Social life and welfare

The National Union of Students (NUS) is a confederation of 400 students’ unions and represents the interests of more than seven million students. As a University of London student you are eligible to apply for TOTUM – which is the new name for the NUS extra card. TOTUM brings you over 200 UK student discounts for a variety of services, including eating out, entertainment, fashion, health and fitness, music and technology, supermarkets, and travel.

If you wish to purchase a TOTUM card, you must speak to the ICR’s NUS co-ordinator who will assist you with the process. See the Student Committee page on Nexus for more details (an ICR login is required to access Nexus).

You are also eligible for student discounts on Oyster and rail travel. See our accommodation and transport webpage for more information.

Free careers advice, guidance and information is offered to all current ICR students by The Careers Group, which is the University of London’s higher education careers service. ICR students are also permitted to continue to receive advice for up to one year after they finish their studies.

To find out more about our careers’ sessions and events, see our career support webpage.

The Institute of Cancer Research promotes equality of opportunity and does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, victimisation on the grounds of gender, race, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

As a student, your supervisory team will have responsibility for your day-to-day welfare, both academic and personal. We recognise however, that individual students may be reluctant to share personal difficulties with their supervisor if they feel it may conflict with academic progress.

Nominated members of the Academic Dean’s team have responsibility for the general welfare of students and each student is assigned a member of the Dean's team as a source of support for the duration of their studies and who will check on students' welfare and academic progress at regular intervals.

In addition, students are welcome to discuss any issues with a member of the Registry team at any time.

The ICR provides counselling services through its employee support programme which is also open to students but we have also developed a network of Student Wellbeing Advisers.

These are current students who have volunteered to give their time to help others who would prefer to talk on a confidential basis about issues which affect them. The Student Wellbeing Advisers are trained in communication skills and knowledge of other help networks for students.

If you are concerned about issues related to your project we advise you to discuss these if at all possible with your supervisor in the first instance.

London Nightline

Nightline is open throughout the night to provide information and support for students in London. The lines are run by student volunteers who have undergone extensive training and understand that university life in London isn't always plain sailing.

The service is strictly confidential and will cost the same as calling any London landline. Please see the London Nightline website for further information.

Your welfare is important to us. That's why we offer a range of support services to help you during difficult times. The Academic Dean's team has an open door policy where students can discuss issues of concern. The ICR also provides access to the Employee Assistance Programme - a free 24-hour counselling service for all staff and students.

Conditions may include sensory impairment (visual/hearing), mobility or dexterity impairment, chronic medical conditions (e.g. diabetes, HIV, epilepsy, asthma) or chronic pain/fatigue, mental health difficulties, specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia or dyspraxia), Asperger's Syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders.

The ICR aims to offer as much appropriate assistance as possible to accommodate individual needs, and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that both the application procedure and the programme itself are organised and delivered to offer all students the opportunity to participate fully.

Applicants are encouraged to let Admissions know if anything further can be done to make the application and selection process as accessible as possible. This helps the ICR to ensure that applicants’ specialist needs can be understood, and any obstacles minimised, throughout the application and admission process.

Once registered, the ICR can provide specific support to students with disabilities throughout their studies. Students are encouraged to disclose any disability from as early as possible, via the Registry. This will allow any special arrangements, for example regarding examinations, to be made.

Our students are normally fully-funded from a range of sources with many from overseas. Disabled students who are self-funded and from the UK, may be able to benefit from the Disabled Student Allowance.

If you would like further information about how we help students with disabilities at the ICR please contact the Registry.

Confidentiality

Information disclosed regarding your disability and/or additional needs will be dealt with in a confidential manner; this is in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation. 

Without knowledge of your disability, it may be difficult to fully support your needs and make the necessary adjustments.

At our Sutton site, there is a small gym which is free to join. There is also the UPS Club (a sports and social club) which has a bar, squash court and large sports hall. It runs a variety of activities, including yoga classes, Pilates, tennis and badminton. Membership of the club is free for students, although there is a small charge for some activities.

There is a Cross Site Social Committee that organises various social activities to encourage staff and students from across the ICR to get to know each other. Past events have included an annual quiz night, a barn dance and a salsa evening.

At our Chelsea site, there is no dedicated gym and sport facilities due to its central London location. However, there is an additional budget for sports nights so that students can try out new activities such as climbing, ice skating, and volleyball.

The ICR considers student involvement to be an essential element in the decision-making process. Student representation is preserved in the ICR's articles of association.

The student committee includes representatives on the ICR's key academic committees, including the Board of Trustees (one student member) and the Academic Board (two student members).

Student liaison committees meet regularly to discuss research degree and taught course business:

• The research degrees student liaison committee is chaired by the student president, with faculty and administrative members, and all members of the student committee are invited. It discusses issues on behalf of research degree students as a whole and issues on which the ICR is keen to hear students’ views at an early stage.
• The taught course student liaison committee meet at least twice a year for much the same purpose. A taught course representative chairs the meeting and the meetings are open to all taught course students.

Student representatives are expected to attend all meetings and put forward a student perspective on items of the agenda.