Policy and Criteria for SoGE Visitors and Associates

Introduction

The School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE) welcomes applications from individuals who have genuine reasons to be associated with the school for purposes of research (including impact, engagement and strategy) and teaching, where mutual benefits will accrue from such an association. This policy covers formal associations in one of the following categories.

  1. Honorary Research Associate or Honorary Research Fellow (HRA or HRF)

    For researchers from a non-UK academic institution or a non-academic institution (in the UK or overseas) to support collaborations on specific research projects or activities that would be difficult to achieve without access to resources in Oxford.

  2. Short Term Visitor (STV)

    For researchers from a non-UK academic institution or a non-academic institution (in the UK or overseas) to facilitate short visits to Oxford to aid collaborations with individuals who have allied research interests.

  3. Honorary Fellow (HF)

    For individuals from non-academic institutions (e.g. NGOs, business, government) in a field with strong links to SoGE research who will make a significant contribution to the School in a non-research or non-teaching capacity. 

  4. Student Visitor (SV)

    For students who are not direct students in the School, nor covered by the University procedures for awarding visiting student status, to support collaborations on a specific topic under the guidance of a named academic with a with a demonstrable link to the chosen area of study.

  5. Teaching Associate or Teaching Fellow (TA or TF)

    For individuals confirmed to teach on a SoGE based course in the upcoming academic year, but do not have a formal contract of employment with the department, to provide access to the building, systems (as required) and mailing lists.

  6. Former Staff and DPhil students

    For former SoGE DPhil students and staff to provide continued access to School and University online facilities for a fixed period to ensure the effective generation of research outputs.

 

There is a separate procedure for the award of the title of Visiting Professor, which is operated by the Social Sciences Division, and “Recognised Student Status”, which is operated by central University administration.

 

An award is governed by five main principles:

  1. The status is awarded for a fixed time period.
  2. The status is dependent upon a demonstrable association with a named academic staff member resulting in a material benefit to the core activity of the School.
  3. The status must be formally considered and approved by the Director of Research, the Head of School, and/or Head of Administration and Finance, as appropriate. No person shall be entitled to claim affiliated status without having successfully completed this approval process. There should be no assumption or culture of expectation of the award of a status or its renewal.
  4. Applicants are expected to acknowledge an affiliation with the School in the authorship of any papers written during the period of the association.
  5. The award of a status may entitle the holder to access to University and/or School services, subject to the following charges (to be met by the applicant or the nominator):
    • a compulsory standard administration charge of £50 to cover processing costs;
    • a bench-fee of £5,000 per annum (pro-rata) if access to hot desking is required;
    • fees to cover additional access to Small Research Facilities or other IT facilities, or visa/work permit fees.

Application process

Applications should be made as far in advance as possible: at least 3 months prior to the association starting to allow for basic administrative processing. Visitors who are planning a physical visit to the department should allow at least 6 months, particularly where a visa is needed to travel to the UK and ATAS clearance is required. Visa applications and ATAS clearance can delay the start of the visit by at least 3-5 months. All visitors to the School of Geography and the Environment should assume ATAS is required unless applying from an exempt country or otherwise confirmed by SoGE. Where the UK government’s Trusted Research agenda applies (i.e. applications from countries with which the UK has an arms or trade embargo), visitors submit their application at least 9 months in advance as processing times may be increased by a further 3-5 months.

All applications must be nominated by a member of the School. Applications nominated from Research Centres - the Environmental Change Institute (ECI), Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment (SSEE) and Transport Studies Unit (TSU) - must also be approved by the relevant Centre Director.

Desk requirements should be clearly stated and agreed to by the Centre Director or Office Manager, as appropriate.

 

  1. Application form completed by the applicant 

    The form will ask to confirm specific aims for the association and intended benefits to SoGE. The form will also ask for basic details of the applicant, proposed dates of the association, specific requests and justification for access to facilities, including hot desking (where allowable) and details of the source of funding.

    Applicants must liaise with the School's HR team to ensure that they meet the UK Border Agency's visa and work permit requirements before making an application. Please see the UK Border Agency website for more information.

    The applicant must carefully read the Terms and Conditions of the association and sign to confirm they will comply.

  2. Application form completed by the nominator

    The nominator must be a member of academic or research staff on grade 8 or above. The nominator will be asked to confirm the benefits of the association, justify any requests for access to facilities, and confirm funding sources (if internal to SoGE).

    The nominator must carefully read the Terms and Conditions of the association and sign to confirm they will comply.

  3. Application form approved by the Research Centre Director

    This is mandatory for all applications nominated by ECI, SSEE, or TSU. Requests for desk space should be approved

  4. Application form sent to Head of School’s PA for processing

    Applications made on behalf of Geography can be sent directly to the HoS PA by the nominator; applications from research centres (ECI, SSEE, TSU) will be sent to the HoS PA on behalf of the Research Centre Director.

    Head of School’s PA: alexandra.norrish@ouce.ox.ac.uk

Approval Process

Submitted applications will be reviewed by the following individuals:

  1. Facilities & Services Manager

    Where a desk space and/or access to other building facilities has been requested. Conditions and/or additional fees may be applied.

  2. Head of IT

    Where IT equipment, access to the HPC, or other IT facilities has been requested. Conditions and/or additional fees may be applied.

  3. Director of Research

    Applications for Honorary Research Associate/Fellow status will first be reviewed by the Director of Research

  4. Head of School or Head of Administration and Finance

    Final approval will be granted by

    • Head of School: Honorary Research Associate and Student Visitors;
    • Head Of Administration and Finance: Short Term visitors, Teaching associates and Fellows, Former staff and DPhil students.
    • Exec group: Honorary Fellows (this group consists of the Head of School, Research Centre Directors, Director of Research, and Directors of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies).

 

Approved applications will be sent to HR to process. HR will contact the applicant to confirm:

  • Approval of the application
  • Total fees payable (unless fees are being covered by SoGE funds)
  • Access to facilities (where requested) and any conditions that have been applied.
  • Any visa and/or ATAS requirements needed for the association and details of the process that should be taken. Visas must not be applied for without guidance from the SoGE HR team. Visa invitation letters must only be issued by a member of the SoGE HR team. Attempts to enter the SoGE building on an incorrect visa could result in delayed or cancelled association with the School.

Application Forms and Further Specifics

Further specifics including application form for each status are outlined below.

FAQs


 

GDPR Collection Notice

Information provided about yourself ('personal data') in the above application forms will only be used for the purpose of processing your application. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will seek your consent to use it for that new purpose. We are processing your data only because you have given us your consent to do so by submitting your application. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us. In this event, we will stop the processing as soon as we can. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before your withdrawal of consent. Access to your data within the University will be provided to those who need to view it as part of their work in carrying out the purposes described above. We will only retain your data for as long as we need it to meet our purposes, including any relating to legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Your data will be held securely in accordance with the University's policies and procedures. Further information is available on the University's website.

We (the University of Oxford) are the 'data controller' for this information, which means we are responsible for looking after it in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and associated data protection legislation. If you wish to raise any queries or concerns about our use of your data with respect to the purposes described above, please contact the Head of School’s PA, Alexandra Norrish, in the first instance.