The final step to complete a PhD is to present the thesis orally before examiners who are experts in the field. Depending on the country, the oral exam may be in private – such as the British system where the presentation is called a Viva – or in public, where the exam might be called a Defence (or Defense in American English). Click here for the full list of InnoDC PhD titles.
Anubhav Jain completed his PhD at DTU Wind Energy, Denmark, and presented his Defence in September 2021. If you are interested in his topic or preparing your own PhD Defence, read the slides. See below to read about his experience in his own words and watch the presentation by clicking on the video.
“A chance of a lifetime as rare as a blackout…
…well at least much rarer than such severe grid events foreseen for the future power systems.
I defended my thesis “Green & Black-starting HVDC-connected Offshore wind power plants” on 28 September 2021 under beautiful weather that is a rare occurrence in Denmark. Moreover, the auspicious day & date (for a couple of reasons) made me even more enthusiastic and excited.
The 2-hour discussion following my 45 minute presentation equipped me with useful advice and ideas on how I might develop my thesis further, as well as my career.
But importantly, I was happy to hear a general consensus from the examiners regarding many of the thoughts I had throughout my PhD work.
In general, I didn’t notice how the time flew and was really surprised at not being exhausted to the extent that everyone had warned me – probably courtesy of being a child at heart and curiously hungry as an engineer.
I felt appreciated by the examiners’ positive comments in acknowledging my efforts in investigating such a complex problem and compiling the results into a single thesis, while delivering a narrative and strong message.
This day has encouraged and motivated me to work more persistently towards a greener future, and to share knowledge to inspire many more.
Thanks to the examiners Prof Anca D Hansen, Prof Oriol Gomis-Bellmunt and Prof Timothy Green for being patiently flexible with the IT issues, and guiding a highly insightful and mentally stimulating discussion.
Many thanks to our secretary, Helle, for arranging a lovely reception and dinner – much needed after the Covid-19 pandemic.” Watch the presentation below.