Visiting lab placement students

The School of Biological Sciences offers visiting students the opportunity to spend a period in a research laboratory as part of the degree programme from their home institution. Note that this process does not apply to students who wish to come to the University under the Erasmus+ Traineeship scheme as these students must be registered as member of staff via Human Resources.  Further information about this scheme is given below.

Initial enquiries should be sent to lisa.monks@manchester.ac.uk for Undergraduate and Masters level students. Enquiries from Postgraduate Research students should be forwarded to admissions.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk.

A fee of £854 per month (or part thereof) is charged, which covers supervisory, consumable and administrative costs, of which 50% is passed to the supervisor. During their stay, the student will be registered with the University of Manchester and will receive a student card to enable them to access facilities.  Fees may also be waived in the following circumstances (and with approval from the Head of School):

• When the student is attached to a supervisor as part of a genuine collaborative research initiative.
• When a placement exchange agreement exists between the student’s home university and SBS. 

Further information:

• Visiting Lab Placement Student Flow chart
• Staff Guidelines - Visiting Lab Placement Students
• Visiting UG & PGT Approval Form (for completion by the supervisor)

Full details are provided in the Staff Guidelines above.

Erasmus+ Traineeship scheme

Although coming under the umbrella of ‘Erasmus’, this scheme is handled completely separately to the Erasmus Exchange Programme. This scheme does not require a bilateral agreement between ourselves and the sending institution, whereas for our Erasmus exchange students this is a fundamental requirement. Erasmus exchange students undertake course units with us, whereas under the Erasmus+ Traineeship scheme the students come here for a period of lab experience or training. Students coming under the Erasmus+ Traineeship scheme must be registered as temporary staff members via Human Resources.  Students undertaking traineeships will be in receipt of an Erasmus+ funding grant (disbursed to them via their home university) towards the cost of living abroad during their work experience.  Supervisors will need to sign paperwork (which they will give you) from their home university to be able to disburse this grant funding to them.  

As they are coming to the UK to work they will require a Tier 5 Visa.  Individual universities are not able to sponsor Erasmus+ Trainees for a Tier 5 visa.  The British Council have been granted permission by UKVI to act as sponsor in the university's stead.  The student should therefore consult the British Council website for advice (https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/tier-5-visa-how-to-apply-for-a-certificate-of-sponsorship)

Note that these students will need to be registered as temporary workers and you should contact your divisional administrator initially.  An ‘IT Access Request Form’ will need to be completed for the individual and they will receive a staff ID card and staff email account.  Note that when the ‘IT Request Form’ is sent over to HR, this must be accompanied by the student’s Erasmus+ Traineeship Agreement (which will be sent by the student from their home university and must be signed by their UoM supervisor).