NMES: Codes of Conduct and expectations of behaviour

Being part of the NMES community means treating others with dignity, respect and consideration. We expect you to contribute positively to an environment where everyone feels welcome, supported and able to participate fully. By following these standards of behaviour, you can help create a culture of belonging, academic excellence and mutual respect.

Good conduct means:

• creating an inclusive, respectful and safe environment for everyone 

• behaving with honesty, professionalism and integrity 

• showing empathy and care for others 

• participating fully in your studies, work or research and engaging with University processes 

• being a positive role model and supportive member of the community 

• speaking up for others and challenging unacceptable behaviour where appropriate 

• following University policies, rules and regulations. 

Inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour

If there’s reason to believe that your behaviour falls below the expected standards, or that regulations, procedures or policies have been broken, your department or Faculty may take action. This helps us make sure our spaces and experiences are safe and inclusive for everyone.

Depending on the seriousness of the behaviour, this could involve meeting with members of your department or Faculty or could lead to the Non-Academic Misconduct procedure.

Examples of unacceptable behaviour include:

• using inappropriate behaviour, language or tone towards staff or students, including in person, online, in emails or when providing feedback 

• being loud or disruptive in lectures, labs or shared spaces

• not respecting shared spaces or University property 

• making discriminatory or non-inclusive personal remarks, or behaving in a discriminatory or non-inclusive way 

• submitting inappropriate or distressing images or text by email, through forums or using forms such as Mitigating Circumstances Forms 

• repeatedly sending emails without allowing the communicated response time or expecting an immediate response. 

This isn’t a complete list. Unacceptable behaviour can take place in person or online, including on social media.

Serious misconduct, including physical, sexual, offensive or abusive behaviour, will be referred directly to Student Conduct & Appeals in line with the Non-Academic Misconduct procedure.

Attending and participating in lectures and teaching sessions is an important part of your learning experience. You’re expected to contribute to a positive learning environment by engaging respectfully with other students and staff.

Attendance

You’re expected to aim for 100 per cent attendance at all scheduled teaching activities, including lectures, workshops and tutorials. You’ll be asked to confirm your attendance using Venio or make sure your attendance is recorded on a register, where appropriate.

You can find more information in NMES: Attendance requirements.

Participation

• arrive on time, as arriving late can disrupt the session for others 

• make sure you’re prepared for the session

• switch your phone to silent or turn it off, and don’t use it during class unless it’s part of a relevant activity, such as an online poll. 

Conduct

• treat academic staff and other students with respect and courtesy 

• listen and engage with teaching activities constructively 

• raise your hand if you have a question, where appropriate, to help keep the session structured and allow others to participate 

• contribute to discussions appropriately and give others the opportunity to participate

• respect different viewpoints and engage in debate in a professional and inclusive way

• avoid causing distractions during classes, for example by talking or using your phone.

Disruptive behaviour during teaching sessions isn’t acceptable. If a lecturer believes your behaviour is interfering with the learning environment, they may ask you to leave the room and may ask for your name or student ID.

Study expectations

Your degree programme is split into modules, and you’ll typically study 120 credits of modules each year. You’re expected to spend approximately 10 hours of study for each credit during your degree.

For example, a 15-credit module would involve approximately 150 hours of study. This includes all aspects of the module, such as lectures, workshops and labs, as well as independent study, preparation for teaching sessions and labs, coursework, revision and exams. 

Group work is an important part of your learning experience and can help prepare you for collaborative working in professional and academic settings. When taking part in group work, you’re expected to contribute constructively, communicate respectfully and engage responsibly with group activities.

Attendance: You should attend all timetabled sessions. Some modules may apply penalties for unexcused absences, so check your module requirements carefully. If circumstances beyond your control prevent you from participating fully, raise this with your Module Lead, Personal Tutor and/or seek support from the University. You may need to submit a Mitigating Circumstances request to defer the assessment.

Participation: You’re expected to actively contribute to the project during and outside timetabled hours and include all team members in project activities. It’s good practice to create a team charter to agree how you’ll work together, what’s expected of each team member and how you’ll manage disagreements or conflicts.

Where possible, use University communication channels, such as Teams or email, and have reasonable expectations about when your teammates will be available.

Conduct: You’re expected to engage with your project team in a professional, respectful and inclusive way. If issues with teamwork arise, contact your Module Lead as early as possible.

You should:

• be courteous and respect the opinions of other team members, even when you disagree 

• listen to and value the views of your team members 

• distribute tasks fairly and give others appropriate credit for their work 

• work collaboratively

• look out for other team members and tell an appropriate member of staff if you have safeguarding or other concerns about a teammate 

• be aware of cultural differences that may affect how you work together. 

Conflict resolution and early intervention: Address issues as early as possible and keep evidence of how work has been allocated, relevant communications and completed tasks. Teams are expected to manage day-to-day issues independently, but you can ask your Module Lead for advice at any stage.

Important to know: Where there’s evidence of persistent disengagement, poor attendance, or unsafe or unfair practice, Module Leads may issue formal early warnings.
The early warning system is designed to highlight concerns early and give team members an opportunity to improve and remain fully engaged in the project.

There will be times throughout the academic year when you’ll have opportunities to share your feedback. Your feedback is valuable and plays an important role in helping us understand and improve your experience.

You can find out more about ways to give feedback in the article NMES: How we gather your feedback.

You won’t be negatively affected for providing critical or honest feedback. However, all feedback should be respectful, professional and appropriate in tone.

Module feedback and evaluation

Module Leads carefully review feedback and use it to inform improvements to their modules. To help us take action, your feedback should be clear, specific and focused on teaching, learning and your experience of the module. Constructive and specific suggestions are particularly helpful because they can help us understand what could be improved.

Examples of constructive feedback:

• ‘I struggled to follow the lectures as they were delivered too quickly, and the lecturer’s office hours were always too busy.’ 

• ‘There could have been more worked examples in class.’ 

• ‘I’m unsure how the assessment is marked.’ 

• ‘The slides were shared in advance of each lecture, which helped me follow what was being said in class.’ 

• ‘The workshops gave me an opportunity to discuss topics with my peers and have one-to-one time with the teaching assistants. Longer workshops would have been helpful.’ 

Don’t include inappropriate personal remarks about staff or other individuals. This includes discriminatory comments relating to protected or personal characteristics. Personal attacks, insulting language or statements intended to upset or target someone won’t be tolerated.

Responses are confidential. However, comments that are considered inappropriate, unprofessional or concerning may be escalated, and in these circumstances you may be identifiable. Responses will be reported if they include:

• concerns about a student’s welfare 

• inappropriate personal comments about staff or other individuals 

• offensive or discriminatory language 

• harassment or threatening statements.

For more information please read the article Module feedback and evaluation: Key information for students. 

Meetings, committees and forums

If you’ve accepted an invitation to attend a meeting, you’re expected to attend. If you’re no longer available, let the organiser know and send your apologies.

Arrive on time. If you’re attending online, make sure your microphone is muted when you’re not speaking. 

When taking part, you should:

• respect everyone’s time, views and experiences 

• listen actively and engage thoughtfully in discussions 

• share feedback and opinions constructively 

• communicate professionally, both in person and online 

• respect confidentiality and personal boundaries 

• work collaboratively towards solutions and positive outcomes.

Some modules and programmes in the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences (NMES) include opportunities to work with industry and external partners as part of your learning. These activities may include projects, live briefs, site visits, guest lectures, workshops, mentoring, networking or other curriculum-based experiences.

These opportunities can help you apply your learning to real-world contexts, develop professional skills, build confidence, expand your network and gain insight into different sectors, roles and ways of working.

When taking part in these activities, your conduct reflects on you, your department and King’s. The expectations below apply alongside all King’s policies, regulations, Codes of Conduct and any departmental guidance.

Unless you’re told otherwise, activities with industry and external partners arranged through your curriculum are academic learning activities. They shouldn’t be treated as employment, consultancy, work experience or professional services provided to the external partner.

Commitment and participation

Where an activity includes an application, selection or interview process, you should only apply if you’re prepared to take part.

You’re expected to:

• attend all scheduled sessions, meetings, briefings, events or activities as required 

• arrive on time, prepared and ready to participate 

• respond to invitations, requests for information, interviews or offers within the requested timeframe 

• complete agreed actions, tasks or contributions within the agreed timescales 

• let the relevant King’s staff member know as soon as possible if your circumstances change or you’re no longer able to take part 

• follow any agreed communication methods or processes for the activity. 

If you accept a place on an activity and then don’t engage, this may negatively affect other students, King’s staff and the external partner.

Professional communication

You’re expected to communicate professionally with King’s staff, other students and external partners. This means you should:

• communicate clearly, respectfully and constructively

• respond within reasonable or agreed timeframes 

• let the relevant King’s staff member, and where appropriate the external partner, know if you can’t attend a scheduled commitment or meet an agreed deadline 

• raise questions, concerns or issues promptly 

• use agreed communication channels rather than contacting external partners through informal or personal channels, unless this has been agreed as part of the activity. 

External partners are giving their time to support your learning. They may have other professional commitments and limited availability, so requests should be appropriate, relevant to the activity and made through the agreed process.

You must not make commitments, agreements or promises on behalf of King’s, your department, other students or an external partner unless this has been agreed with the relevant King’s staff member.

Academic standards, confidentiality and use of information

You’re expected to follow all King’s and departmental policies relating to academic conduct, integrity and assessment.

You must:

• make sure any work you submit is your own and follows the relevant assessment requirements 

• handle information, materials, data and resources shared by external partners responsibly 

• follow any confidentiality, intellectual property, data protection or information security requirements linked to the activity 

• follow guidance from King’s staff or the external partner about how information can be used, stored, shared or referenced 

• not present project outputs as professional advice, consultancy, formal recommendations or King’s-approved findings unless this has been explicitly agreed. 

You must not share, upload or enter partner information, data, documents, materials or commercially sensitive content into external platforms, including generative AI tools, unless this has been approved as part of the activity.

Project-based activities

Some activities with industry and external partners may involve individual or group projects, dissertations, live briefs or other assessed work.

Your project remains an academic requirement that forms part of your degree programme. You’re responsible for making sure your project outputs meet the requirements of your module, programme and assessment brief.

Your academic supervisor, Module Lead or designated King’s staff member remains your main point of contact for academic matters. If you’re unsure whether to raise an issue with King’s staff or the external partner, contact the relevant King’s staff member first.

For individual assessed work, the work you submit must be your own, even where other students are working with the same partner or on related topics. Where students are working with the same partner, you may be expected to attend shared briefings, discuss general learning or take part in shared project activities. Any collaboration must still follow King’s and departmental guidance on academic misconduct and plagiarism.

Site visits and external activities

If you take part in a site visit or activity hosted by an external partner, you must follow any health, safety, environmental, security, access or conduct requirements communicated by King’s staff or the external partner.

You’re expected to:

• attend and participate in any required inductions, briefings or safety training 

• follow instructions from King’s staff and external partner representatives 

• behave professionally and respectfully while on site 

• only access areas, information, equipment or systems that you’ve been authorised to use 

• raise any safety, access or wellbeing concerns promptly with the relevant King’s staff member. 

If you don’t follow site requirements, you may be removed from the activity.

Feedback and insight

Activities with industry and external partners are reviewed to improve the experience for future students and partners.

You may be asked to:

• complete feedback surveys or evaluation forms 

• provide constructive feedback on your experience 

• take part in review activities, interviews or focus groups. 

You may also be invited to provide testimonials, contribute to case studies or take part in promotional activities, but this is optional.

Raising issues and seeking support

If you experience difficulties during an industry or external partner activity, raise these as soon as possible with the relevant King’s staff member or supervisor.

This could include:

• difficulty taking part in the activity

• communication issues 

• uncertainty about expectations, scope or deadlines 

• concerns about working with the external partner 

• issues affecting your ability to engage with the activity. 

Where an issue directly affects an agreed meeting, event or activity, you may also be expected to tell the external partner in line with the agreed communication arrangements.

Issues relating to mitigating circumstances, wellbeing, complaints, misconduct, safeguarding, extensions or other formal concerns should be raised through the relevant King’s policies and processes, rather than directly with the external partner.

If you’re unsure who to contact, speak to your Module Lead, academic supervisor, Personal Tutor or the relevant King’s staff member responsible for the activity

We take everyone’s safety and security on campus very seriously, and care about our students and staff at all times. This personal safety on campus & in London article contains some useful guidance both on how you can personally contribute to safer public spaces, reduce personal risk and access support services and advice.

You should be aware of basic safety procedures – it is your responsibility to take reasonable care for your own health and safety. You should:

• follow all safety rules and instructions relating to your work. If anything is unclear, always ask for clarification 

• report unsafe conditions or activities to your Personal Tutor, local Campus Safety Officer or Campus Helpdesk so that appropriate action can be taken 

• use any safety measures or equipment provided for your work, including personal protective clothing or equipment, in line with any instructions or training

• not intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided for health and safety 

• cooperate with University officers and representatives to help make sure University and local health and safety policies and arrangements are followed.

This Code of Conduct applies to all events held in the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences (NMES), including seminars. It should be available before each event and event organisers are responsible for making sure it’s followed.

The Code has been adapted from the example policy on the Geek Feminism Wiki, created by the Ada Initiative and other volunteers. 

Code of Conduct 

The Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences aims to provide a welcoming, safe and productive environment for everyone attending our events, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. 

We don’t tolerate intimidation, harassment or disrespectful conduct at our events. 

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments and inappropriate or demeaning language relating to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race or religion. 

If you’re asked to stop harassing behaviour, you’re expected to do so immediately.

If you engage in harassing behaviour, event organisers may take appropriate action. This could include giving you a warning or asking you to leave the event. 

If you experience harassment, see someone else being harassed or have any other concerns, contact an event organiser immediately.