Research in Practice Placement Handbook

The budget of up to £1000 is to cover reasonable travel and accommodation expenses. You need to meet your university’s financial regulations and further guidance on this can be found here SCDTP Finance Guide

The Research in Practice placement is funded by the ESRC in that you will still receive your stipend for the period of the placement.

This means for UK based placements, you will not be able to claim for additional subsistence as ESRC would see this as “double funding”

Looking at your subsistence costs for your annual stipend allowance, ESRC estimates that you can balance out how much you need for the placement duration if you are staying away from home overnight with your subsistence costs when based at home. South Coast DTP also provides lunch and evening meals for several events over the course of the year which means you don’t have to pay for subsistence on those occasions.

The placement host organisation can contribute to your business expenses, like travel and accommodation.

If your placement requires specific business trips, like conducting interviews as part of the placement project for example then it must be the placement host who pays for those interviews.

If your UK based placement requires in person meetings throughout the duration of the placement, then you can use your placement budget to pay for reasonable travel and accommodation expenses. You need to meet your university’s financial regulations and further guidance on this can be found here; SCDTP Finance Guide

If you are unsure as to the dates of those meetings, you can apply for the funding you think you are going to need (if it does not exceed £1000 limit).

Example; If your host organisation is based in Manchester, and you are based in Brighton. You can call your awarding university’s travel management company and ask how much a return train ticket from Manchester would be and an overnight stay in a hotel.

If the total estimated cost for train travel and hotel comes to £200 – this means you can visit the host organisation up to 5 times.

If at the point of booking, the price has increased to a total of £250 – this means that you can visit up to 4 times.

You will need to keep a record of any receipts for travel and accommodation.

You can use the Research in Practice Placement sub project code to book travel and accommodation. The sub project code will be given to you once your placement budget has been approved.

As a South Coast DTP student, you will not be expected to pay for any part of the placement.

When you go on your placement will depend on several factors. It will be different for every South Coast DTP student.

• You will need to collaborate with your supervisors on the best time to go on your placement, depending on your PhD project commitments.
• As part of your on going Development Needs Analysis you will reflect on what skills you are looking to develop and the best placement opportunity and timing to help support that development requirement.
• You should not do your Research in Practice placement within the masters year or first few months of the PhD and you would normally need to pass your first progression review first.

There are no specific open or closed application dates, you can apply for your placement at any time within your candidature.

We do encourage you to be flexible on timings for your Research in Practice placement as placement opportunities may not fit in your ideal timings. Discuss with your supervisor a broader spectrum of times to go on placement, for example – you may decide that the summer months of your second year is a good time go on placement – however, if the right opportunity presents itself you have scope to adjust that time towards the end of your first year or earlier or later in your second year.

There is a helpful 5 step process to guide you through your placement journey. The link to that information can be found here.

Be open to flexing to the right placement opportunity.

The Research in Practice placement is an integral part of your PhD training experience (as specified by the ESRC) so there is no need to suspend your candidature.

You will need to inform your graduate school (at your awarding University) that dates of your placement, and copy in The SCDTP Admin Team using email scdtp@soton.ac.uk

It is essential as an International Student that you report to The Student Visa Team of your awarding University and let them know you will be going on a placement (either within the UK or overseas).

If you are an International Student going on placement, either in the UK or overseas then you will need contact The Student Visa Team of your awarding University.

Your University’s Visa Team need to communicate to the UK Home Office of any change in study activity. Your Research in Practice is an integral part of your Doctoral Training Programme, however your University is still required to update the UK Home Office some of the details of your placement.

Your University’s Visa Team will guide you on what details they need and it is recommended that you inform them as soon as possible your intention to go on placement.

If your Research in Practice Placement does require overseas travel, please use the guidance below to check entry requirements.

To make sure you have the correct entry requirements for your placement destination, you will need to refer to The UK Government Portal.

The portal will give you entry requirements for each of the 226 Countries or territories listed, whether you are a UK national or International Student.

Click here to access the portal

A Risk Assessment for placement must be completed by the student before they commence their placement, no matter how infrequent the travel.

Even if you only have 1 journey in your placement, you still must complete a Risk Assessment.

Please use the risk assessment templates supplied by your awarding University.

The level of detail required will depend on the risk i.e. a placement in the UK will most likely be low risk and thus need only be brief whereas international travel is likely to be more comprehensive especially in less well-developed countries.

Students need to complete the appropriate risk assessment with the support of their supervisor.

Please email a copy of your placement risk assessment to The Research in Practice Administration Lead using email address scdtp@soton.ac.uk

It is important that you have ongoing support leading up, during and post placement.

Regular contact with your main supervisor is recommended throughout the placement duration. 

The type and frequency of communication will depend on the circumstances of the placement.

The contact plan will depend on a variety of circumstances.

Examples of things to consider when creating a placement contact plan.

• At minimum, contact from the student to confirm they have arrived at their placement destination safely.
• At minimum, contact from the student to confirm that they have returned from their placement destination safely.
• As the student’s line manager, supervisors are recommended to check in with their student at least once a month. This depends on the length and location of the placement.
• If the student is in a high risk or very remote environment, an appropriate communication plan is recommended taking into consideration sporadic communication channels and the potentially hazardous location.
• If the student placement duration is extended due to part-time status, it is recommended that that a staggered entry and return to their project is included as part of the contact plan by the student’s supervisor and supported by the designated individuals overseeing placements.

Part of the contact plan should include transitioning back to university studies, recognition of the student being away from their project for a considerable length of time and best practice to support the student back to their project.

If you are unwell during your placement, here are the steps you need to take.

Minor ailment (head cold for example)

If a student experiences a minor ailment whilst on placement and require only a very short period to recover. Then the student needs to contact their placement host to let them know the situation and copy in their lead supervisor and The Research in Practice Admin Lead scdtp@soton.ac.uk for reference.

Serious ailment

If a student is ill for an extended period and need to suspend their studies, SCDTP can fund a period of sick leave and extend their funding accordingly.

If there was a longer period of illness that was going to severely impact the placement, then this is something that could be considered, and then if the placement were extended as a result to accommodate the sick leave, this would also require discussion with your PhD supervisors and SCDTP in terms of how your milestones would be affected, as well as the placement provider.

International students will need to update the Visa Team of their awarding university if there is a change in circumstances, including extended absence due to sickness.