Yearly Archives / 2013

Success of FIF application within SMN strand

Fusion

Developing an International Face of Fusion

Following the success of  FIF SMN application two mutual visits were made. Professor Ramesh visited BU during Nov-Dec 2012 for 5 weeks. This was followed by a week visit by Dr Zulfiqar Khan during Feb 2013 to PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India. This activity resulted in significant achievements over all areas of FUSION in research, education and professional practice. Both Prof. C S Ramesh and Dr Zulfiqar Khan participated in teaching activities at BU and PES IT Bangalore respectively.

Education

Participation in education has resulted in enhanced students’ experience at level C and H. Level H students have produced journal publications, a major achievement of this activity and has provided example of engaging UG students in research activities through research informed education. Students’ engagement with research has enhanced their experience at BU, awareness of the international activities and advancement in nano-technology and nano materials. Publications by UG students will play a very significant role in the promotion of BU and raising its academic profile at international stage as leader in FUSION.

Research/Professional Practice

This programme provided opportunity of developing research proposals and bidding for external funding in collaboration with external academic and industrial partners.

One research proposals was developed in collaboration with academic partners as PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India, Visvesvaraya Technological University and industrial partners National Aerospace Laboratories India, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd India, Gas Turbine Research Establishment India and Ingersoll Rand India to target EPSRC-DST initiative. Through the development and submission of research proposal for the EPSRC-DST (BU/PESIT India) application significant industrial links have been initiated and will be further strengthened in near future, through the formation of an International Consortium in Renewable Energy & Renewable Technology (RERT).

A second research proposal was developed with PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India to target World Bank initiative  in Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP).

A joint research proposal to Erasmus Mundus JASMINE Techno III has been submitted as part of the fusion activity and has provided opportunity to increase and further strengthen collaborative links with cross-channel (France), EU & Indian partners.

In addition the proposed programme within FIF SMN resulted in publications of three journal papers of which two were published with the final year Design Engineering students. Four conference papers were submitted/ published of which 1 conference paper was submitted with UG final year Design Engineering student and PGR.

Further Plans

It is aimed to form an international consortium and strengthen exiting partnerships around the world including key academic partners such as PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India, Visvesvaraya Technological University, India, GIK Institute of Technology, Pakistan and Wisconsin-University Milwaukee, US.

This partnership will pave way for exploring future opportunities of tapping into external funds e.g. National Science Foundation (NSF), The World Bank, EPSRC-DST (Department of Science and Technology India), developing and submitting joint research proposals, developing case studies for UG and PGT taught provisions and staff/students exchanges.

Fusion in Action Conference

During the Fusion in Action Conference on Thursday April 18, 2013 the highlights of the programme in terms of activities in research, education and professional practice and successes to date were presented, which has been uploaded Fusion in Action 180413.

Finally I would like to thank BU for providing such a fantastic opportunity within FIF and the School for their continued support during the programme.

Dr Zulfiqar Khan

Director Sustainable Design Research Centre

DEC

‘The fatter forgetter’, the relationship between appetite and cognition.

Fusion

May 24th  11.30 – 12.30. Room R302, Royal London House.

You are invited to an interesting seminar looking at the relationship between appetite and cognition, delivered by Dr John Rye from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. I met John when vising Canada in November following a successful fusion bid, and I am delighted he was keen to deliver such an interesting seminar here at Bournemouth University.

Dr John Rye is currently an associate clinical lecturer in the department of Rural Family Medicine, at the Universisity of Saskatchewan, Canada, He also provides GP coverage for Nipawin , Blaine  Lake and Big River as well as looking after long term care residents in Prince Albert and is part of the rural dementia group. He was formerly in family practice in Prince Albert. He has been part of the palliative care team in Prince Albert since its start in 1991, and shared on it at IHI in Nashville. He is currently on the board of the Rose Garden Hospice, a project for residential terminal care. He went to Canada from England in 1984 with his wife Christine who is a certified palliative care nurse and president of the PAParkland Hospice Palliative Care Association.

If you are interested in attending please let Michele Board, Associate Director BUDI, know to book yourself a place. mboard@bournemouth.ac.uk

State of Yawning – Santander Travel Scholarship awarded to Dr Simon Thompson

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured academics, Fusion

Studying yawning has the potentially benefit of identifying underlying neurological disorders. Strong evidence of a link between yawning and fatigue, and with multiple sclerosis, is known. Mechanisms involved in excessive yawning are not understood and my work has shown a definitive link between yawning and cortisol levels in normal people. However, since people with multiple sclerosis often yawn excessively, it is important to establish whether or not their cortisol levels rise as with normal people since prolonged rises in cortisol levels indicate stress and may also indicate adverse neurological symptomatology. My work has generated a new hypothesis to explain the occurrence of excessive yawning and is complementary to Dr Gallup’s theories on thermoregulation in multiple sclerosis, which is pioneering. I am meeting Dr Gallup (Princeton University) in New York to discuss further studies in order to stay ahead of research progress. This is an excellent opportunity for kudos for Bournemouth University in being the first to carry out such research.

BUDI Lunch time seminar – Rural Dementia Care

Uncategorized

Dorothy Forbes, Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta will be visiting BUDI on 25 April. Please join us for this lunch time seminiar at 12 noon until 1pm in CG13, Christchurch House, Talbot Campus.

Email mobrien@bournemouth.ac.uk if you wish to attend and feel free to bring your lunch.

Abstract

Key Messages from our Canadian Rural Dementia Care Research
The presentation will highlight our key findings from several dementia care qualitative and quantitative studies all conducted in Canadian rural settings. The presentation is structured on the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework and will highlight the context, knowledge, and evidence needed and used, and how knowledge exchange is facilitated. How we initially assessed the Canadian rural home care context relative to dementia care will be described. This will be followed by an examination of the experience of living with dementia throughout the dementia care journey from the perspectives of persons with dementia, their family caregivers, and community-based health care providers. The knowledge needed and used by each of these groups, and the facilitators and barriers to knowledge exchange will be revealed. The impact of social support deficiency on use of home care services and an exploration of social engagement/social inclusion with this population will also be described. Lastly, facilitators that promote quality dementia care and quality of life for persons with dementia and their care partners will be described.

Bridging the Gap: Addressing new-graduate employability within the archaeological profession

Fusion, Post-award

The ‘Bridging the Gap’ project was funded by the Staff Mobility and Networking Stream. We were aware that the archaeology profession had concerns over skills gaps, and before attempting to bridge that gap we wanted to find out more…

‘Bridging the Gap’ has been a highly successful networking and information gathering exercise, which will inform and drive actions to better prepare students for careers within archaeology, to better meet the needs of the profession and to enhance both subject-specific employability and transferable skills.
‘For me the most positive aspect of the day was the HE sector engaging with the commercial sector… I was also cheered in that there seems to be an interest, willingness even, for the two sectors to interact more fully in the future’ Gary Brown, Managing Director Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd. FAME Representative (Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers).
Links with professional practitioners, employers and BU have been strengthened and renewed through the Archaeological Professional Practice Forum and targeted visits. The response to this event from the archaeological profession has been extremely positive, and will facilitate improved participation of employers within the curriculum, at BU career events and as placement and volunteer hosts.
‘Get as much practical experience as possible. All experience is good experience!’ Angus Forshaw, Community Archaeologist, Wessex Archaeology.
First hand advice directly for students on improving employability has been collected from archaeology and heritage industry professionals.
‘I found it useful to hear that students who have made the most of their university experience by spending extra time volunteering, are far more likely to find work within their field after graduation. I believe that it is very important for students to fully understand this, and also the wide variety of opportunities for volunteering available to them.’ Amy LoGalbo, Level I Archaeology student.
Student participation in this project has been highly informative of student experience, attitudes and activities relevant to enhancing employability and career development within the archaeological profession. The individual students directly involved with the project clearly benefitted from experience of hearing from employers first hand and valued the opportunity to engage in debate and to feedback into actions.
‘I can think of no better development than a triad of student, university & employer working towards students exiting with a focus/direction and improved and evidential set of skills’. John Gale, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, BU.
There has been positive engagement by academic and support staff, external practitioners and the students themselves. The information gathered has enabled the development of an evidence-based action plan that identifies areas and mechanisms for improving extra-curricular engagement and ‘industry readiness’ of archaeology graduates.

Business School Arrivals

BU research, Research news, Uncategorized

The Business School has seen the arrival of its new Deputy Dean of Research, Andy Mullineux (formerly University of Birmingham) as Professor of Financial Economics. Additional to his wisdom he comes with an AHRC Research Award worth £687K. End of April he will be chairing a session and give a paper at the International Conference on the Global Financial Crisis in Southampton. At the same time the new Head of Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics, Jens Hölscher (formerly University of Brighton), came to Bournemouth as Professor of Economics. He can draw on research funds won under the EU’s Jean Monnet programme and will chair a session and give a paper at a conference on The Pacific Rim Economies in Seoul, South Korea, at the end of April. Both of them have high aspirations to boost the research culture within the school.

Gender and the Horizon 2020 agenda

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion

Well, not only did I not get my pocket ‘picked’, but I also did not fall drunk from a balcony (an activity known as ‘balconing’ apparently) – despite the risk assessment warnings to the contrary.  These were the main dangers against which I had to sign a disclaimer for on my recent Fusion funded (SMN) trip to Barcelona.  Once there (and how nice to actually see the sun!) I actually spent most of the daytime meeting people and learning stuff – at the European Conference on Politics and Gender.

There were two major issues and outcomes of this trip for me. The first was information about gender becoming an integrated part of the Horizon 2020 research agenda.  Work being done under the COST programme is promoting the agenda that all research bids submitted under the Horizon 2020 umbrella have a gendered dimension; that research must consider the impacts on women as well as men. (This has also recently been noted in the THES). This is important and significant progress for both scientific innovations and more broadly, for anyone who has a sense of social justice!

The second aspect and outcome for me, was to the opportunity to meet potential contributors for a forthcoming issue of European Political Science that I am co-editing. The symposium concerns the status of women in political science, who, like other disciplines in the UK, are highly under-represented at senior levels.  For example, despite over 50% of undergraduate students being female, recent stats by  HESA show that women represent only 20.5% of the professoriate. These statistics suggest that we really need to be asking – what is going on? How does such a disparity exist?  I have already done some qualitative research around this area – (for a popular summary see women universities and zombies).  The main focus of our co-edited journal symposium however, is the status of women in political science across Europe. Contributions will come from Scandinavia,  Italy, Germany and Spain, as well as the UK. Our aim is to first map where women are in the discipline, to consider cultural differences and similarities, and to discuss what we can do to increase equality of representation between men and women across all levels of political science (with lessons for academia more widely and beyond).  If you are interested in this work either directly, or in terms of the broader issues it raises, please do contact me on hsavigny@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

 

 

 

Open call for NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellows and NERC Policy Placement Fellows

BU research, Research news

 

NERC are seeking to award a number of part-time Knowledge Exchange Fellows (KE Fellows) and Policy Placement Fellows, whose objective will be to increase the impact of NERC-funded science through a programme of work of their own choosing.

The KE Fellowships are intended to enable the sharing and flow of knowledge and expertise between the NERC funded researchers and their user communities.  The KE Fellows can be a focus for a school /department KE activity arising from NERC funded research. It is understood that in some cases a mix of funding will lead to an opportunity to generate impact but it is essential that NERC funding has played a key role. 

Focus of the Fellowships

The applications should focus on accelerating and amplifying economic impact and improvements in the quality of life from NERC-funded research through working with business, NGOs or government bodies. This could include:

  • strengthening existing partnerships
  • developing new relationships
  • researching new market opportunities
  • providing case studies of knowledge exchange from NERC-funded research
  • providing briefings and reports suitable for policymakers

 

Details of the two types of fellowship are:

       1. Knowledge Exchange Fellowships (KE Fellowships)

 

  • Up to four fellowships are available for those who submit a work plan of their own choosing to generate impact from NERC-funded research in their host institution.
  • KE Fellowships will cover the KE Fellow’s salary including superannuation, NI and specific allowances, plus up to £40k for travel and other associated work plan costs.
  • KE Fellowships are based in the institution where they are employed, and open to researchers at any stage of their career.
  • KE Fellows can last for a minimum of one year to a maximum of three years. Candidates can apply to spend between 20% and 80% of their time on the fellowship.
  • KE Fellows have to be employed by the host institution for the duration of their fellowship.

 

       2. Policy Placement Fellowships

 

  • Must be organised in collaboration with a policy-making body, for example a government department, devolved administration or agency. The placement is for a fixed term, for a specific project.
  • Placement is jointly funded by NERC and the partner organisation on a 50:50 basis.
  • Minimum length of placement will be six months and the maximum three years.
  • Placement fellows will be expected to spend at least 50% of their fellowship in the partner organisation’s offices, although some work might require time to be spent at other locations in the UK or abroad.

 

Closing date for applications: 10 June 2013

Interview dates: 16-18 July 2013

 

For further information on how to apply please visit the NERC website

Alternatively, if you have any queries please contact keschemes@nerc.ac.uk, 

or call Lynne Porter on 01793 411791.

 

 

 

Fusion in Action Conference – Last chance to book

Fusion

 

Where: Kimmeridge House 

When : Thursday 18 April, 12pm – 5.30pm

What:

Fusion is at the heart of BU and over the last 12 months a range of funds and activities have been undertaken to help drive Fusion through our university.

The Fusion in Action half day conference on April 18 showcases the best examples of Fusion in Action from around the university.

The schedule of the day can be seen below but is subject to changes:

 

Time Presenter/s Detail
12:00pm n/a Arrival, networking and lunch with the opportunity to look at the posters and exhibitions
12:45pm UET Introduction from Tim McIntyre-Bhatty on Fusion and the benefits of BU’s investment in Fusion during 2012-13
1:00pm BUDI Presentation from Anthea Innes about the BU Dementia Institute and activities undertaken during 2012-13 in support of Fusion
1:25pm BU academic Presentation from Genoveva Esteban on her funding from the Fusion Investment Fund
1:50pm UG student Presentation from Alexander Hall who has benefited from the Global Horizons Fund
2:15pm PGR student Presentation from a PG researcher Marketa Zezulkova who has benefited from the PGR Development Fund
2:40pm n/a Afternoon break with the opportunity to look at the posters and exhibitions
3:10pm Student, supervisor and external sponsor Presentation from Sheetal Sharma on her match funded studentships (presenters to include the student, supervisor and external sponsor)
3:40pm BU academic Presentation from Zulfiqar Khan who has led one of the international projects funded by the FIF
4:05pm UET Panel Q&A session with representatives from all presentations to be chaired by Matthew BennettThis should open with a brief discussion of the key points raised from each of the previous presentations with an emphasis on linking to future funding ideas, followed by Q&A from the audience
4:40pm UET Closing presentation by Tim McIntyre-Bhatty to sum up key messages and promote forthcoming Fusion opportunities
5:00pm n/a Wine and nibbles with a final opportunity to look at the posters and exhibitions
5:30pm n/a Event close

 

There will also be posters showcasing various Fusion projects for you to view during the conference and Fusion Investment Surgery drop in sessions where you can discuss a potential application with a member of the Panel.

This is a great opportunity to find out how Fusion is in action throughout BU and also learn more as to how you can get involved and secure funding.

Bookings are essential and can be done via the Staff Development Webpage.

 

 

BU REF2014 – Staff Circumstances Disclosure

Uncategorized

The University is currently preparing to take part in the first Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment, which is a national exercise to assess the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. To ensure that the University abides by its principles of transparency, consistency, accountability and inclusivity in preparing and finalising the BU submission to the REF, the BU REF 2014 Code of Practice (v2), BU REF Frequently Asked Questions and BU REF Individual Staff Circumstances Disclosure Form have been developed and are now being formally disseminated to all BU academic staff to ensure all eligible staff are fully informed.

These documents are also available on the BU Research Blog under the ‘REF’ tab.

How is this relevant to you?

If you are planning on submitting to the REF2014 assessment, there is a possibility that you might be eligible for a reduction of outputs, depending on your individual circumstances (please see link for more information).

What action do I need to take?

To find out if you are eligible for REF submission, please see section 3.1 of the BU REF 2014 Code of Practice and ‘Staff eligibility’ in the BU REF FAQs. You are then encouraged to complete the disclosure form. If further information is required about any circumstances disclosed, you will be contacted by a member of the HR team involved in the REF. You should print out, sign and return your completed form marked ‘REF Confidential’ to Judith Wilson, HR Manager, M601, Melbury House, 1-3 Oxford Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8ES. Alternatively, you can also email your completed form to refcircumstances@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Further information

The BU REF Circumstances Board next meet in May 2013 so if you feel that you have circumstances which you wish to disclose, please do so as soon as possible.

For more information on BU REF2014, please click on ‘ref’ on the right-hand tab, which will take you to all previous blog posts on all things REF.

Please feel free to get in touch with me or Rita Dugan (rdugan@bournemouth.ac.uk) if you wish to speak to someone about your REF eligibility.

Insurance and meerkats

BU research

What do insurance and meerkats have in common? On the face of it – very little. For comparethemarket.com, the well-known insurance aggregator, the combination has proven to be extremely successful and has captured the public’s imagination. The campaign achieved its 12 months targets in just 9 weeks and Aleksandr, the main character, has his own Facebook fans, is followed on Twitter and has received numerous marriage proposals.

Comparethemarket.com, or should that be Comparethemeerkat.com, was just one of the advertising campaigns reviewed by Dr. Julie Robson at a recent presentation on “Changes in Insurance Advertising” for the Bournemouth Insurance Institute.

Julie’s talk examined how advertising content, structure and style have changed over time. Beginning with one of the earliest forms of insurance advertising, as early as the 1700s, where fire insurance plaques were placed on the front of the insured’s building, signifying which company the property was insured with. She then tracked through the decades of change in advertising to today’s advertisements looking at visual prominence; the use of puns, metaphors and ambiguity; emotional vs. rational appeals; and the increasing use of digital technology within the sector.

Julie also examined what advertising works in a recession and how to get the most from your marketing budget before going on to look at some of the trends for the near future.

The Insurance Institute of Bournemouth has over 1,000 members and is part of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), the leading professional body for the global financial services profession.

Dr. Julie Robson specialises in financial services marketing. She has presented her research at internal conferences and published in academic journals on a range of marketing topics in the banking, insurance, broker and Islamic finance sectors. She has secured grants from the ESRC and HEIF to support this work and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Bank Marketing. Julie is currently Chair of the Qualifications Examination and Assessments Committee of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and a past President and current Education Secretary for the Bournemouth Insurance Institute.

Software Systems Research Centre Seminar, Prof. Kevin Warwick on “Cyborgs, Robots with Brains and the Turing Test”

Uncategorized

Dear all,

We would like to invite you to our next Software Systems Research Centre seminar given by Prof. Kevin Warwick, University of Reading on “Cyborgs, Robots with Brains and the Turing Test”

Room: KG03,  Kimmeridge block,Talbot Campus: http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/transport_and_maps/maps/pdf/talbot-portrait.pdf

Time: 14:00 – 15:30

Date: Monday, 13-May-2013

Title: Cyborgs, Robots with Brains and the Turing Test

Abstract. In this presentation Kevin will look at the latest results with implant technology (linking human brains with computers), culturing biological neurons and putting them in a robot body (robots with biological brains) and practical Turing Test results (can you tell the difference between a human and a machine from interactive communication?). New experimental data will be presented in each of these areas and participants will be able to see for themselves if they can tell the difference, in a Turing sense, between human and machine dialogue. A brief look will be taken at the future and what all this might mean.

Biography.  Kevin Warwick is Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England, where he carries out research in artificial intelligence, control, robotics and cyborgs.

Kevin was born in Coventry, UK and left school to join British Telecom, at the age of 16.  At 22 he took his first degree at Aston University, followed by a PhD and research post at Imperial College, London.  He subsequently held positions at Oxford, Newcastle and Warwick Universities before being offered the Chair at Reading, at the age of 33.

As well as publishing 600 research papers, Kevin’s experiments into implant technology led to him being recognised as the world’s first Cyborg and featured as the cover story on the US magazine, ‘Wired’. Kevin has been awarded higher doctorates (DSc) both by Imperial College and the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague. He was presented with The Future of Health Technology Award in MIT, was made an Honorary Member of the Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, and has received The IEE Senior Achievement Medal, the IET Mountbatten Medal and in 2011 the Ellison-Cliffe Medal from the Royal Society of Medicine.  In 2000 Kevin presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, entitled “The Rise of the Robots”.

Kevin’s present research involves the invention of an intelligent deep brain stimulator to counteract the effects of Parkinson Disease tremors. The tremors are predicted and a current signal is applied to stop the tremors before they start – this is to be trialed in human subjects. Another project involves the use of cultured/biological neural networks to drive robots around – the brain of each robot is made of neural tissue.

Perhaps Kevin is though best known for his pioneering experiments involving a neuro-surgical implantation into the median nerves of his left arm to link his nervous system directly to a computer to assess the latest technology for use with the disabled. He was successful with the first extra-sensory (ultrasonic) input for a human and with the first purely electronic telegraphic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans.

For more info please contact Dr. Raian Ali: rali@bournemouth.ac.uk

We hope you will join us.

 Kind regards,

 

EPSRC Strategic Advisory Routes – time for you to have your say!

BU research

EPSRC logoThe EPSRC has recently commissioned an independent review of its strategic advisory routes. The review will focus on how the EPSRC obtains and utilises strategic advice at the Council and Theme levels and both the mechanisms and sources for obtaining such advice and how this influences strategic decision-making. Initial areas covered as part of the review are:

  • Nature of advice – who decides what advice is sought and needed;
  • Structures – to review the adequacy and effectiveness of the structures in place for obtaining strategic advice;
  • Credibility of Advisory Sources – assurance over the extent to which the individuals and bodies providing advice are credible sources;
  • Roles and responsibilities – to review the effectiveness, and clarity, of roles and responsibilities of those involved in commissioning, and those providing, strategic advice in EPSRC;
  • Provision and utilisation of advice – to review the effectiveness of the advice provided (e.g. its robustness and the degree to which it is free from bias or vested interest), and its value (e.g. its relevance and timeliness) in informing EPSRC’s strategic planning and decision making.
  • Transparency – to review the clarity and transparency of the strategic advisory processes to EPSRC’s wider stakeholder community;
  • Cost-effectiveness of the mechanisms and processes used. .

BU has been invited to submit evidence to assist in this review and I am collating responses. Please take a couple of minutes to complete this short survey; all responses will remain confidential. The deadline for completing the survey is 10am Tuesday 23rd April.

Book on the Digital Economy Sandpit now!

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 next Sandpit is on Digital Economy Sandpit is being held on 17.04.13

Attending one of the sandpits 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.

Application rejected? what to do next….

Guidance, Research news

As you all know, the research funding environment is highly competitive.   Whilst winning an award is a major achievement.  Rejection will be a common experience, for even the most seasoned academic.  

All is not lost!   A huge amount work goes into the development of a proposal.  It is a great shame to park your idea, when it could be re-worked, and submitted to an alternative funder.

Our internal peer review scheme, the RPRS, is very happy to support unsuccessful submissions.  We will provide feedback on your original proposal, and make suggestions as to where amendments could be made, how you can potentially improve the style of the proposal, advise on other possible funders, and provide other useful information.   To find out more please contact Caroline O’Kane.

I would also suggest you read a couple of blog posts from a little while ago on ‘coping with rejection’.   This is a two-part series, written by Adam Goldberg from the University of Nottingham, that looks at how you can move forward when it becomes clear your time courting a potential funder comes to an end.   Follow these links if you are interested:   Part 1,  part 2.