BU Research Blog

We are recruiting to a number of Unit of Assessment (UoA) roles to help support preparation for our next REF submission. The roles are recruited through an open and transparent process, which gives all academic staff the opportunity to put themselves forward. Applications from underrepresented groups are particularly welcome.

We are currently preparing submissions to ten UoAs. Each UoA has a leadership team with at least one leader, an output and impact champion. The leadership team are supported by a panel of reviewers who assess the research from the unit. This includes a diverse range of research outputs (including journal articles, books and chapters, films, digital artefacts etc) and impact case studies.

We currently have vacancies in the following roles:

UOA 3: Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

• Co-lead
• Output Champion
• Impact Champion
• Internal review panel

UOA 4: Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

• Co-lead
• Impact Champion
• Internal review panel

UOA 11: Computer Science and Informatics

• Impact Champion

UOA 14: Geography and Environmental Studies

• Output Champion
• Impact Champion

UOA18: Law

• Output Champion

UOA 32: Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

• Co-lead (Impact focused)
• Internal review panel

UOA 34: Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management

• Co-lead
• Output Champion (practice-based)

All roles require a level of commitment which is recognised accordingly with time to review, attend meetings, and take responsibility for tasks.

Undertaking a UOA role can be enjoyable and rewarding as two of our current champions testify:

“As UOA Outputs Champion you develop a detailed knowledge of all the great work that colleagues are doing related to the subject, and the different outlets used for disseminating their work.  As an outputs committee member, you also get to know what research is going on across BU, and it’s interesting to see the differences between disciplines.  It’s a good way develop your knowledge of the bigger picture of BU’s research, and also to understand the importance of REF and how it works in practice.  You do spend quite a bit of time chasing colleagues to put their outputs on BRIAN for REF compliance but hopefully they forgive you!”

Professor Adele Ladkin – UOA 24 Output Champion

“As a UoA 17 impact champion, I work closely with the UoA 17 impact team to encourage the development of a culture of impact across BUBS. I try to pop into Department / research group meetings when I can to discuss impact, and I’ve enjoyed meeting people with a whole range of research interests. Sometimes it can be tough to engage people with impact – understandably; everyone is busy – so it’s important to be enthusiastic about the need for our BU research to reach the public. Overall, the role is about planting the seeds to get researchers thinking about the impact their work might have in the future (as well as the impact they have already had, sometimes without realising!)”

Dr Rafaelle Nicholson – UOA 17 Impact Champion

 How to apply

All those interested should put forward a short case (one paragraph) as to why they are interested in the role and what they think they could bring to it. These should be clearly marked with the relevant UoA and role and emailed to ref@bournemouth.ac.uk by noon Thursday 28th May 2026.

Further detail on the roles, the process of recruitment and selection criteria can be found here:

For further information please contact ref@bournemouth.ac.uk or a member of the current UOA Team with queries.