Updates relating to COVID-19

PGR admisisons is ongoing. Adaptations to normal procedures demanded by the pandemic are generic to all student recruitment efforts, and are summarised at this web link: https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/covid-19/prospective-students 

Academic selection and recruitment to informatics PGR programmes is continuing in the usual way for the School’s CDT and institute led PGR programmes. 

The University of Edinburgh expects all students commencing studies in 2021/22 to be with us in Edinburgh to start their study.  

UPDATE 20 JAN 2022

• New students - all international students with a student visa requirement must now start their studies as an on-campus student and be resident in Edinburgh from the official start date of their studies.  If sponsored students cannot start as on-campus students, they must get in contact with IGS team and request a deferral. A deferral is not guaranteed as it depends on a number of factors, including the source and flexibility of any scholarship funding. 

The Informatics Forum, Bayes and Wilkie are open to staff and PGR students. 

New students commencing their studies can seek access to the Informatics Forum  (and Bayes where it is appropriate) by completing the Buildings Inductions (and associated training). Once completed, the IGS will add access permissions to your student card and allocate you a space to work (which may be a temporary allocation during the COVID disruption period). 

School information on building access and induction processes: https://web.inf.ed.ac.uk/infweb/health-safety/building-induction

Helpful University COVID guidance: https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/covid-19 

Due to the COVID working environment, and the move towards PGR working in shared offices, students should expect to work in a hybrid manner between home and the office for the duration of their PGR studies. 

If for any reason we have to return to limiting office occupancy levels, PGRs will be expected to self manage their office use rota with their office peers and in line with School H&S rules.  

It is now possible to meet your supervisor face to face, at one to one meetings, if it is for educational purposes. All interactions between staff and PGR students must follow current COVID H&S protocols. Supervisors should maintain collaborative virtual channels with their research teams, and have regular meetings to faciliate student engagment with their peers. 

Please record the engagement of PGR students on student visas using EUCLID as normal. Unless on an approved LoA or AIS, students sponsored on student visas should be adequately engaging and progressing with their studies on campus. 

UPDATE 14 MARCH 2022

Ongoing students - the UKVI concession which allowed students to conduct their studies remotely has been removed. All students who are sponsored on a student visa were expected to return to on-campus studies by 21 Feb 2022, or their sponsorship would be withdrawn and their student record would be cancelled.

If required, current on-course PGR students can request approval of a Leave of Absence for appropriate reasons. The link to IGS Leave of Absence information and request form is here: https://restricted.web.inf.ed.ac.uk/infweb/student-services/igs/phd/programme-changes/leave-of-absence

The Student Immigration Service will be able to provide the most up-to-date advice and guidance relating to absences directly linked to Covid-19 and the impact on visas so please do encourage students to contact this team if they are at all concerned.     

Academic Services has confirmed that the normal Leave of Absence recording process resumed from 1^st September (DRPS Regulation 30: http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/20-21/regulations/PGDRPS2020-21.pdf). In CSE, the new LoA process is detailed here: http://web.inf.ed.ac.uk/infweb/student-services/igs/phd/programme-changes/leave-of-absence

Unless on an approved LoA or AIS, all PGR students should be engaging with their studies on campus and be locally resident. 

Students who are unable to continue with their studies can request an Authorised Interruption of Study (AIS).  Students wishing to take an AIS should contact the IGS and submit the usual paperwork.  Requests for AIS will be subject to the normal School/College authorisation and will be considered by the Deputy Head of IGS on a case by case basis. 

Please note that approval of an AIS does not mean approval of additional stipend payments. Funding extensions have been administered seperately.  

If a student on a student route visa wishes to interrupt their studies for over 60 days, students should seek guidance from the Student Immigration Service as to the impacts on their visa . To ensure the University is are aware of a student’s circumstances, students must email the Student Immigration Service and provide the dates and details of their proposed Authorised Interruption of Study.

It is important that PGR annual reviews continue to occur in a timely fashion (taking into account any period of AIS).  Regulations permits a pragmatic two stage approach whereby written material can be reviewed by the assessment panel remotely, and signed off on EUCLID as being indicative of satisfactory progress before a face to face meeting takes place.  Students and review panels can meet in person or virtually, so that the student has an opportunity to present their progress in an oral presentation, followed by question and answers.

Any progression issues as a result of COVID-19 disruption should be documented in the annual review.  All annual reviews will continue to be reviewed and signed by the Deputy Director of IGS. 

NB: Best practice is for the review panel to include an individual who is not part of the supervisory team (Code of Practice for Supervisors and Research Students, 3.1), however, this is not mandatory.

Request for programme extensions should be requested in the usual way, via submission of the appropriate form and supporting information, to the IGS.  Programme extension requests will be considered on a case by case basis.

For the avoidance of doubt, approval of a programme extension does not also mean an extension of stipend payments.  Funding extensions have been administered seperately.  

PGR theses submissions are only being accepted electronically only. The College Office will no longer be accepting hard-copy theses (i.e. the soft-bound copies for examination and the hard-bound, final theses for award).  Students should still submit the electronic version via Datasync (for theses submitted for assessment) and PURE (for final theses) by their Maximum End Date as usual.  Please refer to College guidance on Thesis Submission. 

In person and hybrid PGR vivas are now possible.  If all parties are in agreement, then it is also possible to continue conducting PGR vivas remotely and as online examinations. Students must be in full agreement for this method of examination. If there is any concern about conducting a viva in this way then there may be no alternative but to postpone the examination. 

Please refer to the Postgraduate Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study, at http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/ and the guidance for conducting oral examinations by video link https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/videolinked_phd_oral.pdf 

Information on graduation ceremony plans is available here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/student-administration/graduations. If students have any immediate concerns regarding graduation, they should contact infopoint@ed.ac.uk.

Although most of us will be able to continue our work remotely, either in its original form or by adjusting our research plans, there will be some who face practical difficulties and some for whom the stress will have an impact on their ability to work and progress with their research. In the first instance please discuss your concerns with your supervisor, they are best-placed to advise and help.

However, if your supervisor is unable to resolve your academic issue, you can also contact Prof Bob Fisher (Director of IGS), Prof Mary Cryan (Deputy Director-IGS), or one of the PGR personal tutors.  More information on resolving probelms is available here: www.web.inf.ed.ac.uk/infweb/student-services/igs/phd/student-support/resolving-problem.   

The University still has a range of remote support available to you so please make use of these services:

• Student Counselling Service
• Student Disability Service
• The Listening Service will continue remotely and you can make an appointment by emailing chaplain@ed.ac.uk
• The Chaplaincy is also creating blogs to raise our spirits
• Free self-help and online resources include: Big White Wall, Feeling Good App, SilverCloud
• Online updates from the Universities Twitters accounts: https://twitter.com/edinunistaff and https://twitter.com/uoe_online

Outside of the University there are a lot of other support networks you can make use of, e.g.

• Scottish Association for Mental Health: https://www.samh.org.uk/
• The World Health Organisation has advice on Mental Health Considerations during COVID-19 Outbreak

It is more important than ever that all students and staff take time to look after themselves, both physically and mentally. These times are challenging for most of us, so please make sure you keep in virtual contact with your peers, supervisors, academic colleagues and friends & family.   

 UKRI have announced additional support for PGR students who are funded by UKRI research councils (including EPSRC). UKRI-funded doctoral students in their final year of study (i.e. those whose funded period ends between 1 March 2020 and 31 March 2021) are eligible to apply for up to 6 additional stipend payments. For avoidance of doubt, this does not include students who were writing up (i.e. past their funded period / prescribed period of study) on 1 March 2020 after their studentship stipend has ended.

UPDATE 30 Nov 2020 - Phase 1 requests have now been considered and (if appropriate) approved by the relevant Director of CDT (as the grant holder of the CDT funds) or College Dean of PGR studies (as the grant holder of the EPSRC DTA funds) and adjustments to payment schedules have been actioned by the IGS.   

Please refer to the email communication sent to all PGR students on 28 July 2020, in which it was confirmed that the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has provided modest funding to the University to support University/School funded PGR students in their final year of study (i.e. those with current funding end dates between 01 March 2020 and 31 March 2021).  

Examples of University / School scholarships include:

• University of Edinburgh Enlightenment Scholarships
• Principal's Career Development Scholarships (PCDS)
• Edinburgh Global Research Scholarships (EGRS)
• Informatics Global PhD Scholarships (IGPS)
• School of Informatics Pump Priming Scholarships
• PGR scholarships paid by SoI Research Institutes
• Any other scholarship where a student's stipend is paid by University or School funds. 

Final year PGR students funded by the University/School or a UK body, such as a charity, which is not itself offering extensions, will be eligible to apply for a University funded extension of up to 6 months.  The Director of IGS (Prof Bob Fisher) emailed all PGR students in year 3 or beyond and invited eligible students to submit their extension request via the IGS by 12pm MON 24 AUGUST 2020. A second round of applications were invited with a request deadline of 30 Oct 2020. 

UPDATE 30 Nov 2020 - All requests have now been considered and (if appropriate) approved by the College Dean of PGR studies (as the grant holder of the SFC funds) and adjustments to payment schedules have been actioned by the IGS.

Please note that an extension of stipend funding does not automatically mean an extension to the maximum programme end date.  Students needing an extension to their maximum programme end date should follow the normal IGS process of requesting a programme extension, approx 2-3 months before their maximum end date. 

UKRI/EPSRC asked grant holders of CDT programmes and EPSRC DTA funds to report on how many students with a funding end date of 1 April 2021 or later are likely to need an extension through an online survey, which was reported to the UKRI on 29 June 2020. This aggregate level data was used to inform the UKRI's 4 month review of their funding extension policy. The UKRI communication of 11 Nov 2020 is provided below and more information can be found on the UKRI webpages:

• Doctoral students advised to adjust projects for COVID-19 – UKRI
• Guidance for applicants, students and award-holders impacted by the pandemic – UKRI

UKRI email to PGR students_11 Nov 2020 (83.19 KB PDF)

UPDATED 30 NOV 2020 - In the early guidance received from UKRI/EPSRC, they indicated that PGR students whose funded period ends on, or after, 1 April 2021 may be supported through granting extensions funded from individual grant underspend, which were to be approved by Directors of CDTs/DTPs on a case-by-case basis.  CDT Directors are permitted to approve funding extensions for later year students, which will be funded using grant underspend, up to 18 Dec 2020.  From Jan 2021, funding extenstions for later year CDT/DTP students will be considered at the institutional level. 

On 30 November 2020, the College Dean of PGR students sent a communication to all PhD students to update them on this situation.  The communication is included below. 

COVID-19 Student Communication 30 Nov 2020 (103.24 KB PDF)

UPDATED 25 JAN 2021 - On Fri 22 January 2021, the College Dean of PGR students sent an email (to University email addresses) to all eligible UKRI eligible students inviting them to submit an application for the Phase 2 UKRI funding round. Students were advised that to be eligible to apply for a funded extension in this round

• they must have a funding end date beyond 31^st March 2021
• the funding must have started before 1^st March 2020 and
• they must not have been awarded a funded extension since 31^st March 2020. 

Further information about the process and various versions of the application from can be found on a dedicated Sharepoint site Funded Extensions - Home (sharepoint.com) and more information about the scheme can be found on the UKRI website at https://edin.ac/39uGGVn .

Students are invited to hear about the process and to ask questions in webinars: Monday 1^st February at 2pm (meeting link: https://edin.ac/2LvoWRP) and repeated on Wednesday 3^rd February at 10am (meeting link: https://edin.ac/2XFIVj6).

Students should direct queries to PGR.Funded.Extensions@ed.ac.uk or, if it relates specifically to your studentship details, your DTP/CDT administrator or grant holder.

A panel will review the applications and award extensions based on need. Due to limited funds, requests are likely to be capped at 3 months but there may be exceptions to this if a student has caring responsibilities, long term illness, disabilities or is neurodivergent (such as clinically diagnosed autism, ADHD etc).

Please note that extensions will not be awarded simply for the time lost. Instead, they will be awarded only where evidence can be provided that this time could not be used productively to progress your PhD and so you cannot complete enough work to submit a thesis that meets the grounds for award.

UPDATE 30 APRIL 2021 - College has shared all decisions to applicants. For those who received an approved extension as part of the Phase 2 / Round 1 process, the IGS has arranged the payment of any additional stipend payments via the normal payroll route. 

Please note that an extension of stipend funding does not automatically mean an extension to the maximum programme end date.  Students needing an extension to their maximum programme end date should follow the normal IGS process of requesting a programme extension, approx 2-3 months before their maximum end date. 

The University has extending the Scottish Funding Council (SCF) grant to help School/University funded PGR students impacted by the pandemic.  Specifically, the University can provide extensions of stipend (at UKRI rates) for up to 3 months to students who need more time to complete their PhDs, when all of the following criteria are met:

1) Your stipend is funded by the University (e.g. PCDS/EGRS) or the School of Informatics, OR a UK body (such as a charity), which is not itself offering extensions.

NB: Your scholarship provider would have been stated on your EUCLID offer letter. However, if you are unsure who funds your stipend payments and/or you need confirmation of your funding end date, please get in contact with igs@inf.ed.ac.uk.

2) Your funding period comes to an end after 31st March 2021.

3) You have not had a funded extension already awarded due to COVID disruption.

4) You have experienced disruption to your study as a result of COVID

5) You have attempted to mitigate for such disruption but now require longer to complete

6) Reasonable justification is offered for the proposed extension via the request form.

The Head of IGS (Prof Bob Fisher) emailed all Informatics PGR students (via University email addresses) on Fri 26 Feb 2021, informing them of the opportunity for elgible students to apply.   The email included the application form and the guidance under which requests would be assessed.  Several reminder emails were also sent out to PGR students (via University email addresses).

Application deadline – 12 noon, 24 June 2021 via Phd.Funded.Extensions@ed.ac.uk

On 25 May 2021, at 12.08pm, INF PGR students were emailed by IGS (via the RT Ticket system) to advise that College had invited applications to a second round of the Phase 2 UKRI funding extension process. A reminder email was sent at 09.15am on Mon 31 May. 

At this time, the additional funding can only be used to support students who meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Student scholarship is funded by UKRI/EPSRC (including CDT Incorporated students); and
• Student stipend funding started before 01 March 2020; and
• Student stipend funding will continue until at least 01 July 2021; and
• Student has experienced disruption to your study as a result of Covid; and
• Student has attempted to mitigate for such disruption but now require longer to complete; and
• Student has *not* already received a UKRI funded extension awarded in Phase 1.

Students can also submit an application if they meet the above criteria and had an earlier request turned down, or they has already received a full extension under Phase 2 (round 1) but  circumstances had changed significantly since the previous application.

Students unsure about their funding source (which would have been stated on the original offer letter), dates and/or eligibility, are invited to contact CDT Administrators (CDT students) or the IGS (non-CDT students).

Students are advised to read the College guidance before completing the application form, which should be submitted to Phd.Funded.Extensions@ed.ac.uk by Thursday 24th June at 12 noon.

Further information about the process, including application forms, can be found on a dedicated Sharepoint site (Funded Extensions - Home (sharepoint.com)) and more information about the scheme can be found on the UKRI website at https://edin.ac/39uGGVn.

Please direct questions relating to the form, guidance and/or decision process to Phd.Funded.Extensions@ed.ac.uk.

UPDATE 20/AUG/2021 - Decisions of who has been awarded Phase 2 / Round 2 funding extensions have been communicated by College.  IGS are in the process of organsing the amendments to stipend payment schedules where required.  

Please note that an extension of stipend funding does not automatically mean an extension to the maximum programme end date.  Students needing an extension to their maximum programme end date should follow the normal IGS process of requesting a programme extension, approx 2-3 months before their maximum end date. 

The College PGR team have put in place a process for dealing with on-going funded extension requests from students with an EPSRC DTP or ICASE studentship, in line with EPSRC’s guidance on the use of further flexibilities to support extensions (“Phase 3”).

Students on EPSRC DTP and ICASE grants can apply for a funded extension if they have experienced significant disruption to their PGR studies, provided they have not passed their funding end date. The application form and guidance notes are hosted on the College's SharePoint site so that it can be used by students on an ongoing as-needed basis. For avoidance of doubt, there will be no active calls for applications, rather applications can be submitted on an ongoing basis until informed otherwise.

Completed applications should be submitted by the student directly to pgrcse@ed.ac.uk (cc'd their supervisor). 

UKRI expect students to apply no earlier than 6 months ahead of their official funding end date.

• E.g. if a student's funding end date is 31 August 2022, then the earliest an applicaiton for extra funding can be submitted to the College would be 01 March 2022. 
• If a student is unsure of their official source of funding and / or funding end date, they should email the IGS@inf.ed.ac.uk for confirmation. 

Only if the funding extension will take a student beyond their maximum end date, should students submit a programme Extension of Studies request form in the usual way. If a programme extension is also needed, students should submit their School approved extension form at the same time as their funding extension form.

Applications will be reviewed by the Dean of Postgraduate Research and nominated Heads of Graduate School within the College.

The College PGR team will communicate the outcome of the application to the student, their supervisor, graduate school contact and College finance.

Each of the School's CDTs must put in place a process for UKRI "Phase 3" funded extension requests.

The Director of the CDT (as the relevant grant holder) is responsible for making decisions on future funding extensions to student cohorts who have been most impacted by COVID-19 pandemic. 

UKRI/EPSRC funded CDT students and incorporated students can apply for a "Phase 3" funded extension if they have experienced an can evidence significant disruption to their PGR studies, provided they have not passed their funding end date.

UKRI expect students to apply no earlier than 6 months ahead of their official funding end date.

• E.g. if a student's funding end date is 31 August 2023, then the earliest an application for extra funding can be submitted to the relevant CDT would be 01 March 2023. 
• If a student is unsure of their official funding source and/or funding end date, they can email the IGS@inf.ed.ac.uk for confirmation. 

The application form, guidance notes and how to apply will become available from your CDT administrator in due course. 

Only if the funding extension will take a student beyond their maximum end date, should students submit a programme Extension of Studies request form in the usual way (via the IGS/College). 

Applications will be reviewed by the CDT Director (with support form other CDT Exec members if required) and decisions communicated to students by the CDT. 

Notes:

• Where a funding extension is to be approved for a UKRI / EPSRC funded student, the CDT Portfolio Manager should be should be consulted as part of the approval process. 
• Where a funding extension is to be approved for an Incorporated student (i.e. School or industry funded), the CDT Portfolio Manager (School funded students) or the relevant School Portfolio Manager (industry funded students) should be should be consulted as part of the approval process.

Applications for hardship funding to suppport COVID funding extensions have now closed. 

The University offered financial support for students who were experiencing financial difficulties as a result of Covid-19 via the University hardship fund. The financial support could be used to cover any exceptional costs students may have incurred in relation to accommodation, subsistence, and travel. The financial support was available to matriculated PGR students across all fee statuses.  Decisions on whether a student received hardship funding depended on showing financial need.

Specific information is available here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/student-funding/news-events/covid-19/covid-19

Inquiries relating to University hardship funding should be submitted to studentfunding@ed.ac.uk.  

Normally, the PhD year 4 matriculation charge (or year 5 for PhD with Integrated Study) is not included in the allocation of scholarship funding.  More details on this are provided here:

https://restricted.web.inf.ed.ac.uk/infweb/student-services/igs/phd/fees-funding/payment-of-fees

However, PhD students who were awarded a COVID stipend funding extension during Phase One or Phase Two, will exceptionally have their 4th year matriculation charge paid by the School of Informatics.  The IGS has informed the University Fees team of those students whose 4th year invoices should be redirected to the School of Informatics. 

Students who think they have received an invoice for their 4th year PhD matriculation fee in error, should send the email and copies of the invoice pdfs to IGS@inf.ed.ac.uk.

Travel (including fieldwork) risk assessment and guidance during Covid-19 situation 

For the purposes of assessing the risk associated with travel (including travel related to fieldwork and/or conference attendance), the School of Informatics will consider students registered on PGR programmes to fall under the category of UoE staff. Therefore, PGR students should refer to, and follow, the University of Edinburgh Business Travel information for Staff. 

University of Edinburgh Business Travel Webpages

Travel (including fieldwork) on University business can now be undertaken but a Covid-19 specific travel risk assessment (TRA-CV19) must be completed for any travel on University of Edinburgh business, both within the UK and abroad. 

First, students and supervisors should follow the Restarting business travel flowchart to determine that the essential travel can be undertaken and can be appropriately considered for School approval. 

Restarting business travel flowchart (82.29 KB PDF)

If the outcome of the flowchart review is that travel (outside of Edinburgh) can be considered for approval, then the next step would be for the student and supervisor to complete the TRA1-CV19 risk assessment.  The PGR supervisor should submit the TRA1-CV19 risk assessment form to the Director of Professional Services (DoPS), along with their statement of support, at least 4 weeks prior to the proposed travel/visit (NB: if the proposed travel/visit is outside of the UK, the TRA1-CV19 should be submitted with as much prior notice as possible, so that cheaper advanced travel/accommodation can be taken advantage of). 

Travel Risk Assessment - TRA1-CV19 (123.68 KB Word)

The School DoPS will then consider the risk assesment and (hopefully) give approval for the travel to take place.  In all cases, TRA1-CV19 risk assessments will only be approved if the proposed research visit and travel can be conducted in a manner that complies with all local restrictions and regulations.

Once the School DoPS has given their approval, PGR students should then follow the normal processes for seeking approval of funding (e.g. submission of a Funds Request Form), travel insurance (NB: the School approved TRA1-CV19 risk assessment document must be submitted as part of the travel insurance application, and will be mandatory for submission) and requesting the booking of any travel/accommodation arrangements via the University's travel provider - Diversity Travel. 

Guidance on organising and paying for trips and using the new KeyTravel Portal. 

Important things to note

• PGR students can seek approval of funding to support the proposed travel/visit whilst awaiting DoPS approval of the TRA1-CV19 risk assessment, but no costs should be incurred without both approval of the risk assesment and approval of the funding by the relevant budget holder.   
• PGR students must have secured University travel insurance for the proposed travel/visit before any costs related to the travel/visit are incurred. 
• All travel and accommodation should be booked via the University's contracted preferred provider - Diversity Travel. Students should not be paying for travel and accommodation via personal funds and reclaiming via an eExpense (unless there is a very justifiable reason and permission has been given to do this). 
• If the approved travel/visit is not a mandatory/essential requirement of the programme of study (i.e. the work undertaken during the visit does not and will not count towards the award of academic credit - this would include attendance at conferences or any other non-essential professional development activity) then the University will not cover/reimburse costs associated with returning to the UK from countries where it will be legally necessary to enter into managed quarantine on return to Scotland. 
• If returning to Edinburgh/UK from overseas and students need to enter into self-isolation and/or managed quarantine, then students should let their supervisor know and inform the University via the Self-Isolation support (students) process. 

• Approval to travel may be impacted in the case of any changes to FCDO guidance e.g. if there is high risk alert in the destination country, or the country’s entry requirements (or other).  If FCDO guidance changes after risk assessment approval, students should be re-considering their risk assessment and mitigate any new risks. 

• If approval to travel to the destination country is revoked by the FCDO after the risk assessment has been approved, students will be covered under University insurance for any bookings made after the approval decision was given.  

• Where costs supporting an educational trip have been paid out in advance (e.g. for travel and accommodation) and a student subsequently chooses (for whatever reason) not to complete their trip and costs cannot be reimbursed via the travel insurance cover, then no further funding will be provided to the student for future travel/trips.