Sources of guidance and support

As a researcher within a Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) and also a registered student within a faculty, there may occasions where you find yourself receiving a lot of information from different sources (which may not always tie together very neatly).

University systems and processes may seem confusing at times but you have access to a number of sources to help interpret them and advise you on the best course of action.

Regulations and guidance documents

Postgraduate research (PGR) activity at the University is governed by the regulations and code of practice for research degree programmes.

Whilst you are studying the taught component of your four-year PhD you may also be subject to relevant aspects of the regulations and code of practice for taught programmes.

There is faculty-specific information and resources available for postgraduate students via faculty/school websites:
• Faculty of Engineering 
• Faculty of Science 
• Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry 
• Faculty of Arts 
• Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences

The University’s central current students page can also help you access a wide range of general student services from IT support to the counselling service, and documents such as the general student handbook and student newsletter.

Your supervision team

Your first point of contact will usually be your supervision team.

Your supervisors will be selected and approved by the BCCS at the start of your PhD research project and include at least two members of staff (often drawn from different departments, schools or faculties).

For administrative purposes one of your supervisors will be nominated as the ‘lead supervisor’ and you followetheir departmental affiliation in terms of your registration as a postgraduate research (PGR) student.

It’s important to note each faculty (or even department) may have different procedures or expectations when it comes to PGR activity and administration but little familiarity with the operation of the BCCS.

Whilst your supervision team (especially the lead the supervisor) will be well-placed to advise you on local practices there is no problem in contacting the BCCS Manager if you wish to double-check any advice given about administrative matters.

BCCS Manager

Outside of your supervision team your next point of contact should be the BCCS Manager, Matthew Guppy.

The BCCS Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the BCCS and liaises with all faculties and central services where BCCS-funded researchers are registered.

The Manager is available for you to discuss any problems, concerns or general queries you may have whether admin or research-related. The Manager will assist directly or put you in touch with someone else within the University who can help.

You should feel free to discuss any kind of issue including those of a sensitive nature (please email ahead if you’d prefer to meet away from the Manager’s office).

If necessary, the Manager can take your issue to the BCCS Management Group (the centre’s core academics) who will be able to advise you further or make a final decision, as the case may be.

The BCCS Manager is also open to any feedback about the running of the BCCS or any suggestions for improvement or new ideas (e.g. our programme of events, website content, procedures).

BCCS Management Group (core academic staff)

The BCCS Management Group includes the centre’s academic leads:
• John Hogan (BCCS Director, Engineering Maths)
• Karoline Wiesner (Maths)
• Ayalvadi Ganesh (Maths)
• Luca Giuggioli (Engineering Maths/Biological Science)

You should feel free to contact any of the academic leads directly if you want to talk over any issues or concerns with an experienced academic researcher.

This doesn’t have to be an 'emergency situation' – these staff members are part of the BCCS support structure that is available to you as a member of our research community.

It is perfectly acceptable to get in touch with the team members to chat through your thoughts and ideas about your research if you feel unsure about anything or if you feel like you can’t discuss this with your supervision team.

The staff won’t discuss your issues with anyone else unless this has been agreed with you (unless the situation is severe enough that they need to take action as part of their duty of care to you as a student).

The chances are that the team have experience of PhD researchers going through the same things and are an excellent resource for you to make use of.

Faculty-based PGR admin staff

You will most likely come into contact with your faculty's postgraduate research (PGR) administration structure when it comes to progress monitoring. 

You will also engage with PGR admin should you need to make a change to your registration (e.g. take a suspension or request an extension) and when you reach the stage of submitting your thesis.

Not all University staff will possess knowledge about the specific set-up of the BCCS so it is advisable to mention that you are a registered student in your given faculty but also part of the BCCS, a centre for doctoral training (CDT).

Admin structures vary across faculties so you will need to identify the relevent staff connected with PGR administration from the contact lists available from your faculty website (or school website, as may be appropriate):

This might involve specific reference to 'PGR' in the role or description but such staff are also 'postgraduate administrators' or part of a 'graduate education team'.

It is good practice to copy-in the BCCS Manager when dealing with faculty-based staff on issues which may have implications for you or your funding.

 

Useful info and resources

You can always approach staff at the BCCS if you have any queries or concerns about your research degree