Collaborative Provision

Guidance and Contacts

The Directorate of Governance and Legal Services (DGLS) supports Schools/Institutes in the development of collaborative programmes with UK and overseas institutions and supports the work of Partnerships Board (PB). Schools and institutes are encouraged to discuss collaborative proposals with DGLS in the developmental phase. DGLS can give guidance on the approval process, the documentation required and on quality assurance matters. The International Partnerships Team and the Global Opportunities team can also provide advice on international education systems. 

For guidance on collaborative activity involving taught and research programmes, please contact ARCS:

• General queries should be sent to collaborative-provision@qmul.ac.uk.
• More information on the approval process for taught programmes and the key contacts in DGLS for each Faculty can be found on the Taught Programmes Board page.
• For collaborative activity involving research degrees and professional doctorates contact Mary Childs, Assistant Academic Registrar (Research Degrees).

For guidance on international partnerships, please contact the Global Engagement Office:

• For all new international partnerships contact Clare Burke, Head of International Partnerships.
• For Study Abroad Agreements and Student Exchange Agreements contact Ceri Bevan, Head of Global Opportunities.

For guidance on collaborative activity involving research partnerships and intellectual property, please contact the Joint Research Management Office (JRMO). Or follow these flow diagrams to contact the right teams.

Processes for approving collaborative activity at-a-glance

An outline of the most common collaborative activities and their approval bodies is provided below:

*Faculty approvals must be considered in light of the risk framework. They are noted at subsequent meetings of Partnerships Board.

**In the event of e.g. one Faculty approving a Memorandum of Understanding while another rejected it.

Note on articulation agreements, double/joint award programmes and joint PhD programmes:

• Articulation partners can be approved by the Faculty but TPB will approve the academic case for the articulation including the curriculum mapping. More information on articulation agreements is available here.
• Similarly, partners for double and joint taught awards, and joint PhD programmes, are approved by Partnerships Board, but TPB or RDPEB respectively will approve the academic content of such programmes. More information on these collaborative activities can be found on these pages:
  • Double and joint taught awards
  • Joint research awards (PhD)

More information on the approval processes can be found on these pages:

• Low risk activity
• High risk activity
• Review and renewal of activity

The Taxonomy of CP [PDF 218KB] gives more detailed information about the types of collaborative activity which Queen Mary will support.

Staff wishing to undertake collaborative activity with a partner should ensure that that they review the guidance and required documents for approval. Depending on the type of activity being proposed, the following documents or links may also be useful:

• Partnerships Ethical Policy [PDF 212KB]
• UK Quality Code, Advice and Guidance: Partnerships