I think my supervisor would relish the thought of me going on holiday - at least he'd have peace from my constant questioning!

I think it depends on your funding body - I'm supposedly allowed 8 weeks per year, but don't actually take them all. I think as long as you tell your supervisor that you're going to be away, and make sure that if it's during term-time, you have teaching commitments etc covered by someone else, then it shouldn't be a problem.

Try not to feel down - I'm sure this is a fairly common problem and with perseverance, you'll get some decent results. Also don't worry about feeling useless - I feel like that all the time, as if I don't know anything and don't deserve to be doing a PhD. You wouldn't have been given a place if you weren't more than capable of the work involved! Good luck

Hi robber, although I'm not doing a lab-based PhD like you, I feel the same way at the moment - extremely demotivated and feeling that I'm making very little progress. It also annoys me when other students seem to be making good progress and never seem to go through the days of staring into space that I do! I would say stick with it. You say you have a good relationship with your supervisor, which is a real bonus. It's up to him to help you get some good results and make some progress. Could you sit down and have a talk with him about your concerns and the way forward? Maybe speaking to someone else in the department not directly connected to your research might help too.

There's also bibtex if you use Latex.

Hi, I just wondered when you all think is the best time to start writing up? I'm almost finished second year, and I was told by my second supervisor to leave it 'til the end, but I feel that I'd rather have something more concrete before then, rather than having to start from scratch with a deadline looming. Today I made a thesis plan, which is incredibly rough and will probably be pulled apart by my supervisor, but I just wanted a simple outline of what I'm going to have to write. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions? Thanks!

I always envy people living in London - a choice of airports and usually only one flight, not like the multiple flights I had to get to a conference recently!

Congratulations! And thanks for the viva info - it's always nice to hear what goes on in there from someone who's been there before! All the best in the new job.

I'm sure you can turn it around. If it's what you really want to do, then keep going and you'll get there eventually. Maybe it'll take a few weeks for you to get settled, but I'm sure you'll make progress if you really want to. I often feel that I'm not cut out for doing a PhD, but I'm sure everyone has thoughts like that sometimes. Ok, you've not had a good start, but don't let other people ruin your chances of doing something you really want to do, and can do!

Don’t let all the hard work you’ve already done go to waste just because of a situation that was outwith your control. Is there someone else in the department (not necessarily in your group) that you could talk to about your work, supervisor etc? Maybe you also need to take a break for a while to get away from work and clear your head. This might help you feel more motivated when you get back. Good luck!

My suggestion would be not to leave. You’ve clearly worked very hard up until now, and what has happened re your supervisor clearly isn’t your fault. Don’t let that spoil what you’ve done already, and what you can achieve from now on. If your supervisor wasn’t able to supervise you properly and give you the help that you needed, he shouldn’t have taken you on in the first place.
Are you happy with the project you’ve been set? Do you think you’ll be able to work well with the new supervisor? Remember you don’t need to be the best of friends, as long as he is able to give you guidance when you need it, that's all that matters.

I think (although I'm not 100% sure, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong!) that 75% would count as a first here. I think you need over 70% to get a first.

Hi, I don't know anything about doing a PhD in Germany, but if you look at the website of a university in Germany that you're interested in applying to (and the website of the particular department you want to work in), it will tell you about the application process, potential projects/supervisors etc.
Good luck!

I feel the same way - I always have to contact my supervisor, and very rarely receive any contact from him. I'm sure I wouldn't like him to be constantly checking up on me, but it would be nice to have some pressure from time to time - I'm sure it would make me work a bit harder!

Although I am no expert in such complicated matters, may I suggest the little-known search engine Google to find the websites of universities in Copenhagen? I'm sure each department's webpage will have a section about PhD study.