Blog posts

College Teaching Day

The Management Board has approved the following changes to the College Teaching Day which will be implemented from 2012-13:

  1. For undergraduate courses:
    1. Teaching hours will remain from 09.00 to 18.00 on weekdays. Wednesday afternoons will remain free from teaching and education activities from 13.00 onwards.
    2. The 12.00 to 14.00 lunchtime slots on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays will be phased out, beginning with first year students in 2012-13, and extending to second year students in 2013-14 and to third year (and above) students in 2014-15.
    3. From 2012-13, the timetables of all first year students will include a 2 hour slot for co-curricular activities from 16.00 to 18.00 on Monday afternoons. All Departments must keep this time free for co-curricular teaching, which will be organised by the new Undergraduate Co-Curricular Committee, reporting to the Strategic Education Committee.
    4. From 2013-14, the timetables of second year students will include a 2 hour slot for co-curricular activities and, from 2014-15, third year students too. The exact times are to be agreed by Faculties, but must be kept free for co-curricular teaching.
    5. All Departments must ensure that the teaching day incorporates a lunch break of a minimum of 1 hour’s duration.
  1. For postgraduate courses:
    1. Departments have discretion to run courses at times appropriate to the needs of students, which may in some cases be in the evenings (e.g. Business School executive education courses), but not normally after 20.00.
    2. Wednesday afternoons will remain free from teaching and education activities from 13.00 onwards.
    3. Departments must ensure that the teaching day incorporates a lunch break of a minimum of 1 hour’s duration.
  1. In exceptional circumstances (e.g. major travel disruption), undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and examination activities may take place at the following times:
    1. Between the hours of 08.00 to 19.00.
    2. On weekends and Bank Holidays subject, where necessary, to staff contractual arrangements.
  1. In setting exam timetables, the following principles should apply:
    1. Students will not normally be expected to take more than one examination in any one day; exceptionally they make take two. Under no circumstances should a student be expected to take three examinations in one day.
    2. If a student is to be required to sit two examinations in one day, approval must be received from the appropriate Studies or Postgraduate Quality Committee. A minimum gap of 30 minutes between examinations must be provided for all students, including those granted extra time for health or disability reasons.
    3. Students should not normally be expected to sit an early morning examination after having taken a late afternoon examination the previous day.
  1. The opening hours of the Early Years Education Centre (EYEC) will remain unchanged.

Co-curricular education: implementation plan

The Management Board approved plans to implement the provision of co-curricular (‘beyond the curriculum’) education within the new framework for the College Teaching Day, both announced in Staff Briefing 69.

Key points agreed were:

  • The roll out of the new programme will be phased. The programme will be offered to first year undergraduates only in 2012-13, extending to second year undergraduates in 2013-14, then to third year undergraduates in 2014-15 and so forth.
  • The timetables of first year undergraduates will include an allocated slot for co-curricular activities from 16.00 – 18.00 on Monday evenings. Any departmental-specific co-curricular activities will be scheduled at other times throughout the week.
  • An Undergraduate Co-Curriculum Committee to include representatives of all Faculties and ICU will be established as a sub-committee of the Strategic Education Committee. The Committee will be responsible for consulting with departments to determine what co-curricular programmes are required, and overseeing the commissioning, approval and quality assurance of courses.

Student business cards

The Management Board approved a proposal that departments may provide Imperial College London business cards to students.

Students who have asked for business cards say that they would like to give them out when networking with prospective employers or staff and students from other institutions, and would gladly pay for them. Departments may wish to provide all students with business cards or only do so on request, and can decide whether to cover the cost or seek reimbursement from students.

Student business cards must follow a standard format and be produced using the College’s bespoke stationery purchase system, Office Depot’s Printegrity. Departments will receive further guidance in the near future.

Survey on proposed staff accommodation

As part of proposed plans for the new Imperial campus on Wood Lane, the College is exploring opportunities to offer private residential accommodation, which may include apartments for staff. A survey has been launched to seek input to the proposals from staff, specifically their accommodation requirements and what pricing would be attractive. The survey is anonymous and results will be collated by an independent market research company.

To complete the survey, visit: https://www.ox-p.com/imperial

Resources for new leaders and managers

Online resources have been developed by HR which aim to support staff new to leadership and/or management positions and to help them understand and fulfil their responsibilities. The resources include an outline of the induction staff can expect when taking on a new leadership/management role, details of key HR processes and relevant development opportunities, and a set of the most common questions put to the HR teams by new managers.

Access the resources on the HR website.

Joint PhD Scholarship Opportunities

Research supervisors keen to develop collaborations in Asia are invited to encourage and support applications from prospective students for the joint PhD schemes that the College runs in conjunction with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Hong Kong University (HKU). The joint PhD’s enable students to carry out research at both the College and at the partner university, and offer opportunities to academic staff to establish links. Prospective students in conjunction with their supervisor can apply for one of five scholarships, each worth £20,000 per year for the duration of the programme, covering tuition fees (home/EU fees only) as well providing a fixed stipend.

Proposals must be submitted to the International Office (internationalphds@imperial.ac.uk) by Thursday 29 March.

For more information about the joint PhD’s and associated funding, visit: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/international/prospective/phds

London Olympics 2012 – briefings for staff

Planning is underway to manage the impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the College’s operations. The Olympic Route Network, which will restrict usage of some main roads in London, will be in force between 15 July and 14 September. The period that is most likely to cause disruption to the College’s activities runs from 28 July to 5 August when the Olympic Games take place. The College intends to operate as usual throughout. Guidance for staff will be published over the coming month.

Staff interested to learn more about the impact on the College of the London Olympics are invited to briefings on the following dates:

St Mary’s Campus – 27 March, 10.30 – 12.00 Bannister Lecture Theatre

South Kensington Campus – 29 March, 10.30 – 12.00 Pippard Lecture Theatre

Hammersmith Campus – 30 March, 14.30 – 16.00 Lecture Theatre 3, Wolfson Education Centre

Requirement for all staff to update Declaration of Interests

All staff are required to update their Declaration of Interests using new functionality on ICIS. Staff must submit a ‘nil return’ or provide details of any external activities undertaken in the previous 12 months, which may include consultancy work, membership of an external committee, holding a trusteeship or other paid engagements. Full guidance on how to submit a Declaration of Interests or a nil return, including FAQs, is available on the HR website at: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/hr/icis/selfservice

‘Declaration of Interests’ now appears in the ‘My details’ section of ICIS. Members of staff who have not used ICIS before may find their internet browser blocks the site when they first log in. If this occurs, staff should select the option to allow pop-ups before proceeding to make their declaration.

The new requirement for staff to declare any interests on an annual basis is in line with the new Conflict of Interest Policy and an updated Private Engagements and Register of Interests Policy, announced in Staff Briefing # 66. Full details are available on the HR website.

Many staff will already have received an email directly about this requirement from the address ImperialHR@Imperial.com, which was automatically generated by ICIS.

Update on proposed redevelopment of space on Level 0 Sherfield Building

The feasibility study examining the proposed redevelopment of Level 0 of the Sherfield Building was completed in mid-February. The Portfolio Review Board (PRB) reviewed the findings at a meeting on 24 February, alongside feedback received from staff and students across Imperial and a paper submitted by the Holland Club. At this meeting, the PRB agreed:

  • to change the space to offer a broader range of social and catering amenities for members of the Imperial community;
  • to fund the next stage of design work once the requirements for the space have been agreed by the Management Board.

Following that meeting, the Rector asked the Deputy Rector:

  • to form a task group to guide plans for the use of the space (as detailed below) which will make recommendations to the Management Board by the end of April;
  • to initiate a tendering process, inviting bids from groups within the College to run any catering and/or pub facilities included in the space, following agreement by the Management Board over the use of the space.

The Deputy Rector is in the process of appointing a task group to guide plans for the use of Level 0 of the Sherfield Building. The task group will review the feedback received from staff and students across the College during the feasibility study and make recommendations to the Management Board on the following points:

  • what catering, pub, social and other facilities should be included in the redeveloped space on Level 0 of the Sherfield Building;
  • who should have access to use these facilities;
  • the opening hours of any catering, pub and social facilities.

Membership of the task group will be as follows:

  • the Senior Dean (an elected member of academic staff) – Chair;
  • a member of the Holland Club Committee (a member of non-academic staff);
  • the President of the Imperial College Union.