Competition: If your PhD was a dessert...

Last year we started sharing stories from researchers describing their PhDs as everything from dark chocolate to cheesecake, mochi to tiramisu. They're a funny yet honest reminder that a PhD doesn't have to be taken quite so seriously.

From the messages it's clear that our reminder is resonating with many of you. When you're knee-deep in a three year project it's easy to forget that a PhD is something you do, not who you are, and that there is plenty of life after submitting your thesis.

So this year's Kohlrabi Summer competition is simple:

🍨 Describe your PhD as a dessert.

Tell us what dessert it would be, and explain why in one sentence. It could be witty, relatable or unexpectedly accurate. Have a look at our blog on PhD desserts for inspiration.

🥇 Winner gets a giant box of luxury artisan dairy or vegan ice cream delivered to your door

🥈 Runner-up gets 20% off a place on the Kohlrabi Accelerator (2026 or 2027) https://www.kohlrabi.uk/phd-accelerator

🍦 How it works

1. Submit your "My PhD is..." dessert and one-line explanation using this form by August 9th.

2. A panel of our Accelerator Alumni will shortlist their 12 favourites.

3. During the rest of August the shortlist will battle it out in a knockout tournament across LinkedIn stories and polls

4. The PhD community decides the winners.

Join us for the competition. We hope you have fun, learn about your peers' experiences, enjoy experimenting with a different form of science communication, and maybe even win some ice cream :)

Any questions about the competition please contact Kate using the email training@kohlrabi.uk

Form reminder: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/tastyphd