Management and Governance
CDT Management
The CDT’s EPSRC training grant was held by the University of Exeter. The WISE CDT’s management team has comprised the Principal Investigator (CDT Director) from the University of Exeter, plus Co-Directors and Co-Investigators from all the WISE partner universities. The management team has met formally as the Programme Management Group at least four times a year to plan, implement and review strategic and operational matters. Student representatives have sat on this group to ensure students have had a direct line of communication with the management team. Student representatives have been able to feed in comments and questions from their peers, propose ideas and contribute to planning and programme improvement discussion.
Progress Monitoring
Each student has had a minimum of two academic supervisors overseeing their PhD research. Supervisory teams have sometimes included a supervisor from another WISE university to provide a complementary skill set or expertise. Projects developed with industry have additionally included an industry partner supervisor.
The CDT has required all students to complete a WISE Annual Progress Review to evidence their development and progression, including any problems encountered, plus a self-assessment of their satisfaction with their PhD. The student’s primary supervisor, and industry supervisor where relevant, have contributed comments and a recommendation on progression. Annual Progress Reviews have been scrutinised by the CDT Programme Management Group, allowing WISE to maintain an overview of all students across the partnership and to monitor trends over time.
WISE students have moreover been required to comply with all mandatory monitoring and review procedures at their registered university. This has ensured that oversight of WISE students’ progress has also been maintained independently of the CDT.
Advisory Board
The WISE CDT Advisory Board has been chaired throughout by Professor John Banyard, OBE. With members spanning national and international universities plus UK water companies, public bodies, research organisations, consultancies, businesses and EPSRC, the Advisory Board has delivered insight and challenge, guiding the CDT’s strategic development. The Advisory Board has met formally once a year, but Board members have been kept informed of CDT activity and planning on an ongoing basis and have also engaged with students and academics in regular CDT events such as Industry Days, poster events and Summer Schools.
External Examiners
The WISE CDT has had two external examiners during the course of the programme: Professor Arthur Mynett from IHE Delft Institute for Water Education and more recently Professor Ana Mijic, from Imperial College London’s Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation. The WISE external examiner role initially focused on the Postgraduate School taught programme, with a formal Board of Examiners meeting taking place each summer. However, with no student intakes beyond 2018-19, the external examiner role evolved to embrace the wider CDT programme, with Professor Mijic joining the CDT Advisory Board and feeding back her insights from speaking with students to management group and Advisory Board colleagues.
External Monitoring
The WISE CDT has been monitored and evaluated by EPSRC throughout its lifetime. In its mid-term review WISE was awarded the highest possible assessment (‘good’), with EPSRC commenting that ‘this CDT has been successfully managed across multiple institutions with effective management and governance and a strong emphasis on cohort development’. Highlights noted by EPSRC were ‘the industrial engagement and the additional leveraged funding secured; the cohort development across multiple institutions; and the interaction with the Stream IDC’.
EPSRC CDT training grant holders are required to submit an Annual Monitoring Survey to the research council. The Annual Monitoring submission incorporates recruitment data, financial information, case studies, achievements and the CDT’s impact. This data supplements information available to EPSRC via other mechanisms (such as Je-S for student details and Researchfish for research outcomes). Together, this evidence helps EPSRC evaluate the impact of its investment and collect evidence to inform future strategies. The most recent Annual Monitoring Survey submissions have covered the Coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on students and delivery of the training grant.
As a PhD programme accredited by CIWEM, WISE has additionally been required to submit an Annual Review Report to CIWEM, summarising any changes to the programme or developments implemented since accreditation.