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Office of Research & Innovation

Induction and Enrolment

Higher Degree by Research
CDU design students and lecturers

Welcome to Charles Darwin University.

This is a good time to familiarise yourself with all the relevant HDR information and on Faculty/ Menzies and University websites. 

Before you commence you should make contact with your Primary Supervisor and organise a suitable time to meet on your first day or two. If you are an on-campus student and require a workspace on campus and/ or lab access, be sure to discuss this with your supervisor in advance of commencing so they can facilitate this with your Faculty. 

On the first day of your course, you will receive an email from the HDR team in the Office of Research and Innovation with your enrolment details and your milestones.  Your supervisor can put you in touch with the Faculty HDR Administration Officer, who will go through the day-to-day Faculty administration issues that you need to be aware of.

Please see below the activities that you can do to help you familiarise yourself with your HDR course.

  • Attend the CDU Orientation events - not all are aimed at HDR students but most will be helpful.
  • The Office of Research and Innovation will invite commencing HDR students and their supervisors to attend an induction workshop in their first semester. For semester 1, 2025, our HDR Induction is on Wednesday, 12 March from 9:30 am to 12 pm - please email the HDR Team if you have not received an invitation or for more details.
  • Plan to attend the Research Enhancement Program workshops
  • Familiarise yourself with the CDU Research Ethics and Integrity documents
  • Your Faculty or School will also help you meet other relevant people and learn about CDU practices.
Tasks to complete in your first day / week / month.

Your Higher Degree: Beginnings

Welcome to your Higher Degree Programme. 

This is a key moment of your life. A pivot. A transition. A foundation. This is a new context and environment. Most of us only complete one higher degree in our lives. So – how do we start? 

This short checklist offers options and opportunities to structure your first day / week / month. 

1. Contact your Principal Supervisor and Associate Supervisor. Organise your first meeting as soon as possible. 

2. Meet your key HDR administrators in your Faculty or Menzies. They are great people and can assist you throughout your candidature. 

3. Familiarise yourself with the administrators in the Office of Research and Innovation (ORI). Particularly, remember to use the email address research.degrees@cdu.edu.au if you need any support, or are not sure where to ask for support. 

4. Say hello to the Dean of Graduate Studies, Steven Greenland. He meets with all students. Keep in touch with him throughout the candidature: dgs@cdu.edu.au

5. Activate your computer account https://activation.cdu.edu.au.

6. You will now have an email address. For more information, see information For students.

7. You will now have access to software. Visit portal.cdu.edu.au. Enter your email address and password. iThenticate access is provided for current HDR students - see our website for more details.

8. If you are an on-campus student, you will be granted access to a workspace or hotdesk. See below or contact your HDR administrators in your Faculty / Menzies for assistance. 

9. Read past theses. The PhD is a genre. Read completed theses and understand the genre. Visit researchers.cdu.edu.au. Choose “student theses.” 

10. Review the Charles Darwin University Supervisory Charter and the relevant CDU Policies and Procedures. Be clear on your rights and responsibilities, and the rights and responsibilities of your supervisor. 

11. Review the requirements for your first milestone: the Confirmation of Candidature. 

12. Complete the eight core modules from Epigeum’s Research Integrity programme - you will receive details on enrolment. 

13. Log the key support services through the university 

14. Remember to discuss Intellectual Property as soon as possible with your supervisors. 

Enjoy your experience with CDU. We are here to care and support you through your higher degree

Computer access and CDU email account

Whilst studying at CDU, students are provided with a personal CDU email account as part of Mircrosoft Office365, the allowance for this email mailbox is 50GB.

Please visit https://activation.cdu.edu.au to activate your student computer account.

Your user name to log into CDU systems is in the format s123456@students.cdu.edu.au unless otherwise specified on the log in page.

CDU provides two official email addresses to each student as follows:

  1. using your Student ID number, with an "s" at the start. For example, if your student number is 107007, then your email address will be: s107007@students.cdu.edu.au
  2. using your first name and surname. For example, if your name was James Bond, then your email address will be: james.bond@students.cdu.edu.au

If you are a CDU staff member you are also required to set up a student account and mailbox, which will be separate to you staff account and provide access to student focused resources.

Please note that all email correspondence sent by CDU is sent to your student email address and you must either monitor this mailbox or set up an email forward to another mailbox you do monitor. This can be done in they myAccount application which you can access from CDU Portal. Please make sure your junk email filters are set up to accept these emails.

Because you are a Post Graduate student, you can also change your primary email address in the myAccount application. Including changing your email to @cdu.edu.au or @menzies.edu.au

CDU Portal provides access to your student email and other important resources including logit and CDU’s help desk system, allowing you to log requests for help.

On-campus workspace allocation and resources

Note: HDR candidates from Menzies School of Research please refer to Menzies handbook for this section.

Workspace and IT access on campus

On-campus students will be assigned a workspace or guaranteed access to a hot desk, including access to a monitor, keyboard, mouse, chair, printer/photocopier, and lockable storage available during office hours and on weekends. Contact your Faculty /Menzies HDR Administrative officer regarding access.

If your project requires specialised hardware of software, discuss with your supervisor and HDR admin.

You need to formally request that you be allowed to retain your access to your workspace/ hotdesk if you take an extended leave of absence. Please discuss with your HDR administrator as needed.

Digital Technology Solutions (DTS) supports CDU HDRs with a diverse range of IT resources and support. Visit Digital Technology Solutions (DTS). 

If you need to log a job with DTS: LogIt (easyvista.com) 

Service Desk
T: 08 7943 6600
E: itsupport@cdu.edu.au (for faults)
Internal: Ext 6600 International: +618 7943 6600

In-person
CDU Library, Red Building 8, Casuarina campus
Casuarina campus map (PDF 1MB)

After hours access

The Faculty HDR Administrator and Supervisor can organise access to your work area after-hours. Your full name, student card number, proxy number (if you have one, located on the back of the student card) and building/level/room number will be required. Please allow a few business days for your request to be processed.

For any problems contact CDU security on Free call: 1800 646 501 (Australia-wide 24/7) or Casuarina 08 8946 7777 (24/7). Waterfront campus (08) 8946 8888 (8 am-2 pm; 4 pm-9 pm Mon-Fri). E: security@cdu.edu.au

Air-conditioning (after-hours)

It can get hot in buildings after-hours. All buildings have swipe facilities to control the air-conditioning. If you plan on working after regular office hours (0800-1630), you will need your student card to operate the air- conditioning system in your area.

Printing, photocopying, stationery

The Faculty HDR Administrative Officer should be able to set this up for you or contact IT services. Basic stationary supplies will be provided by your faculty using procedures appropriate to that faculty.

Laboratory space

If you require Laboratory space, discuss this with your supervisor.

Off-campus resources

Where computer networking is possible, an off-campus student will be provided with email access through the University. Off-campus candidates shall receive the same levels of access to Direct Financial Support, Inter-Library Loans and conference funds as on-campus candidates.

Where a candidate is enrolled as an external student and resides greater than 100 km from the campus of enrolment, communication through MS Teams is generally supported by the University. Any available funds for candidate-supervisor interaction and other resources should be discussed with faculty HDR administrator.

Access to other University libraries and internet for external students.

ULANZ is a Library borrowing scheme that allows staff and students of Australia and New Zealand universities to borrow in person from any other participating university library. Visit www.caul.edu.au/programs- projects/ulanz-borrowing-scheme.

The Eduroam service allows university staff and students to access the internet via wireless networks at CDU and other participating universities without the need to obtain or create a new account at the host institution.

By using a modified version of your CDU username and password and your laptop, you will be able to access the internet via eduroam. For more information visit eduroam.

Workspace for visiting external students

Contact your supervisor and HDR Administration officer to assist with the allocation of a desk space during your visits to the CDU campus.

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