of “Doctor it!” and find out about career opportunities after completing a PhD in the social sciences or the humanities. Our host Aayu KC talks to Faime Alpagu from the Department of Communication and Dominik Hagmann from the Department of Classical Archaeology about their experiences of starting a new chapter in life. Explore with them how the transition from a PhD candidate to a postdoctoral employee in and beyond academia feels like and learn about their personal reasons for embarking on certain career paths (and not on others). Listen in when Faime and Dominik explain why finding a suitable position may take time and share how they envision their professional futures.
This episode was written and produced by Ninja Bumann, Aayu KC, Giorgia Zogu, Nadine Riegler, edited by Nadine Riegler, and hosted by Aayu KC. Special thanks go out to our guests, Faime Alpagu and Dominik Hagmann.
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Surging energy prices, high inflation, war in Europe – the European Union is confronted with new challenges since Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In this episode, our host Bernd Christoph Ströhm from the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies and Thomas Kögler from the Austrian National Bank explore the role of Germany as the EU’s economic powerhouse in addressing these challenges. Listen in when they dive into Germany’s past, discuss German economic policies and unwind the country’s vital role in the EU. Learn about ways to strengthen EU consolidation and what role Germany can actually assume in promoting “unity” within Europe. Find out about possibilities to facilitate a reform of the EU and what a Europe of different speeds means.
This episode was written and produced by Bernd Christoph Ströhm, Angelina Illes, Martin Pokorny, and Aayu KC, edited by Martin Pokorny, and hosted by Bernd Christoph Ströhm. Special thanks go out to our guest, Thomas Kögler.
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Do you often wonder where your time is going? Tune in to episode 9 of “Doctor it!” where we explore how we, as PhD students and as human beings, can better manage our time. Our host Rasmus Wardemann talks to Bao-Chau Pham from the Department of Science and Technology Studies and Christoph Beitl from the Department of Contemporary History about the challenges they face in using their time efficiently for research, networking, family and childcare responsibilities. Learn about the ins and outs of time management in academia and get inspiration for developing or recalibrating your personal strategies of managing time.
This episode was written and produced by Maximilian Brockhaus, Angelina Illes, Giorgia Zogu, Nadine Riegler, and Ninja Bumann, edited by Nadine Riegler, and hosted by Rasmus Wardemann. Special thanks go out to our guests, Bao-Chau Pham and Christoph Beitl.