UKRI CDT in Biomedical AI
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Supervisor Guide

Information for current and prospective CDT supervisors.

PhD Supervision Guidelines

Researchers wishing to take on PhD supervision of CDT students must read and agree to abide by the following conditions and be familiar with the Supervisor Guide section of the CDT website.

Note: there are separate guidelines for project supervision in MScR stage of the PhD: Group and Individual project supervision guidelines

Conditions of Supervision

  • Researchers cannot normally take on a new CDT student as a primary supervisor in two consecutive years, but requests to do so will be considered by the CDT Director on a case-by-case basis.
  • Supervisors who have not graduated a PhD student as first supervisor will not be permitted to supervise a CDT student if that supervision would take their supervisory load beyond 4 students.
  • Supervisors who have graduated at least one PhD. student as first supervisor would not normally be permitted to take on a CDT student if their supervisory load would exceed 6.
  • Supervisors will be active researchers who hold either an academic position or a fellowship that extends for the duration of the PhD project. NHS consultants holding honorary status at the University can only act as a primary supervisor if the second supervisor is a University staff member whose position extends for the duration of the PhD project. In such cases, the supervisors must also commit to 50:50 co-supervision to ensure continuity.
  • Supervisors must have performed Equality & Diversity and Unconscious Bias training and have attended a University Supervisor Briefing session within the past 5 years.

CDT Training Programme

Students remain part of the CDT programme throughout their PhD studies and are required to take part in CDT-specific events and training activities. Supervisors are expected to actively support their student’s ongoing training and development including as part of the CDT programme. Details of such activities will be advertised to students and supervisors on a continuing basis throughout their studies.

CDT funding

CDT funding is for 4 years: 1-year MScR degree and 3-year PhD project. As a condition of UKRI/EPSRC funding the CDT is not able to cover any travel/project costs or fees after the student’s prescribed end date. Each student is allocated £7000 for travel/research costs. Students are responsible for managing their budgets in consultation with the supervisory team. Use of CDT funds must be approved by the primary supervisor and CDT team in advance of purchase, following the procedure set out by the CDT. 

UKRI Terms and Conditions

CDT supervisors and students must read and comply with UKRI Terms and Conditions. This includes ensuring that all relevant publications are open access and acknowledging UKRI funding support in publications and other materials.

Supervision procedures

CDT students are registered on the CDT degree programme, managed by the School of Informatics, for the entire duration of their studies. Supervisors of CDT students are expected to follow all relevant procedures for student supervision, support and monitoring set out by University, School of Informatics (see Useful Links, below). In particular we draw your attention to the Year Timelines for PhD Students that detail milestones each year that student and supervisor must adhere to. This includes important training courses that students are expected to attend as detailed on the Recommended Training for PGR students page. There are some additional CDT-specific requirements:

  • Providing quarterly updates on the student’s progress in a timely manner;
  • Notifying the CDT team of any issues that may arise relating to the student or their project in a timely manner.
  • Attending annual supervisor meetings organised by the CDT;
  • Maintaining compliance with the requirements detailed on this page.

CDT Management will sign-off on student Annual Reviews in co-ordination with the Informatics Graduate School (IGS). These reviews will be carried out according to the normal University regulations and initiated by the IGS at the appropriate times during the students study. The Annual Review process is described here.

If the student’s research location is not in the School of Informatics, the primary supervisor is responsible for ensuring the student completes all the relevant local health and safety training and building inductions. The supervisors must also make sure that the student is included to the relevant lab/institute mailing lists and any other communication channels to ensure their better integration into the local research group.

It's the supervisor's and student's responsibility to submit the PhD projects for ethical review to the School of Informatics within the first year of the PhD:

 

 

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