Coronavirus information for PhD students

Yes. The Bailrigg campus is providing a ‘remote and reduced’ operating model for accessing essential services and facilities on campus for those living on campus. Most other staff will be working from home, and we encourage PhD students to do the same. The Storey Institute in Lancaster City Centre is closed until further notice.

Yes. As the University is attempting to limit in person interaction, supervision meetings should be held using the digital platform preferred by you and your supervisor until further notice. Microsoft Teams is the default platform used at Lancaster University. If the availability of technology is limited, meetings can if necessary be held by telephone.

Yes. Given the challenging circumstances, it is more important than ever that there is a record of the meetings that have taken place. Please ensure that all meetings are logged using the PGR Records system on Moodle.

Yes. The University is attempting to operate as close as is possible to ‘business as usual’, but with most staff working from home. Appraisal panels will be conducted online, using a digital platform such as MS Teams (departments may choose to use an alternative platform). However, timings may invariably change. If you believe that you are getting to the stage where an appraisal is overdue, please contact your PGR Administrator and / or PGR Director / Coordinator.

Yes. Our regulations support vivas being conducted online (as a result of supporting many hundreds of online PhD students). The normal model is that we would try to avoid those involved in the viva being in more than two locations at once. However, this will likely be unavoidable during the COVID-19 outbreak. We, therefore, ask that on any written records of the viva it is made clear both how the viva was conducted, and why it was conducted in that way. As per standard University guidance, the viva should either be recorded, or there should be an independent chair. We are close to finalising formal changes to the University Academic Regulations with regard to online vivas, and will be issuing accompanying guidelines shortly.

The submission of soft copies is very much for the convenience of the examiners, so if agreed by the examiners we are able to allow electronic only submission. Don’t forget however that you may want your own soft copy for use both before and during the viva.

No. The University regulations have been temporarily amended such that hard copies will not be required. The final submission should only be made electronically.

Yes. ISS have a range of online resources and training available that you will find on the University ISS IT Training web pages. You can register for a Teams webinar or access the Communication and collaboration with Microsoft Teams online course at any time.

If you are funded by one of the research councils that fall within the remit of the UKRI, and your funding end date is between 1^st March 2020 and 31^st March 2021, you should have already applied via the process that closed on the 29^th May 2020.

Doctoral Academy Covid Funding Extension

Should your request for an extension meet the appropriate criteria, as per the approach taken by the UKRI, and your funding end date is between 1^st March 2020 and 31^st March 2021, we will attempt to liaise with your funder to discuss their willingness to support a funded extension. Lancaster University funded PhDs will also be considered as part of the process. The University has not at this stage set a deadline for these requests, although we reserve the right to do so. To apply please complete the online form, and submit by email.

Our advice is for you to as much as possible continue to work on your PhD, guided by your supervisory team. At this stage it is important that you document the impact that Covid-19 is having on your work. We have had to prioritise looking at the challenges associated with students closer to the end of their studies but hope to issue further guidance regarding extensions and intercalations in due course.

We have not forgotten about you. Our advice is for you to continue to work on your PhD, guided by your supervisory team, and to document the impact that Covid-19 is having on your work. We hope to issue further guidance in due course.

Yes. Most buildings and research labs are closed to access under the Universities `reduced and remote’ operating model. We are managing critical systems, high risk research and equipment and supporting `critical’ lab work, in the current national / international interest.

You should discuss your research activity with your supervisor. We would hope that discussions may also help to identify other, less specialist resource-intensive, elements of your research that could be tackled during this challenging period, including secondary research methods and research writing.

No. Since the 23^rd March 2020 theUniversity has implemented a `reduced and remote’ operating model. Labs are currently closed to general access with all but essential maintenance and safety checks stopped. Prior to the University lifting of any access restrictions, it must be clear that a safe working environment is available, in accordance Public Health England advice and health and safety regulations and mandates.

Yes. Work is currently in progress to develop processes for, and implement a phased return to specialist research labs. Health and safety is paramount and labs will not reopen until it is safe to do so. As part of the reopening process, updated Risk Assessments are in preparation for each of the research facilities.

The current travel and social distancing restrictions have resulted in many organisations operating to reduced and remote operating models. You should discuss your situation with your supervisor(s) and collaborator. There may be opportunity to change the current focus of your research to undertake desk-based activities, such as literature review or writing up, or to adapt your research plans to employ secondary / desk-based research methods.

In the first instance, you should discuss the situation with your supervisor. There may be opportunities to gather data remotely, use secondary or simulated data, or to focus on different areas of your research such as literature review, writing up of your work or conference / journal papers. If appropriate, we will explore opportunities for ‘pausing’ your studies with you.

Yes. If your research involves human participants and you are changing your mode of data collection you will need to submit an amendment application to the relevant Faculty Research Ethics Committee (FREC). To support you in this, Research Services have provided additionalinformation on their Covid-19 impact pages: Research Services. There is guidance for those switching to remote data collection part-way through their data collection (who may need to temporarily pause activity and notify participants) and information for those proposing to start their data collection remotely. You should discuss the situation with your supervisor in the first instance.

It is possible that fieldwork will not be possible for a specific period of time, as yet unknown, and should be rescheduled for later in the year, if possible. If your fieldwork is highly dependent on the time of year, then you may need to consider alternative arrangements. You should discuss with your supervisor in the first instance.

You should discuss the situation withyour supervisor and PGR Director. If all alternative avenues have been exhausted in terms of elements of the work that can be completed now, we can look at the options in terms of intercalation or extending registration periods.

The University is advising students (and staff) to follow Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice. Currently, the FCO advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. Within this context, any travel for University purposes is not essential, and therefore it is not possible for you to travel on University business, research, or study abroad, as the University’s insurance no longer applies. If you need more information about travel, please contact travel@lancaster.ac.uk.

Government advice continues to be that you should stay at home as much as possible, and work from home if you can. The question of completing fieldwork will depend on individual circumstances and will need to be answered on a case-by-case basis, so in the first instance talk to your PhD supervisor and/or PGR Director/Coordinator.

The University will work with you to establish the best way forward. In the first instance talk to your PhD supervisor and / or PGR Director / Coordinator, and they will escalate as appropriate.

The Doctoral Academy have established a team that are designing a University provision for the academic year 2020/21, with emphasis on online delivery. This makes sense given any uncertainly around Covid-19, but more significantly is an opportunity for the University to focus on online provision to support both students remote and local to the Bailrigg campus.

For specialist computing resource, access to virtual machines and HPC’s you should discuss your needs with your supervisor. More generally, AppsAnywhere can be used to launch free and site licensed software remotely. Many applications are available on Windows and a small number are available on Mac. You can access AppsAnywhere from https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/apps.

There are a range of low-tech solutions that may help you improve your connectivity. ISS have provided a number of possible approaches in their Using IT services on low band-width connection pages.

ISS VPN Connection Issues pages may provide some solutions. If not it is really important that you Report an IT Problem to ISS clearly detailing the activities you are engaging in and the problems encountered. This will help us to gain an understanding of problems arising and build solutions.

The University does not need to withdraw sponsorship where the absence from studies are due to Covid-19, if your intention is to resume studies. Where the absence is for other reasons, normal arrangements apply including visa curtailment.

You are exempt from demonstrating progression, but will still need to apply for a visa.

The University does not need to withdraw sponsorship where students are absent from studies due to Covid-19, where the intention is to resume studies. Assuming your visa is still within date, you will be able to return without issue on your existing visa. Obviously, it is important to consider any travel restrictions that are in place before making plans to return to the UK.

Yes. Your visa will remain in place as long as you continue to engage with your studies. If your visa expires during that period, you will not need to reapply for a new visa unless you choose to return to Lancaster to complete your studies in the UK.

The Doctoral Academy Oversight Group chose to focus on the important topic of student support within its first newsletter.

Contact your supervisor, PGR Director/ Coordinator and PGR Administrator to look at the options re: intercalation. Please do this as early as possible so the University is in the picture as soon as possible. Further details with regard to being tested for the illness can be found on the University Intranet.