Since 2010 the New Generation Thinkers scheme has developed a new generation of academics who can bring the best of university research and scholarly ideas to a broad audience through the media and public engagement.
It’s a chance for early career researchers to cultivate the skills to communicate their research findings to those outside the academic community. Each year, since 2010, 60 applicants are invited to create ideas with the BBC, of which 10 will be chosen as New Generation Thinkers.
Your research must have a primary focus in the arts and humanities. Your research could be bringing together arts and humanities research with other non-AHRC funded disciplines, provided you can demonstrate suitable links to the world of arts and humanities and that arts and humanities remains a primary focus.
The 10 that are selected as New Generation Thinkers, will be working with BBC Radio 3 and benefiting from a unique opportunity to develop their own programmes for the station and a chance to regularly appear on air. The AHRC also provides media training for Thinkers, and offers the possibility of working with BBC TV, speaking opportunities, involvement with the AHRC-funded Being Human Festival and more.
Please contact Eva Papadopoulou, (till 2nd August and then again from 1st September) if you are interested or have any queries, or Sam Goodman (during August) if you want to have an informal chat.For more information about the scheme can be found here.The timeline of the process is as below.
Timeline
30 June 2022, 09:00
Opening date
25 August 2022, 11:00
How to apply webinar–organised by the AHRC, can be found here
19 September 2022
final proposal submitted in the UKRI Funding Service
Congratulations to Dr. Orlanda Harvey and Dr. Margarete Parrish both in the Department of Sociology and Social Work on the acceptance of their latest paper ‘Mixed-methods research on androgen abuse – a review’ by the journal Current Opinion in Endocrinology & Diabetes [1]. Orlanda was invited to write this review on the basis of her PhD research project. Her PhD used a mixed-methods approach with people using un-prescribe /recreational Anabolic Androgenic Steroid (AAS) in several high-income countries including the UK. Anabolic Androgenic Steroids are synthetic drugs mimicking male sex hormones, especially testosterone, and are often used for their anabolic effects, for example, increasing muscle and strength. This PhD study resulted in several high-quality academic publications [2-4] as well as a feature article in HED Matters under the title ‘ECR Spotlight: From Social Work to Studying Steroids’ [5].
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
References:
Harvey, O., van Teijlingen, E., Parrish, M. (2022) Mixed-methods research on androgen abuse – a review, Current Opinion in Endocrinology & Diabetes (accepted)
Harvey, O., Parrish, M., van Teijlingen, E, Trenoweth, S. (2021) Libido as a reason to use non-prescribed Anabolic Androgenic Steroids, Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy 29:3,276-288,DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2021.1882940
Harvey, O., Keen, S., Parrish, M., van Teijlingen, E. (2019) Support for people who use Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: A Systematic Literature Review into what they want and what they access. BMC Public Health 19: 1024 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7288-xhttps://rdcu.be/bMFon
Harvey, O., Parrish, M., van Teijlingen, E., Trenoweth, S. (2020) Support for non-prescribed Anabolic Androgenic Steroids users: A qualitative exploration of their needs Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy27:5, 377-386. DOI 10.1080/09687637.2019.1705763
We are collecting details of all events for external audiences taking place between 1 August 2021 and 31 July 2022
Thank you to everyone who has already provided information via the SharePoint site. The deadline for reporting is Friday 7 October 2022.
This data forms part of BU’s annual Higher Education – Business & Community Interaction survey and is used to calculate our Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) grant. It also feeds into our submission to the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) so it is really important for us to provide a full and accurate picture of all our public engagement.
Which events do I need to report?
Public lectures & talks
Performance arts (music, dance, drama etc)
Exhibitions (galleries, museums etc)
Museum education
Media engagement (TV/radio interviews, podcasts etc)
If you’re not sure if your event is eligible for inclusion, the SharePoint site includes further details and guidance.
What data is collected?
We collect a wider range of data than is required for HE-BCI, for additional external and internal reporting, e.g. HEIF Annual Monitoring Statement and Athena Swan. For the purposes of the HE-BCI survey, you must record the following:
event dates – to ensure eligibility
whether the event or activity was free or chargeable
the number of attendees (or views/visitors)
the amount of staff time in hours needed for delivery.
Without this specific data, we will not be able to include your event in the survey.
Further information
The SharePoint site provides details about which data is collected and how, including calculating attendee numbers and staff time, and reporting online activities and multiple related events. If you have any further questions about the HE-BCI return, please contact publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Dr Yi Huang from Department of Design and Engineering of FST recently published a review paper with several international collaborators. The team including the collaborators from City University of Hong Kong, São Paulo State University, Universitat Politècnica de València, UC Santa Barbara, University of Southampton worked together to publish a high quality review paper in a highly influential journal, Materials Science & Engineering R(impact factor 36.21).
The review paper explores the possibility of combining corrosion resistance and biocompatibility with the outstanding mechanical behaviour of heterostructured stainless steel into a promising option for usage as a low-cost yet highly-effective advanced material. This review paper will play a vital role in acting as a future reference for further understanding and designing new multi-functional heterostructured stainless steels.
This week saw the publication of another Bournemouth University paper on academic writing and publishing. This latest paper ‘Struggling to reply to reviewers: Some advice for novice researchers‘ has been published in the scientific journal Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health. This journal is published in Nepal and it is Open Access, hence freely available across the globe.
Peer review is the process by which academic journals assess and regulate the quality of content they publish, by inviting academic experts to review your submitted manuscripts. It is a process of quality control. Once you have submitted your paper to a journal the editor will select potential peer reviewers within the field of research to peer-review your manuscript and make recommendations. In many case the peer review process can be a positive experience for you as it allows you to develop your skills and improve your written work. For example, good reviewers may notice potential imbalances, point out missing key references or highlight different potential perspectives, and thus help you to enhance the overall quality of the paper. On some occasions, however a reviewer can be a complete pain in the neck!
The paper is written by a multidisciplinary team based in the Department of Nursing Sciences (Dr. Regmi), the Department of Social Sciences and Social Work (Dr. Harvey), and the Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences (Dr. Taylor & Prof. van Teijlingen). The authors bring their combined expertise in midwifery, social work, health education, sociology and health services research to offers the readers advice how to deal with the more difficult reviewers.
We’re always looking at what we have capacity to do in the Doctoral College to support PGR recruitment across all four faculties. Across 2021/22 the PGR Admissions team:
Introduced a new 1-2-1 Teams appointments service for potential applicants to discuss their application with us
Held PhD Studentship drop-in sessions for current BU students to come and chat to us about our list of studentship projects
Created a new Visiting PGR process and BU website page
Delivered an improved weekly PGR admissions report for faculties to identify areas for targeted growth
Started a new working relationship with the International Recruitment team to create updated PGR marketing & communications content
To help us consider PGR Admissions activities across the 22/23 academic year, we’d like to invite our academic staff involved in PGR recruitment to provide us with some feedback. We anticipate this survey will take no more than 5 minutes to complete
This short survey is split into two parts – your thoughts on the current PGR admissions process, followed by a chance for you to tell us how we can best support recruitment in your field. We’ve provided some ideas for what the Doctoral College might have resource to do this year, but we are excited to hear what you might consider to be the best ways to bring in new PGRs to your research area.
Today the International Journal of Environmental Research and PublicHealth accepted the latest COVID-19 paper from an multidisciplinary team in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS). The paper ‘Fear, Stigma and Othering: The Impact of COVID-19 Rumours on Returnee Migrants and Muslim Populations of Nepal’ is based on research funded by British Academy Special Research Grants: COVID-19 Awards. This British Academy funded-study brought together social scientists and health researchers interested in social and media aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project is apart of the Health Research Network for Migrant Workers in Asia and it is led by Dr. Pramod Regmi (Department of Nursing Sciences), Dr. Shovita Dhakal-Adhikari (Department of Social Sciences and Social Work), Dr. Nirmal Aryal (formerly Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences and soon to be appointed in the Department of Nursing Sciences), external collaborator Dr. Sharada Prasad Wasti from the University of Huddersfield, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences).
Reference:
Regmi, P., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Fear, Stigma and Othering: The Impact of COVID-19 Rumours on Returnee Migrants and Muslim Populations of Nepal, International Journal of Environmental Research and PublicHealth Accepted
The last funding RDS Funding Development Briefings for the academic year will be on Wednesday, the 27th of July at 12 noon. These will restart again with a new programme in September.
Each session covers the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Some sessions also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU.
Next Wednesday 27th July, there will be a spotlight on the Horizon Europe: Searching for funding opportunities and finding a call.
We will cover:
Overview of Horizon Europe Funding 2023-2024
Internal process
Q & A
For those unable to attend, the session will be recorded and shared on Brightspace here.
Please join the briefing by clicking the link below.
Are you continuing to suffer from long term symptoms of COVID-19?
We are looking for participants to take part in two separate COVID-19 studies, examining things like symptoms and daily activities and memory loss and concentration.
We would like to hear from those with continued symptoms of COVID-19 who have interests in one or both of the following:
1 – Tracking symptoms of COVID-19 and how they impact daily activities (remote study with 2 face-to-face assessment visits on campus).
BU Lecturers in Law Jamie Fletcher and Karolina Szopa write for The Conversation about the legal status of abortion in the UK, following the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US…
UK abortion laws are more precarious than they seem – replacing the Human Rights Act could unsettle them further
The state of abortion laws in the US has many in the UK wondering about reproductive rights in their own country. While abortion is largely accessible in the UK, its legal status is more precarious than many understand. Whichever government is in power next, it has the ability to either solidify abortion access or put it further into jeopardy. With this in mind, the next prime minister should reconsider plans to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with the proposed bill of rights.
In June 2022, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab introduced the bill of rights bill, which, if passed, will repeal and replace the Human Rights Act. When asked about inserting a right to abortion in the bill of rights, Raab said this wasn’t necessary, claiming that abortion is “settled in UK law”. Without the Human Rights Act, however, abortion in the UK is far from settled.
This is because no law created by parliament is ever truly settled. This is a principle of the British constitution known as parliamentary sovereignty. Parliament is free to pass laws on any issue without being limited by an existing law created by a previous parliament, or any court. This differs from the US, where courts can strike down laws if they conflict with the constitution.
Applied to abortion, this means parliament can legislate any new abortion laws it desires. No court of law or authority could prevent parliament from arriving at a new legal position that would restrict or prohibit abortion access.
The legal status of abortion access in the UK, through the Abortion Act 1967, is more precarious than common understanding. Having an abortion is still a criminal act. A 19th-century law, which remains in place, states that any woman who intends to cause her own miscarriage commits a criminal offence that can result in life imprisonment.
The Abortion Act merely creates a limited exception when two doctors agree that the abortion is necessary and approve the procedure within 24 weeks of conception. At least two women in England and Wales are currently being prosecuted for illegally procuring abortions.
Separate legislation, passed in 2019, removes criminality for abortion in Northern Ireland. Still, due to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty, this legislation lacks any degree of permanency. The right to access abortion in Northern Ireland remains as fragile as in the rest of the UK.
The law granting a right to abortion access in Northern Ireland is re-voted on every year in the House of Commons. Votes in 2020, 2021 and 2022 show that around 25% of MPs are consistently opposed to abortion rights. If political winds change in the future, this percentage might increase and bring forward the true extent of this fragility.
Abortion and the Human Rights Act
Raab’s claim that abortion law is settled might have been based on European human rights law, which applies in the UK through the Human Rights Act. However, this would be incorrect – European human rights law, so far, has offered only minimal protection to abortion access. The right to private and family life enshrined in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) protects personal autonomy and bodily integrity.
Because the issue of abortion raises difficult moral questions over when life begins, the European Court of Human Rights has left it to each country to determine its own laws on abortion. This approach has been applied to other issues including same-sex marriage. Baroness Hale, during her time on the supreme court, remarked that the European court has given countries an “unusual” amount of leeway to determine their abortion laws.
The European court has made it clear that where a pregnancy would directly endanger a pregnant person’s life, their safety must take priority over the life of the foetus. Nonetheless, the court has yet to intervene in countries with restrictive abortion laws, such as Malta, Liechtenstein or Poland.
Domestic law and the power of the courts
Domestic human rights law, on the other hand, offers some support to Raab’s claim of abortion being settled. In a 2018 ruling, the UK supreme court held that domestic laws restricting access to abortions in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality would be interpreted as being incompatible with the ECHR right to private and family life.
This interpretation of the right to privacy effectively limited Parliament’s ability to pass more restrictive abortion laws. But it was only possible due to the Human Rights Act, which grants UK judges interpretive powers when it comes to human rights law.
The new bill of rights purports to enhance UK courts’ ability to make judgments like the one described above, by declaring that European Court of Human Rights case law will no longer be “part of domestic law”.
But what it actually does is restrict the courts’ powers when it comes to the European Convention on Human Rights. The bill only permits the creation or expansion of new rights when domestic courts view it as being “beyond reasonable doubt” that the European Court will change its previous decided position on the issue.
There is presently not enough evidence to suggest “beyond reasonable doubt” that the European court will change its current legal framework on abortion. This would mean that under the bill of rights, a future UK supreme court would be prevented from reading Article 8 as requiring access to abortion in certain cases, as it did in 2018. Domestic courts would no longer be able to protect access to abortion in the UK and would return the issue almost entirely to parliament and political winds.
While there might be some support for the claim that abortion is sufficiently protected in law, this will be greatly undermined if the Human Rights Act is repealed. The next prime minister could commit to including a provision within the Bill of Rights specifically aimed at protecting abortion rights – or even better, reverse course entirely and keep the Human Rights Act in place.
If you’re interested in sharing your scientific research with a friendly public audience – complete our form.
We’re currently organising our series of Café Scientifique events for Sept 2022 – July 2023 and we’re looking for people interested in getting involved. Café Scientifique is a public event format, popular around the world, where anyone can come along to explore the latest research in science and technology in a casual café setting. Following a short presentation by a researcher, there is plenty of time for questions and discussion from a varied public audience.
Taking place on a weekday evening, Café Scientifique events run monthly from June (excepting August and January). They’re organised centrally by the BU Public Engagement with Research Team, part of Research Development and Support (RDS). It’s a fantastic opportunity to get experience in engaging with the public in a friendly atmosphere and gain surprising insights into your own work.
We welcome academics at all career stages, although this is particularly valuable for those just getting started in engaging with the public. We also encourage collaboration between less experienced and more experienced public speakers – to provide a valuable learning experience with the support to keep things going smoothly.
Regarding your research – although we use a broad definition of ‘science’, the audience do have certain expectations from the name, so we do not tend to feature research outside of the broad ‘science’ theme.
Whether we will be able to host your talk, and at the time you want, depends on several factors including the subject matter, timing and other events, so completing this form does not guarantee you will be able to take part. If everything does align, we will be in touch to invite you to speak at an upcoming event.
Other ways to get involved
We’re looking to involve a wider range of people from across BU to make our Café Scientifique series a success and a true BU community project. As well as speaking, you could get involved in a number of flexible ways;
Hosting events – every Cafe Sci event needs a host – to welcome the audience, introduce the speakers and keep the questions flowing. This is a great opportunity for someone to develop skills and experience interacting with the public, as well as being an enjoyable way to meet other people.
Helping to organise events – whether it’s finding speakers, helping polish a presentation, promoting these events far and wide and more – we’d welcome any BU staff or students who’d like to help out with various bits behind the scenes on these events. This is a great way to dip your toes in the world of public engagement, gain experience in organising events and work on a fun project with others across BU.
If you have any questions about speaking at, or are interested in helping to host or organise these events, then please get in touch with the public engagement team at publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk. There’s no commitment, we can start from there and see what would work best for everyone.
Please join us for the first Community Voices webinar to consider the inequalities in South Dorset where much of our practice and research is conducted.
Part of our role within the Centre for Seldom Heard Voices is to use our platform to amplify seldom heard voices. In collaboration with the BU PIER (Public Involvement in Education and Research) partnership, we engage with many community groups, organisations, activists and campaigners who are conducting some wonderful work to promote inclusion and advance social justice across our region and further afield. In the first of our Community Voices Seminar series, we welcome the South Dorset Research Group to share and discuss their Forgotten Towns report (flyer attached)
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Kate Jupp and I have recently been appointed as the new PIER Officer. Although the PIER (Public Involvement in Education and Research) partnership sits within HSS, my new post, focussing on research, is BU wide.
My clinical, research and education experience is as a physiotherapist and rehabilitation specialist in long-term, complex neurological disability. My particular interest is the impact the need to use augmentative and alternative communication has on the individual, and those important to them.
I am passionate about enabling meaningful public involvement in research, education, practice, and service development. I have led projects in primary, secondary and higher education, as well as social and health care settings.
I am delighted to be joining Mel, Pete, and Angela, at what is an exciting time for advancing meaningful public involvement in research across the university; supporting researchers to build and nurture relationships with individuals with lived experience, and community organisations to enhance the impact of their work. I look forward to meeting and working with you.
The Doctoral College team have been delighted with the nominations that have come in recently for the ‘Doctoral College Outstanding Contribution Awards’. We wish to extend our congratulations to all recipients who have recently received their award certificate.
Here are some of the heartfelt nominations we have received:
“She is an outstanding supervisor, superb at challenging me, supporting the development of my research/critical thinking skills. She is incredibly knowledgeable and has provided me with outstanding levels of support and stellar guidance during my PhD journey so far.”
“He truly is outstanding, not only for being an inspiration, but also for exceeding the dedication and work he puts forth for all his students. He is very engaging, encouraging and a brilliant well of knowledge; I am honored to have been under his supervision as a mentor to look-up to academically, professionally and as a person.”
“From his vast knowledge and perception to his motivation and dedication, he truly is an outstanding supervisor and role model.”
“Demonstrating extraordinary support and assistance towards students, faculty and staff, she is the go-to person, a true ambassador of the University. Resourceful, caring and dedicated, she goes above and beyond to create the best experience and environment for all.”
“It has always been a pleasure working with her as a PGR and as an academic staff member. She provides the best advice in the most difficult situations.”
Why not make someone’s day and take five minutes and nominate a PGR, academic or professional staff member for a Doctoral College Outstanding Contribution Award to say thanks and give recognition for their hard work?
These awards recognise the outstanding contributions to postgraduate research degrees at BU by any PGR, academic or professional staff member. They can be nominated throughout the year by any member of the postgraduate research community to anyone that they feel is exceptional, has exceeded expectations, and has had a positive impact on the postgraduate research culture at BU.
Eligibility
You can nominate anyone involved in postgraduate research at Bournemouth University to receive an award certificate. There are no award criteria, as long as the submission falls within the guidelines, whoever you’ve selected will receive a Doctoral College Outstanding Contribution Award!
How to nominate
We’ve made it really easy for you to nominate someone for a Doctoral College Outstanding Contribution Award – it’s just a short online nomination form!
The UK Research Office (UKRO) have shared information about UK success rates in 2021 MSCA Staff Exchange Call, which closed on 9 March 2022. The Research Executive Agency (REA) has confirmed the number of successful UK-led proposals.
This is especially interesting because BU has excellent news – Associate Professor Jeffery Bray has been successful with his submitted proposal FoodMAPP (Local Food supply communicated through a transactional searchable MAP based APPlication). This proposal was submitted to Economic Sciences Panel and was the only UK-led proposal awarded by this panel.
FoodMAPP involves 8 organisations from 7 countries. Congratulations Jeff!
A total of 209 proposals from 28 countries were submitted in response to this call.
UKRO understands that UK organisations submitted 29 applications, of which 9 applications were retained for funding. This corresponds to a success rate of 4.31%. The successful applications have been submitted to the following panels:
Information Science and Engineering (ENG): 6
Economic Sciences (ECO): 1
Physics (PHY): 1
Environment and Geosciences (ENV): 1
In addition, UK institutions participated in 141 evaluated proposals, out of which 52 were retained for funding.
REA is expected to sign the grant agreements with successful applicants by November 2022.
The 2022 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF) Call deadline is approaching (14 September 2022).
As announced earlier, BU internal deadline for submission of e-ItB forms for this year’s call is this week – 15 July 2022.
The Guide for Applicants and other related guidance documentation can be found in the ‘Conditions and documents’ section of the call page.
With queries related to MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 Call please contact Research Facilitator International Ainar Blaudums. My colleague Sara will support majority of BU academics with costing and other services provided by Funding Development Officers.
My name is Sulochana Dhakal-Rai. I am a final-year PhD student at Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS). My PhD research is related to factors affecting the rising rate of CS in urban hospitals in Nepal. There are several reasons to choose BU to do PhD study. Firstly, this university offers strong professional orientation with focus on academic excellence and employability to multinational students from multicultural background. Secondly, it provides opportunities to students for undertaking different activities, for example – international student exchange programme. I am always keen to be involved in such types of activities for my personal and professional development.
I applied for Turing Scheme Fund to do research activities in Nepal. The application process was very easy. I had received positive support from my supervisors and team of international grants. I was delighted to participate in international mobility, because I had a chance not only sharing my research experience to student and teachers at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS), Kathmandu, but also to do my own research activities (secondary data verification and analysis).
Although, it was hot weather, polluted and over-crowded in Kathmandu, I enjoyed eating Nepali cuisine, meeting own people and speaking Nepali language. For me, there was not any problem in local language and culture. However, it was uncomfortable using public transport at times. I had suffered from of an episode of indigestion problem as well.
I loved meeting students and teachers of MMIHS. During my stay in MMIHS, I had the opportunity to share experience about my research study, using mixed methods in research study and my experience working as a foreign nurse in UK to relevant teachers and students. They were really good and inspiring people. I always received respect and support from them while I was there.
After this international activity, I have learnt how to work with people from different organisation and different place. I have developed my confidence in employability and career skills. I would like to express my thanks to Bournemouth University for providing me such a golden opportunity. I strongly recommend to other student at Bournemouth University to participate these kinds of international mobility programmes.
Sulochana Dhakal-Rai.
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The last funding RDS Funding Development Briefings for the academic year will be on Wednesday, the 27th of July at 12 noon. These will restart again with a new programme in September.
The 
The 2022 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) 
Apply now to take part in the 2025 ESRC Festival of Social Science
Photo exhibition happening now at Talbot Campus – Ageing in a digital world
A compassionate approach to Simulation: new national blog post published
The Future of Surface Protection: Nanocomposite Coatings Explained
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025
Horizon Europe info days 2025
Update on UKRO services
European research project exploring use of ‘virtual twins’ to better manage metabolic associated fatty liver disease