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I'm so tired, man. Any other organisation running on time-limited projects like this would've definitely furloughed their employees because the projects are simply not doabl in the time-frame initially laid out. It's basic planning. What a terrifically terrible lack of foresight from UKRI.

I am grieving for what the loss of this year has meant for me. My research has not been horribly impacted, but the stability that UKRI funding meant has vanished. How do you account for all of those of us who (whilst not directly impacted) have nontheless been working far more slowly, far less effectively, in a far less-focused fashion? Arts and Humanities doctorates require SO. MUCH. THINKING. TIME. That high-quality thinking and connecting of ideas requires security and space. How can you think when your brain is completely f***ing knackered from having to process day after day after day of horrendous news, government incompetence, anxieties around your own and your family's wellbeing, and the knowledge that time is running out and there's nothing you can do about it (plus the Brexit shitshow that's about to come crashing down on all of us).

My life ground to a halt but my time-limited stable job (i.e. the PhD) has not -- my research has become something I resent, yet something that's become everything I live for and I absolutely hate that. All my plans are out of sync and I'm all out of energy - I'm mentally exhausted! I'm stressed, depressed and anxious.

What about all the PGRs who had maternity plans that have been upended? Precarious prospects beyond the PhD for ECRs mean that hope for a child becomes impossible all over again, having only just become secure because of funding.

We're about to graduate into the worst economic crisis the country has ever experienced. The least UKRI could do would be to (literally) buy us a little bit more time. If you'd furloughed us this would have gone some way to avoid the situation you've now put us in.

UKRI, you clearly don't give a toss. I'm in 3rd year now, an extra 6 months (at the very most) would be all I need to feel secure and productive again, that's literally it. Find the money, it's like your one job.

(I agree with the other person who said the petition needs to include 3rd years, we're completely screwed here)

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Perhaps the governing body of UKRI should also go unfunded for a year, maybe their 'let them eat cake' attitude would change. Or perhaps their salaries are not a waste of government money, but the continuation of our research is.

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Funny to take the time and effort to ask details about our current struggles, to show them to our face (thus acknowledging the toll the pandemic has taken on us), and then casually patronize us by telling us to adapt our project with our supervisor. All these months we have 'adjusted', and many of our supervisors have helped us to the extent of their possibilities. Research suggests that creative thinking is not thriving under stress, so asking to re design entirely the projects without additional funded time will impede on the mental health, career prospects and the science produced.

How funny is it to put your data in the report, showing that over a third of us has worsen health because of the pandemic, yet only choose to attribute funding on exceptional circumstances? How ridiculous is it to ask disabled, neurodivergent, carer PGRS, who are already facing mental and emotional burdens, to ask (no: beg) for money, when they already have to fight through the administrative hassles (which further impact their research and health)?

Putting shame and guilt on PGRs by stating UKRI does not want to waste public money is outrageous, when the said research projects and PGRs have been selected after an intense competition, and will move science forward. The public needs science. PGRs are hard-workers, passionate about their research. The projects will have to be truncated, so many will choose to leave rather than submit a ridiculously lowered standard. Others will submit but FAIL because of the lack of funding. All these brilliant PGRs, that represent the future of science, are doomed. Maybe, among us (not me, don't worry), lies the next Nobel Prize. But, oh too bad, they did not have the money to self fund (i.e. did not come from wealthy families) and thus lost the chance to achieve a project with a sufficient scope.

As usual, people in power fail to empathize with the struggles of people of lower social status and with less money. PGRs and their supervisors should not be considered as free disposable labour, that can be over-worked and stressed until they need to take sick leave.

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An unhelpful and potentially damaging response

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An unhelpful and potentially damaging response

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I read the UKRI's report with great dismay and more than a little anger. Whilst I understand that funding is limited, the UKRI's response is at best unhelpful and at worst incredibly damaging, both to PhD students and the institutions that support them, and to the wider reputation of research produced during this period.

My main concern is that the UKRI appear to be providing students with conflicting messages. On the one hand that state that they are "determined that reduced doctoral outputs as a result of the pandemic should not be seen to diminish standards in doctoral education" however they are also asking that students to "adjust their project to complete a doctoral-level qualification within their funded period".

For many students - especially those who need to undertake fieldwork or require extensive archival access to complete their projects - these two statements will be completely incompatible as the only way to ensure their project can be completed without any diminishment in the quality or scope of its output would be to provide additional funding to allow students to extend their project to
allow for the impact the pandemic has had upon their research.

UKRI's statement also fails to consider the fact that these curtailed doctoral projects will, inevitably, be judged as lesser by
potential employers at a time when the job market is becoming increasingly pressurised. I worked hard to get my funding and am working hard to complete my PhD - to have the UKRI suggest that institutions should take account of circumstances to permit the submission of curtailed research is, quite frankly, an insult to the work I, and many students like me, have put into my PhD thus far. None of us want to be given a PhD out of pity - we want the support to complete the PhD projects for which we were funded in the first
place.

Postgraduate students already suffer from financial precarity. For many of us, our PhD stipend is only just enough to cover living costs and I know many students (myself
included) who take on additional paid work to supplement our income. Whilst I recognise that those of us who are funded are incredibly lucky, for many of us the funding is the only thing that makes the completion of a PhD possible. Funded PhDs ensure that access to the highest levels of UK education remains an attainable goal for those from lower income backgrounds, and that the research culture of the UK remains diverse and world leading.

It is therefore inevitable that many students will be financially unable to opt for unfunded extensions to their PhD project, and will be forced to choose between failing
to complete their PhD, taking on huge personal debt to complete the project to their satisfaction, or submitting a project that has been vastly curtailed. The additional mental burden of making this choice - and of knowing that the UKRI is choosing to offer
those of us whose first and second years have been vastly altered by this pandemic no support whatsoever - will have an untold impact on the already precarious mental health of many PhD students and, I fear, will lead to some electing to leave their projects, or quit academia altogether.

From a university perspective,  UKRIs decision also places a huge burden onto supervisors who are now expected to find the time to assist students in revising or, in some cases, altering their PhD projects - in addition to the already increased workload created by remote/virtual learning, and widespread cuts across the sector. My reading of the UKRI report is that universities will also be bearing any financial burden should they opt to offer funded extensions to PhD students currently in their first and second years - a decision that can only result in yet more cuts to university budgets to the detriment of future research.

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I am immensly concerned about PGRs without emotional support

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I am immensly concerned about PGRs without emotional support

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Many of us are overwhelmingly depressed and anxious over this report. One of my most stoic and positive friends has been in tears every day, whilst another said that the past week has been ‘one of the worst in his life’. But these people at least live with their families or partners. I am growing increasingly distressed at the thought of those PGRs who live alone, who have no emotional support, who can’t get a hug or a cup of tea from family and friends because of COVID. People who may already have been struggling with their mental health during lockdown. What state does this report leave them in? Being told that they have to abandon all of the hard work they’ve put in for the past few years and what- come up with a new PhD with little over a year to go? It’s either do the impossible, or quit completely, or take a leave of absence and *literally* not be able to afford rent or food.

I really don’t know how UKRI are expecting those people to get through this. They are quite literally juggling with peoples’ lives.

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36 months in a PhD. But I was kept out the lab for practically 6 because of the pandemic. Over 16% of the already short project time is lost. I'm not rich, I can't afford to self fund for the time lost. Why are UKRI taking on new students and hanging the old ones out to dry. Clowns

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eaching has been reduced so we cant even demonstrate! Our hands are 
literally tied!!! Im from a working class background usually my stress and tolerance level is quiet high. But i do really feel like I am drowning.

more_vert
Welf, if the immense
Welf, if the immense stress, isolation and imposter syndrome wasn't going to ruin my mental health, the announcement that I will have to either finish my PhD juggling a full time job to survive with no academic job prospects (or just drop out) surely will! Thanks UKRI. 
Tone deaf
Tone deaf
1.To ask PhD students, so unsympathetically, to simply change their project is itself insulting to the amount of effort and dedication that students invest in their work.
2.To expect these changes to be possible for those in the midst of data collection, when access to resources continues to be limited and unpredictable, when people continue to balance work with ongoing challenges such as caring responsibilities (not to mention the extant threat of COVID-19) and to expect these projects to be completed to the same standard within the same time frame is frankly laughable.
3. What really strikes me though is the apparent blindness to the broader effects of COVID-19 on the wellbeing and productivity of students. Even those who are fortunate enough not to have to change their project, or are able to make changes relatively easily, have still struggled with numerous challenges over the last 8 months including access to resources, reduced training opportunities, cancelled conferences, poor working conditions, extra academic responsibilities EG teaching, personal responsibilities EG childcare, lack of social interaction, worry about friends and family etc.
4. The UKRI’s own report acknowledges the demotivating and isolating effects of the lockdown on students as well as the difficulties of the sudden move to working from home. To seemingly be aware of the impact on mental health, productivity, and research output but to offer no meaningful support is beyond disappointing.
5. The bottom line is that the UKRI ignored the 77% of non-final year students that clearly stated they would require a funded extension to complete their project to the best of their ability. Instead they think it is reasonable to ask for projects to be re-designed and completed to the same standard within the original timeframe. They’ve let us down and now, instead of focusing on our projects, we’re investing our time in protesting a policy that is just blatantly tone deaf to student’s needs.
This is incredibly worrying. I have a chronic health condition that has been made worse by the pandemic and I am told that I "might" get extra funding. Or what? Abandon my research at the end and not graduate?
This is incredibly worrying. I have a chronic health condition that has been made worse by the pandemic and I am told that I "might" get extra funding. Or what? Abandon my research at the end and not graduate?
The whole world is upended by the pandemic but we are supposed to simply adapt our projects (as if we hadn't done this as much as possible already) and finish them with no extra time.
A lot of us will not be able to graduate.
Adapting is not a simple thing
Adapting is not a simple thing
I feel so frustrated, angry, sad, let down about this. Being asked to adapt your PhDs to the funded time is so ridiculous. 
1) It's so hard to finish within 3 years anyway that it's mad to think we could just simply adapt and finish in the planned time with a 

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 as some funding bodies say we cant work more than 6hrs a week as noted in some contracts 

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onses of UKRI really do confirm PhDs must be for the elite. 

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My studies have been severely impacted by the pandemic and lockdowns, both in concrete terms of my laboratory being inaccessible for a number of months, and in the more abstract terms of increased anxiety, and difficulty in finding the energy and motivation to allow the deeper thought that scientific studies require. To say that one can just change goals and our research output will still be as high as before without any extension is frankly absurd.

As others have said, it is already hard to complete in the given funded time, and many overrun. This will only be exacerbated by the pandemic, and yet we are expected to work for free with no means to support ourselves. This is insanity and is only adding to the anxiety I feel about the current state of the world, which in turn is not conducive to motivation and good research output. Not to mention changing goals is just adding to the already insane workload our supervisors have - partly due to covid and partly just in general.

UKRI need a total rethink of what they are doing to the scientific community.

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I can't help but feel the timing of UKRI's announcement is designed to exert so much pressure you are deterred from trying to challenge, to make you feel you do not even have time to stand still and think about what is happening, to push into a panicked 'readjustment' of your entire PhD project. We have no rights, no support and no visibility and now we cannot even conduct the projects that we are so passionate about in the ways we think will do it and ourselves justice. How can they tell you to readjust when you haven't even got far enough to know what to adjust? I can't help feeling like there is nothing left. I am entering second year and with the pandemic ongoing feel like there is absolutely no margin for error moving forwards. After 8 months of upheaval and the pandemic not over, we are suddenly expected to be able to move forward into a well designed research plan which needs to work first time round if we are to submit on time. Replanning around the pandemic is a huge workload- I feel like I am drowning amongst replanning and trying to keep open or reopen various avenues and regular PhD work. And there is no respite- I cannot suspend, I feel like I need to get a job now to save for what will be an unfunded 4th year. I'm so tired, stressed and anxious and I am so angry at institutions for labelling what they offer us as 'support'.

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In some respects, this isn't in UKRI's hands - the money it would require to do the right thing by PhD students is substantial, and likely beyond UKRI's budget.

It needs to go on record, and inform the government that it needs more money to do better.

If the government refuses, the board should resign. If nothing else, PhD students are the workforce of the STEM revolution the government is eager to usher in.

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Asking students to change their projects will do nothing but place additional stress on the student and supervisor, and lower the quality of the research being conducted. We have been working on our ideas for years in most cases and have a very clear idea of what we need to do to achieve our research goals. We have of course been meeting with supervisors to discuss alternatives during the lockdown, but these are often just temporary fixes and nowhere near as high quality as the work originally planned. Anyone requesting extensions (if they ever became available) would not be doing it just for extra money, but because they know that their research NEEDS this extra time to be completed fully. But now so many PhD will be completed in just over 2 years (assuming we don't have more national lockdowns), with weaker experiments, massive amounts of stress, and no support from funders.

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How has it taken UKRI 8 months to come up with such a non-response? As a student who requires a lab to research and who had time at large scale facilities cancelled due to covid how are we supposed to simply scale down our project to fit into the time? But it still has to be the same quality level as someone who had 3 years of lab access and no cancelled facility time? I attended multiple courses during lockdown as there was not a lot I could do that would be beneficial to my overall project goals. I feel so angry and frustrated with this absolutely tone-deaf response from UKRI, it's completely insulting to ask PhD students who are entering their third year to simply condense their projects down but not to sacrifice their academic integrity in doing so. I'm not in the position financially to support myself without a stipend but at the same time don't want to have wasted three years of my life on a project that won't be PhD level within the funding period.
Another point is that working from home during a pandemic was no easy feat, many of us will have felt the affects of this mentally and are still dealing with the affects of this even now we can be back in the labs, the constant stress of possible reclosure and funding concerns doesn't help this. As well as this the sheer lack of support for those who started this pandemic in their second year has been absolutely shocking. I personally don't know how much longer I'll be able to cope with all of this, it feels like a nightmare, its always 1 step forward 2 steps back.
Finally I'd love to know how many of their students actually received this "email" as I am an EPSRC funded student who has still received no such communication from UKRI and had to find out about all of this via twitter, cheers UKRI.

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The responses of UKRI really do confirm PhDs must be for the elite. Its not like we can work part time either as some funding bodies say we cant work more than 6hrs a week as noted in some contracts e.g EPSRC. so what happens when funding ends? With less part time student jobs due to the pandemic we cant even work our way to make ends meet!! Or at least start saving extra aside depending on how long it would take us to finish our unfunded practical's. On top of this undergrad teaching has been reduced so we cant even demonstrate! Our hands are
literally tied!!! Im from a working class background usually my stress and tolerance level is quiet high. But i do really feel like I am drowning.

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Welf, if the immense stress, isolation and imposter syndrome wasn't going to ruin my mental health, the announcement that I will have to either finish my PhD juggling a full time job to survive with no academic job prospects (or just drop out) surely will! Thanks UKRI.

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1.To ask PhD students, so unsympathetically, to simply change their project is itself insulting to the amount of effort and dedication that students invest in their work.

2.To expect these changes to be possible for those in the midst of data collection, when access to resources continues to be limited and unpredictable, when people continue to balance work with ongoing challenges such as caring responsibilities (not to mention the extant threat of COVID-19) and to expect these projects to be completed to the same standard within the same time frame is frankly laughable.

3. What really strikes me though is the apparent blindness to the broader effects of COVID-19 on the wellbeing and productivity of students. Even those who are fortunate enough not to have to change their project, or are able to make changes relatively easily, have still struggled with numerous challenges over the last 8 months including access to resources, reduced training opportunities, cancelled conferences, poor working conditions, extra academic responsibilities EG teaching, personal responsibilities EG childcare, lack of social interaction, worry about friends and family etc.

4. The UKRI’s own report acknowledges the demotivating and isolating effects of the lockdown on students as well as the difficulties of the sudden move to working from home. To seemingly be aware of the impact on mental health, productivity, and research output but to offer no meaningful support is beyond disappointing.

5. The bottom line is that the UKRI ignored the 77% of non-final year students that clearly stated they would require a funded extension to complete their project to the best of their ability. Instead they think it is reasonable to ask for projects to be re-designed and completed to the same standard within the original timeframe. They’ve let us down and now, instead of focusing on our projects, we’re investing our time in protesting a policy that is just blatantly tone deaf to student’s needs.

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This is incredibly worrying. I have a chronic health condition that has been made worse by the pandemic and I am told that I "might" get extra funding. Or what? Abandon my research at the end and not graduate?

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This is incredibly worrying. I have a chronic health condition that has been made worse by the pandemic and I am told that I "might" get extra funding. Or what? Abandon my research at the end and not graduate?

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The whole world is upended by the pandemic but we are supposed to simply adapt our projects (as if we hadn't done this as much as possible already) and finish them with no extra time.
A lot of us will not be able to graduate.

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I feel so frustrated, angry, sad, let down about this. Being asked to adapt your PhDs to the funded time is so ridiculous.
1) It's so hard to finish within 3 years anyway that it's mad to think we could just simply adapt and finish in the planned time with a pandemic on
2) if this was the case they should've decided earlier, instead of vague promises of trying to come up with a solution, asking us to monitor how covid affects us for months, etc.
3) I did have contingency plans, but several of those included funded extensions!
4) I might be able to adapt my project, but it won't be my project anymore. Staying motivated when being asked to do essentially a different project is next to impossible
5) I came to this project explicitly for the experience I'd gain in working with archives. I CAN do a non-archive PhD, but it'll be no use to me if I want to apply to work with archives or museum collections down the road.

I don't feel any professional would be asked to simply do a job they hadn't been hired to do. Asking us to do different, limited projects, to plan that and get it done in so little time, is dreadful, and with no acknowledgement at all of what they're asking of us

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This is so so disheartening. After half a year of disruption, mental-health issues, struggling to remain motivated working from my bedroom every day, not being able to access library resources or office space... No help at all. I'm struggling to see how I will be able to finish my PhD in time now that they've decided we're not worth helping. I won't be forking out to pay for my own extensions, so my research will be lost. Not everybody has 20k in savings, UKRI.

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Include third years in the petition please!

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Include third years in the petition please!

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Is there any way the petition could be updated to include third years? I know it asks for funding for all PhD students but I think it's important to highlight how utterly and completely UKRI has screwed our year over. We're just missing out on funding and for the majority of us there's absolutely no way that we can change our projects this late in the game. It's an absolute sh*t show and we're all in a state of panic tbh

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UKRI have let a generation of researchers down

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UKRI have let a generation of researchers down

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The first "generous" extension for those finishing before 31st March 2021 was a good start, but several important factors:
- This excluded anyone in their 3rd year who had suspended for any length of time. This penalises anyone who has suspended due to medical or family reasons, and even disadvantages those (such as myself) who won a UKRI funded placement (why should PhD students be penalised for something which they won the funding for, and was hugely encouraged by UKRI). This is an unethical decision.
- Those finishing before 31st March 2021 were often in the writing up stage. I fail to see how someone who  is writing up is more disadvantaged by COVID-19 than a 1st/2nd/3rd year student who relies on labs/archives etc.
- This uneven treatment of students across different cohorts means that the majority of today's PhD students will be expected to produce a thesis in less than 3 years. By UKRI own's account, this is not possible and unacceptable.
- The government extended the furlough scheme until March 2021, accounting for 12 months of workplace instability. UKRI has a long way to go before the support provided to PhD students reaches an equivalent level.

Finally, if there really is no money available for providing extensions to all PhD students (which I find hard to believe as there must be a lot of grant underspend due to cancellation of research cruises etc), why did it take 6 months to notify us of this. If your advice is simply to "re-think" our projects, why did you disadvantage us further by giving us 6 months less to do so?! The letter that you released  on 11th Nov 2020 was patronising and UKRI has now lost the trust/respect of a whole generation of researchers. It is down to UKRI to fix this without further delay. The longer the delay, the more PhD students are going to be disadvantaged.

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Petitions - UK Government and Parliament

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UKRI has announced that final year PhD students will receive a 6 month funded extension due disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst encouraging for PhD students finishing by 31st March 2021, this does not give peace of mind to PhD students currently in their first or second year.

More details

The 6 month funded extension should be awarded to all PhD students. Without it, those in the initial years of their study will face significant personal and financial challenges in order to complete their PhD. The initial years are vital for data gathering and learning essential skills. The impact of COVID-19 will disrupt the educational journey of PhD students at all stages, therefore it is vital that extensions be granted to all ensuring that PhD students achieve their project objectives.

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Petition: UKRI should extend all PhD students affected by COVID-19

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UKRI has announced that final year PhD students will receive a 6 month funded extension due disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst encouraging for PhD students finishing by 31st March 2021, this does not give peace of mind to PhD students currently in their first or second year.

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So at the start of lockdown I had a long report due in, so I spent the first month of lockdown writing up ALL of my data.
After that there was very little to do! We started back in the lab at the start of July, but even so it has been on a 2 or 3 day a week rota. Tell me how I can possibly produce a PhD working in the lab only 2 days a week please?? However, I’m lucky compared to some people in my department who only get one day a week!
9 months later telling us to adapt our projects is NOT helpful! We don’t need the stress and also losing so much time from a lab based PhD is it even possible to finish? It’s not a one size fits all problem, and the ukri should be providing funding extensions for those who need!

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An appalling exercise in buck-passing from UKRI

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An appalling exercise in buck-passing from UKRI

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To suggest that the only recourse for most students will be to massively alter their projects midway through demonstrates a complete ignorance of the research process on the part of UKRI. For many experimental projects, there is no adapting the project other than to start again completely from scratch.

As a neurodivergent student, I am supposedly given higher priority than most for a funding extension that I surely need to cover the difficulties I have had adapting to a new way of working, but how could I in clear conscience accept an extension when so many students who may need one substantially more than I do will go without as their projects wither on the vine? That is not a calculus I should have to be making.

The UKRI report is a lazy piece of work whose conclusions do not follow from the body of the text. 77% of non-final year students, with their supervisors' support, stated that they needed extensions - with the average request being for 5.1 months. At no stage does the report reconcile these statistics (published in the report, remember!) with the decision to offer 3-month extensions to a minority of the student body. Moreover, the statement that the standard of the doctoral education should not be diminished by a once-in-a-century pandemic is inherently contradicted by the lack of support offered for students and is tantamount to dereliction of duty on the part of UKRI.

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Upon reflection: I'm torn. Part of me thinks maybe I should pack my toys and walk away. I don't need this stress. I don't identify with this self serving elite club called academia in the first place. For me, the phd is just the byproduct of the research in which I strongly believe (as is extremely important to conduct) and I'm deeply passionate about. And here, on the other hand, I think that the purpose of my research was to inlude this hidden, marginalised community which I care about into the knowledge production. UKRI are changing the rules of the game halfway through. We have signed the contract in a way. I ajust, adapt and mitigate as much as possble. However, UKRI are trying to walk away from their obligations. They should honor the proposals which they have already acepted. Perhaps we shouldn't agree to their new t&c's and sue them?

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Beginning third year - I can’t change my project at such short notice.

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Beginning third year - I can’t change my project at such short notice.

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I have lost so much time through closed archives, a lack of manuscript sources and secondary sources. My project is entirely based on manuscript sources (letters). I cannot change it, even to printed materials any more so than I already have. I refuse to compromise the quality of my project - how can I get a qualification with half the research unable to be completed?

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on the fact that asking us to make our research more feasible inevitably means changing our research participant pool to people who are more 'easily accessible', i.e. wealthier and better connected. What's the point of social science research that only goes to places and carries out research with a small subsection of the human population?)

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Anthropologists can't just change their plans

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Anthropologists can't just change their plans

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Let me say at the outset that it's not easy for ANYONE to change their plans, not am I trying to imply it is. What I'm going to do here is to demonstrate what is difficult about fulfilling the request to "talk to your supervisor in order to plan your project in a way that allows you to complete it within your funded period." and "look at any adaptation or adjustments that could be made to ensure you are able to do so" when you are a social anthropologist.

The key factor that makes anthropology different from other disciplines is long-term (12-18 months) of fieldwork, often but not always carried out abroad. Usually in a 3+1 setup as offered by the ESRC and AHRC, 1 year of preparation precedes 1-1.5 years of fieldwork, followed by 2 years of writing up your thesis.

What's crucial to understand here is that it is embedded in the methodology of this field that writing the thesis cannot precede the fieldwork, and that a deep engagement with the particular social and historical context of your fieldsite cannot be foregone if you want your final output to still be meaningful in the world of anthropological research.

Add to that a global pandemic, and a funding body that thinks you can just tweak plans to, for instance, spend 18 months in Mongolia, and you begin to see the problem. I am facing what feels like three options:

1) Continue waiting for my fieldwork to be possible (literally: Mongolia has not had its borders open since February) while the clock is still ticking, not able to make meaningful progress on my thesis before fieldwork, but drastically reducing the amount of time I will have to write up my thesis after fieldwork.

2) Take an unpaid interruption while I wait for my fieldwork to be possible, plunging myself into extremely dire financial straits. It's not exactly like it's possible to save on approx 15k a year, and who is going to hire an overqualified PhD student who is guaranteed to quit again in 6-9 months?

3) Change my fieldsite to somewhere closer to home. The phrasing of the email makes it sound as though this is easily done, not something that takes months of work (months which will presumably not be covered by an extension, and which will therefore cut into our timelines much like waiting for our fieldwork to become possible would). I mean for heavens' sake, I've just spent 12 months preparing a detailed fieldwork plan for Mongolia! Think I can just knock one up for Scotland in a week? Think Scotland wants a horde of displaced anthropology PhDs descend on its mountains and glens? Besides, when I spoke to my supervisor about this months ago - because, shocker, I do actually speak to my supervisor even without my funding body telling me to do so - she strongly advised me not to even go down that road because it would be too much work and take too long and I would have to interrupt (i.e. give up funding as in option 2) in order to do so.

In short, I don't see how the UKRI is actually going to save any money by asking us to change our plans. Because they'll have to pay for extensions one way or another - either while we wait for our fieldwork to be possible, or while we come up with entirely new research proposals. Unless they're seriously hoping we're all going to interrupt and save them 6 months of money, a step which we were all repeatedly encouraged to AVOID, even PREVENTED from seeking, for the last 8 or so months.

(This doesn't even touch on the fact that asking us to make our research more feasible inevitably means changing our research participant pool to people who are more 'easily accessible', i.e. wealthier and better connected. What's the point of social science research that only goes to places and carries out research with a small subsection of the human population?)

I find it bizarre that in the report there is no acknowledgment of how researchers in different disciplines are impacted in different ways by this pandemic. I appreciate that the UKRI has included a (token?) nod to "disabled students, those with long-term illness, those who are neurodivergent, or those with caring responsibilities", but where is the nod to the varying impacts on political scientists, artists, geologists, economists, biomedical researchers etc.

The UKRI claims to want to "build a thriving, inclusive research and innovation system". I am as cynical of the extent of this commitment as I am of their commitment to supporting "disabled students, those with long-term illness, those who are neurodivergent, or those with caring responsibilities". This cynicism is rooted in a lack of faith in the stability offered by the UKRI.

Just six months ago we were being told "We follow guiding principles in developing support for you; we want all doctoral students to be able to complete their studies, and to be funded to do so. We aim to make sure that you are treated fairly, your personal circumstances are taken into account, and that decisions are made on a generous basis with as little paperwork as possible. We will ensure guidance is clear that students will not have to “make up lost time” by working unreasonable hours, or every weekend and holiday"

Today, however, we are being told "You may need to make decisions around changing your approach, collecting different data, or changing the way you had planned to work with people, labs, archives or facilities, for example. This could result in your research project or thesis plan being different from that originally proposed".

Oh, and don't count on our funding while you take the time to do so.

It's quite a change in tone!

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There will be knock on effects of this for university depts with UKRI funded students. Phd students are a key component of academic depts and are heavily relied upon to support taught courses by teaching, marking etc. The loss of huge chunks of research time which we can’t get back means, for us to have any chance of catching up, something else will have to give and could negatively impact the service received by fee paying undergraduates. As a taxpayer funded body, at a time when universities are already under pressure to provide high quality, competitive content, I find this very short sighted of UKRI.

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Following from yesterday’s disgustingly woeful announcement by the UKRI which was akin to telling PGRs that they are on their own, it’s interesting to see that they did not link the “UKRI Covid-19 Student Consultation: Final report” by NatCen Social research who were commissioned by UKRI to conduct the study that formed the basis of their “full report” in the “Review of Extensions for Students Impacted by COVID-19” in their tweet thread.

Here is the link to extra information: https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/UKRI-11112020-NatCenUKRICOVID-19StudentConsultation.pdf

You may also note that the UKRI have actually failed at every single recommendation provided.

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  "We are determined that reduced doctoral outputs as a result of the pandemic should not be seen to diminish standards in doctoral education."  As a funder and national body they need to 

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That is disgraceful. A whole generation of academics will be lost as we all attempt to enter a broken academic job market at the same time with rushed, sub-standard academic portfolios having had little or no opportunity to build the networks essential to our career success. I hope you will be proud.

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UKRI note:  "We are determined that reduced doctoral outputs as a result of the pandemic should not be seen to diminish standards in doctoral education."  As a funder and national body they need to account for the impact these changes will have on our ability to manage in the competitive landscape after PhDs. Also to be clear what they mean by not diminishing standards!
Of course, just waving a hand and saying some final year student will get it ignores all the different ways research happens - for many their early years are the most critical. Additionally, groups of disabled students wrote up demands to make the initial UKRI response more helpful. I do not believe any of their recommendations have been taken into account. A callous response framing the choice as merely bureacratic rather than one motivated by choosing to relegate the importance of PhD students who have no recourse to furlough funds.

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Other workers get furloughed – we're told to just do the same work as before in  a fraction of the time. And this is in a situation when we've been constantly told by the heads of our DTP that all of us will be adequately supported to finish. UKRI should be ashamed – all this nonsense about resilience individualises a collective, societal problem. We need to organise to protest against this.

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Don't forget about us - even when the pandemic is over

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Don't forget about us - even when the pandemic is over

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Several months ago, when I heard that final year UKRI-funded PhD students would be granted 6-month funded extensions, I was delighted for them, as it seemed only fair when you're suddenly told to leave the office with no indication of when you'll return. But the impact this had on final years varied widely - some were in a serious predicament as they still had practical work to do, while others were in the writing-up phase already. But for 2nd and 3rd years - and arguably, some 1st years - they were in the middle of data collection or just about to begin. I had received ethical approval for my human study just 1 week before we went into lockdown. That study was only re-approved for recruitment 2 weeks ago - over a 7 month delay. Even then, I've been told that members of staff feel "uncomfortable" that research with participants is happening once more in the building - despite all the extra paperwork and PPE to ensure safety. As such, I will probably not be able to recruit as many participants as I'd have liked, or have as many complete a 6-month long study - as I'm limited by the bounds of my PhD. If I hadn't taken a well-timed internship which extended my PhD by three months at the start of my second year, I'd be feeling much more stressed. This is what extensions do - they buy you time. And this is what many of us urgently need. I've already done two years of data analysis as part of my project, which should only have been a part of my PhD. So to be told I should restructure my PhD when it took a year to design, resdesign, approve and reapprove my human study is laughable. I hope through hard work and luck I will get enough data and won't need an extension - but I would feel much better knowing that it was an option.

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How can they make this statement with no clear end to the pandemic in sight? 

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How can they make this statement with no clear end to the pandemic in sight? 

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What seems particularly shocking is that the UKRI can make a blanket statement like this despite the fact that there is no clear end point to the Covid pandemic. Having already told PGRs that they won't fund an extension based on 8 months of lost research, the assumption now seems to be that the pandemic is about to end and we'll all be able to crack on with making up for the lost time. Even if there is some miracle vaccine round the corner, there's no guarantee that universities, libraries, labs, archives, schools and transport networks (including those outside the UK) are about to suddenly open up again. It therefore makes no sense for the UKRI to assume we'll all be able to just adjust our plans and carry on where we left off in March.

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I couldn't agree more.

It feels like the system has forgotten we are people.

I'm exhausted.

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Agree with the posts here. This will be harmful beyond UKRI scope who just abandoned PGRs instead of setting an example and put pressure on the government for emergency funds etc for self-funded researchers. CoronaContract is right to call for at least 2 years of contract extensions. The impact of the pandemic will last longer than the government lockdown.
Time to organise and fight back.

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Having read the document and their OWN data analysis I must say, they're not v data guided those people at UKRI. Isn't that ironic.

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UKRI is literally telling us to redesign our research. That means new lit reviews, new ethics forms, new instrument designs, new everything. And they want us to do this in, what, a weekend? Redesigning our work, as you have advised, takes time. You decided to support these research projects and now you are sabotaging them. Not only does this amount to a callous and cruel way to treat people, it also makes no sense it its own terms. PhDs will go unfinished, and you will have wasted hundreds of thousands of pounds.

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Throughout the pandemic, I experienced high levels of anxiety and postural problems which have exacerbated & are leading to increased physical pain (price to pay for a PhD?). I have contemplated leaving the programme almost daily - both due to the UKRI's failure to support us, and also because of many other things that have been happening in my life.
The UKRI's focus on data collection as being the main reason for claiming that Covid has interrupted research is crass. Many projects are theoretical & some students managed to somehow do data collection - but it doesn't mean that we've been actually mentally and physically able to do the important work of reading, writing, editing, thinking deeply, and so on.

Will they be happy with a submission of data, accompanied by some early drafts of clumsily written chapters? They also said that the extensions are not for the time lost - many students have worked with no interruption & have already burnt out or will be soon, because (1) there have been no support and announcements from UKRI, and (2) the UKRI kept promising for months that support would be provided. So after 9 months of struggles to work (with limited success and high anxiety), this is how they are treating us?!

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I am in the fortunate (though I shouldn't be having to use that word) position of having been eligible for the initial program of extensions, however on recieving the email from UKRI last night I was truly shocked, disgusted and just indescribably angry on behalf on all my peers who have been left out in the cold by UKRI. The tone of the letter was frankly callous and gave no consideration to the severe impact the proceeding months of waiting and the total lack of support, financial or otherwise, offered has and continues to have upon the mental well-being of PGRs. UKRI has discarded it's responsibility to us and particularly to the working class, disabled, carer or otherwise vulnerable students you fund. This decision will have long standing effects on equality and diversity in UK accademia. That fact that it took 8 months of waiting for such a completely impotent response is shocking and shameful.

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what is the point of UKRI if they don't fund research and innovation?

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what is the point of UKRI if they don't fund research and innovation?

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Absoutely, 100% agree with this. I was told from the beginning to treat this like a full-time job... without any of the benefits of actually being an employee and only half those of a student, with an income below minimum wage, but I took it because I love my project.

As someone who has just started their third year (and therefore was not elligible for the previously announced funding extentions), I am extremely disappointed. All in all, I have been extremely lucky - I have two very sympathetic supervisors who have always prioritised my mental health and who are fighting in every possible way to get me, and their other students, an extension not just to funding, but to the final PhD deadline (which this statement didn't even cover beyond we still expect you to complete on time, I notice). Whilst my fieldwork was disrupted, we've managed to set up a (funded, thank goodness for my supervisors/DTP placement officer), placement that I can do remotely which will mean that I don't have to drastically change my project and which gives me the funding extension beyond the base 3 years that the UKRI have not. I know many people in my year and the year below who have not been so lucky, and who have had to face up to the possibility that their PhD will never be wanted they wanted it to be due to circumstances out of their control, who have lost vital data opportunities, access to archives, even inter-library loans, all of which have severly impacted their ability to complete their research to the high standard they want.

This announcement was a shambles and completely tone deaf to a community that has been struggling for months. I suspect that the UKRI is going to be facing a massive rise in drop-outs and non-completions as a result of this lack of support and I can only say that I am immensely glad that I never intended to work in academia because I can only imagine how damaging this is going to be to the cohorts of researchers affected.

In summary: disappointed, but not surprised.

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I wonder how much the salaries are for the UKRI directors?

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I wonder how much the salaries are for the UKRI directors?

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I saw UKRI's announcement on Twitter on the way home from the hospital yesterday after spending an afternoon there with a flare-up of a debilitating chronic pain condition. Aside from the policy itself, it is disgraceful that the announcement was made via Twitter of all places.

I am a third year PhD student who was relying on an extension to spread out some of the thesis writing burden and protect my health. My condition is worsened by intense periods of writing and desk based work. I have already worked so hard to try and manage this with the transition to work from home and adapting my research, but now my plans and coping mechanisms are being taken away by being told that I must compress my thesis to meet original deadline. I have no idea what will happen if a pain flare-up delays my writing or puts me in bed at a crucial time. If I do manage to finish then it is likely to be at the expense of my health which could cost me for years.

Frankly, I am considering dropping out because I am not sure I am prepared to let the demands of finishing a PhD push me into living with an unworkable level of pain.

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The government furlough scheme has been extended until March - so some employees may have spent a whole year unable to work due to the pandemic. Being students, rather than an employees, we don't have those same rights as every other working person in the UK. We are kept as students rather than employees so that UKRI can make their money go further. The same way that companies will employ interns to work for free on the basis of training - it is taking advantage of those at the bottom of the ladder, whilst profiting those at the top.

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My Research is literally on how uncertainty adversely effects decision making and creates anxiety, its taken 8 months of the most intense uncertainty to be told we have listened to what you have to say but your on your own 

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My Research is literally on how uncertainty adversely effects decision making and creates anxiety, its taken 8 months of the most intense uncertainty to be told we have listened to what you have to say but your on your own 

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I am a third year PhD student whose fieldwork was supposed to begin in March 2020. I have already changed my project as much as I could given the guidance we had during lockdown and even then fieldwork and data collection have been postponed yet again due to Covid restrictions. So now I'm facing a year of funding left with no data and no time to change my project and yet again another wave of uncertainty on top of *gestures at world* everything else that is happening right now.

It has taken 8 months to come to this decision... 8 months struggling though the worst part of the pandemic being led to believe that we would be helped, 8 months wasted...

The UKRI's decision is callous and disappointing. I was already struggling with my mental health and to read that they know that we all are struggling and that we all need some form of help then just leave us to sort it out ourselves with our already stressed and overworked supervisors is appalling.

Shame on you UKRI

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As a now third year student, these words from the UKRI report, page 14, resonate with me: "ROs and grant holders noted that penultimate year students are most likely to experience major disruptions to their research and that as such an advanced stage it is harder to adapt and redesign their research."
In this case I then wonder if it is fair to circulate an email telling students that - I am paraphrasing here - "you didn't receive your training, it's disappointing, but hey - tough - we need to get our award holders to complete their PhDs on time, so please change your projects, whatever stage you are at. And of course, there won't be money for all of you who may be entitled".
I am appalled by the lack of empathy in the email we received. It feels it's only about completing a thesis - who cares about the output? Of course not everyone will require an extension, but this may be setting the rest of us who do up for failure, as some (if not many) of us may end with a sub-par piece of work, most of which may not be good enough for publication and subsequently for progression in the academic world. We all had to modify our projects, we have all been struggling with mental health, in one way or another. This email appears to be a mere act to dissuade us to ask for extensions. I do appreciate that this situation is hard to navigate for everyone, but also this pandemic is still ongoing and its effects will have at least medium term repercussions. I suppose this is about pulling a blanket that's too short, and the 'sorry-but-not-sorry' corporate jargon does the rest. Sending an email like this one, just exacerbates stress, and it is very counterproductive, for all parties involved.

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Not only disappointing. Highly unethical and disturbing...

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Not only disappointing. Highly unethical and disturbing...

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I am a1st year phd student conducting sensitive research with marginalised and hidden community. I feel like I am being encouraged (or even forced) to change the scope of my research solely because this extremely important, pressing, and under researched social problem  I am focusing on, is not appropriate to be studied with using digital/online methods. From my perspective, all the covid-proof methods training and guidance provided to us so far, is about adapting our research by using digital/online methods. I don't feel supported with training on using some other qualitative/ethnographic methods (for example rapid ethnography) and how it could be ethically adapted to the covid proof demand. We are being advised to be creative, which is great, but simultaneously, we also have to comply with the ethical requirements- especially when working with vulnerable participants- another gap within the provision and guidance for novice ethnographers working with excluded communities. In other words: marginalised populations and sensitive research are to be excluded from our research scope for now on the basis of not being adjustable to the digital methods and too high risk of not fitting within the 3 years time frame.

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I am one of the 'lucky' cohort that has an additional 6 months because my end date was Sept 20. This was only confirmed for me after months of hand-wringing + uncertainty. I am a working-class student + struggling with mental and physical health. My heart is hurting for my colleagues and friends who have received this shocking and callous communication from UKRI today

UKRI: you're not listening!

I am thinking also about the recent article in Tribune highlighting how academia is such a difficult place for working class scholars to exist. In their words: we are set up to fail. This announcement today exacerbates that, sets us up... and places undue and I would say impossible(to re-define your project?!) pressures, on those who are already struggling to exist here.

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Can't believe it took eight months for this reply

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Can't believe it took eight months for this reply

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The mental health impact of  beginning my PhD during the current circumstances has been colossal.

I may have just started my PhD but the reality is that because of pre-existing health conditions and disabilities, alongside the fact my project is reliant on extensive use of archives, the pandemic will have a massive impact on my ability to complete a successful PhD in 3 years.

I'm working far slower than I would have if not for the current situation and am depressed and anxious. I'm neurodiverse and every time new restrictions are added the impact of the change is a massive decline in my mental health while I readjust.

How much did UKRI actually listen to disabled students about the impact this is having on them?

Some disciplines actually require archives or fieldwork and without them there may be no original piece of work.

If we aren't getting extensions then a blanket offer to be allowed to put our studies on hold for six months until the worst of the pandemic may be behind us would be helpful.

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Yet again we receive a reminder that academia is for the wealthy. Those who already have a surname that will be enough for them to get a job; a family with resources to help them and the ability to not pay rent (let alone visas).

UKRI's position is blatantly anti-first generation academics. Also shows absolute ignorance of the realities of the Majority world. How are we supposed to adapt a project that is at its conception looking at geographically isolated and under-researched people? It is not enough to make do with an interrupted fieldwork, data is simply not enough and there are no other sources. Any alternatives?

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As has been discussed, whilst yesterday's announcement from UKRI clearly evidences their dereliction of duty for financially supporting PGRs during the pandemic, I think a less discussed outcome is how this looks on UKRI as a funding body in themselves.

UKRI proclaim to be the leading organisation that supports funding across the five primary research councils,  yet this decision not to provide additonal support, looks squarely bad on them for future ventures or calls for funding too.

If the institution in itself is untrustworthy with regard to supporting its existing funded students, how can one have confidence in them as a body to provide continued funding support in future for grants?

Their decision is ultimately self-defeating for improving their standing as a UK funding body and surely invites further negative connotations for researchers being associated with the body, if the outcome of attaining any funding with them, is that they will either cut funding early or not support the research in full with any organisations they are working with that encounter problems.

The outcome of yesterday's report is problematic for a number of reasons; not only being morally reprehensible, but also organisationally undermining. It was a cavalier and reckless decision to abdicate responsibility for support onto universities that looks reactionary  either to conserve their own money (in light of Brexit or whatever else), and gutless in that they will not support postgraduate researchers in arguably their greatest hour of need in modern history.

Their decision should definitely be reconsidered and reversed.

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To justify such neglect by speaking to a shockingly small sample is simply bad practice. All researchers I know have been adapting as best they can during this really difficult period. To disregard the impact of the last eight months on people's health, mental wellbeing, and finances, let alone on access to libraries, laboratories, fieldwork, and support? Callous.

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UKRIs response is not only poorly timed, poorly executed and with no substance but it points to a future where pgrs will have to fight it out for funding which only further increases inequalities within HE. They've given no indication in how extensions will actually be rolled out, if at all. They've said its down to individual universities which suggests to me a complete lack of awareness about the stark differences from one institution to another. All of this is on top of the fact that it has taken them 9 months to discover nothing and tell us nothing. Most Neurodivergent pgrs like myself, are already in crisis. It is beyond clear that the statement 'your health and wellbeing is our top priority' is in fact, an outright and bare faced lie. Moreover, the completely lacking and utterly laughable methods for (not) communicating show that the priority for UKRI is to protect its optics and not its students. They could have told us at the begining that they would not be able to offer support, at least then, if nothing else, we could have not wasted 9 months and we would have been saved some of this extra stress and anxiety. What UKRI has now told its PGRs is that they do not care and our work is not valued. Not just through their lack of funded support but also through the continued and complete disregard in communicating appropriately and consistently with us.

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This announcement from UKRI really feels like the last straw for me. My fieldwork was cut off halfway through. For over six months we were placated with messages saying "we're working it out but don't worry, if you need an extension, you'll get it". Only to be completely thrown under the bus, during a national lockdown, with a throw away "you're on your own" statement. It is disrespectful, demoralising, and dangerous. Most of us have no other source of income. Most of us have projects that completely need to be reworked and revised, even if we do "adapt", which takes months. Many of us have dependants. We have no hope of a job after because there's no way we can have CVs as impressive as those who did PhDs not in a global pandemic (and it's not like universities will take it into account - they haven't so far). It's heartbreaking and infuriating. How dare they.

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Why allow us to believe there would be extensions/support available for the last 8 months? That time could have been spent "adjusting" our PhDs, which for many people at this point is just impossible. We had no access to libraries, labs, fieldwork, face-to-face support with supervisors. Many PhD's students go over their 3/3.5 years of funding even in normal circumstances - let alone with what we've had to deal with this year! We have worked so, so hard to get to this point in our careers and you have completely abandoned us. Why are you still advertising so many scholarships for the next year?! Why not divert some of that money so your current students can actually complete their PhD? We will be left with sub-standard PhD's, awful mental health and complete lack of trust in academia. Congrats.

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Most of my second funded year has been dominated by the pandemic and its effects. While UKRI might be under the strange impression that PhD students have not already updated and adapted their projects due to the sudden restrictions on what we can do, most of us have done this. I needed to postpone planned experimental work and device fabrication work which were ready to begin in March, and even though labs have now partially reopened, access limitations prevent as much work being done as was previously planned and a large amount of time has been permanently lost. It was necessary to change the focus of work from experimentation and simulation to just simulation. However, contrary to any impressions otherwise at UKRI, this sort of change can have many negative effects. Most quality journals and conferences in my field require experimental results, ideally from new devices. The lack of any chance to get either of these will have long term negative consequences. I know other students have had to face even worse effects on their research, such as the cancellation of field studies. For all UKRI's attempts to assuage us, there is no recognition of the fact that a lot of the work we had planned is not optional and cannot simply be replaced with some other work without reducing the quality of our research. This is why funding extensions are essential, and why it was so harmful for UKRI to string us along with the hope of funding extensions.

Training opportunities are not the only thing to consider. We have not been able to attend previously planned conferences this year. The networking opportunities have been lost, not just at conferences but throughout work at the university, negatively affecting the prospects of this current cohort of PhD students. It is worth considering how the UKRI's decision is going to create inequality between the PhD students affected by the pandemic and those whose candidatures ended before it began or will begin after it ends. This will only be heightened for those who are also POC, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and/or part of other disadvantaged groups. Many PhD students have been continuing their teaching work, providing enormous value to the university and thus UK education as a whole, while being paid below minimum wage often. They are now being asked to sacrifice their own prospects as academics and researchers yet again. Rather than treating this as a matter of individual experiences, it should be dealt with as a collective problem that could be addressed, though not in full, with funding extensions. Anything less is an admission that the UK is not a serious country when it comes to fairness in society, and not a serious country when it comes to science, especially after its failure to address European cooperation (which underpins a lot of research) in a rational way and after prematurely reopening universities against  expert advice, causing localised Covid outbreaks,  just to extract more money from taught students and so risking research activities. There are plenty of countries which are more than happy to offer researchers better prospects away from the UK. UKRI needs to step up and provide the multi-month funding extensions which PhD projects need.

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Those of us with disabilities -- who are still shielding and have lost loved ones, who have, despite this whole f-up, still managed to produce work are still expected to finish on time. Speaking to supervisors and funders for financial support is not an option most of the time - a little secret tip here UKRI, they don't care! We can't rely on the 'miraculous' and random goodwill of individuals -- there should be robust institutional/social structures in place to protect PGRs who are the future of the academy. Our studentships are our livelihoods -- we are NOT the same as undergraduates and taught post-graduates; a fundamental misunderstanding in this country that both devalues our research ('only students') and our role in the broader economy. This whole response has made it clear to me that this line of work is something I will not pursue post-PhD. Sucks to be disabled, sucks even more to be disabled in academia. Disgraceful.

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I knew this was coming. Nobody waits that long to give you good news. I'm concerned, as a humanities student, they'll do something stupid and apply a broad brush 'you can read a book anywhere but they couldn't get into labs' policy and divert the majority of this 'additional funding' to the science research councils.
I am so far behind it is not even funny. I have already redirected my project and I'm doing a lot virtually, but believe it or not it took more or less 6 months to actually do that. I'm having to review bits of literature I dont know well enough because they weren't in the remit of my initial project. I'm not going to catch up. But because my funding end date has already been pushed back, I'm no longer a priority.
At the end of the day, the jokes on them. If UKRI aren't prepared to actually finish what they started funding, they're going to get a shit bunch of PhDs that noone can publish anything from & a generation of 'human resources' that want nothing to do with higher academia because they understand how little our government actually values the research we're supposed to be contributing. Excellence in academia my arse.

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Thoughtless, particularly given how long it took to come up with this statement/plan. I feel lucky that I am early in my PhD and can adjust most of my research without having wasted time necessarily. However, I know that is not the case for many others. My mental health has been impacted by the pandemic and I have found it really hard working from home with no structure, sharing small, non-office space. Identity and work and the way they’ve been affected by the pandemic is not as simple as fitting into a category or not. Do I have to disclose mental health issues to be eligible? Also, what does “We are determined that reduced doctoral outputs as a result of the pandemic should not be seen to diminish standards in doctoral education” actually mean? What about in the eyes of employers? How much adaptation to the planned project is possible, given that I was funded to do this specific project? There is information missing and it would’ve been better if they’d just said “we basically won’t be funding any extensions so get on with it” six months ago.

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A little tip to whoever writes UKRI's e-mails: If you're going to have a subject line that reads "Important information about Covid-19 support for UKRI-funded students," please try to ensure that you include somewhere in the body of the e-mail information about SUPPORT for students. Many thanks.

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It is so difficult to come to terms with the very real possibility that the PhD project will not be finished to the standard it deserves. We work incredibly hard and like everyone else have suffered the effects of the pandemic in one way or another. With no access to a suitable library and the archives for 9 months, it is truly impossible to compensate without time and funding. A much more supportive decision is deserved by all those are affected.  Our futures and the future of quality research are devastatingly affected by the UKRI decision.

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Really disappointed to hear of the policy announcement! There is a complete lack of understanding of the impacts disruptions like these have on ECRs quality of work, mental health and future job perspectives. Once again, it seems the only concern is getting that maximum 4 year completion box ticked at the cost of ECRs. Any change in project takes time which is not a luxury that most have, not to mention any cost implications.

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This thread, and the whole issue leaves me speechless. Main message: change your projects. Finish on time. It's not that easy. Some of the disruption has been severe. Changing projects means learning new methods. An anthropologist, trained in ethnography, cannot just switch their project to an online one within a day. What do you do if you are running out of time& funds?... And at the end of the day, will your work be published? Will you be accepted in the academic anthropology circle?

And I'm not even speaking of the stress that the uncertainty of not knowing means. Not being able to plan. Not knowing when to adjust and how. Not knowing if you will get a funded extension. Not knowing if the end result (PhD) is worth all of this fight anymore

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This is terrible. There seems to so frequently be a totally messed up idea that students aren't people- that they don't have lives to fund. That they can function through anything because they exist to churn out work, and to never ask questions or challenge authority in any way. Everything is a mess right now. And without proper support to finish their PhDs, future employment will be even tougher than it ever was for these cohorts. Putting it in the hands of the universities... sure, like that's gonna make a difference! What unis will do is start charging people fees. And potentially kicking them off the course if they're moving slower than looks good for their figures. It particularly infuriates me that the UKRI have advertised funding for new PhDs  future cohorts. Rather than ensuring they look after those who already need them. It's hardly an attractive package to sign up to right now, for any newbie- they can see, clearly, thet thry won't be cared for in the event of any difficulties. Disappointing isn't a strong enough word.

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What can I say that isn't already said a hundred times over by everyone else? Reading the email I received yesterday was so disappointing and disheartening. What do they think we have been doing for the past nine months except for adapting the best that we could? I don't even know how I could adapt my research any more within the original funding period without a time machine.

I am shocked that the statement acknowledges students with additional support needs may be finding this exceptionally challenging, but offers no support beyond advising they work with supervisors to 'adapt' their project. It may come as a shock, but some things cannot be adapted- I cannot change my health conditions to the benefit of my PhD, although I wish that I could. I spend my entire life 'adapting' to what is put in front of me that seems impossible because of illnesses.

And to the person who has written here that 'life's not fair'- do you think that we don't know that already? Is the fact that life is not fair a reason to continue to pile on the inequalities, discrimination & pressure that many of us already feel so keenly?

I've spent almost every day of the past nine months wanting to drop out of my PhD, feeling like I couldn't do it and hating the academic environment. I'll keep going, but this makes me really, really concerned about the future.

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An absolute mockery, are you having a fricking laugh?????? If I could find a bridge and throw myself off, I really would. No thanks to you.

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So disappointed with UKRI's decision, there response undervalues the effort and thought that has gone into the organisation of the research projects. Furthermore it shows a lack of compassion for the current perilous situation we're currently living through and the impact that this has had on both researchers and their research.

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We have been funded to do a specific piece of research using specific methods. How can this research be 'world beating' if the premise of it can be changed so easily?

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Pretty much blatant discrimination against those who can't afford to work for free, to those who need support because of health, physical and mental, etc....

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There are several key aspects of this which are completely unacceptable.

1: the statement acknowledges disabled, unwell, and neurodivergent students, and carers, but phrases it as individual perception rather than systemic and actual real-life consequences: 'feeling the effects' rather than 'are affected'. This distancing places responsibility on individuals and does not recognise the work done by PGRs already to demonstrate and PROVE these affects, repeatedly.

2. The lack of funding for the above groups in particular is beyond callous, and is a serious equalities issue.

3. Some finalists inc myself have already received some support, however as the pandemic has developed and the country experiences stark unemployment, those of us whose funded period is imminently ending face having absolutely nothing to live on. I run out of funding at the end of 2020, and cannot find a job that will pay my rent and allow me to finish my project.

4. As publicly funded researchers, we are accountable to the public. If the body administering research funding does not support us in finishing these projects, then this is also a failure of UKRI to the public. 5. This communicates to an international research community that the UKRI does not value our research, and negatively impact the UK's research reputation as a whole. I am beyond furious at this absolute breach of responsibility to hundreds of researchers. We cannot overstate that this is an unprecedented global health catastrophe, this is a natural disaster, and we have been utterly abandoned by the very body that is meant to provide a safety net.

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Not good enough!!
Very disappointed with UKRI’s policy statement. We may all have experienced different challenges as a result of COVID-19 but I guarantee that most if not all of us, will have had a negative impact in terms of our PhD research. I found it really difficult to work from home with family all trying to work from home and then I experienced a close family bereavement end of April and was unable to travel to attend the funeral. I know for sure that I lost 4-6 months of my PhD time as a result. Mental health and family had to come first. It is only since September that I feel I am getting somewhat back on track. For this not to be supported and recognised by UKRI is totally demoralising!!! 😩

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Taking 8 months to tell us to mitigate, adjust and talk to our supervisors is an utter disgrace. Telling us we just have to do more work in less time is a didgrace.

We've all spent the past 8 months doing all of that but the pandemic hasn't ended, we can't get lost time back! So many means of data collection are still not available and planning an entirely new project takes a lot of time and simply isn't feasible for many.

Is UKRI trying to teach us how NOT to do research? What was the point of consulting and collecting data to ignore just ignore the findings?

Academia is going to lose so many good researchers and too many will be those it needs the most. And what about the work they would have produced that now won't get done?

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Yes 100%. Tired of being treated half like an employee and half like a student, with the worst of both world taking presedence. No benefits, over-worked, under appreciated, below minimum wage pay. Sick of it.

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How can you say one thing, assure people that they will have the funding they need to complete their work and then proceed to pull the plug immediately after?

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I was was in the middle of second year when the pandemic started, which if I was on a three year PhD would have meant I finished in September 2021. However I am on a 3.5 year DTP EPSRC PhD so my end date is March 2022 so I am ineligable for any help?! If it was awarded 3.5 years funding it is surely because it can't be done in 3 years. Now with 8 months (and counting) out of the lab it's a 2 year and 10 month PhD.... interesting...

Communication from my Research Organisation has been minimial at every level. Forgotten at University, College and School level being neither staff nor student, accessing masks, testing, and research facilities has been difficult with little support given.

Research Organisations are already failing at protecting PhD and ECR mental health. At the very least there should be complusory mental health first aid training for ALL staff involved with PhD supervision and organisation.

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he UKRI does not have the funds to cover the extensions identified by PhD researchers and their supervisors then they should use their influence in collaboration with the DTPs and other stakeholders to assert 

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I didn't have a lot of hope for UKRI's response. But the announcement was absolutely dire, below anything I imagined possible.
For months they have given us nothing, no information, no support, but kept us hoping that we may get support, and then given us a pathetic document, with absolutely measly levels of support, and dire recommendations.
I have had an illness that meant I couldn't work for two months. Maybe it was covid, I don't know. And I'm still nowhere near the level of productivity I was at. But I think I am just about on track.
Lets be clear, most students take at least 3 and half years to complete, meaning PhD students are doing 6 months work for free. With this announcement, many students will be working for free for A WHOLE YEAR.
Horrendous.
Thanks for nothing UKRI.

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Cannot get over the suggestion that our PhDs, which we're supposed to just limit in scope in order to finish on time, will still be considered on par with those that have carried out a full and proper project. The job market for research is horrendous both inside and out of academia and it's ridiculous to suggest that prospective employers will put our PhDs on par with other people who have finished theirs properly and have been able to carry out fieldwork.

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“Improvise, adapt, overcome”? How exactly do you practically apply that “Philosophy”? We haven’t been sitting around shrugging our shoulders and doing nothing! I’ve done everything in my control to revise my project, and it’s not enough because circumstances are outside of my control. It’s great that you’ve not been adversely affected, but you are likely to be in the minority.

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"Treat the PhD like a job"...yet without the benefits.

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"Treat the PhD like a job"...yet without the benefits.

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Where has the emotional/finance support been for the last year? How do you get back the months of having no access to materials? What about the stress of having to pay for books to continue our projects as well as living costs (rent, food)? Where is our support for the stress that the pandemic has caused, the upheaval, the lack of work done due to the stress?
Funding boards must be saving a lot from not having to cash out for conferences, research trips, summer schools, training...where is this money going? We haven't received any information for how this will benefit us in the long run.

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My participants pretty much all dropped out because they are a “vulnerable” population that has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. It’s not just about whether or not we have a laptop at home!

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We were led to believe there would be support available for us. I lost five months of research time because I am a carer and while there is a snide line about "limited support available" I doubt that would actually cover all the people with disabilitiies, neurodivergences, caring responsibilities, etc. Let alone everyone else who was affected. Why is UKRI just fucking us off like this? It's really hurtful and disrespects all we try and do.

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Imagine hearing all of these voices detailing the impacts of the pandemic and systemic discrimination in higher education and saying 'life isn't fair'. That's certainly one way to say 'I see the gaping flaws in this institution that affect so many (mostly disadvantaged) people, but I'll be fine so I guess it doesn't really matter'. UKRI would be so proud.

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This post is probably echoing a lot of the views expressed here but the statement from UKRI is not only frustrating, but absolutely exhausting for us. Those in our final funded year now have less than 10 months to change our project to finish within our funded period - why did it take UKRI 8 months to announce this? Had we had this announcement back in April, we would have at least had sufficient time to appropriately change our project. Some people might argue that we should have thought about this already, but the fact is everything has been so unpredictable - my supervisor's (and department's) advice has been to sit tight and wait to see what's said about funded extensions, and they were under the impression we would be granted these extensions. My own PhD involves a lot of fieldwork abroad and psychology experiments with human participants that I had planned to do in my second year over Spring/Summer - this has all been on hold for 8 months, and I can't do either of those things during a pandemic (and esp. during second lockdown). I'm entering my final year with no data, no funded extension, and I'm somehow expected to still be able to finish my PhD. UKRI seem to have completely misunderstood what PhD's involve, and the amount of time/energy it takes to restructure a huge project so quickly (let alone the impact of this lack of support on the mental health of PhD students).

I'm so frustrated, exhausted, and feel like I don't have the mental capacity to do this. We've been completely let down.

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Fight for funding, don't pass on the covid cost to early career researchers. 

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Fight for funding, don't pass on the covid cost to early career researchers. 

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If the UKRI does not have the funds to cover the extensions identified by PhD researchers and their supervisors then they should use their influence in collaboration with the DTPs and other stakeholders to assert pressure on the government for the funds necessary to ensure this generation of researchers has the opportunity to produce quality research. The UKRI is not only current PGRs but also the wider disciplines and industries we will go into next. All PGRS regardless of year of study have missed out on vital learning opportunities, networking opportunities and other aspects of PGR training that sets us up as excellent researchers. The least the UKRI can do is ensure the time is given for our research projects to be a success. It isn't just about meeting the minimum requirements for a PhD it is about producing impactful and excellent research which establishes us in our careers. Findings we will use for years to come and cannot be cobbled together at last minute, it makes a mockery of the whole PhD process by suggesting so. Stop making students pay for the covid crisis- make government, big business and other stakeholders pay. £90mn is not that much compared with the billions being injected into the economy to keep it afloat.

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Agreed.
UKRI has billions of pounds in their budget but PGRs get paid less than minimum wage because it's a stipend and not an actual wage.

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- Salaries
- Sick pay
- Pension
- Holiday

Treat PhD students like any other employees.

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"Life's not fair" is a reason that quashes any sort of progress within society. Being told to adapt out PhDs seven months into the pandemic is a punch in the gut. What do UKRI think we've been doing this entire time?

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Okay, so I guess this isn’t going to be a popular opinion, but here goes: life’s not fair. It just isn’t. The UKRI decision sucks for a lot of us, but my philosophy is ‘improvise, adapt, overcome’. We gotta roll with the punches and make the best of a bad situation.

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Appalling, shortsighted, a dereliction of a duty of care, a complete failure for the future of science in the UK and a huge blow for equality, diversity and inclusion

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Appalling, shortsighted, a dereliction of a duty of care, a complete failure for the future of science in the UK and a huge blow for equality, diversity and inclusion

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I (now 4th yr PhD) was lucky that my original deadline was right on the cutoff for extensions, and I received confirmation of 6 months' extra funding. However, the UKRI appear to have only taken into acount the first lockdown - we are now in another lockdown and there are likely to be further restrictions over the next several months. Although universities are still working, this doesn't mean that researchers have access to labs/facilities as "normal" - many of us still face highly restricted lab hours and many facilities, including national facilities, are scaling back on the experiments they can offer. The disruption is ongoing and UKRI doesn't seem to have thought about the effect of this longer-term disruption. Being able to have up to 6 months' extra funding (for final year PhDs only, it seems) doesn't take into account the fact that this pandemic has caused and willl continue to cause more problems for researchers beyond that timeframe, and indeed for researchers not in their final year who are even more likely to have their active lab research heavily disrupted for far longer than 6 months.
It sounds like the UKRI has just abandoned many PhD students to struggle and, alongside the mental health and other non-directly-lab-related myriad problems the pandemic is causing, as well as Brexit, I am seriously concerned for the future of research in the UK. I think many more people will be leaving academic research in the UK, particularly from minority groups, which will result in less diversity and hence poorer science. It is very clear from the recent STC session that diversity/EDI is barely being discussed - with real action following - or supported by the UKRI. This (lack of) funding extension decision only confirms that UKRI barely cares about EDI and the welfare of its students and researchers. Very disappointing (although, appallingly, not surprising at all), devastating and a really poor decision from what is supposed to be a world leading research organisation. I feel no optimism about the future for science if these are the decisions being taken.

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We've lost enough time and now we need to spend time getting people to fight for us.

The UKRI's response is unacceptable. We were led to believe funded extensions would be available to everyone and after several months they turn around and say "sounds like a you problem, not a me problem." It's offensive and neglectful. Why would you not want to help existing students finish their PhDs to the best of their ability?

I would love to write a rant about this but there's not much else I can add to what everyone else has already said and I'm so tired of PhD students not getting help and being passed around.

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I am so disappointed in the UKRI's policy decision. To ignore the impact covid has had on anyone not in final year is short sighted at best, and wilfully blind at worst. Lack of, or reduced access, to labs affects all year groups. I'm now entering my final year and my thesis has had to be almost entirely replanned because of the pandemic. I am very concerned I won't finish without an extension I'm now told I won't receive.

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A year of students being let down, and this is the final straw. Something needs to change. 

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A year of students being let down, and this is the final straw. Something needs to change. 

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I am going into my third and final funded year of my PhD, and feel utterly let down by UKRI. I am working on a collaborative PhD with two arts institutions, both of which have been closed during lockdown one and two, and one of my supervisors has been furloughed and I have not had access to them since March. This aside, my second year should have been the time to carry out the main bulk of my primary archival research, but obviously this could not happen (and still cannot happen) as most local record offices that hold the material I need to make an original contribution to the field are closed. I have no idea how I will complete a PhD in the remainder of my time, without an extension. Having already made adjustments to my project throughout lockdown, they is no way I can now adjust it more at such a late stage.

Essentially, I feel extremely let down by UKRI who should have a responsibility to support existing students through the remainder of their PhDs, and gave the impression that extensions would be implemented. Yet instead they take on more new students with generous stipends. On a purely economic level, to spend taxpayer's money on many projects which are now going to half-formed and meaningless is a waste of time and money. It also of course goes without saying that the mental health of PhD students - most of whose livelihoods depend on this - is at an all time low, and this is just made things seem so incredibly bleak, not least for those graduating into an equally as bleak jobs market.