Scenario 2:

You have selected a candidate for a research project who has disclosed at interview that he has mental health difficulties. The team is a small one - only 2 members and their room will be on the first floor. But within the Graduate School there are large numbers of researchers who are based on the third floor. Are there any issues?

Possible adjustments

The lead supervisor met with the disability adviser  and the researcher prior to entry. The researcher explained that he has difficulties with social interaction and is lacking in confidence. He said that while he was delighted to have been selected, the relative isolation of his room from the rest of the research researchers might prove problematic.

Following the meeting, the team of supervisors looked at the allocation of rooms. It was impossible to move the project to another floor because the essential project facilities were based on the first floor. However, they decided to build into the research programme regular meetings, where researchers were encouraged to find out about each others' area of research. They incorporated opportunities for informal exchange of ideas and methodologies into these meetings.

The researcher was able to take advantage of those meetings to develop relationships both academic and social with others. If he missed any of the meetings, one of his peers would make contact to make sure that he was alerted to what he had missed.