Hamizah Haji-Haidi

PhD candidate, University of Cambridge

PhD candidate at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

On being a recovering perfectionist and feeling like an impostor

In my second term at Cambridge, one of the trainers in the Researcher Development Programme asked me: “Do you think that you are not smart enough for Cambridge?” Sadly, my answer was yes, and thus began my struggle with the impostor phenomenon.

I felt jet lagged after my PhD viva

Last week, I had my PhD viva, and I passed! I remember that my emotions were jumbled up at the time, and it just felt very surreal. Now that some time has passed since the viva, the feeling is still surreal, but I’m in what I call a post-viva limbo.

Diving into the final stages of your PhD or uncharted territory

Being at the final stages of a PhD means that either you are about to go into the deep end or about to climb another hill. It is an uncharted territory because, after four years, the scaffolding that has been put in place by your supervisor comes off and you are on your own. I found myself in this position too, with no idea of what would come next.

How I found my calling in research

As my codes and latest findings continue to baffle me, I decided to write this blog post on finding my research interest. When people ask me what my PhD is on, I usually respond with, “So, I’m doing research on teacher education.” But how did I find myself on this path?