C: What to expect and what we expect from you over your first few months
1. Online systems
2. Supervisor arrangements
3. Sessions to attend/organise
4. Wider academic opportunities
D: Useful points of contact
• School contacts
• Doctoral Academy Team Contact
• Doctoral Wellbeing
• Study Skills: IT and Library Services
• Weekly Update
• Change of address/personal details on the Student System
• Tuition fees and Sponsors
• Research locations and facilities
A: Welcome to Cardiff Metropolitan University
Your research journey begins here!
To all new Doctoral Researchers joining our research community at Cardiff Metropolitan University, we are thrilled to welcome you. We know that during your first days and weeks, you will have many questions, and, alongside the Induction event, we aim to be able to answer some of those within this induction document.
As a Doctoral Researcher, you must attend our Induction event, which is held at the beginning of each intake point throughout the academic year (October, February, and May). To ensure maximum attendance, we offer the Induction event as an online experience. In the induction email, we will send out the necessary arrangements to join online. We also record most of the sessions and make them available on-demand on the Doctoral Academy site, which you will be given access to once enrolled.
During the Induction, you will get to know relevant staff and their roles, meet your peers, and learn about supervision arrangements, working patterns, and the purpose of supervision meetings. You will also get an orientation to your course, including assessment and examination methods, regulations and requirements, and annual registration processes.
We will also introduce you to wider academic opportunities, such as seminars, Doctoral Research Groups, and research networks, where you can meet other Doctoral Researchers and staff. Furthermore, we'll tell you whom to turn to for wellbeing support and explain the academic expectations and responsibilities of all Doctoral Researchers. Finally, we'll show you the facilities available for Doctoral Researchers at all Cardiff Met sites.
We hope this event will provide you with a smooth transition into our research community and look forward to seeing you there.
If you have further questions, there are a range of contact details within this document, you can ask your Supervisory team, or get in touch with us: at doctoralacademy@cardiffmet.ac.uk.
B: Induction Schedule
Meet and Greet RIS Central Team
Prof Rhodri Lloyd and RIS central team
The informal 'Meet & Greet' event occurs on the first day of enrolment and provides the Doctoral Researcher with an early opportunity to engage with key members of staff involved with research degrees in Research & Innovation Services.
Doctoral Researcher Induction
The ‘Induction’ event will be run online over an initial two days introducing key topics relevant to the initial stages of the Doctoral Research ‘journey’.
Day 1: setting up your research project...
Your progression milestones and expectations:
Prof Rhodri Lloyd
Research aims and objectives:
Prof Claire Haven-Tang
Managing your research project:
Prof Andrew Walters
Approaching your thesis: Prof Rhodri Lloyd
EDI: things to consider when conducting your research:
Dr John Fernandes
Day 3: Communities and check in' day
Day 2: introduction to the resources/support available
DR wellbeing: resources and who to turn to:
Prof Rhodri Lloyd
Introduction to Doctoral Academy + Doctoral Research Manager + PURE: Karly Selway, Nic Phillips & Abby Hobson
Managing your supervisors: Prof Stephen Mellalieu
Planning your writing: Prof Rich Neil
Recap and next steps: Prof Rhodri Lloyd
Scheduled a month after the initial central induction and is designed for researchers to reflect on their first month, have their questions answered, and gain an understanding of the expectations for the next steps in their doctoral journey.
Professional Doctorate Induction
Setting the scene of your Professional Doctorate:
Prof Rich Neil
Professional Doctorate: Module 1:
Prof John Littlewood
Change management:
Dr Alex McInch
School induction
(School induction only for new doctoral researchers)
Your academic school will invite you to attend an information session, where you will get to learn more about the school and meet with key staff members. Your School Graduate Studies Lead and School Research Administrators will be present and ready to assist you throughout your Doctoral journey.
C: What to expect and what we expect from you within the first 6 months
The tasks and details that should have been completed in the first few months of your doctoral programme are outlined in the following four points:
1. Online Systems
By the Start date, you should have completed the university admission and enrolment processes. After this, you will receive an enrolment email, which officially confirms you are a Doctoral Researcher at Cardiff Met. You will then have access to many systems and resources, including the Doctoral Academy and Doctoral Research Manager, as well as have access to your Cardiff Met Student Account (st12345678@cardiffmet.ac.uk). During the Induction event, these systems and other resources will be discussed in detail, so you must be enrolled prior to the event, to ensure access.
If, for any reason, you cannot access the systems and resources at Cardiff Met, and you have followed the instructions provided below, please contact the doctoral team via doctoralacademy@ cardiffmet.ac.uk,including details of the system(s) / resources you are unable to access and we will provide timely support.
If you have not received an enrolment email, please follow these steps:
1. Use your Student Number (st********) on this link to set your password
2. Once you have set a new password, you can enrol online on this link
3. After successful enrolment, you will find additional information here
If you have difficulties resetting a password, please contact the Cardiff Met IT Department: IThelpdesk@cardiffmet.ac.uk: +(44) 029 2041 7000 (Option 3)
Doctoral Academy
The Doctoral Academy launched an online portal in April 2020, which serves as a central hub for Doctoral Researchers to access all information related to their programme. It provides regular updates on training, events, meetings, and funding opportunities, along with journey maps that outline the expectations of Doctoral Researchers throughout their doctoral journey.
We are developing the Doctoral Researcher community to include blogs and podcasts, and we welcome feedback and input from students, so if you have ideas about how we can improve the Doctoral Academy, please share them by contacting Doctoralacademy@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Doctoral Research Manager
The various processes linked within your progression as a Doctoral Researcher at Cardiff Met will be managed and monitored via Doctoral Research Manager, accessible either by
• using this linkhttps://research.cardiffmet.ac.uk/do/ cardiffmet-auth/login
• or selecting the Doctoral Research Manager tile on the front page of the Doctoral Academy.
Over the first few months, become familiar with how to use the functions of Doctoral Research Manager , by following the online guides: https://research.cardiffmet.ac.uk/do/activity/ guides/all
MetCentral: https://outlookuwicac.sharepoint.com/sites/ students
Moodle: www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/moodle
2. Supervision Arrangements
Before your Induction, you will be allocated your Supervisory Team. As a Doctoral Researcher, you will have at least two Supervisors (up to three), with one of them as the Director of Studies (DoS) who oversees your development, progress, exam arrangements, and the work of your Supervisory team.
To stay in touch with your Supervisory team, you must organise at least six formal meetings per academic year (including the progression reviews) with all members. You must record all meetings and progress reviews on Doctoral Research Manager.
3. Sessions to organise/Attend
• Attend Induction Event:
More details can be found earlier in this document, with exact timings to be sent out a few days before the sessions take place.
• Launchpad Meeting: Month 1
As a student, you are responsible for scheduling your launchpad meeting within one month of enrolling. The purpose of this meeting is to formally meet with your Supervisory team, discuss potential research and/or project objectives for the next five months, and assess your training needs to support the achievement of those objectives.
• Training Sessions
Potential training sessions for Doctoral Researchers are listed under the Calendar Section of Doctoral Research Manager or/and on the training and events tile on the Doctoral Academy
4. Find out about the wider academic opportunities available
We have a thriving Doctoral Research Community within Cardiff Met, which includes the following:
Doctoral Research Group (DRG)
The DRG are a student-run group which represents the collective Doctoral Researcher voice at each school. It aims to represent and advocate the Doctoral Researcher’s interests, improve the experience for Doctoral Researchers within the University across all Schools (e.g. in research-related groups), and promote cohesion between Doctoral Researchers on a social as well as an academic level, through such events as the annual DRG Conference.
The Students’ Union
The Students’ Union (SU) is an independent body that exists to represent the views of Cardiff Met students. It is run by students for students, and it offers independent and impartial advice and support to enhance the experience of students during their time studying. With a representative for each academic school, they dedicate their time and resources to giving the student community of the University, fairness, opportunities and a voice, and students automatically become a member when enrolling. To arrange an appointment please email suadvice@cardiffmet.ac.uk with an overview of your reason for requesting an appointment.
Research Groups
Within each academic school, there are a series of Research Groups available for you to join and will relate to the topic of your research. You will be given further details as part of your School Induction.
D: Useful Points of Contact
Who to Contact
For individual queries, in the first instance, you should contact your Supervisory team, or for any research queries contact the relevant contact within your school, or a member of the Doctoral Academy team:
School Contacts
Cardiff School of Art and Design
General Research Queries csadresdegrees@cardiffmet.ac.uk
General CSAD Research Queries dsavage@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Professional Doctorate Coordinator jlittlewood@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Cardiff School of Education and Social Policy
General CSESP Research Queries esshresearchdegrees@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Graduate Studies Lead knorth@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Professional Doctorate Coordinator sdavis@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Cardiff School of Management
General CSM Research Queries CSMresearch@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Graduate Studies Lead rkmason-jones@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Professional Doctorate Coordinator
Cardiff School of Technology
General CST Research Queries cstresearch@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Graduate Studies Lead acalderon@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Professional Doctorate Coordinator
Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences
General CSSHS Research Queries esshresearchdegrees@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Graduate Studies Lead: Health magittoes@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Graduate Studies Lead: Sport
Professional Doctorate Coordinator amcinch@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Forensic Top Up Programme Lead lpayne@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Graduate Studies Team
What you would like help with Email contact
Doctoral Research Manager and/or Doctoral Research Progression Queries
Doctoral Researcher & Supervisor Training and Events
Doctoral Wellbeing
Examination queries
Graduatestudies@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Dr Debbie Savage
Prof John Littlewood
Dr Kate North
Dr Susan Davies
Dr Rachel Mason-Jones
Dr Ana Calderon
Dr Marianne Gittoes
Dr Alex McInch
Dr Libby Payne
Karly Selway & Madlen Cartwright
DoctoralAcademy@cardiffmet.ac.uk Nic Phillips
Doctoralwellbeing@cardiffmet.ac.uk Nic Phillips
ResearchDegreeExam@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Professional Doctorate profdoc@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis
Doctoral Wellbeing
To ensure effective studying and a positive Doctoral Research experience, it is essential to prioritise your wellbeing.
Within Graduate Studies, we have a dedicated Research Degree Training & Wellbeing Officer who is not part of any supervisory team and can be contacted via doctoralwellbeing@cardiffmet.ac.uk
This officer is available to connect you with personalised resources and supportive interventions, and provide advice on accessing other relevant support services within Cardiff Met if additional internal support is needed. While not therapeutically trained, they can meet with students for an informal ‘cuppa and a chat’.
Researcher Wellbeing Cymru (RWC) is an accessible digital platform that provides a comprehensive toolkit to aid doctoral studies. Designed by Doctoral Researchers for Doctoral Researchers, RWC boasts over 130 tailored online resources, including guidance on collaborating with supervisors, effective time management, and maintaining motivation. The platform also features student narratives, practical tips, videos showcasing a day in the life of a researcher, and a dedicated blog. While enrolled at Welsh universities, you can engage with community groups and join regular ‘sit down and write’ sessions. RWC helps you navigate your doctoral experience, build resilience, and discover effective work strategies. https://rwcymru.ac.uk
Details of internal CMU support services are provided below:
Cardiff Met Student Services: Disability, Mental Health, and Counselling Support
The Student Services team aim to empower students, equipping them with the skills to be able to do as much for themselves as possible, whilst providing the support they need to succeed by providing free and confidential advice that is impartial and nonjudgmental. To access any of the support below, you are required to complete the Disability, Wellbeing and Counselling support form to ensure that they fully understand the issues you are experiencing and how these are affecting your studies.
• Counselling: They offer free, impartial, nonjudgemental counselling which offers a safe, supportive, and confidential environment, where you can talk over any issues you are experiencing and will let you know if counselling will be helpful for your difficulty and if not will point you in the right direction to get the support you need.
• Disability Support: They offer free, impartial, non-judgemental, and confidential support for students with a range of disabilities, mental health issues, medical conditions, dyslexia, Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) and Autistic Spectrum Conditions to ensure you can access the help required to be able to fully engage with your studies.
• Mental Health and Wellbeing support: Mental health problems can affect people differently and affect your ability to think, feel and behave. They can help you manage your mental health to reduce the impact on your day-to-day activities and relationships and provide support for various conditions, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and eating disorders.
Study Skills: IT and library
IT support all aspects of using IT at Cardiff Met. For example, they can support the development and certification of digital skills, help with password issues and computer problems, support you to get connected to the Wi-Fi, and give advice on purchasing IT hardware and software.
For any IT query: you can:
• phone +44 (0)29 20417000;
• Review guidance or log an IT issue at: www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/ITServiceDesk
• Or stop by the IT Helpdesk in the learning centres located on both the Llandaff and Cyncoed campuses.
Library Services
Library Services offers support for Doctoral Researchers, by providing expertise, solutions, training, and infrastructure. For further details and/or if you have any questions, contact Marie Lancaster (Assistant Head Librarian: Scholarly Communications).
Weekly Update
By default, throughout your Doctoral study, you will be able to access a DR Weekly Update video and page, which provides information for Doctoral Researchers about useful resources, funding opportunities, upcoming events, deadline reminders and relevant news and training. This is uploaded to the Doctoral Academy on the news and announcement tile, as well as the DR_Training_GRP Teams channel, both of which you will be given access to by Induction week.
Change of address/personal details on the student system
We must have your correct contact address in case of an emergency. If you change your address at any point after your enrolment, you can do so via Student Detail Verification here.
Tuition fees and sponsors
For information on fees, click here.
If you need advice on the payment of fees please look online via this link: Fees and Finance Make a Payment if they need additional advice or assistance please call the Finance Department on 029 2041 6087/6083.
If you have a sponsor, ideally you should have uploaded your sponsor documents online during enrolment, however, if you did not, please send your documents within the first 2 weeks to researchregistryenquiries@cardiffmet.ac.uk or after the first 2 weeks students should send them to tuitionfees@cardiffmet.ac.uk and CC in researchregistryenquiries@cardiffmet.ac.uk
