Location: Front Quadrangle, New College, Oxford
Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah SWT for by his Grace and Mercy I have finally passed my DPhil viva!
It was a bit of a whirlwind trip back to the United Kingdom last month due to the fact that I’m now back at work as a full-time Consultant Neurologist at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. On the 15th of June 2024, I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai, and thence to London. After clearing immigration, I took a taxi straight to my hotel in Summertown, Oxford.
The next few days were spent meeting old friends and preparing for the viva, in that order.
On the day of the viva, I met up with my supervisor Professor Masud Husain at the Red Room in New College. My examiners arrived soon after and they were:
- Professor Sarah Pendlebury
Professor of Medicine and Old Age Neuroscience
University of Oxford - Professor Hugh Markus
Professor of Stroke Medicine
University of Cambridge
There’s always a certain amount of trepidation at the start of any exam. Thankfully, my examiners were very kind and began by telling me they enjoyed reading my thesis and that it was well-written. We settled into a discussion about my research work and before I knew it, 2.5 hours had passed and I was asked to step outside briefly while they conferred together. A few minutes later, I returned to the room and was informed by my examiners that I had passed with minor corrections! Alhamdulillah…
I intend to write a much longer post about my DPhil journey, but that will have to wait another day. For now, I am just very relieved to have finally gotten over this process, and I want to move on to other things that I’m passionate about e.g. my clinical practice, charity work etc.
Imran Idris 