Director's Pledges 2024

Listed are the Division's Director's pledges for 2024 along with our progress to date in achieving these pledges

Pledge 1: Develop a strategy to address any awarding gaps found by domicile, ethnicity, and gender in MSc students.

PARTIALLY COMPLETE: The EDI MSc Working Group and MSc Teaching Team are considering actions to improve award outcomes for all students, but especially Black students and UK students from a minoritised ethnic group.

These actions currently include:

  1. Enhanced guidance/training for dissertation supervisors
  2. An audit of module assignments to ensure clarity and consistency of instructions and guidance (based on Dr Paul Campbell’s report at University of Leicester)
  3. Trying to improve student attendance at project support sessions

Pledge 2: Create an appraisal checklist for PhD students to ensure training needs, personal development and future job/research opportunities are systematically discussed in detail.

DONE: by updating the process and checklists for Thesis Committees

Pledge 3: Develop a widely available programme of support for research assistants, trial managers, and early career researchers, led by the Researcher Champions.

  • Ran grade 7/8 promotion workshop, uploaded recording, documents, and past examples of successful applications on Division’s intranet.
  • Ran 2 (+ 1 planned) research success seminars
  • Created Divisional Prizes for ECRs and PhD students
  • Annie Jeffery ran policy-oriented workshops
  • Supported creation of writing retreats (led by ECR group)
  • Discussed RA training needs and developing a plan to address them (started with previous reps and continued with new ones)
  • Working on strategies with Trial Managers

Pledge 4: Conduct an externally facilitated focus group with Professional Services staff to discuss what the Division could do to support them.

ONGOING – have a faciliatator who will work with the team as a consultant, in the new year

Pledge 5: Publish Divisional institutional citizenship roles and role descriptions on the DoP website.

DONE: developed on the new staff intranet

Pledge 6: Develop and disseminate Divisional values, culture and code of conduct statements informed by existing UCL frameworks and policies.

Now a live document and will be disseminated in inductions and on website and reviewed annually