Message sent to all CDP students on 14th April 2020.
I hope you are all keeping well and coping with these difficult times. I wanted to let you all know that there is more news from UKRI about extending the funding for studentships.
Before I cover these, I just want to say again that if you have any concerns or are facing particular problems please tell your supervisors and your partner organisation. This includes if you have been unwell during the lock down.
I am in regular contact with AHRC and I am letting them know about the difficult situations many of you are facing, so that they understand the actual difficulties you are in.
Good news for Extending the funding of students in their final year of funding
UKRI, the larger organisation that AHRC are part of, announced last Thursday 9th April that they are “offering costed extensions of up to six months to final year doctoral students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic”. This applies to your collaborative doctoral partnership studentship.
The Science Minister Amanda Solloway said on Thursday 9 April;
“UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded doctoral students in their final year will receive an extension to their research with additional grants, known as a costed extension, of up to six months providing them with peace of mind that they will be able to complete their studies.
The extension offer will apply to final year PhD awards that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and is in addition to the guidance already published by UKRI, including advising research organisations on how existing grants can be used to support their students.”
The announcement can be found here https://www.ukri.org/news/government-announces-support-for-phd-students-as-a-result-of-coronavirus-disruption/.Please see the FAQs Document for more details.
If you read the FAQs Document, it says that these funded extensions apply to anyone whose funded period ends between 1 March 2020 and 31 March 2021. It does not include students who were writing up on 1 March 2020 after their studentship stipend has ended.
There are a lot of questions in the FAQs about studentships that are funded in partnership with another organisation. These questions do not apply to Collaborative Doctoral Partnership studentships. For your studentship all the funding comes from the AHRC, except for the additional money provided by your partner organisation for research expenses.
AHRC have not yet told us the exact details about how they will sort out the practicalities of the extension for your award. We will let you know when we know more.
There is one question in the FAQs we are specifically asking AHRC for advice on. This is the FAQ about internships and placements, and if the extension can cover this. We are specifically asking if this applies to using the Student Development Fund. We will let you know what AHRC say, when we know more.
What happens if I am not in the final year of my funding?
The announcement last week only applies to students in the last year of their funding. They have responded to concerns that have been made regarding students in the last months of their funding and the urgent need to know what was going to happen to them as soon as possible.
If you have more than a years funding left, this announcement does not mean that you will not get a funded extension.
UKRI have made it clear that they are committed to supporting all students whose research is affected by the current crisis. They are saying that they will consider requests for funded extensions for other students on a case by case basis.
They have specifically said students are advised to keep clear evidence of how the current situation is affecting your studentship. This includes illness, caring for children, closure of libraries, laboratories, partner organisations etc.
My advice is not to ask for an extension now if you have more than a years funding to go. Please wait. We do not know how long the current situation will last. Colleagues at AHRC, your university and partner organisation who need to make the request for extensions are also all working from home and may be ill, needing to care for others etc. UKRI may make new announcements about extensions that apply to you in coming months.
We will be in touch again as soon as we have more information. We will also post this message on the CDP website.
Take care,
JD
JD Hill Chair of the CDP Consortium and Head of Research, British Museum