School of Cancer Sciences

The University has created a Support for Disabled and Neurodivergent Colleagues webpage. The portal provides a support framework which allows colleagues and managers to discuss, explore and implement reasonable adjustments to remove or overcome barriers to work. 

Within the Support for Disabled and Neurodivergent Colleagues webpage, a Reasonable Adjustment Passport has been developed. This optional and complementary form acts as a live record of adjustments discussed and agreed between colleagues and their managers. The portal and the process improvements have been designed to ensure constructive and supportive conversations between colleagues and their line managers. 

Staff can update their People XD diversity details by logging into their personal Employee Dashboard.   

In relation to careers, the Careers Service page hosts lots of information relating to work, career options, finding jobs and work experience. To highlight one particularly useful resource, the “CVs, Applications and Interviews” section provides information on the process of job hunting in easily understood explanations through both video and text formats.  

In addition, the Career Service offers interview practice to research staff. This tends to work best when the Careers Manager is simulating a specific employer interviewing for a job which the student candidate has applied for and is likely to be interviewed for. You can book a 1 to 1 appointment under the “Research students and staff” box. For further information, please see Careers Service- Glasgow Careers.  

The Careers Service also has a sub-section on disability that has links to different resources including advice on health and disability, charities that focus on disabled people getting into employment and many more!  

If you would like information on mental health support, please see the Health and Wellbeing Page.  

If you would like quiet space to work and reflect, you can book a room through the MyGlasgow Staff Portal under Services – Timetables and Room Bookings.  

All UofG staff can request bookings for the Advanced Research Centre (ARC) meeting rooms on level 2 of the building via a non-teaching booking form through the UofG Helpdesk. The ARC has two rooms which seat 16 boardroom style or 25 in lecture style, one which seats up to 10 in an informal setting, one for 8 and three for 4. These are intended for meetings related to research activities; staff are filtering requests for approval. 

Use of these spaces requires an initial conversation with the ARC Events and Engagement Manager and the completion of the proposal form accessed via the following link:   

https://glasgow.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/arc_engagementevents_proposal_form 

If you are searching for support in terms of reasonable adjustments, please see Disclosure of a Condition- PGR Student Process.

The Careers Service offers interview practice to students. This tends to work best when the Careers Manager is simulating a specific employer interviewing for a job which the student candidate has applied for and is likely to be interviewed for. You can book a 1 to 1 appointment under the “Research students and staff” box.  

The Careers Service also has a sub-section on disability that has links to different resources including advice on health and disability and charities that focus on disabled/neurodivergent people getting into employment. For example, the National Autistic Society offers work experience and a graduate programme.   

PGRs can also get support from a Student Support Officers at the University. They can help with advice and guidance in relation to studies, future lives and careers, and wellbeing. They can also signpost to other sources of information. PGRs can contact their school/college using the email address listed on the Student Support Officer webpages.  

There is also a student-led listening service called Peer Wellbeing Support. This service is not the same as counselling. Peer Wellbeing Supporters enable students to talk and share their problems with a peer.  

If you have specific concerns and would like advice or guidance on any mental health or wellbeing issue, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the PGR mental health adviser. Details can be found on Student Support and Wellbeing. 

If you would like some quiet space, there is a unit on level 5 in the library with some bookable private rooms available. You will be able to book through the library. In addition, you can book rooms through the UofG Life App where there are some bookable spaces in the new James McCune Smith Learning Hub.  

If you are a disabled/neurodivergent student, here is a step by step guide on what to do for Disabled Students’ Allowance. 

For information about the University’s approach and policy on disabled students, see D8.2 External – Disability Policy   

It is important as a neurodivergent person that you find support from trusted colleagues/peers. This will better support your mental health and overall working efficiency. In finding your support network, Jen White-Johnson recommends asking “who are the people that I feel safe around and supported by who enable me to be my authentic self?”. Once you have name(s), try and keep in frequent contact with those people, even if it’s a quick chat once a week! 

You can also find support from your School/Institutes own equality, diversity and inclusion committee and request to join. You can usually find this information under the School/Institute’s webpage- look for titles like ‘Equality, Diversity, or Inclusion’.  
If you are in need of help finding a committee, it is best to contact a disability co-ordinator based in your School/Institute; please see a list of the Disability Co-ordinators here. If you cannot find a disability co-ordinator within your School/Institute, you can contact an administrative officer of your School/Institute for guidance.  

The Equality & Diversity webpage has ample resources in relation to many aspects of equality and diversity within the University that are great for inclusion, such as external resources in relation to protected characteristics and COVID-19. 

A very helpful webpage that the Equality & Diversity team have created is called Supporting Disabled Colleagues and Prospective Staff. This webpage covers many topics including disclosing a disability, access to work schemes, and lots of different guidance. 

EDU Essentials & Implementing Reasonable Adjustments for Students and Staff. The Implementing Reasonable Adjustments for Students document contains a section on neurodiversity and neurodivergent conditions. 

The UofG Neurodiversity Network Teams Page is a shared space for neurodivergent and neurotypical staff and students to share information, experiences, and ask questions. It was created by, and is led by, Dr Chiara Horlin and Dr Elliott Spaeth. The network welcomes questions, comments, and opportunities to connect with others, so please join if you would find it helpful. 

We also recommend searching for support groups external to the University of Glasgow for further support. We have suggested certain groups in the External Resources section, however, as every neurodivergent person’s lived experience is different, we do recommend conducting your own search too.