Graduate School Director's Briefing December 23

Please see the Graduate School Director's Briefing for December 23 

Dear Postgraduate Researchers, 

Also for the attention of Supervisors and Research-degree-related staff 

Congratulations to all our PG research students who have kept going throughout a challenging year! There have been: 

• 150 PGRs starting their doctoral programme 
• And, to balance it, 150 PGRs completing their doctorate 
• many more completing their upgrade, doing fieldwork, writing-up, submitting their examination copies, taking a break when it was needed, and just keeping on going! 

We are also celebrating the end of the year with photos of two cheerful PGR events that happened recently: Bake Your Research and Tree-Planting at Marston Vale Forest Centre. 

This briefing will cover: 

• Christmas closure and wellbeing support 
• submitting your thesis over the closure period 
• Student Assistance Fund 
• tree planting update 
• Bake Your Research winners. 

Christmas closure and wellbeing support (for directly registered students) 

Graduate School opening times before and after University closure days (23 Dec 2023–1 Jan 2024)

The physical Graduate School office is affected by building work in the week commencing 18 December and will only be open on 20 December for in-person PGR appointments (phone lines will be open as normal). The office will reopen on 2 January 2024 along with the rest of the campus. Here’s a reminder of our phone number and how the appointment system works: Contact us | Graduate School Network (open.ac.uk) 

Over the University closure period (23 Dec 2023–1 Jan 2024) 

The rest of the campus and Library Building are closed, but the PGR Common Room will remain open (heated 8:00-22:00) over the Christmas break. The Common Room isn’t alarmed so PGRs do not need to let Security know that they’re coming in and should use the back door (at the back of the Library Building) with their security pass. The Security Lodge will remain open throughout the festive period and can be contacted on 01908 (6)53666, or email [email protected]. 

Support services while the University is closed 

We know the holidays are not a time of celebration for everyone. The following wellbeing support is available to directly registered OU research students; for Affiliated Research Centre students, we encourage you to talk with your supervisor about what support is available at your institution. We have checked that all of the following services are available as usual during the time the University is closed. 

Employee Assistance Programme (online and phone support) 

The Employee Assistance Programme is a free and confidential service subscribed to by the Open University, offering expert information, advice, counselling and support on a wide range of issues. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. See details of how to access it on the Wellbeing page. 

OUWellbeing App 

OUWellbeing is an app which makes looking after your wellbeing fun, interactive and stimulating by providing you with the tools to start building healthy, positive habits into your everyday life. It’s available to staff and students with content tailored to each group: you can signal that you are a postgraduate research student when you sign up. 

Download it here from the iOS or Android app stores. Use your OU email address to sign up. 

Talk Campus (online support) 

Talk Campus provides mental health and wellbeing support, allowing students who are struggling and worried about their mental health to talk to other students from all around the world in a safe and moderated space. It is completely anonymous and students sign in using their OU email address. 

SHOUT (text messaging support in the UK) 

The OU is in partnership with SHOUT to provide a text-messaging support service for those struggling to cope. When you text ‘OU’ to Shout 85258, you will be put through to a trained volunteer who can support you with what you’re going through but is also familiar with OU support and services and can thus refer you to suitable help. This is only available in the UK. 

The Irish equivalent is a company called text about it and to contact them (free in the Republic of Ireland), you text HELLO to 50808. 

The website Student Space has a special section dedicated to wellbeing over the Winter Break. There are also suggestions of other resources that can help on the Wellbeing page on the GSN. 

Submitting your thesis over the closure period (for directly registered and ARC students) 

For PGRs who are due to submit their thesis online by 1 January 2024 and who have an exceptional technical or health issue – for example, drop-out of their Wi-Fi over a significant period of time, their PC was broken, they became too ill to submit or there were any other extenuating exceptional circumstances that take place – students should email [email protected] as soon as they can. This can then be picked up with the student on 2 January 2024. 

PGRs should also ensure that they have given their Notice of Submission on PGR Manager before their lead supervisor goes on leave for the break. If you have any difficulties submitting on PGR Manager, please email your final thesis to [email protected] by your maximum submission deadline. 
 

Student Assistance Fund (for directly registered students) 

For any directly registered PGRs who are experiencing unexpected financial hardship you can apply to the Student Assistance Fund. The Fund supports students who are facing unexpected or emergency costs. Please note that it does not include financial hardship because of increases in the cost of living. You can apply once every academic year (1 Aug–31 Jul) for funds up to £500. It is designed to cover costs for things that are preventing you from progressing on your research degree. The applicant needs to show that the funding will make a critical difference to their ability to continue studying.  

Please note the advice on supporting evidence: If you’re not sure what evidence to provide, consider providing us with copies of your last three month’s bank statements as your evidence. This could help us assess your application and reduce delays in making a payment to you. 

For more information: Fees, funding and cost of living | Graduate School Network (open.ac.uk) 

Tree planting update (for directly registered and ARC students) 

The Graduate School are proud to plant a tree for each research degree student who graduates. PGRs and staff had a trip to Marston Vale Community Forest on 12 December in order to get involved with the actual planting of the trees. We had an inspiring, sociable day. 

X post and Facebook post; more information about tree-planting at the Graduate School.

Bake Your Research (for directly registered and ARC students) 

Our sixth annual Bake Your Research competition was a real pleasure, bringing out PGRs’ creativity and humour. We had a in-person event on 29 November where PGRs and staff came together to admire and taste the creations, and learn more about research in an interesting and accessible way. Thank you to all the bakers who put time and energy into their entries, and to the community for voting. The following Star Bakers won: 

• 1st prize: Melanie Rimmer (WELS)  
• 2nd prize: Meng-Chin Tsai (STEM)  
• Staff: Judith Taylor (Graduate School) 

Read more and see photos of the winners here: Bake your Research 2023 Star Bakers | The Open University and the padlet with all online entries here Bake Your Research 2023 (padlet.org). 

We hope you can take a break over this period and recharge over the holiday. See you in 2024! 

Best regards, 

Lindsay 
Professor Lindsay O’Dell, Graduate School Director