Category / Research news

Athena SWAN focus groups

We will be submitting an application to be re-accredited with the bronze Athena SWAN award in Winter 2018. The bronze institution award requires universities to undertake an assessment of gender equality in the institution, including quantitative (staff data) and qualitative (policies, practices, systems and arrangements) evidence and identifying both challenges and opportunities. We are holding a series of focus groups at different levels during Spring/Summer 2018 and all BU staff are invited to attend. These will provide rich qualitative data about staff experiences and perceptions, as well as suggestions for improvements, around key areas assessed via the SWAN process. The focus groups also show BU’s continuing commitment to gender equality and desire to engage with staff. The data will be reviewed by the SWAN Self-Assessment Team and Steering Group and will inform the award submission and action plan.

Details of the focus groups can be found here.  The five groups are as follows:

Title Date Time Location
Focus Group 2: Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and parental leave Thursday 10th May 2018 10.00 – 12.00 Lansdowne Campus
Focus Group 3: Flexible working and managing career breaks Tuesday 15th May 2018 11.00 – 13.00 Talbot Campus
Focus Group 4: Childcare Thursday 7th June 2018 10.00 – 12.00 Lansdowne Campus
Focus Group 1: Promotion (rescheduled from April) Monday 18th June 2018 11.00 – 13.00 Talbot Campus
Focus Group 5: Workload model Tuesday 3rd July 11.00 – 13.00 Talbot Campus

If you are unable to attend any of these focus groups, but still want to share your views please email diversity@bournemouth.ac.uk

To book a place on these sessions, please email Organisational Development.

Free online course! – Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research

Interested in clinical research and what’s involved? Are you contemplating a career in healthcare or the life sciences, or, do you want to find out more about the role of clinical research in improving healthcare?

If you’ve answered yes to any of the above questions, then why not sign up to FutureLearn’s Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research course?

The course will be available from 21st May, via https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/clinical-research

It is completely free and all online, lasting 4 weeks – registration open now!

This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. By completing the course you will have achieved 16 hours of CPD time.

Reminder of BU’s Bridging Fund Scheme for researchers

In summer 2015 we launched the BU Bridging Fund Scheme which aims to provide additional stability to fixed-term researchers who continue to rely heavily on short-term contracts usually linked to external funding. This situation sometimes impacts negatively on continuity of employment and job security and can result in a costly loss of researcher talent for the institution.

The new Bridging Fund Scheme aims to mitigate these circumstances by redeploying the researcher where possible, or where feasible, by providing ‘bridging funding’ for the continuation of employment for a short-term (maximum three months) between research grants. It is intended to permit the temporary employment, in certain circumstances, of researchers between fixed-term contracts at BU, for whom no other source of funding is available, in order to:

(a) encourage the retention of experienced and skilled staff, and sustain research teams and expertise;

(b) aconcordat to support the career development of researchersvoid the break in employment and career which might otherwise be faced by such staff;

(c) maximise the opportunity for such staff to produce high-quality outputs and/or research impact at the end of funded contracts/grants.

To find out more about the scheme, including how to apply for bridging funding, see the scheme guidelines.

This is a great step forward for BU and for BU’s researchers and is an action from our EC HR Excellence in Research Award which aims to increase BU’s alignment with the national Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers (further information is available here: https://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/research-environment/research-concordat/).

BU PGR Aishah Selamat selected for S2DS London Summer Programme 2018

picture source: www.S2DS.org

Picture Source: S2DS (www.S2DS.org)

Science to Data Science (S2DS) is one of Europe’s largest data science training programme. The S2DS is a five-week intensive programme where exceptional analytical PhDs are selected to tackle commercial data science projects. A list of past participating commercial companies includes KPMG, Barclays, Infosys, Hortonworks, British Gas and many more.

SciTech PGR Aishah Selamat is amongst the 90 individuals chosen to participate in the upcoming S2DS London Summer Programme this August 2018. To join the 2018 cohort, participants are to submit their written application and CV. Successfully applicants will then be invited for an interview before acceptance to the programme. Apart from theoretical and practical learning opportunities – the programme will groomed the PhDs professionally for a Data Scientist role.

Aishah is a third year PhD student in the Creative Department. A UK Data Service Data Impact Fellow also, her research is co-funded by Bournemouth University and County Coaches (UK) LLP. Her research aims to develop an Intelligent Transportation Analytical Model for SMEs in the private coach industry.

Aishah would like to express her gratitude to her supervisory team (Dr. Simant Prakoonwit, Dr. Reza Sahandi & Dr. Wajid Khan) for their continuous support throughout her PhD journey.

Look out for Aishah blog post (and Twitter) on her S2DS experiences this summer!

If you would like to know more about her research, Aishah can be reached via aishah@bournemouth.ac.uk

British Academy – Intention to bid forms due 2nd May 2018

The call for the next round of BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants is open. The call closes at 5pm on Wednesday 6th June 2018. Due to the expected high demand, we ask that if you are interested in applying to this call then please send your intention to bid form to your Funding Development Officer by 2nd  May, after this date no new applications will be accepted.

The British Academy have provided updated guidance on the small grants – BA scheme notes for applicants and BA FAQs . They have asked that all applicants read the documentation carefully before starting their application.

Timeline

The call closes at 5pm on Wednesday 6th June 2018.

11th April 2018 Call Opens – start reading guidance
2nd May 2018 Intention to bid forms to be submitted to your faculty funding development officer.
31st May 2018 Nominated referee supporting statement to be completed via FlexiGrant
30th May 2018 Your final application must be submitted on FlexiGrant  by this date at the latest.
31st May -6th June 2018 Institutional checks to take place by RKEO

Locative Narrative: Location Aware Interactive Storytelling Research in Creative Technology

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Centre for Games and Music Technology Research.

 

Title: Locative Narrative: Location Aware Interactive Storytelling Research in Creative Technology​

 

Speaker: Dr Charlie Hargood

Senior Lecturer In Games Technology, SciTech

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

 

Date: Wednesday 2 May 2018

 

Room: TAG 02 (Tolpuddle Annex)

 

Abstract:

Locative Narrative is a growing research area concerned with digital interactive stories which respond to the reader’s location. In this talk we reflect on recent research in this space, its outcomes, and how it has led to the current programme of research on narrative systems within the creative technology department.

 

 

We hope to see you there.

SciTech PGR Aishah Selamat awarded with UK Data Service Data Impact Fellowship Award

In September 2017, the UK Data Service (UKDS) announced the appointment of its second Data Impact Fellows for 2017-2018. Aishah Selamat from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Creative Department, was amongst the selected researchers from the United Kingdom universities.

An open competition for Ph.D. and post-doctoral researchers, the UKDS Data Impact Fellows programme is outlined to support the usage of UKDS data (and its resources) from the new generation of scholars. Each year, UKDS received high qualities of applications, making the selection a tougher job for the judges.

Aishah Selamat is BU first PGR to be awarded the competitive UK Data Service Impact Fellowship Award. The value of £2000 grant would provide Aishah Selamat the opportunities to carry out impactful public engagements, cover the course of her article publication or participate in an international conference. Over the course of two years, Aishah Selamat role as UKDS Data Impact Fellow includes blogs contribution to UKDS blog, develop an impactful case study contribution and becomes a data citation practitioner.

Read Aishah’s first blog post contribution on UKDS here.

PGR supervisory team consist of Dr. Simant Prakoonwit, Dr. Reza Sahandi & Dr. Wajid Khan

 

Sustainable Development Programme 2018 OPEN

Application Deadline: Wednesday 30 May 2018 (17.00 UK Time)

Click here to find out more.

Aims

The purpose of each project will be to advance and deepen our understanding of the relevance and importance of the historical context of development, culture(s) and heritage(s) in particular to addressing sustainable development. Tackling many of the world’s sustainable development challenges requires a consideration of local cultures, practices, histories and societal norms, and an understanding of how such norms are complex and contextually differentiated. It is often, however, the case that these considerations are not well or fully brought into sustainable development discussions that tend to ignore aesthetic, representational, and reflective practices. New approaches that cross sectoral and disciplinary boundaries will be vital in achieving a step change in this area.

Research Themes and Focus

This call is for research projects which address the overarching aims of the Sustainable Development Programme related to sustainable governance, sustainable growth and sustainable human development and creativity broadly understood. Projects must demonstrate an innovative and interdisciplinary approach and relevance to one or more of the three sub-themes below:

  1. Heritage
  2. Dignity
  3. Violence

Eligibility Requirements

This call is open to researchers based at UK institutions. The main applicant must be based at an eligible UK university or research institute and be of at least postdoctoral or equivalent status. The applicant must either be in a permanent position at the institution or have a fixed-term position for the duration of the award. Co-applicants can be from overseas, and co-applicants from the Global South are particularly encouraged, but they must also be of at least postdoctoral or equivalent status.

All projects must be ODA eligible. Only proposals which aim to support the economic development and welfare of developing countries will be supported under this call.

Art, War and Peace

Update: Please note the change in venue due to high degree of interest in the talk – Shelley Lecture Theatre  (Poole House)

 

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Centre for Games and Music Technology Research.

 

Title: Art, War and Peace

Speaker: Nigel Osborne
Composer

By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57139168

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

 

Date: Wednesday 25 April 2018

 

Room: Shelley Lecture Theatre  (Poole House)

 

Abstract:

The presentation begins with an overview of the relationship between art, war and peace, from Sun Tzu and Ancient Greek and Chinese celebration of war in art to the war poets and musicians of the First and Second World Wars, and then on to the work of activists such as Janusz Korczak (Henryk Goldszmit) in the Warsaw Ghetto and Friedl Dicker-Brandeisova in Terezin (Theresienstadt).

The presentation then examines three case studies in detail, including film and Audio clips – 1. art as opposition to conflict (The Cellist of Sarajevo, the Obala Gallery) 2. art in reconciliation (the case of a young musician who re-united the young people of a city divided by war) 3. art as trauma therapy (a group of children in Syria, a group of abused women in Bosnia)

 

Biography:

Nigel Osborne MBE BA BMus (Oxon) DLitt FRCM FEIS FRSE, Emeritus Professor of Music and Human Sciences at the University of Edinburgh is a composer, teacher and aid worker. His works have been performed around the world by major orchestras and opera houses, such as the Vienna Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House. He has received, among many awards, the Netherlands Gaudeamus Prize, the Opera Prize of the Radio Suisse Romande and Ville de Geneve and the Koussevitzky Award of the Library of Congress Washington. He also works in popular music, theatre and film and has a special interest in Arabic, Indian and Chinese music.

 

He studied composition at Oxford with Egon Wellesz, the first pupil of Arnold Schoenberg, and in Warsaw with Witold Rudzinski, and worked in major studios such as the Polish Radio Experimental Studio and at IRCAM in Paris. He has worked as a sailor, school teacher, health worker, aid worker and university teacher, holding a lectureship and Special Professorship at Nottingham University (1978-1987), the Reid Chair and Dean of the Faculty of Music at Edinburgh University (1989-2012), a guest Senior Professorship (C4) at the University of Hannover (1996-98) and Head of Faculty for the Vienna-Prague- Budapest Summer Academy (ISA) (2007-2014). He is currently Professor Emeritus at Edinburgh University, visiting Professor in the Drama Faculty of Rijeka University, Consultant to both the Chinese Music Institute, Peking University and the Royal Conservatoire, Bangkok, and has worked as visiting lecturer and examiner in a wide range of universities, ranging from Harvard, UCLA and CalArts to Oxford, the Sorbonne and Bologna.

 

As a teacher he has worked at all levels of learning, from nursery education to postdoctoral supervision, and continues to work in special education development in places as diverse as Scotland, Sweden, Croatia and India. He was awarded both the Queen’s Prize and Music Industry Prize for innovation in education, and was recently made Honorary Fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland.

 

He has pioneered methods of using music and the creative arts to support children who are victims of conflict. This approach was developed during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-95), and since then the work has been implemented widely in the Balkan region, the Caucasus (Chechnya), the Middle East (Palestine, Syria and Lebanon), East Africa and South East Asia. He was also awarded the Freedom Prize of the Peace Institute, Sarajevo, for his work for Bosnian children during the siege of the city.

 

He has worked actively in many human rights initiatives, including the Committee for the Defence of the Workers in Poland (1970-89), Citizens’ Forum (with Vaclav Havel) in former Czechoslovakia (1987- 89), for Syrian refugee support organisations and directly for the Government of Bosnia- Herzegovina during the genocide.

He is advisor to Oliver Sachs’ Institute for Music and Neurologic Function at Beth Abraham Hospital, The Bronx, NYC, and in 2012-14 served as co-Chair of the Global Agenda Committee for Arts in Society for the World Economic Forum.

 

In recent months he has been working on an opera/film with Ulysses Theatre and Paradiso Films on the Cambridge spies, a musical/ecological work for Khazanah, Kuala Lumpur, a cantata based on the experiences of refugees and on an orchestral version of the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper, to mark the 50th anniversary of the issue of the album (June 2017).

 

Nigel is working with Opera Circus on a new chamber opera, Naciketa, with libretto by Ariel Dorfman. The premiere will be at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank London in May 2020.

 

In December 2017 Nigel Osborne was presented with the British Composer Award UK for Inspiration (in association with the Music Publishers Association) by Opera Circus Artistic Director, Tina Ellen Lee.

 

 

We hope to see you there.