Tagged / EUNF

How’s our Slovene?

BU research, EU, Research news

BU’s Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health was well represented at a recent conference run by the Midwifery Association of Slovenia in Čateẑ.  Professor Vanora Hundley and Luisa Cescutti Butler were invited by the President Anita Prelec to speak to midwives, nurses and students at their bi-annual conference: Skrb Za Dravje Žensk In Otrok.

I was asked to speak on the issue of intervention in early labour, something that is causing concern in many European countries, and whether midwives should be encouraging women to stay at home for longer. I started my session with a tentative “Dober dan” (Good morning) – my pronunciation must have been acceptable as I received a round of applause! However, the rest of my presentation was thankfully in English. The presentation was well received and clearly generated a lot of interest with discussion continuing over lunch.

Luisa, a senior lecturer in midwifery, spoke about the examination of the newborn baby and who should be involved – the midwife or the doctor. This was a question that we had discussed the previous day at a round table event with key stakeholders in Slovenia. Her presentation also gave us the opportunity to ask midwives what they thought. Participants were asked to complete a short questionnaire before the presentation and a second brief questionnaire afterwards. We are looking forward to seeing their responses – although we will rely heavily on colleagues from the University of Ljubljana to translate them!

Funding for our Slovenian trip was through networking grants – an EUNF award for Vanora to discuss research collaboration and an ERASMUS Preparatory Visit award for Luisa to explore the possibility of a staff mobility exchange. We both achieved these aims (more on that in our next blog), but this additional opportunity was too good to miss.

EUNF award enables research with the University of Ljubljana

BU research, EU

An EU Networking Fund (EUNF) award made to Vanora Hundley will enable research collaboration between Bournemouth University and the University of Ljubljana. Established in 1918 the University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia.

University of LlubljanaThe EUNF award will enable Vanora to travel to Ljubljana to discuss research on the topic of intervention in childbirth; an issue that is challenging many high income countries. The University of Ljubljana has run a midwifery programme since 1996 and currently admits 30 students a year. Research is a core component of midwifery education, as it is in other European institutions including Bournemouth University. However, postgraduate research in midwifery is less common there and it is hoped that this collaboration can strengthen midwifery research in Slovenia.

A range of funding at BU still available

BU research

There are still a number of funding opportunities up for grabs at BU whether you want to meet up with potential collaborators or have Open Access privileges added to your publication.

 

EU Networking Fund: open to any BU academics who want to network across Europe with a view to finding collaborators.  You can apply for support for a range of activities relating directly to networking, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations.

 

FIF Staff Mobility & Networking: this provides support for staff to support UK or overseas travel and subsistence in pursuit of any aspect of Fusion – research, education, and/or professional practice.

 

 

open access logo, Public Library of ScienceOpen Access Fund: his is available for use by any BU author ready to submit a completed article for publication who wishes to make their output freely and openly accessible.

 

These funds all have limited budgets so make your submission sooner rather than later!

EU Networking Fund still open!

EU

The EU Networking Fund (EUNF) is open to any BU academics who want to network across Europe with a view to finding collaborators. We have a pot of money to support this scheme, and the fund will end when the pot is empty.
You can apply for support for a range of activities relating directly to networking, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations.

You can read more on this scheme in the EUNF Policy Document and make a submission using theEUNF Application Form; there is no deadline.

Its not too late to apply for our 2 great EU internal funding schemes!

EU

The EU Academic Development Scheme (EUADS) is a unique scheme developed to kick start your career in EU research; it’s open to all BU academic staff relatively inexperienced in gaining EU funding.  The EUADS will help you build up to making a submission by providing unlimited 1-2-1 support from an expert EU bid writer, group mentoring and unlimited assistance in actually writing your application over a 12 month period. As if this training wasn’t fantastic in itself, and the supportive culture of being a cohort undertaking the journey of EU funding extremely appealing, the EUADS also includes an individual fund. Each successful participant will be provided with grants as requested totalling up to a whopping £3k each by to spend on activities supporting bid development, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Pilot research work
• Fieldwork
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations
• Preparation of specialist material or data
• Replacement teaching 

You can read more on this scheme in the EUADS Policy Document  and make a submission using the  EUADS Application Form; the deadline is 18.12.12

The EU Networking Fund (EUNF) is open to any BU academics who want to network across Europe with a view to finding collaborators. We have a pot of money to support this scheme, and the fund will end when the pot is empty.
You can apply for support for a range of activities relating directly to networking, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations.

You can read more on this scheme in the EUNF Policy Document and make a submission using the EUNF Application Form; there is no deadline.

There are plenty of EU initiatives to support you here at BU, so don’t miss out!

 

Two internal EU funding schemes launched today!

EU

 The BU EU Showcase event today is providing the platform to launch the second round of our EUADS and EUNF schemes!

The EU Academic Development Scheme (EUADS) is a unique scheme developed to kick start your career in EU research; it’s open to all BU academic staff relatively inexperienced in gaining EU funding.  The EUADS will help you build up to making a submission by providing unlimited 1-2-1 support from an expert EU bid writer, group mentoring and unlimited assistance in actually writing your application over a 12 month period. As if this training wasn’t fantastic in itself, and the supportive culture of being a cohort undertaking the journey of EU funding extremely appealing, the EUADS also includes an individual fund. Each successful participant will be provided with grants as requested totalling up to a whopping £3k each by to spend on activities supporting bid development, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Pilot research work
• Fieldwork
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations
• Preparation of specialist material or data
• Replacement teaching 

You can read more on this scheme in the EUADS Policy Document  and make a submission using the  EUADS Application Form; the deadline is 18.12.12

The EU Networking Fund (EUNF) is open to any BU academics who want to network across Europe with a view to finding collaborators. We have a pot of money to support this scheme, and the fund will end when the pot is empty.
You can apply for support for a range of activities relating directly to networking, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations.

You can read more on this scheme in the EUNF Policy Document and make a submission using the EUNF Application Form; there is no deadline.

You can search the blog for many wonderful stories from our academics who have received support from these schemes. And don’t forget we also currently have the BU in Brussels scheme open until 28.11.12 and the Fusion Investment Fund Erasmus Staff Mobility scheme open until 01.12.12.

There are plenty of EU initiatives to support you here at BU, so don’t miss out!

 

SDRC EUNF success

EU

Sustainable Design Research Centre (Zulfiqar Khan and Mark Hadfield) reported the success of BU EUNF application for funding on March 19th 2012 through the BU Blog. The award played a significant role to achieve the objectives of the original plan as

  • To initiate links for the proposed programme
  • Gauge interests in the identified partners in terms of the proposed research programme
  • Identify more industrial links for collaborations
  • Identify relevant resources and expertise
  • Identify the most relevant EU funding stream
  • Define goals for the proposed research
  • Apply for the EU consortium fund as a next milestone
  • Develop an EU/relevant funding body bid

Monday 2nd July 2012 was scheduled for the BU-Tank Museum EU Conference here at BU. A successful conference was held with key representatives from the following organisations

  • BU
  • The Tank Museum, Bovington, UK
  • Oxford University, UK
  • Military Museum, Munster Panzer Museum, Germany
  • Finnish Tank Museum, Finland
  • Swedish Tank Museum, Sweden
  • Belgian Military Museum
  • Military Museum, Dresden, Germany

It was planned to apply for EU networking/consortium funds to take off the proposal development process. Various actions were identified and linked with the expertise/resources. Following from the discussions it was agreed to define a roadmap for the newly formed consortium in terms of sustainable methodology of conserving historic military vehicles in the museum environments across EU.

The following relevant EU funding strands were identified as potential for targeting.

  • ARTEMIS Call 2012 was investigated to see if it was useful in terms of the research.
  • Strategies and Projects for Research & Innovation, Scientific & Management Partnerships in research and innovation, Open calls for proposals of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development was investigated to identify relevant strand and specific call.
  • COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is one of the longest-running European frameworks supporting cooperation among scientists and researchers across Europe calls from this initiative were investigated.

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) open call has been identified to be targeted for further research collaborative activities.

A proposal is currently being developed to submit an application to this call. A meeting with the Tank Museum Director Richard Smith, Professor Mark Hadfield and Dr Zulfiqar Khan has been scheduled on the 31st of July 2012 to start developing proposal for the above mentioned open call due by the end of September 2012.

This was a significant opportunity in terms of initiating new links across EU museums and key stakeholders. This also provided an influential platform for disseminating and promoting the existing research undertaken in collaboration with The Tank Museum. The newly formed collaborative links with the DSTL (MOD) has already yielded into a DEC-DSTL match funded PhD studentship which is a significant milestone Further links have already been followed to strengthen the newly developed group, which will be important in future funding applications and securing external income.

 

How the BU EUNF has helped me!

EU

Earlier this year I won funds as part of the BU EU Networking Fund, to support me in meeting up with colleagues in Greece to discuss a future research collaboration.  I travelled to Crete to meet Assistant Professor A. Stavropoulou, from the Technological Educational Institute (TEI), who will be a member of the proposed research team. Whilst there I also met with several other members of staff who were very keen to support the research initiative and to explore the additional possibility of Erasmus-funded teacher exchanges.

I then visited Athens in order to meet with Dr. Theodora Strobouki, a potential co-ordinator of the research project . Whilst there, I undertook a busy programme of meetings including a wide variety of key personnel and undergraduate student cohorts in classroom and clinical laboratory settings. Finally, I met key individuals at the Antheus Syggros Hospital in Athens, a potential clinical venue for the research/data collection, as well as many other key individuals.

 

 This networking activity has enabled the formation and strengthening of an initial core team for the Greek branch of the research, by enabling face-to-face meetings with clinical and academic gate-keepers, and by successfully canvassing support from the senior academics in the respective institutions. It also allowed me to identify and expand my skills and insight. We are currently looking in to ARISTEIA funding and to publish a collaborative paper.

 

EUNF – It’s been good to talk!

EU

I have recently returned from the World  Media Economics & Management Conference in Greece – many thanks to the EUNF.

This event is a biennial meeting of the global community of media business scholars who reflect on contemporary issues in the economics and management of media industries and firms. It aims to provide to a platform for academics who research in this area to meet and network. I was particularly interested in developing relationships and collaborative project ideas with a number of academics from EU universities including Jönköping International Business School, Sweden; Tampere University, Finland; the Berlin Media Business School, and the University of Vienna, Austria.

I met with academics from all of these institutions (and others) and discussed how we could collaborate on the opportunities provided by the Creative Europe fund (2014-20) and any other related media funds that they were aware of.  As a result of the EUNF I have established contacts and am now in the process of working up 2 outline projects for the Creative Europe fund. I have also been invited by the University of Vienna to be a Key Note speaker at their European Summer School for media related doctoral research students, and am in the process of assisting an Eramus exchange between BU and the University of Zaragoza.

Many thanks BU EUNF, it’s a great initiative!

Sustainable Design Reseach Centre’s successful EUNF application

EU

It was good to know that our BU EUNF application was a success. At SDRC we have been working on several research projects. One of which is a collaborative research project with the Tank Museum, a match funded PhD. The research is conducted by SDRC PGR Adil Saeed with supervisory team including Dr Zulfiqar Khan, Dr Nigel Garland and Professor Mark Hadfield. This research project has attracted significant interests from academia e.g. Oxford and Cranfield Universities, industrial interests from BAE Systems, AGR Field Operations, DSTL, PMI analytical, PAN analytical, Carl Zeiss and NASA Materials Testing and Control Branch. These industrial partners have been engaged with our current research through in-kind support by providing stat-of-the-art experimental and analytical resources.

The current research is looking into understating the failure mechanisms in Tanks within the museum environment due to aging and corrosion. Our current fundamental research will provide a springboard to develop sustainable models for museum environments and modern large vehicles’ industry to develop sustainable methodology of decelerating or even stop degradation due to aging and develop models of live health monitoring.

In addition to the above SDRC have forged international collaborations which have led to various research and education activities. These include

  • Ashikaga Institute of Technology (Japan)
  • National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, India
  • PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India
  • Wisconsin University Milwaukee (US)
  • Texas A&M University at Galveston (US) and
  • Qinghua University Beijing (PR China) – previously developed RAE UK-China collaboration bid

SDRC has experience in EU biding and has recently submitted an EU Interreg bid by participating in a consortium which include 13 EU partners in renewable named as GReen Energy Channel Cluster, GRECC.

Through the BU EUNF it is anticipated to bring our partners closer to initiate the process of incubating current research and the next steps through securing EU funding. Initial meetings with EU partners and The Tank Museum will be organised to discuss the project ideas, and relevant EU funding stream. BU EUNF will help initiating discussion and the formation of a consortium for future collaborative research activities.

This will provide opportunity of further raising BU profile in proactively engaging with national and international academic and industrial partners, showcasing BU current research project(s), resources and expertise to external partners, hence there is a significant PR opportunity, developing research proposals that are inline with the BU andREFstrategic attribute of societal impact, BU will act as a magnet for the proposed research programme and working closely with regional partners e.g. The Tank Museum.

This is an exciting opportunity to develop EU relationships across disciplines with in collaboration with the Tank Museum in Bovington. Our specialised expertise of understanding contacting surfaces contrasts with issues concerning public historic values from EU museums. If successful in attracting additional external funds it will have potential significant research impact, Professor Mark Hadfield said.

BU strategy of internationalisation and fusion puts international and EU collaboration through research, education and professional practice engagement at the heart of academic activity. It is very important that we proactively seek and capitalise on such opportunities for putting BU on the global map of academic activity, Zulfiqar said.

My EUNF Success

EU

The aim of the specific EU Network Fund is to create a strong link and to provide support for the development of large-scale, complex, inter/multi-disciplinary collaborative research activities leading to external funding between the Sustainable Design Research Centre (SDRC) at Bournemouth University (BU), the Tribological Department of Tekniker inBilbao,Spainand the Democritus University (DU) inGreece. The objective of this network activity is to establish a consortium of appropriate academic and industrial partners in order to develop a research application related with the sustainable development and durability of low friction PTFE composites used for industrial, aeronautical and aerospace applications.

An action plan (funding body choice, application process, role of its party, experimental techniques etc.) which will clearly define the steps and priorities for the completion of a major European research funding application will be developed. The plan will consist of regular meetings during the project period (March-August 2012) with the research team at Tekniker and DU, discussing the current research and industrial issues associated with using PTFE materials and ensuring that ideas, suggestions and innovations will be effectively presented with the application, while methods and strategies will be properly followed by all the parties. Methods require the innovative research concept to be implemented to a robust practical methodology scheme. Additionally Dr. Tzanakis will attend the well-known international conference of Tribology and Design whilst visitingDemocritusUniversityinGreecein order to gain further industrial partners and improve networking.

The Network Fund will massively support this potential collaboration among BU, DU and Tekniker allowing the parties to work efficiently towards the completion of a major European research funding application. The nature of the project is novel, realistic and would be highly applicable within many technological, design and manufacturing domains. BU will be the leader partner for the project application while the international exposure for BU research activities within DEC will be significantly increased.

 

My EUNF Success

EU

I am delighted to know that my application to EUNF is successful. The award will partially support my academic visit to University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France.

As the France’s 4th university, Lyon 1 attains excellence in the fields of higher education and research. The University is committed to more than 80 European Union projects and participates actively in FP7. Apart from academic activities in Computer Science Department, during the visit, I will focus my networking activities in the Laboratory of Informatics and Image System (LIRIS), a well-known research center with members from Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université Lumière Lyon 2, École Centrale de Lyon, etc. Research in LIRIS cover image processing, 3D modelling, animation, mobile application, data mining, information retrieval, etc., which matches my research area.

The main objective of the networking is to target two potential FP7 calls. One is Marie Curie Career Integration Grants. Under LIRIS are there a number of research teams, including Simulation, Analysis and Animation for Augmented Reality (SAAAR), Multiresolution, Discrete and Combinatorial Models, Feature Extraction and Identification, Realistic Rendering for Mobile Augmented Reality, etc. Each team has around 10 PhD students. I will identify and meet a few most promising students for potential Marie Curie fellowship.

The other call interesting to me is FP7-ICT-2011-9, Collaborative Projects – small or medium scale focused research projects (STREPs). Particular project directions I’d like to investigate are mobile augmented reality and its application in game and animation. The research teams above mentioned have a number of professors and associate professors, whom I intend to meet and discuss with them about potential collaborative projects.

Another activity I’d like to get involved is the World Conference of Web 2012 (http://www2012.org) which is going to be held in Lyon. It’s the most selective International Conference of the Web. I would like to take the opportunity to attend the part of the conference during the period of my visit, particularly on the presentation of European projects, expecting more networking with European partners.

EUNF scheme now closed

EU

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that our EUNF pot has now been emptied! Well done to our 6 successful applicants who have been awarded a total of over £11, 000 to help support thei networking activities across Europe aimed at making a grant submission. You can read their accounts over the next couple of weeks on the blog (and a few are on here already) of how they will use funding and what happened after they visited their potential collaborators.

Thanks to all of you who have shown your interest and engagement in developing relationships with your EU partners and well done to our successful applicants.

My EUNF success

EU

My EUNF application relates to one aspect of a program of research that is in the early stages of development. Over the past few years I have been working with a colleague on the development a theoretical framework that describes how people adapt to living with HIV.  Named the ‘Theory of Negotiating Uncertainty’, it is a potentially important clinical assessment theory that promises significant social benefit for people living with a wide variety of chronic conditions (such as HIV, sickle cell disease, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis, congestive cardiac failure, asymptomatic genetic predispositions to a variety of disorders such as breast cancer). Concurrent developments of the theory include multi- and cross-cultural testing and the construction of an assessment tool that can be used to assess how people cope with clinical uncertainty that in turn creates significant threats to wellbeing and quality of life. Psychological and other therapeutic interventions can be initiated for those who are found to be unable to effectively negotiate the uncertainty of their lives, thus ultimately improving wellbeing and quality of life.

Being the recipient of an EU Network Fund award will allow me to explore the possibility of replicating the initial study in a different cultural environment. To this end, I will be meeting with a wide range of potential collaborators and key university and hospital contacts in Crete and Athens, Greece. In May of this year I will travel to meet Dr A Stavropoulou (Assistant Professor, TEI Crete), Dr T Stroubouki (Senior Lecturer, TEI, Athens) and P Papatheodorou (Deputy Head Nurse, Andreas Syggros Hospital, Athens; the clinical base for the project). Meetings with key administrative and support personnel in TEI Athens and Crete will include representatives from the Departments of Public & International Relations, Departments of Research and Development Projects, the Presidents of TEI in Crete and Athens and the Directors of the Departments of Nursing; and finally the Directors of Medicine, Nursing and Research, Syggros Hospital, Athens. Having the opportunity to meet face-to-face will strengthen the research team and collaborative possibilities and facilitate the subsequent research activity by creating trusting working relationships in which decisions can be taken and research conducted with confidence.

This project sits firmly in the Health, Well-being and Ageing ‘BU Research Theme’ and is solidly placed to contribute towards the HSC research sub-themes. There may also be scope to ultimately involve individuals from other schools in BU.

My EUNF success!

EU

I delighted to hear the news that my application to the EU Network Fund was successful. I aim to attend the 2012 Media Economics & Management Conference, Greece in order to network and develop collaborative relationships with academics from EU universities. The conference is a biennial meeting of the global community of media business scholars who reflect on contemporary issues in the economics and management of media industries and firms. It aims to provide to a platform for academics who research in this area to meet and network.

Some of the key themes of the conference relate directly to my area of research (Management in 21st Century Media Companies, Finance and Media Performance, Strategies, Competition and Multiple Business Models).

The conference also has a special session on the Creative and Cultural Industries which is of particular interest to me in my capacity as programme director of the Media School’s Professional Doctorate programme. The EU has just completed a consultation on various issues impacting the cultural and creative industries in Europe.  The responses to the consultation will inform the Commission and help it ensure that EU programmes and policies involving cultural and creative industries are fit for purpose. So there is the potential for EU funded programmes in this area.

I would also like to explore the potential for developing collaborative projects from the MEDIA 2007 programme  (2007-2013) which has a budget of € 755 million.

My success with the BU EU Networking Fund: Network Building at Conferences

EU

I have always championed conferences as a means for both becoming known within the academic community as well as the opportunities they provide to meeting people with similar research interests and building networks of contacts. It was with these goals in mind I put together a bid to the EU Network Fund to attend the 2012 IPSA (International Political Studies Association) Conference in Madrid on Re-ordering Power: Shifting Boundaries. Happily I was successful and so the planning now starts, and it is important to go to a conference with a plan.

I am already highly involved in the Conference. I am Co-convenor and chair of ‘Political participation in the Web 2.0 era’ panel and Co-convenor and Discussant of ‘Political Marketing: empowering voters or electoral organisation’ panel. I am also presenting a paper on online political marketing and the 2011 Polish election within the panel entitled ‘Civic Participation and Public Sphere’, co-authored with Karolina Koc-Michalska.

IPSA is, as the name suggests, a global organisation connecting scholars of political science from every nation. It is thus a fantastic opportunity to meet and present work to a range of peers. Being involved in convening panels presents even further opportunities for networking.  The themes of my panels relate to a number of key questions regarding strategic political communication and voter engagement, in particular how campaigning (during elections or as part of the permanent campaign) and communication by representatives is evolving due to its adaptation for digital media and with what impact. These themes link with work I want to develop for a COST initiative. COST funding streams are designed for building partnerships. The initial stage is to propose an idea under an open call for a network, to be completed by March 30th. If this is successful the idea must then developed and fully costed for the second round, the shortlisted candidates then must present their ideas prior to final acceptance.

The idea for the network is how interactive communication technologies can contribute to democracy. The proposed project is to focus on patterns of influence online, basically how representatives (parliamentarians, lobby group members and media elites) and independent actors and citizens meet online (within social networks, on forums or through use of weblog tools), how they interact and whether influence is unidirectional from elite outwards or multi-directional. The aim is to develop a model of best practice for the use of Web 2.0 tools and platforms for those active in politics who seek to engage with citizens. This initiative is central to new styles of communication emerging in theUSAunder the Obama administration but is also being encouraged by the European Parliament in order to legitimise that legislature as well as by numerous political think tanks. Therefore, there are indications that many official bodies, from legislatures to NGOs, are pushing for greater use of the online environment to reconnect citizens to electoral politics. To be successful this project requires input from a range of scholars from various disciplines including political science, communication studies and ICT development.

The conference will allow, following submission of the initial proposal, to develop ideas, from both theoretical and methodological perspectives, gain firm commitments to collaborate within a network, either one funded through the COSTinitiative or by other means, and apportion tasks required for successful completion of a large bid. Furthermore, the event offers opportunities to meet and set out clear plans for development of the research agenda, identify further potential participants either at the conference or though contacts made there, and co-ordinate future communication. Central to this, particularly while awaiting the outcome of funding bids, will be the creation of an online space to share ideas, literature, calls for papers and general discussion points to maintain communication and so the cohesion and enthusiasm of partners – possibly a Google group of similar space for closed discussion and sharing. That is the plan. I am all set for some network building.

Congratulations to our EUNF successful applicants & a reminder to apply!

EU

Well done to John Oliver (MS), Darren Lilleker (MS) and Hanna Janta (ST) who have all been awarded grants through the EU Networking Fund (EUNF) to help them gain collaborators for EU research projects. The EUNF is still open for applications, but with one-third of our budget for this scheme already gone, if you want to apply you better act fast!

More details on the EUNF can be found on my previous blogpost, along with details of the EU Academic Development Scheme which closes on 23.01.12. More details on both schemes will also be presented at the EU Showcase Event THIS FRIDAY so why not sign up?