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Moving to Oxford Guide
Starting Work
Before you arrive: organising your University Card
If you have a contract with ECI you will probably be sent the application form for your University Card. Upon arrival – or ideally beforehand - you need to obtain this card before you can obtain computer or library access within the University. You will need two passport sized photographs, which you can get from the main post office in Oxford, or which you can provide yourself. These need to be returned to the Human Resources Officer - Helen Kelsey (Helen.Kelsey@ouce.ox.ac.uk) together with the appropriate form. It may take several days for your card to arrive once Helen has submitted it, so do send it in ten days or so in advance of your arrival to be sure. If you have not received an application form, please do apply to Helen for one as soon as you know you are coming to Oxford.
Should you lose your University card at any time, please inform Dianne Donald, Administrator, immediately – dianne.donald@ouce.ox.ac.uk
On your first day, the OUCE receptionists will direct you to your Programme Leader or the ECI Director's Office. Subsequently, you can access the building by swipe card, which is your University Identity card, (and which also serves as your library card for all of the Oxford University Libraries).
Getting to OUCE
OUCE is situated on, South Parks Road, in the University Science Area – (see attached map of Oxford). The ECI shares the OUCE building with the School of Geography and the Environment, the Transport Studies Unit, the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, and Organic Chemistry.
If approaching from South Parks Road, turn north into the Science area, almost directly opposite Mansfield Road. The main entrance to OUCE is 50 metres on the left.
If you are hoping to drive to work, it's best to rethink. The OUCE has very limited visitor parking places, for which you can apply, for occasional visits, but they are usually full and regular parking is difficult. For visitor spaces, ask at the front desk for a permit: Tel 01865 285070. The nearest pay parking is Pay and Display on Mansfield Road (maximum 3 hours) or Keble Road (maximum 3 hours)
There are buses which arrive fairly near – see Oxford Bus or Stagecoach for details (but good luck negotiating their website! The link to email their enquiries desk, however, seems to work well) or you can walk from the bus/rail stations. It takes 20/30 minutes to reach South Parks Road from the bus or rail station through the centre of Oxford.
Finding ECI in the OUCE Building
ECI researchers are located in various places around the OUCE building. (We are not allowed to publish a map of the building for security reasons, but once you have your OUCE computing account, you can access floor maps on the intranet.)
Core Office: Professor Diana Liverman, Director and her P.A. Sue King together with the Office Co-ordinator and MSc Course Coordinator are on the second floor, next to the ECI MOA meeting room and close to the lift. To reach this suite from the OUCE reception area turn right, follow the corridor to the lifts and stairs to the second floor. ECI reception and the Director's room will be through the doors on your left.
The ECI Lab ("Paradise Island"), which houses the majority of ECI researchers and visitors, is also on the second floor through the double doors to the right of the lift.
Lower Carbon Future Programme and Energy researchers are housed on the ground floor, along the corridor to the left of OUCE reception through a narrow corridor into the front part of the building and down to the southwest corner of the building. GECAFS is also in this area as well as the Research student computing.
UKCIP is above the energy programme on the 1st floor in the southwest corner of the OUCE. They do have an entrance at the front of the building on South Parks Road.
Welcome to ECI
Once you are here, please do ask ECI Reception for a copy our Welcome Booklet, which will help you to settle in further.
Note: National Insurance Numbers
Once you are in the UK, if you are a non-UK national, you will also need to obtain a National Insurance Number. Non-UK nationals need to make an appointment to be interviewed at their local Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) offices. Details of the application can be found at the DWP website.
The Oxford office is at Jobcentre plus, 7 Worcester Street, Oxford Tel: +44 (0)1865 445060 At the interview you will need to prove your identity with several different papers: eg a passport, Home Office documents, Work Permit, letter from employers, payslip, rental agreement, marriage/birth certificate, student loan documentation. The details of other documents accepted can be found on the website.
Your number will then be issued some weeks later on a plastic National Insurance number card. Please note that the Tax Office may give you a personal reference that looks similar to a National Insurance number, but it is not the same thing.
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