AT LEAST six months, offering blanket automatic extensions does not in any way preclude individual HEIs and departments working to support students on an individual basis, this gives everyone a breather to properly facilitate that. Get on it, academics, please?

I am not volunteering to organise this because I’m a low income disabled and chronically ill PhD student whose funding runs out imminently who is tweeting this because I am OVERWHELMED w the demands of the moment. There was an open letter last week I helped organise also.

Disabled student voices should absolutely be prioritised here but I am one of 1000s, and some of you have secure pay, even if not good conditions, and aren’t also disabled/chronically ill. Don’t let this be like usual access work, where those who need it most must do most work.

Yours sincerely, Someone who has had to negotiate multiple extensions including two years of medical leave, plus disabled access arrangements, and who knows full well that individualised admin demands like these cost time and energy we could spend better on our projects!

Look, the Australian National University (ANU) has done exactly this. It's possible. What needs to happen to make it a reality in the UK, @rcuk @ahrcpress @ESRC @wellcometrust HEFCE @UKRI_News ?

KCL implements 3 month extensions for all PhD students? It’s a start. What about everyone else @rcuk @ahrcpress @ESRC ?

So UKRI have announced that there’s extensions available for final year PhD candidates whose activities “may have been interrupted by COVID19” This is really good news but two things: applies only to ppl whose final deadline is 31 March 2021, & no mention of disabled students

My final PhD deadline? 30 days later than the cut off point, and because there’s no specific guidance for ALREADY DISABLED AND CHRONICALLY ILL PhD students including those now under 3 month quarantine, I’m no better off. Cmon @rcuk @ahrcpress @ESRC @wellcometrust , please.

It’s been a month and I know the bigger and more conservative an institution is the slower it moves but honestly I’ve seen nothing, zero, zip in terms of support or comms that acknowledges high risk, 12 week quarantine ppl will be among PhDs (or ECRs). It’s like we don’t exist.

Some of us were already trying to conduct our academic training in isolation, from home, while sick or coordinating care support or both, and now lots of us are engaged in survival work for ourselves and our loved ones. Business as usual by existing clocks is ABSURD.

@zaranosaur @davecl42 Consider yourself at least fortunate that your subject can be done to a certain degree remotely, us synthetic chemists are really missing out in terms of labs and spectroscopy access.

@Chelseachemist1 @davecl42 Not the time for divisiveness and if you must know the only reason I gave up science at 16 for philosophy was because I’ve been housebound since then and it’s really hard to be in labs while housebound. I get your point, but please don’t presume it’s “lucky” to be in this field.

@zaranosaur The problem with that for those that are unfunded or whose funding has ended is that we will incur additional fees most of us can’t pay. So probably not an option for us, but for those is can help, absolutely.

@fergusonelaine Understood, and your needs should be considered too

@zaranosaur This PLUS stipendiary pay for all PhD students who are unfunded or whose funding has run out, so people can survive!

@Menzwa Yes!

@zaranosaur A group of PhDs have already put something together which might be of interest?

@EstefWright Thanks for this! Also one from @gavmaclean with lots of signatories, would be good to cross these over

@zaranosaur Would add: all PhD students everywhere

@zaranosaur Got the petition today with a note of “we hope you’re still working and you have all the necessary computers etc so you should be working as normal” and I’m just wilting