Supporting our diverse student cohort

To ensure students from all backgrounds and communities are able to get the best out of their student experience, and to create a supportive and inclusive environment, our institutions have a number of resources, networks and support teams in place.  This includes support for:

Institutional links:

• Bath
• Bristol
• Cardiff
• Exeter
• Rothamsted Research*
• Marine Biological Association (MBA)+
• Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)#
• Swansea
• UWE

*Link accessible only via Rothamsted’s VPN using a Rothamsted laptop/computer. Alternatively e-mail donna.fellowes@rothamsted.ac.uk
+Details can be found in the MBA handbook for PhD students. Alternatively e-mail katherine.helliwell@mba.ac.uk
# Link accessible once connected to PML network. Alternatively email Ruth Airs ruai@pml.ac.uk

DTP support

Your main contact for academic pastoral support for the DTP within your institution will be your local DTP Implementation Group Representative. Alternatively, you can approach your local DTP Management or Operational Group Representatives (the latter for non-academic pastoral support).

The SWBio DTP Hub members are always available too and can often advise and facilitate your engagement with other services. In addition, all our institutions provide extensive and professional pastoral support for students (which can be accessed via the links above). 

By their very nature pastoral issues are invariably individual and so it is important that you engage and seek help from anyone within our DTP structure or your institutional structure with whom you feel comfortable. Please be assured that all matters will be dealt with sensitively and in confidence wherever possible.

Institutional links:

DTP support

We have funding available for students with caring responsibilities.   This is to support additional costs associated with attending DTP cohort activities, PIPS/CASE placements or other directly-related project activities ONLY where this is outside of normal working patterns.  To access this funding, you must liaise and gain approval from the DTP Administrative Hub as there are strict requirements on how this funding can be used.  Please make contact in good time ahead of an activity, and importantly, retrospective / unauthorised claims will not be allowed. 

We are also here to provide any support or reasonable adjustments to enable you to access our DTP cohort activities.  Please do contact the DTP Administrative Hub to discuss further. 

 

Institutional links:

Institutional links:

We do encourage you to engage with your local disability support services as soon as possible in the lead up to starting with the programme.  This will help to ensure any support and reasonable adjustments can be put in place as soon as possible, to help with your transition into the programme and to avoid any unnecessary delays.

DTP support

If you have any medical conditions/accessibility requirements that may have an impact whilst attending DTP-led teaching / cohort activities, we also do encourage you to contact the DTP Administrative Hub so we can provide support and make reasonable adjustments where possible.  

If your circumstances require, UKRI will also provide a disabled students allowance.  This is to help with extra costs you may encounter because of a disability and may help support costs such as computer software, specialist mentoring/study skills tutors and travel costs.  If you think you may be eligible, please contact the local disability support team at your registered university, who will be able to assist you with checking your eligibility and the application process. 

 

Please refer to our International applicants section on the DTP website.

Institutional links:

Institutional links:

We are committed to an environment which is supportive and free from discrimination, harassment, bullying and victimisation.  If you have experienced any of these, we encourage you to report it via the below links.  There will also be key contacts to help support you through the process.

• Bath
• Bristol
• Cardiff
• Exeter
• Swansea
• UWE
• MBA, PML, Rothamsted – please refer to your registered university

Institutional links:

Note: Although some webpages may appear to have an undergraduate focus, support staff are experienced in working with postgraduate students and can provide tailored advice and support as well as additional information and contacts.  Also included under each heading, is also support we as the DTP can provide in these areas.

Support through the DTP

Alongside this institutional information, we have also included support we provide as the DTP.  If you require any further information, the DTP Hub as well as our local DTP representatives will always be happy to help, and all play active pastoral support roles.

We also have a friendly SWBio DTP Student Representatives team (including a dedicated EDI Student Champion) who you can raise student feedback via our DTP governance groups.  This is in addition to your individual SWBio DTP student ‘buddy’ from the year above and our SWBio DTP EDI Student Support Champions, who are here to help you transition into the DTP and support you throughout the programme. .

As part of the DTP you may spend time at away from your hosting institution.  Please do continue to use the support provided by your registered university.  They will also be able to advise on ensuring you have the support needed whilst based elsewhere.

You can also read more about how as a SWBio DTP student you can support EDI within the DTP and your institutions, and what steps we as the DTP are taking to support EDI throughout all aspects of the programme.