That's all Folks!

April 20, 2024

Thank you for sticking with me over the past six years as I’ve wittered away about my Swedish adventures, aka my PhD. Little did I realise, as I sat in a traffic jam, Heathrow bound on the M25, on 20^th April 2018, that this was not the just the beginning of a 4.5-year degree but one of those turning points, at which I reset my life’s trajectory. Six years on and I have finally completed that degree, fallen in love with a Swede, bought an apartment in Stockholm with that Swede, started a job in a Swedish state-owned company, and just four days ago, become a Swede (don’t worry, I’ll always be at true Brit at heart!).

The final three items in that list have all occurred since my last blog update, six months ago, along with my PhD defence, turning 30, completion of the 12 months of dips, and a few fun trips away. February was a particularly full-on month as I was working 50% at Vattenfall (in a role that I’m loving), I had my defence on the 2^nd, 30^th birthday on 8^th, a trip to Copenhagen with Emil the week after that, followed by a long weekend skiing in the Swedish mountains to round things off. After months of worry and stress, expecting to be torn apart by a committee of experts, my defence itself ended up being a fun day. Mum, Dad and Tom came over for the event along with Emil’s parents and sister’s family, so it was an ideal opportunity for the two families to finally meet. The defence began with my 30-minute presentation, followed by a talk from the opponent. This was followed by about 1.5 hours of discussion with my opponent and the 4 members of my committee (a very nice bunch) and then finally tea, cake, and prosecco as they announced that I had passed, and the true celebrations could begin.

Now that my PhD is over and I can call myself Dr Watts, the time has come to write my final post on here and wrap up what has been a true rollercoaster of a six years. There have been some definite challenges along the way. My supervisor losing his job as a global pandemic was raging really tested my resolve and nerves, but I had the true luck to find Emil just as things were stating to fall apart, and he provided the support and encouragement needed to get me to that finishing line. Having made it to the end, I can now look back and appreciate the incredible opportunities my PhD offered me. Riding snowmobiles over ice caps, catching a glimpse of polar bears strolling along a calving front, hiking across glacier tongues, teaching students how to core a bog, swimming off the northern coast of Norway, and so much more. I think I have already donned my rose-tinted specs and look back very fondly on my time as a PhD student at Stockholm University.