Category / BU research

ECR Opportunities: New Development Programme, Research Grants & Upcoming Events

Catch up on the latest Researcher Development opportunities, funding calls, and events available for Early Career Researchers across BU

Whether you are looking to boost your research skills, fund a community initiative, or connect with key teams across BU, here is everything you need to know:

Launch of the Early Career Researcher Development Programme

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our updated Researcher Development Programme for 2026–27, specifically tailored for ECRs.

Here is how you can get involved:

Research Culture & Community Grant – Applications Now Open

Following the success of previous funding rounds, a new round of grant funding is now open for BU Early Career Researchers. These grants provide the resources you need to innovate, collaborate, and lead initiatives that strengthen our research environment.

Available Funding Streams:

Stream 1: Researcher Development (Grants up to £500)

Supports skills focused workshops, guest speaker sessions, methods training, or writing groups

Stream 2: Research Culture and Community (Grants up to £300)

Supports community building, cultural, social, or wellbeing-enhancing activities

Key Details & Deadlines:

  • Inclusivity & Accountability: Activities must be open to the ECR community. Organisers are responsible for delivery and evaluation (one lead activity per cycle)
  • Delivery Deadline: All activities must be delivered and invoiced by 31 July 2027
  • Application Deadline: Monday 16 November, 4pm Apply here

Looking for inspiration? Take a look below to see some of the fantastic projects and events funded during the last round:

Upcoming Event:  Meet the RIS Team (3C Event)

Join us for the next 3C event to meet the Research & Innovation Services (RIS) team, ask questions, and discover how RIS can support your research journey.

Wednesday 11 November, 3-4pm

BGB, Lansdowne Campus

Open to all BU researchers

Find out more and register here

Stay Connected: Join the ECR Network 

Don’t miss out on targeted opportunities, specialised resources, and funding alerts designed specifically for Early Career Researchers.

To join the network, simply email your contact details to researcherdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk

If you have any questions about any of these items, feel free to reach out to the team at researcherdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk

Verbal autopsy paper published two days ago

international, open access, Publishing, writing

Over the weekend the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology published our latest article on the health and well-being of migrant workers in Nepal, under the title Investigating the unresolved causes of sudden cardiac deaths among Nepalese labour migrants in Malaysia: A verbal autopsy study.  The lead author, Dr. Pramod Regmi, is Principal Academic-International Health in BU’s Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science.  His international co-authors are former BU academic Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Green Tara Nepal’s researcher Mr. Sankalpa Bhattarai, Prof. Erwin Faller who is Academic Director of Holy Child Central Colleges in the Philippines, Mr. Adrian Pereira and Mr. Bed Kuma Khatiwada from the North South Initiative (NSI) based in Malaysia, as well as BU’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.  HEMS academics have been collaborating for a long time with Green Tara Nepal and NSI, both are non-governmental organisations working for marginalised groups.

The paper explored (a) the circumstances surrounding unexplained deaths of Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia and (b) potential contributing factors.  Following public and patient involvement and engagement (PPIE) activities with key stakeholders and Nepalese migrant communities in Malaysia, we conducted a verbal autopsy study of 57 friends, roommates, and relatives of 40 Nepalese nationals who had died unexpectedly in Malaysia.

Since the overwehelming majority of Nepalese labour migrants is male, it was not surprising that most of the deceased were men (92.5%, n=37), with a mean age of 34.5 years (SD 8.3) and a mean duration of employment in Malaysia of 5.9 years (SD 4.4). Only 40.0% (n=16) reportedly received a regular weekly rest day, while 80.0% (n=32) worked more than 8 hours per day. Among those who consumed alcohol (n=33), one-third (33.3%, n=11) drank daily. More than half of the deceased (55.0%, n=22) had at least one pre-existing health condition, most commonly hypertension (32.5%, n=13), followed by diabetes (7.5%, n=3).  The authors conclude that circumstances surrounding sudden deaths among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia suggest a potential contribution from cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyle behaviours, and adverse working conditions. Reducing this burden will require targeted health-promotion interventions, improved prevention and management of cardiovascular risk factors, stronger occupational health protections, and measures to prevent the production and consumption of counterfeit alcohol.

The Nepal Journal of Epidemiology is an Open Access journal hence the paper will be freely available to anybody interested in the health and well-being of migrnat workers.   

Reference

  1. Regmi, P.R., Aryal, N., Bhattarai, S., Faller, E.M., Pereira, A., Khatiwada, B.K., van Teijlingen, E. (2026). Investigating the unresolved causes of sudden cardiac deaths among Nepalese labour migrants in Malaysia: A verbal autopsy study. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 16(3), 1534-1547. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v16i3.99396 16(3), 1534-1547. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v16i3.99396

ESRC Studentships for 2027 Entry: Opportunity Now Open

PG research

Are you supporting prospective PhD candidates or know someone looking for funded postgraduate research opportunities?

Applications are now open for ESRC Southwest Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP) Studentships for September 2027 entry. These prestigious studentships cover tuition fees and provide a maintenance stipend, with additional support available for research training and placements.

What pathways?

At Bournemouth University, students can apply through the following pathways:

  • Psychology
  • Climate Change, Sustainability and Society
  • Health, Wellbeing and Society

More details can be found here.

Key BU deadlines

📌 16 November 2026 (10am) – Deadline for applicants to submit their proposals to BU for consideration.

📌 23 November 2026 – BU shortlisting and research conversations.

📌 7 December 2026 – Applicants notified if they have been selected to develop a full ESRC application.

📌 12 January 2027 – Final deadline for shortlisted applicants to submit their ESRC SWDTP application.

📌 Mid-March 2027 – Funding decisions announced.

Before applying

Potential applicants should identify the appropriate pathway, discuss their proposal with prospective supervisors.

To apply at this stage

Potential applicants should email the following completed documents to swdtp@bournemouth.ac.uk:

Please note our preferred format is PDF, each file named with your surname and the name of the document, eg “Smith – Transcript”, “Smith – Annex A”, “Smith – Collaboration Support”:

The key date to remember is 16 November 2026 at 10am, when applications to BU close.

Candidates who are shortlisted to complete a full funding application to the SWDTP will be supported to formally apply to Bournemouth University for their studies.

Further Information:

Potential applicants should contact swdtp@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Potential supervisors should join the ESRC SWDTP session on 21 October at 12pm – 1pm for information about the process. The session will be hybrid and colleagues are welcome to join via Teams on

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/317912292006404?p=OHyVllvGj5qbeYbgBE

Meeting ID: 317 912 292 006 404

Passcode: 9B4JG3FV

SONAMONI contributions to Safety Conference 2026 in South Africa

PG research

In the first week of September colleagues working on our SONAMONI project presented preliminary results at the Safety Conference 2026 in Cape Town, the Republic of South Africa.   In total, six abstracts from the Sonamoni Project had been accepted.  The first paper presented by BU PhD student Md. Shafkat Hossain was highlighted in a previous BU Research Blog (see here!).

Our Bangladesh-based collaborators, CIPRB (Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh) presented papers with the following sunmmaries:

  • Understanding mothers’ caregiving routines is essential to develop appropriate interventions; however, traditional local practice restricts opportunities for women to participate in the HCD process. Therefore, a study was conducted to explore ways to overcome these restrictions to ensure gender representation during the development and implementation of drowning prevention interventions in rural Bangladesh.
  • The objective of the second abstract was to explore community perceptions and their prioritization of the proposed drowning prevention solutions.
  • The objective of the third abstract was to explore the use of different visual tools that assisted the researchers, designers, and the community to develop more acceptable and sustainable drowning prevention interventions in rural Bangladesh.
  • The objective of the fourth study was to identify the association between household income, caregiving investment, child supervision, childcare-related expenses, and exposure to drowning risk among children under 2 years in Bangladesh.

The presenters’ names were: Notan Chandra Dutta, Research Manager; Shibat Mirza Rowshan, HCD Specialist; Mahbub Hasan, Research Officer (Health Economics).

Furthermore, our collaborator Dr. Becky Sindall, Senior International Advocacy Manager at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in Poole contributed to a session on ‘Drowning Prevention and Water Safety Policy’.

SONAMONI is jointly coordinated by Bournemouth University (BU) and CIPRB), working with the University of the West of England, Bristol, the University of Southampton, Design Without Borders (DWB) in Uganda, and the RNLI. We are working to reduce drownings among newly-mobile children, generally those under two years old. This £1.6m project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through their Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science

 

REF adds ‘midwifery’ to Unit of Assessment 3 name

REF Subjects, Research assessment

Late last week, after years of being lobbied, the Research Excellence Framework (REF) has renamed its sub-panel 2 to ensure midwifery is explicitly recognised within its assessment structure ahead of REF 2029.  Sub-panel 3, previously titled “Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing & Pharmacy”, will now be known as “Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Midwifery, Nursing & Pharmacy”.   Bournemouth University is represented on this prestigious sub-panel by Prof. Vanora Hundely for the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health.

Three CMWH presentations at Berlin conference

international, PG research, student research, Women's Academic Network, writing

Two Ph.D. students and one member of staff from Bournemouth University’s Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)  presented their work at the 25th International Normal Labour and Birth Research Conference held in mid-September 2026 in Berlin.  Ph.D. student and CMWH midwifery lecturer Kate Burgess presented her poster ‘Sustaining Maternity Care: Intrapartum Leadership, Teamwork and Workforce Wellbeing’.  This poster shared her on-going literature review on how leadership and teamwork influence midwives’ courage and capacity to provide personalised care during labour. 

Whilst Joanne Rack presented work from her clinical doctorate ‘Beyond the Risk Label: Communication, Autonomy and Care for Women of Advanced Maternal Age’.   Joanne’s Ph.D. research (the ParentAge Study) started from an important observation: births to women aged 40+ are at record levels in the UK, these women consistently experience increased morbidity and yet report limited risk discussions, unmet information needs, and anxiety-provoking encounters with maternity services. This, combined with the last three MBRRACE reports, that have repeatedly identified this as a discrete and growing population at increased risk of poorer mortality outcomes.

Furthermore, CMWH academic Dr. Dominique Mylod presented ‘The Early Labour App as a Digital Solution: Ten Lessons Learned’ based on midwifery research conducted with Prof. Vanora Hundley.  The Early Labour App is in development as an innovative digital tool which combines evidence-based strategies to support families in preparing for early phase labour. It includes a dedicated website, an educational video to promote birth ball use and a Slow and Deep Breathing visual graphic. The project has been underpinned by co-creation since its inception, involving women, birth partners and midwives, with the recognition that current service users are the first digital natives. This collaboration has validated the app concept and informed the content, structure and design of the app.

 

Well done!

Prof.Edwin van Teijlingen

 

New interdisciplinary paper on Nepal

international, open access, PG research, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Pramod Regmi on yesterday’s publication of ‘Strengthening evidence on migrant workers’ health in Nepal’ in the international scientific journal Discover Public Health [1].  Co-authors on this paper include Bournemouth University’s (BU) Ph.D. student Anjana Paudyal and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (in CMWH), former BU member of staff Dr. Nirmal Aryal, and BU’s Visiting Faculty Prof.Padam Simkhada (based at the University of Chester) as well as our North American collaborator in the ENSURE project, Dr. Heath Prince.

Further congratulations are due to Dr. Regmi who was also accepted as by the UKGCE as recognised research supervisor!

Labour migration is a vital economic driver for Nepal, yet it poses significant health risks to migrant workers, with many suffering from chronic illnesses and high mortality rates abroad. This paper emphasizes the need for a systematic approach to utilize existing health data from pre-departure screenings and returnee assessments, advocating for an integrated electronic health database to inform targeted health interventions and improve the overall well-being of Nepalese migrant workers.

 

Reference:

  1. Regmi, P., Pant, P.R., Faller, E.M., Paudyal, A.R., Aryal, N., Paudyal, P., Simkhada, P., Prince, H.J., van Teijlingen, E. (2026) Strengthening evidence on migrant workers’ health in Nepal. Discover Public Health 23, 1495. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-026-02877-z

New BU Social Work paper published this week

Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Louise Oliver and Orlanda Harvey on yesterday’s publication of ‘A Picture of Christian Grey: Using Narrative Analysis to Explore How Coercive Controlling Behaviors in Intimate Relationships Can Be Romanticized Within Fiction’ in the academic journal Humanities [1]. Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse (IPVA) is a public health phenomenon due to its prevalence and impact across the world.

The authors examine how coercive and controlling behaviors within intimate relationships are obfuscated, in other words, thrown into the shadows, romanticized, and normalized within romantic fiction, further adding to this global issue. Fifty Shades (novel series) - Wikipedia The “Fifty Shades of Grey” series is interpreted through the use of narrative analysis and the framework of Craven’s “Dominator” model. This illustrates how the distinct perpetrator personas, the Headworker, the Persuader, the King of the Castle, the Jailer, the Liar, the Bully, and the Sexual Controller, are present in the actions of the male protagonist throughout the series of books. This paper identifies how these books portray such behaviors that are used to coerce and control as desirable expressions of protection, masculinity, desire, and love. This paper, therefore, suggests that such texts contribute to the normalization of abusive relationships, embedding them within the cultural ideals of romantic love and, therefore, sustaining abusive relationships.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

 

Reference:

  1. Oliver, L., & Harvey, O. (2026). A Picture of Christian Grey: Using Narrative Analysis to Explore How Coercive Controlling Behaviors in Intimate Relationships Can Be Romanticized Within Fiction, Humanities 15(10): 141. https://doi.org/10.3390/h15100141

NEW BOOK Just Published:  Rather and Buhalis, 2026, Metaverse Marketing: Challenges, Opportunities, and Fundamental Mechanisms

NEW BOOK Just Published: 
 
Metaverse Marketing: Challenges, Opportunities, and Fundamental Mechanisms
 
Raouf Ahmad Rather and Dimitrios Buhalis, 2026
Metaverse Marketing: Challenges, Opportunities, and Fundamental Mechanisms
Edward Elgar, ISBN: 9781035331253
https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/metaverse-marketing-9781035331253.html 
 
 
Contents
 
Introduction to Metaverse Marketing: Challenges, Opportunities, and Fundamental Mechanisms 1
Raouf Ahmad Rather and Dimitrios Buhalis
1 Metaverse marketing: challenges, opportunities, and fundamental mechanisms 5
Raouf Ahmad Rather, Dimitrios Buhalis, Ali Raza, Farhan Mirza and Amir Zaib Abbasi
2 The metaverse and the international digital marketing landscape 23
Iva Atanassova and Huda Khan
3 Metaverse brand communities: how brands can form communities through engagement in the metaverse 40
Sara Mahmoud Khater
4 Luxury brands in the metaverse: a review of the literature 57
Farhan Mirza, Ding Hooi Ting, Amir Zaib Abbasi and Raouf Ahmad Rather
5 Social media in the metaverse marketing era 83
Hasan Tinmaz and Yunze Liu
6 Sustainable consumption in the metaverse toward a future agenda 104
Chengyuan Li, Nannan Xi, Jani Holopainen and Juho Hamari
7 Navigating the dark side of the metaverse: understanding the impact of technological stressors on user well-being 134
Uzma Hasan, Rehan Husain and Shadma Shahid
8 The metaverse for higher education in South Korea: a case of a human anatomy course 156
Jin Hwa Lee and Hasan Tinmaz
9 The drivers of the metaverse in retailing 177
Ammara Awan, Baasanjargal Purev, Mohsin Abdur Rehman, Abdul Mannan Rana and Zeeshan Ullah
10 Metaverse marketing: opportunities and challenges for tourism destinations and hospitality service providers 199
Mustafeed Zaman
11 Conclusion: revisiting metaverse marketing and scope for future research 216
Raouf Ahmad Rather, Dimitrios Buhalis and Muhammad Faisal Shahzad


National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2026: The Changing Landscape of Postdoc Careers

The 21-25 September marks National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW) across the UK

UK National Postdoc Appreciation Week is an annual nationwide event celebrating the vital contributions postdocs and early-career researchers make to research and university life.

To kick off the week, staff and researchers across Bournemouth University are invited to attend this year’s free UK Flagship Online Event. With the research environment constantly evolving, the 2026 theme focuses on “The Changing Landscape of Postdoc Careers.”

What to Expect

Creative Academic Reflection: Explore and understand your academic journey through guided, creative language play and poetry.

Skills Workshop: Practical activities designed to help you map out and navigate your future career exploration.

Funder Panel & Live Q&A: An honest discussion featuring representatives from major funding bodies, including UKRI and the British Academy, covering the current realities and future changes in academic funding.

Event Details

Monday 21 September, 10am-12pm

Online

Register for the Flagship Event

For full details on nationwide activities and updates throughout the week, visit the official UKNPAW Website.

NIHR Insight South West Central Conference 2026 at Bournemouth University

conferences

Today Bournemouth University (BU)  is hosting the annual NIHR-funded Insight South West Central Conference.  The event bring together current students, prospective students and past students on the Insight programme from both BU and the Bristol-based UWE (University of the West of England).

The NIHR INSIGHT: Inspiring Students into Research Programme funds a wide range of engagement activities and research masters training opportunities for students and recent graduates within registered healthcare, social work and public health professions. It takes place across 12 regions in England and the NIHR INSIGHT programme for South West Central is one of these regional programmes. It is a partnership between the UWE Bristol and BUy who together have 6,000 pre-registration and 4,000 post registration students across more than 15 health and care professions.

The opening two key note speakers were BU’s Professor of Social Care Lee-Ann Fenge and Helen Lewis-White, Deputy Director of Research and Innovation at North Bristol NHS Trust and a Health and Care Research Director (NMAHP) for the NIHR Southwest Central Research Delivery Network.  The conference includes invited speakers, research speed-dating sessions as well as students’ presentations (both oral and posters).

BU PhD student presented at World Safety Conference in South Africa

conferences, international, PG research, student research

PhD student Mr. Md. Shafkat Hussain was invited to present at the World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety in South Africa at the beginning of September.  Shafkat based in the Faculty of Health, Environemnt & Medical Science (HEMS) is conducting hs PhD on the use of human-centred design in drowing prevention interventions and programmes aimed at children under the age of two, which is part of our NIHR-funded Sonamoni project.

The SONAMONI Project is a large interdisciplinary research project co-ordinated by Bournemouth University (BU) and CIPRB (Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh) to help reduce drowning in young children (under the age of two) in rural Bangladesh.  The SONAMONI project is a collaboration between BU, CIPRB, the University of the West of England, the University of Southampton, the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and Design Without Borders (Uganda).

This £1.6m project has been made possible thanks to a UK grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through its Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme. This exciting four-year project will run until February 2027.

National Research Supervision Recognition: Apply Now & Join the Supporting Workshop on 16 September

UKCGE Research Supervision Recognition: Open Call & Workshop on Wednesday 16 September

Gain national recognition for your doctoral supervision with support from the Doctoral College. Academic staff at all experience levels, from first-time co-supervisors to seasoned lead supervisors can apply for national accreditation through the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE). Ahead of the 19 October deadline, join us on Wednesday 16 September, 12–1pm for an online workshop covering the UKCGE framework and application process.

Levels of Recognition

  • Recognised Supervisor (Full Award): For those who have supported doctoral candidates through to final examination and completion.
  • Recognised Associate Supervisor: For those who have not yet supervised candidates to completion and/or who contribute to supervision in an informal capacity.

Why Apply

UK universities are increasingly prioritising supervisor development to enhance research culture and doctoral support. The Research Supervisor Recognition Programme (RSRP) encourages supervisors at all levels to engage in structured self-reflection, using the Good Supervisory Practice Framework to identify strengths and target areas for growth.

Key Benefits

  • Structured Self-Reflection: Evaluate your methods and decision-making
  • Benchmarked Excellence: Map your practice against national standards
  • Professional Growth: Identify clear pathways for improvement, whether applying for Full or Associate awards
  • BU already has over 30 recognised research supervisors, and you could be next

How to Apply

Write a reflective account of your supervisory practice aligned with the Good Supervisory Practice Framework.

Submit your Application using the Relevant Form

Recognised Supervisor Reflective Account Form

Recognised Associate Supervisor Reflective Account Form

Your application will be peer-reviewed by a two-person panel. Whatever the outcome, you will receive detailed feedback.

UKCGE | Frequently Asked Questions

To complete your application, please ensure we receive a formal approval email sent directly from your Associate Dean Research, Innovation and Enterprise to researcherdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk. This confirmation is required before your application can move to the final review stage.

For more information, to register your interest, or to discuss your application, please email Julia Taylor (Doctoral College) at researcherdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk

Please note: The Doctoral College will cover the cost of applications submitted by BU supervisors.

Application Deadlines

BU Window Closes: 9am, Monday 19 October

UKCGE Window Closes: Friday 23 October

Expected Outcome: January 2027

Complete applications should be submitted to Julia Taylor (Doctoral College) at researcherdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk by the above deadlines.

Supporting Workshop

Supervisory Lunchbite | UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor Award 

This session provides an introduction to the UKCGE Good Supervisory Practice Framework and the two levels of recognition:

Recognised Supervisor (Full Award)

Recognised Associate Supervisor

Staff attending this session will be able to:

  • Understand the application process for UKCGE recognition (including deadlines and timescales)
  • Apply the UKCGE Best Practice Framework to their own supervisory experience
  • Appreciate the wide-ranging, highly complex and demanding set of roles that modern research supervisors undertake to perform the role effectively

Wednesday 16 September, 12-1pm

Online

Find out more and register here

NEW AI PAPER JUST PUBLISHED Artificial Intelligence and Human Resources Recruitment for Tourism and Hospitality

NEW AI PAPER JUST PUBLISHED
Artificial Intelligence and Human Resources Recruitment

Shi,X., Leung, X/Y., Bai, B., Buhalis, D., 2027 Artificial intelligence–facilitated selection in tourism and hospitality: Justice, inclusion, and gender differences in resume screening and interviews, Tourism Management Volume 118, February 2027, 105478 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2026.105478

Abstract
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent in human resource management, its role in tourism and hospitality hiring remains underexplored. This study investigates job applicants’ perceptions of AI in employee selection, focusing on resume screening and interviews. Drawing on fairness heuristic theory and social role theory, we examine how AI affects perceived justice, inclusion, and organizational attractiveness. Four scenario-based experiments and one qualitative study were conducted with job applicants comparing AI-based and human-based selection methods. Results show that human recruiters are generally perceived as more just and inclusive, enhancing organizational attractiveness. However, gender moderates these effects: females favor AI-based resume screening, whereas males are more receptive to AI-based interviews. These findings provide insights for organizations seeking to integrate AI into employee selection while maintaining justice and inclusion. As AI becomes more prevalent in hiring, organizations should prioritize human oversight, ensuring that AI supports rather than replaces human.

Keywords
Artificial intelligence (AI)Employee selectionFairness heuristic theorySocial role theoryGender differencesOrganizational attractiveness

 

 

 

3C Event: ECR Network Café – Wednesday 16 September 2-3pm

Join Us for Culture, Community & Cake: Launching BU’s Early Career Researcher Network

Kick off the new academic year by connecting with your research community. As part of BU’s Research Culture, Community and Cake (3C) initiative, we are excited to host a special ECR Network Café.

Whether you are brand new to BU, or looking to expand your existing circle, this session offers a relaxed space to meet fellow early career researchers, exchange ideas, and find common ground. Alongside coffee and cake, we will also be officially launching BU’s new ECR Development Programme, designed specifically to help you build the skills, networks, and support systems needed to thrive in your research journey.

Event Details 

Wednesday 16 September, 2-3pm

F305, Fusion Building, Talbot Campus

Come along to enjoy a slice of cake, help shape a supportive ECR network, and take advantage of the professional development opportunities available to you this year.

Find out more and register here

BU geography student’s undergraduate dissertation published in international journal

student research

Grassroots opposition to second homes, seen on the streets of Cornwall.

Research that began as an undergraduate dissertation at Bournemouth University has been published in Geographical Review, journal of the American Geographical Society. The paper, “Second Homes and the (Re)production of Cornish Nationalism,” is co-authored by Conan Millen, a recent graduate of BU’s BSc (hons) Geography, and Dr Marin Cvitanović, Principal Academic in Human Geography in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences.

The study looks at how attitudes toward second homes and tourism connect to identity in Cornwall, one of the poorest regions in Western Europe despite its high concentration of second-home ownership. Drawing on an online survey of 504 Cornwall residents, the paper identifies four distinct clusters of opinion on housing, tourism and belonging, and asks how these relate to age, income and ethnic identity.

A few findings stand out. Younger, lower-income and Cornish-identifying respondents were significantly more likely to oppose second homes and short-term holiday lets, particularly over concerns about affordability and community cohesion. Older and more affluent respondents identifying as British or English took a more positive view of tourism’s economic benefits. Age had the strongest statistical effect of any factor measured, more so than ethnicity or income, suggesting that generational experience of housing insecurity plays a central role in shaping these attitudes. Opposition to second homes was also somewhat higher in postcodes with higher average house prices.

The paper places these findings within wider debates on housing and identity. It draws a link between the rise of “generation rent” across the UK and Europe and the emergence of place-based, often exclusionary responses to housing pressure, sometimes described in the literature as forms of “housing nationalism.” In Cornwall’s case, the study argues that expressions of Cornish identity in relation to housing are shaped as much by material economic exclusion as by cultural or ethnic distinctiveness.

Since graduating, Conan Millen has been working as part of the wider public health team at Cornwall Council, where he is involved in analysing and processing data to inform projects and monitor the health and wellbeing of people living and growing up in Cornwall.

BU’s BSc (Hons) Geography is accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). In the most recent National Student Survey, 94% of students agreed that teaching staff were good at explaining things, and 94% agreed that teaching staff had supported their learning well.

References:

Millen, C., & Cvitanović, M. (2026). Second Homes and the (Re)production of Cornish Nationalism. Geographical Review, 116(1), 39–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/00167428.2025.2578855