Yearly Archives / 2012

Need some funding to forge a relationship with a university, enterprise or organisation in Europe but don’t want to complete a long application form?

EU

If the answer to the above is ‘Yes!’ then have I got good news for you! The Erasmus Preparatory Visit Fund was developed with this in mind and is open for applications right now. The main objective of the funding is to help higher education institutions (HEI) to establish contacts with prospective partner institutions with a view to establishing:

 
*New inter-institutional agreements (not renewals) relating to student and/or staff mobility
*Erasmus Intensive Programmes;
*Erasmus Student placements;
*Erasmus networks;
*Erasmus multilateral projects;
*Erasmus accompanying measures.
 

The preparatory visit grant may be used to visit either one or more prospective partner higher education institutions, enterprise or organisation. You can also use the funding to participate in a partner-finding “contact seminar” organised by a National Agency. 

Usually a grant is awarded to just one person per visit, but in exceptional cases two staff from the same institution can be awarded a grant to undertake a visit together.  Only one visit per potential project will be funded.

The duration must be between 1 and 5 days and all activity must be undertaken by 30.04.13. The deadline for applications is 31.12.12 and all forms are available on the British Council website. You can send any queries relating to Preparatory visits by email.

I am pleased to announce that the Erasmus Staff Mobility scheme will now fall under the Fusion Investment Staff Mobility & Networking strand and this will be launched next week! I will blog more about this when the funding is announced but it is important to note that the Erasmus Staff Mobility scheme focuses on making connections with those institutions with whom you already have some contact with.  If you need to build up relationships with blossoming contacts then please do complete the really short Erasmus Preparatory Visit application form. You will need to enterthe Erasmus ID for BU when making the application, our fantastic RKE Operations EU specialist Paul Lynch will provide you with this when you contact him to say you will be making an application.

Don’t forget that you can also use our fantastic internal peer review process the RPRS and I can also give you access to an expert bid writer if you let me know you are interested in applying before the end of October!

Want to get in to EU funding? Then book your place at our Showcase Event

EU

We all know the importance of getting involved in EU funding as national funds dwindle, greater importance is placed on international collaborations and of BUs strategic focus on internationalisation. This years EU Showcase Event will celebrate our successful EU award holders who will share their tips for engaging in EU funding.

We have presentations on schemes to help you start your EU career (Christos Gatzidis on the Leonardo scheme of the Lifelong Learning Programme and Bogdan Gabrys and Rob Britton on Marie Curie schemes) and schemes for those already engaged (Anthea Innes on applying for an FP7 grant and Adrian Newton on being a Partner in an FP7 consortium). We also have top tips on how to network effectively to become involved in EU funding (from the very experienced Dimitrios Buhalis and Cornelius Ncube). Finally I will be launching 3 very exciting internal EU focused funding competitions at this event to help you engage in EU funding and we have presentations from those who won funding through 2 of these schemes last year.

The informal and informative event will be opened by Matthew Bennett in Kimmeridge House  on 14th November. Plenty of coffee, tea, lunch and cake provided and due to the restriction of room size, registration is essential. This takes only 10 seconds on the Staff Development website.

The event will be finished in plenty of time for you to drive/ catch the uni bus to the Executive Business Centre (EBC) to hear the Inaugural Lecture Dementia: personal journey to policy priority by HSC’s Prof. Anthea Innes.

Research Professional

BU research, Guidance

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. To really make the most of your Research Professional account, you should tailor it further by establishing additional alerts based on your specific area of expertise.

Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to ResearchProfessional. These can be downloaded here.

Quick Start Guide: Explains to users their first steps with the website, from creating an account to searching for content and setting up email alerts, all in the space of a single page.

User Guide: More detailed information covering all the key aspects of using ResearchProfessional.

Administrator Guide: A detailed description of the administrator functionality.

In addition to the above, there are a set of 2-3 minute videos online, designed to take a user through all the key features of ResearchProfessional.  To access the videos, please use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/researchprofessional 

Research Professional are running a series of online training broadcasts aimed at introducing users to the basics of creating and configuring their accounts on ResearchProfessional.  They are holding monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with ResearchProfessional.  The broadcast sessions will run for no more than 60 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions via text chat.  Each session will cover:

  • Self registration and logging in
  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Each session will run between 10.00am and 11.00am (UK) on the fourth Tuesday of each month.  You can register here for your preferred date:

23rd October 2012: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/864991824

27th November 2012: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/326491841

These are free and comprehensive training sessions and so this is a good opportunity to get to grips with how Research Professional can work for you.

Have you been involved with an event designed for the external community?

Guidance, Research assessment

Then we want to hear from you! 🙂

The University is currently compiling the data for the annual Higher Education – Business & Community Interaction survey (HE-BCI) due to be submitted to HESA in early December.

We are asked to submit details of social, cultural and community events designed for the external community (to include both free and chargeable events) which took place between 1 August 2011 and 31 July 2012.

Event types that should be returned include:

  • public lectures
  • performance arts (dance, drama, music, etc)
  • exhibitions
  • museum education
  • events for schools and community groups
  • business breakfasts

We cannot return events such as open days, Student Union activity, commercial conferences, etc.

If you have been involved with an event which could be returned, please could you let your contact (see below) know the event name and date, whether it was free or chargeable, and the estimated number of attendees:

  • if you are in a School – your Director of Operations or Deputy Dean (R&E) / equivalent
  • if you are in a Professional Service – please contact Julie Northam in the Research Development Unit

The data returned is used by HEFCE to allocate the HEIF funding so it is important that we return as accurate a picture as possible.

Abortion a hot topic in UK in the 1960s and 1970s: A sociological analysis of book reviews of the edited volume Experience with Abortion: A case study of North-East Scotland

BU research, Featured

Prof Edwin van TeijlingenLate August Sociological Research Online published my historical analysis of the reviews of the book Experience with Abortion: A case study of North-East Scotland edited by Aberdeen-based academic Gordon Horobin. Experience with Abortion, published in 1973 by Cambridge University Press, was the first study of abortion of its kind to be published in the UK since the introduction of the 1967 Abortion Act. The book’s contributors had been involved in a multi-disciplinary longitudinal study of women’s experience of abortion in Aberdeen in the period 1963-1969.

The paper is content analysis of the book reviews which I found in the late 1980s when I helped clear out Gordon Horobin’s former office in the Department of Sociology (University of Aberdeen).  Amongst the papers to be thrown out were photocopies and cuttings of reviews of  Horobin’s book of the first social medicine study on abortion published since the introduction of the 1967 Abortion Act. I saved the paperwork from recycling. Since then I have searched electronically for further reviews at the time and this resulted in the recently published article.

The paper in Sociological Research Online sets the scene at the time of publication in the early 1970s, and includes abortion as a societal issue, the 1967 Abortion Act and the role of the MRC Medical Sociology Unit in Aberdeen. The reviews were analysed using content analysis. Considering the controversy of abortion at the time, it is interesting that the book reviews were overwhelmingly positive towards both Experience with Abortion and the need for high quality social science research in this field. Several reviews highlighted the importance of having someone like Sir Dugald Baird in Aberdeen and of the Aberdeen-based Medical Research Council’s (MRC) Medical Sociology Unit. Other reviews highlighted Aberdeen’s reputation as a city with a fairly liberal policy towards abortion before the Abortion. One of the chapters in Experience with Abortion reported that between 1938–1947, some 233 women in North-East Scotland had their pregnancies terminated in Aberdeen, less than 25 per year!  Dugald Baird started offering abortions on the NHS in the 1950s. He would offer to terminate the unwanted pregnancies of women with too many children and offer subsequent sterilisation. Today nearly 40 years later, abortion has largely disappeared from the social policy agenda in the UK, although not in many other countries.
Edwin van Teijlingen

References:
Horobin, G. (ed.) (1973) Experience with Abortion; A case study of North-East Scotland, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
van Teijlingen E.R. (2012) A Review of Book Reviews: A Sociological Analysis of Reviews of the Edited Book Experience with Abortion, Sociological Research Online 17 (3) available online: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/17/3/14.html

Energy FP7 free expert help available!

EU

If  you are applying for one of the FP7 Energy calls, then the UK National Contact Points (NCP) for the FP7 Energy Themecan help you!  They are holding proposal clinics (one to one meetings of one hour with a member of their team to discuss your proposal) and proposal review services prior to the deadlines. Bookings are now open for those applying to:

  • the FP7-ENERGY-2013-1 call (the main long-term research call which closes on 28th November 2012); and
  • the FP7-SMARTCITIES-2013 Smart Cities call (which has a deadline is 4th December 2012).

Proposal clinic sessions are available in London on Wednesday 17th October and Manchester on Thursday 18th October.  The Energy NCP will be also be offering a proposal review service between Monday 5th November and the proposal deadlines.  For either service you need to register by emailing the NCPs
All proposals will be treated as confidential.

New publication on EU innovation which may help you shape your EU proposal impact section

EU

Innovation Landscapes explores the approaches to innovation in the UK, Germany and Finland. The document collects, describes, analyses and compares the national innovation schemes and policies of these countries in order to detect similarities, links or divergences between national and European innovation policies, measures and instruments. 

The document will be used to  inform future initiatives at the EU level but is really relevant for any of you developing the impact section of your EU proposals.

#hwbbu – Health and Wellbeing Community Hashtag (and biscuits)

BU research

#hwbbu – Twitter hashtags

As Carol Bond indicated in the comments to the recent blog post about the successful HSC Health and Wellbeing Community Conference the community agreed to select a twitter hashtag in order to collect information from any tweets relevant to the activities of the community.

I was tasked with organising this, being familiar with the concept, and after a wait for the registration to come through I can confirm that the hashtag is #hwbbu (Health and Wellbeing at Bournemouth University). The hashtag is registered with the Healthcare Hashtags Project here. This project maintains a date-searchable archive of the tweets of healthcare relevant hashtags as well as allowing analysis of activity and reach.

We went for a short hashtag because this is good practice with Twitter being limited to only 140 characters for each tweet.

Biscuits – Light is alright

As you’ll see from the rather fetching picture from the conference post, I took part in the biscuit taste test organised by Dr Heather Hartwell who was talking to us about the concept of ‘Health by Stealth’. We tried two Rich Tea biscuits from the same company and, despite what the picture shows, most people preferred biscuit A. This was actually the ‘Light’ version! Less fat, less calories, slightly more sugar needed to bond it but crunchier (less claggy) and the same price. The problem is we tend to think of ‘healthy’ versions as not being as tasty. I did manage to guess by sight which was the healthiest so was therefore surprised to prefer its taste. As someone who likes a sweet snack I think it’s definitely worth trying out lighter versions in future.

 

Book now for the Lifelong Health & Wellbeing Sandpit

BU research

Feedback from BU staff who have participated in academic sandpits is always positive: “Sandpits stimulate creative thinking and encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone. They are an opportunity to learn from others whose approaches to research may be different from your own” – Prof. Adele Ladkin, School of Tourism, EPSRC Sandpit Participant

Sandpits provide an intensive, interactive and free-thinking environment. A group of participants from a range of disciplines and backgrounds use this space to get together to become immersed in a collaborative thinking processes in order to construct innovative approaches to issues or questions.

As sandpits involve diverse participants, they force catalysation, collision and collaboration. This produces unique and innovative outputs and fosters new partnerships.

We are facilitating with expert bid writer Dr Martin Pickard of GrantCraft, three 1-day sandpits at BU which focus around relevant Research Council UK cross-thematic areas. The first is  Lifelong Health & Wellbeing Sandpit which is being held on 24.10.12

Attending this sandpit will:

  • facilitate you networking with other researchers across BU who you wouldn’t normally come in to contact with
  • allow you to get a fresh perspective from a different discipline on the same issue
  • enable you to be part of a multidisciplinary team who potentially bids for Research Council funding
  • give you a truly unique experience

Spaces are limited for each of the sandpits and you can register for a place on the Staff Development website.

Register Now – CI KTN Events for £600K TSB Convergence Funding in October 2012

Funding opportunities

 

£600K Funding Available for Cross-Media Content projects

Register your place at a Creative Industries KTN event near you to find out more about the Challenge 3 stage of the £1.8M Technology Strategy Board convergence funding competition available for cross-platform content projects.

The Convergence in a Digital Landscape challenge 3 competition seeks projects that investigate the potential of Cross-Platform analytical metrics and feedback tools to help content producers better understand the consumption of their products in a converged landscape.

Why Attend?

  • Find out about the Technology Strategy Board’s convergence funding competition & how to apply
  • Take part in a debate with leading industry figures on the value of understanding audience behaviour
  • Hear about the experience of a successful Technology Strategy Board applicant
  • Network with potential partners and collaborators

Event Times: 10:30 – 13:30

Liverpool: Mon, 15 October 2012 – http://creativeindustriesktn.org/beacons/events/view/434720

Belfast: Tues, 16 October 2012 – http://creativeindustriesktn.org/beacons/events/view/434721

London: Tues, 23 October 2012 – http://creativeindustriesktn.org/beacons/events/view/434719

Register Now and more details to follow!

Miguel Moital shares his experiences of visiting conferences in Brazil

BU research, Featured academics

I recently returned from Brazil, where I spoke at two tourism conferences in São Paulo. Attendance of these two conferences follows from the work I have been carrying out about the barriers to publishing in English Language Tourism Journals (ELTJ) by Brazilian tourism academics. At present, only around 30 articles have been published in ELTJ by academics affiliated to Brazilian institutions. In order to understand the reasons behind this rather low level of publication, in April I interviewed 17 academics from 5 different universities.

The first conference was the IX ANPTUR – The annual conference of the Brazilian Association of Tourism Research and Post-graduation (Anhembi Morumbi University, 30-31 August). This is the third time I have attended the ANPTUR conference, having been a keynote speaker both in 2008 and 2010. My active participation in this year’s conferences involved running a 2h30m workshop on the differences between publishing in a Brazilian and English language tourism journals. There are many differences both in terms of the research process on which the publication is based, and how the research is communicated. However, in my interviews with Brazilian academics it became clear that the overwhelming majority were not aware of such differences. This is not surprising because virtually none had gone through the process of submitting a paper to these journals.

The second conference was the V CLAIT – Latin American Tourism Research Conference (São Paulo University, 3-5 September). The main involvement in this conference was through presenting the results of a review of the 28 publications in tourism ELJ by Brazilian academics. Some conclusions from the review include:

  • The number of tourism publications by academics affiliated to Brazilian institutions is remarkably low, which leads to a lack of international visibility. However, those that exist tend to be of a good standard (as given by the ABS rating);
  • The first author tends to be Brazilian and the majority of papers did not involve foreign academics. However, publication in English language journals is still somewhat dependent on collaboration with foreign academics or Brazilian academics who have studied in the UK/USA, notably when it comes to publishing in the top journals (3/4-rated);
  • Articles tend to use primary data collection, however the methods section of those who claim to have collected primary data is not always very detailed (specially when interviews and/or content analysis are used).
  • From the three areas of tourism, hospitality and events, past research has focused mainly on tourism, and to a less extent on the hospitality sector. Only one article on events was published.
  • Studies tend to be biased towards studying the relationship between the public sector and tourism, often from a sustainability/ecology/environment point of view, at the expense of the private sector/business side of the industry.

I was also invited to chair one of the sessions on Tourism & Marketing. On the 6th of September there was a TEFI (Tourism Futures Education Initiative) meeting, which I also attended.

Dr. Dinusha Mendis presents papers on digital copyright, parody and 3D Printing

BU research, Featured academics

Dr. Dinusha Mendis, Senior Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property and Policy and Management http://www.cippm.org.uk/ of the Business School presented papers on digital copyright and parody at the 103rd Annual Society of Legal Scholars Conference at the University of Bristol which was held from 11-14 September 2012.  Dr. Mendis presented a third paper on the Intellectual Property Implications of 3D Printing at the VII Gikii Conference, at UEA London Campus, London which was held on 17-18 September 2012.

The papers are a reflection of the recent research carried out by Dr. Mendis into online infringement of copyright, with particular focus on the Digital Economy Act 2010, which advocates a ‘three-strikes-and-you’re-out’ policy.  A paper on this topic has been authored by Dr. Mendis and submitted to an international peer-reviewed journal for publication.  The paper on parody is based on research commissioned by the Intellectual Property Office and carried out by Dr. Kris Erickson (of CEMP, Media School), Dr. Dinusha Mendis and Professor Martin Kretschmer of CIPPM.  The paper presented at the SLS conference by Dr. Mendis considered parody exceptions in various countries in implementing a suitable parody exception in the UK as recommended in the Hargreaves Review http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipreview.htm Various reports on the research by Dr. Erickson, Dr. Mendis and Professor Kretschmer will be published by the Intellectual Property Office in the near future.

The paper on the intellectual property (IP) implications of 3D Printing drew much interest at the Gikii Conference, London. Being at the cutting-edge of law and technology, Dinusha’s presentation was amongst the first to consider the IP implications of 3D printing.  A paper on this topic has been authored by Dr. Mendis and has been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.

PGR Development Framework Programme – October Workshops

PG research, Training

Introducing the new 2012/2013 PGR Development Framework Programme.  Bookings are now open for October workshops

Time Management
Outline: This workshop will identify major drains on your time or energies and explore different tools to structure your use of time and resources

  • Date: Tuesday 16 October 2012
  • Time: 09:30 – 12:30
  • Room: S219, Studland House – Lansdowne Campus
  • Facilitator: Dr Margaret Collins (External)
  • Booking: GSbookings@bournemouth.ac.uk

There are limited places available for this workshop, so book early to avoid disappointment!

Time Management
Outline: This workshop will identify major drains on your time or energies and explore different tools to structure your use of time and resources

  • Date: Tuesday 16 October 2012
  • Time: 13:30 – 16:30
  • Room: S219, Studland House – Lansdowne Campus
  • Facilitator: Dr Margaret Collins (External)
  • Booking: GSbookings@bournemouth.ac.uk
  • There are limited places available for this workshop, so book early to avoid disappointment!

Managing your Research Project
Outline: This workshop will examine the nature of project management, identifying goals, millstones and assessing risks.  Consideration will also be given on how to organise time and resources to best achieve the project goals.

  • Date: Wednesday 17 October 2012
  • Time: 09:30 – 16:30
  • Room: PG22, Poole House – Talbot Campus
  • Facilitator: Dr Margaret Collins (External)
  • Booking: GSbookings@bournemouth.ac.uk

This workshop is now FULL.  On booking your name will be added to a reserve list for notification should a place become available

Preparing for your First Review
Outline: The aim of the workshop is to familiarise students with the purpose and role of their first review with insights from a current PGR and School Research Administrator

  • Date: Wednesday 24 October 2012
  • Time: 14:00 – 16:00
  • Room: PG22, Poole House – Talbot Campus
  • Facilitators: Dr Fiona Knight, Karen Ward (RA) and James Hawkins (PGR)
  • Booking: GSbookings@bournemouth.ac.uk

Public Engagement
Outline: The workshop will look at What Public Engagement is; Why does it matter?; How to do it; Engagement in practice; Internal support for creating a supportive environment for engagement.

  • Date: Wednesday 31 October 2012
  • Time: 09:30 – 11:30
  • Room: PG22, Poole House – Talbot Campus
  • Facilitator: Dr Rebecca Edwards
  • Booking: GSbookings@bournemouth.ac.uk

Managing working Relationships (Students and Supervisors)
Outline: This workshop aims to provide you with a clear understanding of the working relationship between student and supervisor, roles and responsibilities as well as expectations from both sides

  • Date: Wednesday 31 October 2012
  • Time: 14:00 – 16:00
  • Room: PG22, Poole House – Talbot Campus
  • Facilitator: Dr Heather Hartwell
  • Booking: GSbookings@bournemouth.ac.uk

Details will be published on the BU Research Blog, so subscribe today to keep in touch with current events to avoid the disappointment of missing out!

BU Studentships Competition 2013 – Project Proposal Writing Workshop

BU research, Funding opportunities, PG research, Research news

The 2013 BU Studentships internal competition is open with opportunities for up to 50 matched funded PhD projects.

To support academics in seeking matched funding and in preparation of their project proposals, the Graduate School will be following up on the two workshops run over the summer with a further two one day project proposal writing workshops delivered by John Wakeford, Director of the Missenden Centre

There will be two workshops to help supervisors to develop and strengthen their project proposal applications to the internal competition on:

 

  •  Tuesday 23 October (9:15am – 16:30pm, in Studland House – S217 + S219)
  • Friday 2 November (9:15am – 16:30pm, in Tolpuddle Annexe – TAG20)

 It is an excellent chance to glean some expert advice from John on bid writing in general as well as honing your application for the 2013 Studentships Competition. Participants will be expected to submit a draft proposal to the Graduate School one week in advance of the workshops in order to get bespoke feedback as part of the workshop.

 A provisional programme for both days will be as follows: 

9:15 Coffee and Registration
9:30 Institutional context – information on the studentships and the support of the Graduate School. Questions. Prof Tiantian Zhang – new Head of Graduate SchoolDr Fiona Knight – Graduate School Manager
10:00 Agenda sharing (participant introductions and identifying concerns and priorities to be covered).
10:30 Introduction – National policy and recent developments. Questions and discussion.
10:45 Coffee break
11:00 Reviewing good research bid.  Teams act as reviewers and prepare outline of comments.  Plenary feedback from John Wakeford and teams.
12.00 What to do before applying.
12:30 Lunch. (Groups discuss bidding narrative)
13:15 Plenary discussion of points arising from narrative.
13:30 Advising colleagues on draft applications.  Teams act as critical colleagues and prepare advice on drafts direct at different agencies.  Plenary feedback.     Questions and discussion.
14:30 Coffee break
14:45 Writing a good application.
15:30 Reflecting after having an application turned down.
16:00 Action planning: individual participants draw up plans for progressing own research.  Participants make suggestions to the university to help those bidding for funds.
16:25 Evaluation
16:30 Close

 Similar sessions have been very well attended previously and spaces are limited. To book a place on either session, please email the Graduate School: graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Launching the 2013 PhD Studentship Competition!

BU research, PG research, Research news

We are delighted to announce the launch of the 2013 BU PhD Studentship Competition for projects starting in October 2013, as part of the Fusion Investment Fund.

There will be 50 studentships available across two parallel strands:

(1)   Matched Funded projects

(2)   Fully Funded.

All proposals should match clearly to one of the eight BU Research Themes

Strand 1 – Matched Funded Studentships

  • A total of 45 matched funded studentships are available.
  • Matched-funding – 50% of the studentship costs which is equivalent to £24k (stipend of £7.5K pa plus research costs of £3k) over three years- may come from:
    • Industry/business partners,
    • Government and non-government organisations,
    • Other academic institutions
    • NHS,
    • Research Councils, or
    • Other external bodies. 
  • Priority may be given to applications that involve supervisors from two or more Schools and/or those from early career researchers.
  • Applicants are encouraged to discuss potential applications to this funding strand with Deputy Dean for Research or equivalent within their School.

Strand 2 – Fully-Funded Studentships

  • A total of 5 fully funded studentships are available.
  • These are exceptional awards for highly original, timely and non-applied or “blue-sky” research projects where there is no potential for match funding.  Priority will be given to those areas where there is a clear strategic driver for a particular REF Unit of Assessment and/or the applicant can demonstrate an immense societal impact.
  • Applicants are encouraged to discuss potential applications to this funding strand with Professor Matthew Bennett or Professor Tiantian Zhang in advance.

The studentships will be awarded to supervisory teams on the basis of a competitive process across the whole of BU led by Professor Matthew Bennett (PVC) and managed by the Graduate School.  Applications will be reviewed internally and assessed with awards made by a cross University Panel consisting of the academic members of UET and members of the BU Professoriate. In selecting proposals for funding emphasis will be placed on the excellence of the research and quality of proposal.  Strategic fit with one of the relevant UoA and potential for societal impact are key criteria.

Only the best projects in each strand will be funded and proceed to advert.  Full details and criteria are set out in the policy document BU Studentship Competition 2013 Policy 

Staff are asked to check the eligibility criteria carefully before applying.

To help applicants with their proposals John Wakeford, from the Missenden Centre will be running project proposals writing workshops on Tuesday 23 October and Friday 2 November 2012. Full details can be found here.

Applications on the Studentship Proposal form which can be downloaded here: Studentship Project Proposal 2013 should be submitted to the Dr Fiona Knight (Graduate School Academic Manager) via email to PhDStudentshipCompetition@bournemouth.ac.uk  no later than 5pm on 10 December 2012, who will circulate the proposals to two reviewers for evaluation and subsequently to the judging panel for decision making in early January 2013.

All general enquiries can be addressed to Dr Fiona Knight (Graduate School Academic Manager) via email to PhDStudentshipCompetition@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Terraces, sandcastles and footprints: ten years at BU

News from the PVC

Ten years ago almost to the day I arrived at BU as a Professor in Environmental & Geographical Sciences and was installed in one of the rabbit-hutch offices in Dorset House.  Great office one of the best I ever had and it will forever be linked in my mind with the Formula for the Perfect Sandcastle, the Luck Equation and the growth of Landscan Investigations which was the contaminated land consultancy I used to run out of what was, in those days, Conservation Sciences.  My first year at BU is filled with memories of having to teach a course on Meteorology & Climate Change, something I had not done before; the trauma of buying and selling a house and moving my family to Bournemouth; the birth of my youngest son; and field work that summer in Iceland, Canada and Mexico.  So, while in a reflective mood and given the big changes to the Talbot Campus this summer, what are the big difference at BU ten years on?

When I first started just after RAE-2001 my task was to drive research development, in fact my job description at the time said I had to get the Environmental & Geographical Group to the equivalent of a Grade 4 Department by the next RAE.  For those that don’t remember the old RAE currency, this was a big ask at the time but was achieved with the unit being the most improved within BU in RAE-2008.  The campus was very much as it is now except that there was an empty space where Kimmeridge House is today, the new wing of Christchurch House had yet to be built, but otherwise it was very similar in feel and character as it is today.  Perhaps that is why the summer works seem so transformational?  I played a small role in shaping the campus early on by rescuing the Russell-Cotes Geological Terrace from a heap in a council yard and bringing it to campus to form the centre piece of the front entrance.  I remain very proud of what was achieved here and still think the vision of the original museum curator to create the display in the first place and the decision by the University to support my desire to rescue it, was a fantastic commitment to our rich geological heritage.

In my time I have experience three Vice Chancellors, being appointed originally by Gillian Slater.  I enjoyed the Paul Curran era since I understood, respected and appreciated his drive to make BU a more research active institution.  Those were the days of the Releasing Research and Enterprise Potential which I remember fondly and at its height touched over 50% of staff here at BU.  Since then I have contributed to the birth of Fusion, an elegant concept which epitomises for me much of what a modern university should be about; the creation of new knowledge, its application within society through practice combining to educate the next generation of innovators and decision-makers.  Ten years on there are still challenges to face and work to be done as we continue to transform BU together; an institution and more importantly a body of staff who I am still very proud to be part of.

Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) tackles dementia in Dorset!

BU research

Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) tackles dementia in Dorset, the region with the lowest rate of diagnosis of dementia in the UK.  International research excellence underpins our mission to provide high quality service evaluation, bespoke consultancy and education locally, nationally and globally.

On the 16 May 2012 Bournemouth University launched the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute, (www.bournemouth.ac.uk/dementia-institute) otherwise known as BUD. The launch took the form of a  public meeting on dementia attended by older people, carers, clinicians, care workers and professionals and students. As well as presentations by Professor Anthea Innes, BUDI Director, and Michele Board, Senior Lecturer in Older People Nursing and a core member of BUDI,  Karen Cosgrove from the Alzheimer Society and Steve Collins from AgeUK made up an event panel taking questions from the floor.

The idea for the Institute came about when Anthea Innes took up post at BU in December 2011 based on local interest and demand for dementia education, research, service evaluation and consultancy. Dorset has the lowest rate of diagnosis of dementia in the UK, and despite examples of local innovation in Dorset across the voluntary, statutory and private sectors there is much to be done to improve the care and support offered to people with dementia and their families, starting with ensuring people are given an accurate and timely diagnosis but also that they are signposted to support throughout their journey with dementia, up to end of life care. Bournemouth University have responded to this challenge by funding the creation of the Institute and dementia is now an emerging priority at the University.

Service evaluation, consultancy, research and education and training are all offered by BUDI. Our aim is to work with local stakeholders and to conduct work locally, nationally and internationally to drive forward our vision of a society that is dementia friendly and supportive of all those affected by dementia.

To take forward our pledge of working with local stakeholders  a carers forum, was held on the 10 September.  Carers have evaluated this positively welcoming the opportunity to share their experiences, as well as their views on the dementia priorities that BUDI should consider in taking forward our work in the Dorset region. Running in parallel to the carers forum was a session for people with dementia who participated in a range of activities (IPads and Nintendo DS being the favourites); this also provided the opportunity for the BUDI team to hear and learn about the experiences of living with dementia from local people.

Ongoing work includes two projects commissioned by Bournemouth Council, the first is a programme named the ‘Cupcake Club’ offered over the summer months to people with dementia living at home or in Extra Care Housing. This programme seeks to promote mental, social and physical activity for those with dementia who can have limited support over the summer months when services traditionally take a break. The second Bournemouth Council project is focusing on technology for people with dementia, again available to people living at home or in Extra Care Housing this programme offers people with dementia the opportunity to engage with a range of technologies such as the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and the Apple IPad in a supportive environment designed to promote a sense of fun and play amongst group members.

A cross-school project is a collaboration with colleagues in the Schools of Health and Social care and Tourism where the team are exploring the views of people with dementia on their experiences of tourism and leisure attractions locally, nationally and internationally while finding out from Dorset based Tourism providers what they are doing or would like to do to promote Dementia Friendly Tourism.

39 staff from across BU have signed up to an interest in dementia; this creates an exciting opportunity for a truly inter-disciplinary way of working that goes beyond the core medical, health and social science disciplines who have been attracted to the dementia field.  Watch this space!