‘I always thought that one day it would be my turn in that beautiful building’

Hora est! Corona or not. Every week an average of two PhD candidates from the Faculty of Science defend their dissertations. After the government banned all public events due to corona, PhD candidates were given the choice to postpone their dissertations or defend them digitally. For Marzieh Najafi Shah Kouhi, it wasn’t an easy decision, but she is happy with the choice she made. “No-one knew when it would be possible to have the ceremony in real life again. For me, that uncertainty was too stressful.” On 6 April, she was the first PhD candidate from the faculty to have her ceremony online.

Weak internet connection

“I was sitting behind my computer in the same room where I wrote most part of my thesis”, she starts. “All the time I spent here, I never imagined that I’d defend my dissertation here as well. My husband was babysitting the children and didn’t join the live feed, because we were worried that our internet connection would be too weak.” Her promotor, co-promotor, paranymphs and opponents were present online, however.

Great effort

Marzieh praises the way in which the UU and her promotor and co-promotor did their best to make the ceremony as official as possible. Everyone dressed up, despite being at home, and the bedel had a bell which served as an alternative for the stick she normally uses when time is up. Her co-promotor Tina Vermonden sent her flowers, and afterwards there was a digital reception with colleagues.

These were big surprises which helped her to feel that people really cared, she says. “But I do hope that UU will organise some sort of festive event for all PhD’s who chose to have their ceremony online. It is nice to celebrate this achievement with family, supervisors, friends, and colleagues.”

Unexpected benefits

In the end, having the ceremony online turned out to have some positive side effects as well. Her family members who live in Iran were able to attend through a live feed. This would have been much more difficult if the ceremony was held in the traditional manner. Also, Marzieh felt quite relaxed being at home during the ceremony.

“For me, home is a peaceful place. I could hear my kids play downstairs and after the deliberations, my eldest daughter joined me and sat on my lap. It really helped me to have her close.”