PhD Defense - Lund University

Last week, Ian was invited to serve as the 'opponent' in a PhD defense at Lund University, Sweden. In contrast to the UK doctoral examination system, which is conducted privately and typically involves a lengthy oral examination of the student's work (viva voce, or viva for short) by an internal examiner and an external scientific expert, the Swedish PhD examination is public. The exam begins with both the defending student and the selected expert opponent providing a brief summary presentation of the thesis work, followed by an extended viva examination conducted live at the front of a lecture theatre. The entire process is public, allowing the student's friends and family to attend and watch.

Fortunately, Ian had the opportunity to review the work of an outstanding student, Dr. Roberta Battistella, from Dr. Iben Lundgaard's lab. The research centered on "Methods to study the glymphatic system in the rodent brain during physiological and pathological processes." Roberta excelled in defending and explaining her work, passing the exam effortlessly. Congratulations, Roberta!

You can read an interview with Roberta ahead of the exam here. And you can download a read the thesis here.