The next right thing

It has been one month since I’ve moved from Switzerland to Germany. A month since I defended my PhD dissertation on cultural barriers in globally distributed teams, and how the computer-mediated technologies we use can reveal invisible cultural values and cultural differences (see my 20 minute defence presentation here). The PhD feels close, yet far […]

This creative life

Doing a PhD (or any kind of creative endeavour, really) is like signing up for a continual ass-kicking. Yup, you’re gonna get your butt whomped. Hard. You pour your heart, your ideas, your energy and your time into this project which spans years, which frankly, in the end, may or may not pan out the […]

Hot off the press! The PhD student revealed

The PhD student is a mysterious breed. Seemingly normal on the outside, the PhD student functions effectively in daily life, though secretly suffers from a variety of odd and somewhat peculiar symptoms, including (but not limited) to the following: 1) Short-lived waves of euphoria (e.g. “Hooooly cow, I’m brilliant!!”), followed by an all-encompassing self-doubt and loathing (e.g. “What is this crap?!! What idiot came […]