Viva Voce is a new and exciting online platform that was created by our very own IDPM PhD student, Gemma Sou. Viva Voce promotes and supports PhD students, PostDocs and Early careers researchers in the Social Sciences, by providing a platform for setting up short, sharp and engaging podcasts about yourself and your research. Gemma says that,

“We’re increasingly encouraged to get our research ‘out there’ and to have ‘impact’ beyond academia. However, there are few platforms that are dedicated to publicising and disseminating the exciting knowledge that emerges from early career researchers. Other sites like linkedin and academia.edu are basically there for people to upload their CVs, which marginalises early career researchers who have less publications and experience. Plus, these sites are very text heavy and not very accessible or exciting. I wanted something that focused more on the topic and quality of your research (‘what you do’) than how many publications or years of experience you have (‘how much you have done’)”.

Viva Voce aims to ensure that early career researchers are not overlooked or lost among other social media sites, by levelling the playing field to a Podcast and a short and sweet profile, with links to up to two publications, personal websites, Twitter ID, and email. In this way, the podcast acts as the ‘taster’ that encourages people to click on your links and learn more about you and your research. Podcast profiles are categorised by 3 keywords and discipline so that you are visible on 4 pages, which gives greater exposure for you and your research.

Viva Voce has received great support from within the University of Manchester. Setting up your own Podcast profile is simple. Check out the brand spanking new website at www.vivavocepodcasts.com or e-mail vivavocepodcasts@gmail.com

Follow on Twitter: @vivavocepodcast