This is a rough list of a few things I’ve jotted down, that were useful to me when I found them out after I’d arrived at Psychology.
Getting official
- Smartcard. You’ll need a smartcard to access the building, library etc. To get this, you take your contract / letter indicating guest member of staff status or whatever to the Robinson library.
- Computer account. You have to register for a computer account. [but I couldn’t remember how to do this]
Henry Wellcome Building
If you come in after hours, you are meant to sign in in the book at the end of the building nearest the medical centre entrance. You may also have to disable the burglar alarm nearby – this involves punching in the code (see Angela).
The office has basic office supplies. Envelopes and standard forms (requisition, travel reimbursement) are on a table outside the photocopying room.
Melissa runs a coffee club – pay her £20 for free use of the coffee, tea, milk and sugar in the Wintergarden.
A list of phones and emails is here.
Science
To buy equipment etc on your grant, you fill in a requisition form (available outside the photocopying room) and give it to Nikki. You’ll need the code number for your research grant.
There is a store-room of old equipment etc in the basement (see Angela or Nikki for key), which is worth checking before buying to see if it has anything you need.
There is a journal club, run by Louise, that meets about every other week on Tuesdays at 5pm.
There is a good seminar series on Wednesdays at 4.00pm. Also see here for information on seminars hosted by the Institute of Neuroscience.
Computing
The university computing services are here. Their webpages are reasonably comprehensive although it is often difficult to find what you need on them.
Sasan Mahmoodi is the computing officer for Psychology; he will help you installing university software etc.
Room 315 on the first floor of the HW building has 4 reasonably-powered computers available for general use.
Useful links outside the university
To find out detailed information about your computer: go to CPU ID. It offers a tool which will tell you the model of your motherboard etc.
PDF995 is a very useful tool which enables you to “print” to a PDF file from any application.
If you want to buy memory, I’ve had good experiences with Crucial. It has a tool which scans your system and tells you what memory is compatible with it. If you hit problems (sadly all too likely where memory is concerned), I’ve found their tech support very helpful.
Where to get food
The nearest place is a rather basic canteen in the Dental School — go out past reception, turn right and carry on through two double doors past the Medical School reception; then it’s on your left.
There is a newsagents’ on Claremont Street which sells sandwiches and other snacks (see this map , although the route shown is for cars — the way to get there on foot is to turn left out of the building and cut along the footpath through the backs of the terraced houses opposite).
This guide for undergraduates has a more comprehensive list of food in and around the campus.
Travel
The University provides overseas travel insurance for staff travelling on University business. You just need to print out the form at http://www.ncl.ac.uk/internal/finance/insurance/Coverstaff.htm and take it with you. There is no charge. To claim travel expenses such as tickets, meals, you’ll need receipts. There are reimbursement forms outside the photocopying room — fill in one of them, attach the receipts and give it to Bev.
Headed paper
A template for headed paper is here.
University services
- Porters: if you need something heavy moved or large amounts of junk taken away, you can fill out a request form at http://estates.ncl.ac.k/porters. [NB this has now moved and I don’t know the new address]
- Print Services: These are located in the Robinson Library, but you can send them jobs and get quotations using the Remote Printer tool, which Sasan can install for you.
- Web quota: If you want more web quota, you have to fill out an application for major resources form.
- Internal purchase order: for many services, e.g. workshop / photography / ISS software licences, you need this.
- Room bookings: You can search for free rooms and book them here.
Childcare
There is a nursery in the university (not run by it), called Childsplay (0191 232 6957, 17 Claremont Place NE2 4AA).
The university is a member of the “Busy Bees” voucher scheme. This is a complicated way of getting extra tax credit on childcare costs. You agree to have your salary reduced by up to £217 a month, and in return, you get given childcare vouchers of the equivalent value. Thus, you avoid paying tax and NI on the amount by which you had your salary reduced. The catch is that you cannot claim family tax credit as well, so you have to work out which is the best deal for you.
Admin staff – Who does what
- Expense claims = Maria Bale (IoN office, MG178, Catherine Cookson Bldg, Medical School)
- C and OSR accounts = Glynis Williams (IoN)
- RES accounts WAS Alison Marley (now left)
- HR issues = Natalie Colls (FMS HR)
- Purchase orders & requisitions = Emma Thompson, emma.thompson1@newcastle.ac.uk (IoN)
- School superintendent, liaising with Estates = Mel Leitch (IoN)