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PGR Coronavirus Information

The information on this page is provided by the Centre for Doctoral Studies.  It is intended to supplement the King's Coronavirus information pages which can be found at:

 

Supporting PGR Mental Health & Wellbeing

  • Webinars for Researchers

1.  Navigating Change and Uncertainty: A Webinar for Researchers - The recording for this webinar can be accessed here (KEATS log in)

As a backdrop of result of recent and ongoing events, you are likely dealing with a lot of upheaval in a constantly changing situation clouded with uncertainty. Having changes imposed upon you, you may want to increase your capacity to navigate the process and do what you can to respond in a way that serves you better. This webinar will enable you to assess your current approaches to change, explore the common processes of change, and analyse a variety of techniques and strategies for coping with change, and developing yourself in the process.

2. Stress, Resilience and Strengths: A Webinar for Researchers. 

Access the recording here (KEATS log in)

In light of recent events you might be facing concurrent challenges of conducting your research from home, tutoring small humans, anxiety over the welfare of family members, and a restructuring of your social life. Layered difficulties deepen stress and can rob us of our sense of control. This session will enable you to clarify what you can control and influence, explore your personal resilience, a define and deploy your personal strengths as super-powers to ease stress responses.

 Feedback from a PhD student who attended the webinar: "It was practical, accessible, well presented, and provided clear strategies for dealing with stress. I also appreciated Sarah's approach, there was no ‘silver bullet’ but rather she provided ways forward for mitigating – if not eradicating – the stress which we all increasingly experience. Great that the video will be made available for colleagues to watch/re-watch."

  • King’s has developed two PGR-specific online wellbeing resources that are freely available, and has also produced a series of talks on maintaining health and wellbeing 

Wellbeing Toolkit for PGR Students

The Wellbeing Thesis

Maintaining Health & Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic - a series of talks from the Division of Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience 

For an extensive list of general mental health and wellbeing support, please visit our internal PGR Support page. 

When working at home it is crucial that we support our own wellbeing by clearly separating our work and home lives. King’s Organisational Development have collated resources and guidance on working from home and wellbeing.

PGR Financial Aid Scheme 

As a result of the current Coronavirus outbreak, we understand that many of our students have concerns about money and finances. 

King’s PGR students who have been directly affected financially by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis may be eligible for financial support through the PGR Financial Aid Scheme. Please note that this scheme does not address issues around additional stipends, tuition fees or King’s Residences accommodation fee reduction or pro-rating, which should be picked up separately.

For information on the scheme, please visit the Student Funding webpage.

Resources for PGR Supervisors

  • We are regularly maintaining the FAQ page for postgraduate researchers on topics such as thesis submission deadlines, training and development, interruptions, funding etc. 

  • Supporting PGR Mental Health & Wellbeing - webinar for supervisors and staff who work with PGR students 

This webinar was recently delivered by Dr Amy Moore, Head of Doctoral Student Development, Prof Sarah Byford, Associate Dean IoPPN, and Hannah Bell, Mental Health Disability Advisor. It covers key challenges and concerns that PGR students face, and shares guidance for supervisors and staff who work with PGR students on how to address these concerns, offer support, and signpost to internal and external resources. 

The collated slidedeck with embedded recordings can be downloaded here. 

  • Supporting and preparing PGR students for online vivas

A guidance document has been put together for everyone who is involved in setting up, conducting, participating, and managing the online oral examinations for research degrees. This guidance document can be found here .  

  • The UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) has provided a suite of free online resources that aim to guide and support supervisors during the pandemic. Resources include:

Effective Practices in Supervising Doctoral Candidates at a Distance

UKCGE Guide to Online Supervision

Remote Doctoral Vivas

 

For guidance relating to your specific faculty/department practices regarding online upgrades, vivas or commiittees, please contact your PGR Coordinator/Chair. 

  • PGR Financial Aid Scheme 

As a result of the current Coronavirus outbreak, we understand that many of our students have concerns about money and finances. 

King’s PGR students who have been directly affected financially by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis may be eligible for financial support through the PGR Financial Aid Scheme.

For information on the scheme, please visit the Student Funding webpage.

The Centre for Doctoral Studies is sending out regular newsletters to PGR supervisors. We have an archive of these newsletters on our internal supervisor webpages - click here to access them. If you are not receiving these emails, please contact doctoralstudies@kcl.ac.uk 

 

Staying Active

There are many virtual activities that can help you to stay active. King’s Sport are offering free online classes for everyone in the King’s community.  

You can also follow the 'Keep Moving' step of KCLSU's Take Time In initiative for tips on keeping active. 


 

Advice & Guidance

Student Services

King’s staff are committed to ensuring that you have access to all the services you need. The latest information and an updated list of how to access our student services remotely is available on the website. 

Student Advice and Guidance team are available for support regarding concerns such as visas, finances. Students can access the Advice Line Mon-Fri.

The Counselling & Mental Health team are offering remote support.

Need equipment while working remotely? Find out how to apply for an equipment loan. 

 

KDSA

King's Doctoral Students' Association (KDSA) is the recognised representative body of the Postgraduate Research Student community. Feel free to get in touch with the committee regarding doctoral student concerns - kdsa@kclsu.org

 

KCLSU

Take Time In

Take Time In is the online version of their well known Take Time Out campaign. Focusing on the King’s Five Ways to Wellbeing based on the NHS steps guidance, they offer ideas, events, activities and more to help all students navigate this challenging period. Find out more by visiting their website.

You can contact KCLSU Advice, where a PGR caseworker can provide you with free, confidential and impartial advice remotely.

You are also welcome to contact the Vice President Postgraduates, Heena Ramchandani, by email.

 

Researcher Development & Training

Whilst no workshops or training courses are running on site during this time, the Centre for Doctoral Studies and other training providers are working hard to make sure that development opportunities are still available to our PGR community. Where possible, we are working with trainers to deliver courses virtually, via platforms such as KEATS or Zoom. Where this is not possible, we may have to postpone courses until the situation changes.

We have a range of online and blended learning resources availble to PGR students, such as:

 

For full details on training and development opportunites, please visit the Doctoral Training pages. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

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