Welcome and induction

‌‌Welcome and Freshers’ Week

College Registration

You must enrol online before arriving on campus.  College ID cards can be collected from the Student Office, Level 3, Blackett Laboratory or handed out in the halls of accommodation on arrival if you are staying in halls.  If you haven’t uploaded your photo, you will need to go to the ID card office, Level 1, Shefield Building, where they will take your photo and either send it to the department for you to collect or give it to you directly.  More information can be found on the College ID.  If you have already done an undergraduate or masters course at Imperial, please note that you will need to give your old card in to the ID Card office to be able to obtain the new one.

The PGR Welcome talk is here for your perusal.

Departmental Registration

The timetable Freshers’ Week is slightly different for each student and varies from section to section.  You should have received the information on where to go from your section Administrator.  There is more information on Welcome week.

Departmental Welcome events

There are Welcome events for PG students which will take place mainly in the first week of term.  The main one to include in your calendar is on Wednesday, 11th October 2023 from 2:00 p.m. 

English Language Requirements for PhD Students

After fulfilling the English language entry requirement for admission, all doctoral students that did not do their full undergraduate in the U.K. must fulfil the Imperial College London Doctoral Academic Communication Requirement. This is done through taking Doctoral Academic Communication Requirement Assessment 1 (DACR A1). Depending on the result of this initial assessment, students may also need to have a progress check (Doctoral Academic Communication Requirement Assessment 2), as part of the Early Stage Assessment (ESA) carried out by their department.  This requirement is separate from and in addition to meeting the College entry requirements (IELTS, TOEFL, etc). Students must take the first available assessment (DACR A1) after fully registering onto their doctoral programme, within 3 months of the registration date. This is because the aim of the Requirement is to identify as soon as possible those who need to improve their writing competence, and to ensure they can access support in the first 9 months of their doctoral programme.

Fulfilling the requirement - It is compulsory that you take the test as soon as possible after registering for your PhD.

These courses are all FREE for PhD students.  Information about the requirement can be found at the Centre for Academic English at https://www.imperial.ac.uk/academic-english/current-students/doctoral/academic-communication-requirement/.   

Induction checklist for research students

Here are some things you should know. If you don't know, just ask. A good starting point for information is your community secretary/administrator.

People

  • Research secretary/administrator
  • Research Community Postgraduate academic mentor
  • Research Community Safety Officer
  • Postgraduate Tutor
  • Postgraduate Student Representatives
  • Postgraduate Office Support Staff

Domestic (on Campus)

  • Familiarise yourselves with the current College COVID guidance.
  • Location of toilets
  • Location of local common rooms, local arrangements for tea and coffee etc.
  • Details of local security measures, including provision of your security card
  • Opening and closing hours of building and access
  • Where/when smoking is allowed; the College’s policy
  • How to dispose of or recycle items

Working environment

  • Location and correct use of common telephones, photocopiers, printers, etc.
  • How to get a Computer account and email address
  • Correct postal address for mail to reach you during your course
  • Local arrangements for picking up and sending internal and external post
  • Local arrangement for provision of stationery and every-day consumables
  • My Imperial

Health and safety

  • Location of emergency exits
  • Details of the emergency procedures, evacuation routes and assembly points
  • Location of the first-aid box and the identity of your local first-aiders
  • Location and operation of the fire alarm system
  • Location of fire extinguishers
  • Procedures to be observed in case of a fire
  • Details of any significant safety hazards or health risks in your working environment
  • Disposal of waste

View the Faculty health and safety webpages.

Facilities

Contact Vivienne Frater for more information about facilities in the Department.

Other