UKRI to contact doctoral students directly about support on offer

UKRI is planning to write to around 20,000 postgraduate researchers – those in receipt of UKRI funding – to set out the support they are entitled to receive. An email campaign, with a degree of personalisation depending on students’ situations, will highlight topics including leave entitlements, disability support, and resolving problems.

Writing on Research Agenda’s sister site Wonkhe, UKRI Director of Talent and Skills Frances Burstow has set out some of the thinking behind the move. In part, it follows individual stories from PGRs collected as part of the EDI Caucus appraisal of training grant conditions, which demonstrated the issues faced with problems such as sick leave and childcare. Additionally, UKRI conducted a small-scale survey last year in which around 30 per cent of respondents were unclear about medical leave and reasonable adjustments, and two-thirds did not realise they had recourse to a complaints ombudsman independent of their institution.

UKRI is also going to set up a newsletter for doctoral supervisors, so that they are better able to “point students in the right direction.” As Burstow says:

“We have much to be grateful for from supervisors. The vast majority are dedicated to the success of their students. Many are stretched for capacity and do not have time to know every detail of student support policy. We certainly wouldn’t expect them to add some sort of counselling service to their repertoire. But when supervisors have the wrong information and pass that on to students, it can be devastating.”

The email campaign will take place over the coming months.