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Reminder – REF Roles expressions of interest deadline fast approaching!

REF Subjects, Research assessment

We are currently recruiting to a number of roles to help support preparation for our next REF submission. The deadline for expressions of interest is the 11th October 2022.

We are also now welcoming expressions of interest for REF UOA 18 Lead for Law.

Further information is outlined below…

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 (e.g. minority ethnic, declared disability) are particularly welcome.

We are currently preparing submissions to thirteen units (otherwise known as UOAs). Each unit 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 research outputs (journal articles, book chapters, digital artefacts and conference proceedings) and impact case studies.

We currently have vacancies in the following roles:

UOA Leads – Review Panel Members –
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 3 – Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
18 – Law 11 – Computer Science and Informatics
27 – English Language and Literature 12 – Engineering
Output Champion – 14 – Geography and Environmental Studies
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 15 – Archaeology
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 17 – Business and Management Studies
Impact Champion –  18 – Law
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 20 – Social Work and Social Policy
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism
12 – Engineering 27 – English Language and Literature
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 32 – Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism 34 – Communication, Culture and Media Studies, Library and Information Management

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 (suggested length of 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 role and unit and emailed to ref@bournemouth.ac.uk by 11th October 2022.

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

UOA Leader Output Champion Impact Champion Panel Reviewer
Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor
Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection

For further information please contact ref@bournemouth.ac.uk, a member of current UOA Team or your Deputy Dean Research and Professional Practice with queries.

Funding Development Briefing 12/10/22 Spotlight on: EPSRC

Funding opportunities

What are Funding Development Briefings?

Each session will cover the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Sessions will also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU. Sessions will be on Wednesdays, from 12 pm for half-an-hour. The same link can be used each week to join here.
Next Weds 12 October 12:00-12:30, we will cover EPSRC.
Date Spotlight Funding Opportunity Briefing Research Facilitator Lead
14/09/2022 Innovate UK SMART Grants Innovation & Infrastructure
21/09/2022 NERC Pushing the Frontiers Life Sciences
28/09/2022 23/24 Horizon Europe Work Programmes EU & International
05/10/2022 ESRC Humanities & Social Sciences
12/10/2022 EPSRC Innovation & Infrastructure
19/10/2022 Wellcome Trust Life Sciences
26/10/2022 HALF TERM
02/11/2022 MSCA Overview of Actions EU & International
09/11/2022 AHRC Humanities & Social Sciences
16/11/2022 Regional Funding Innovation & Infrastructure
23/11/2022 NIHR Overview Life Sciences
30/11/2022 Horizon Europe Societal Challenges EU & International
07/12/2022 Leverhulme Trust Humanities & Social Sciences
14/12/2022 KTPs (Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Managers) Innovation & Infrastructure

Sessions will be recorded and made available after the session for those who cannot attend.

Congratulations to Recipients of the ‘Doctoral College Outstanding Contribution Award’!

PG research

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:

“He was one of my examiners for my major review viva. He was interested, facilitative and supportive throughout my viva. He offered advice of other texts for me to read and concepts to include in my thesis.”

“She provides the best advice in the most difficult situations aligned with the Code of Practice. Thank you very much for supporting us in our roles as academics. Much appreciated.”

“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.”

 

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!

BU Ageing and Dementia Research Forum

Research Ethics, Research Integritiy

We are developing a forum for those interested in ageing and dementia research at Bournemouth University. The forum is an opportunity to get together to chat about research and share experiences in a safe and supportive environment. Specific topics will be discussed but there will also be time for open discussion to mull over aspects of research such as project ideas and planning, ethical considerations and patient and public involvement.

The next forum meetings will be in October and November (see table below), if you would like to join us, please email adrc@bournemouth.ac.uk so we can send you the meeting details.

Date, time, and campus    Research areas
27th October 2022

15.30-17.00

Talbot Campus

 Dr Michele Board – Frailty

Dr Susan Dewhurst – Falls prevention
24th November 2022

15.30-17.00

Lansdowne Campus

 Dorset Healthcare – Down syndrome and dementia

If you would like to discuss your research ideas at a future meeting, please email Michelle mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Erasmus+ students from Nepal arrived at BU

Last Thursday the seven Erasmus+ exchange students arrived in Bournemouth from Nepal.  The exchange is between Bournemouth University (BU) and Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Kathmandu, Nepal.  On Friday, their first full day a BU the Nepalese M.Sc. students received a Global Engagement Welcome from Cathryn Street, followed by an International Orientation by Caroline Earth from the Transitions Team.  The students were welcomed to the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences by Dr. Angela Turner-Wilson who is Deputy Head of the Department of Medical Sciences & Public Health as well as the faculty’s Interim Associate Dean of Global Engagement.  The two main contacts for the students at BU will be Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.  This student exchange follows the visit of BU staff (Profs. Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen) to Kathmandu and MMIHS staff visiting BU in return this summer.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

Excellence in paramedic science

Awarded & submitted bids, conferences, Knowledge Transfer, NHS, student research

Cormac Sertutxa showcased his Paramedic Science research on the ‘Impact of COVID-19 Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) restrictions on Cardiac Arrest survival rates in pre-hospital practice: a scoping review’.  Cormac presented at Infection 360 in Birmingham last week where he received a Clinical Poster Award for his poster.

Congratulations to Cormac and the lecturers in Paramedic Science who supported him.

Well done!

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences


Call for abstracts | The 14th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference

PG research, student research

The 14th Postgraduate Research Conference Call for Abstracts Image

The call for abstracts for The 14th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference is still open.

The conference is a great opportunity for postgraduate researchers to showcase and promote their research to the BU community whether they have just started or are approaching the end of their journey at BU.

Attending the conference is a great opportunity to engage and network with the postgraduate research community and find out more about the exciting and fascinating research that is happening across BU.

Abstracts are invited from postgraduate researchers to take part in the live research exhibition or to present via oral or poster presentation.

For full details on how to apply please visit the Doctoral College Conference Brightspace.

Closing date 09:00 Monday 24 October 2022.

Registration to attend will open in November, all members of BU are welcome!

For any questions, please email pgconference@bournemouth.ac.uk and a member of the Doctoral College conference team will get back to you.

PATH Final Conference – November 16th

conferences, international

PATH perinatal mental health final conference

The final conference for the PATH project is in Antwerp on 16th November, 2022.

The cross-border Interreg PATH initiative aims to improve perinatal mental health and includes a wide communications campaign, training for healthcare professionals and new services for families.

PATH involves thirteen partners from France, Belgium the Netherlands and the UK, including Bournemouth University. Leading BU’s project contribution is Professor Wen Tang, from the Faculty of Science and Technology.

For more information about the project and the conference, please contact Zequn Li or Timothy Devlin.

Heif Project PPI Event Eczema Igloo: seeking children age 7-11 with itchy eczema/and/or interest in computer games for half term workshops

Dr Heidi Singleton (DNS) , Professor Debbie Holley (DNS) and Dr Emily Arden-Close (Dept of Psychology) have an upcoming PPI event on the 25th and 26th October. It is open to all children aged 7-11 years (accompanied by an adult), who have moderate to severe eczema or would like to take part in a computer game event that could help children with eczema? 

Please share the eventbrite widely!  the EventBrite link below:  

 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/childrens-computer-game-eczema-research-event-tickets-423362076367  

Eczema is a condition that causes the skin to become itchy, dry, and cracked which is a painful and distressing condition. It is estimated that around 20% of children suffer from this condition with 4% of these cases identified as moderate to severe. It has a major impact on children and their families; gets in the way of sleep, impacts upon social activities, and can lead to low mood and anxiety.   

  The use of virtual reality (VR) in clinical and therapeutic settings has been shown to help with pain relief and distraction from the effect of symptoms. While psychological approaches have been shown to be helpful for reducing the itch-scratch cycle in eczema, few children been offered them. Virtual reality has been used to treat children with anxiety, burns and pain, now we are seeing if it will also be helpful to distract from eczema symptoms. Drawing upon PPI methods in our initial work, we have now co-created an interactive “mini-VR igloo headset”, designed for a child lying on their bed. The VR games are designed to take the children into the sights and sounds of a cold or underwater environments, to distract them and ease the uncomfortable feelings of itchy eczema.  

Alongside those designing and producing the igloo from the University Department of Design and Engineering and Computer Animation, we will also be working with a support group for carers of children with eczema and BU Pier.

Research Professional – all you need to know

Funding opportunities

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. The Funding Development Team Officers can assist you with this, if required.

Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to Research Professional. 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 Research Professional.

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 Research Professional. 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 Research Professional. They are holding two monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with Research Professional. 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 second Tuesday of every other month. You can register here for your preferred date:

8th November 2022

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. Previous recordings can be found here if you can’t attend a session.

Have you noticed the pink box on the BU Research Blog homepage?

By clicking on this box, on the left of the Research Blog home page just under the text ‘Funding Opportunities‘, you access a Research Professional real-time search of the calls announced by the Major UK Funders. Use this feature to stay up to date with funding calls. Please note that you will have to be on campus or connecting to your desktop via our VPN to fully access this service.

Research Series: Science, Health, & Data Communication

logo for the Centre for Science, Health, and Data Communication ResearchThe Centre for Science, Health, and Data Communication Research invites you to our Autumn-Winter 2022-23 research series. These talks are open to the public, and encompass topics on representations of bodies in the media, managing your health data, immersive media, and community responses to suicide.

Register for events on EventBrite.

CSHDCR is an interdisciplinary, cross-faculty centre seeking to explore the ways in which specialised knowledge and information is communicated to the public, including policy-makers and front-line workers, and how mass communication (such as journalism and entertainment media) conveys and represents these areas to audiences.

 

 

Karen Fowler-Watt – Imagining alternative futures: ‘storylistening’ in participatory arts as a route to peacebuilding

Date: Thursday, 13 October 2022 at 14:00 BST
Further details and registration.

Dr. Melissa Aronczyk – A Strategic Nature: Public Relations and the Politics of American Environmentalism

Date: Thursday, 20 October 2022 at 14:00 BST
Further details and registration.

Dr. Manisha Ganguly – The Future of Investigative Journalism

Date: Thursday, 27 October 2022 at 14:00 BST
Further details and registration.

Dr Anastasia Denisova – Fashion media, influencers and climate change

Date: Thursday, 3 November 2022 at 14:00 GMT
Further details and registration.

Dr. Ozlem Demirkol Tonnesen – Hidden in Plain Sight: Researching Social Media in Risky Settings

Date: Thursday, 17 November 2022 at 14:00 GMT
Further details and registration.

Antonio Lopez – Are Algorithms Good for the Planet? An Ecomedia Literacy Perspective

Date: Thursday, 24 November 2022 at 14:00 GMT
Further details and registration.

Isabella Rega and Andrea Medrado – Media Activism, Artivism, and the Fight Against Marginalisation in the Global South

Date: Thursday, 1 December 2022 at 14:00 GMT
Further details and registration.

Dr. Pollyanna Ruiz – #SayTheirNames; Remembering and Forgetting Black Lives Matter

Date: Thursday, 8 December 2022 at 14:00 GMT
Further details and registration.

Sarah Jones – Understanding VR

Date: Thursday, 12 January 2023 at 14:00 GMT
Further details and registration.

BA/Leverhulme Small Grants 9th November 2022

Funding opportunities

 

BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants

The call for the next round of BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants is now open and closes at 5.00 pm on 9th November 2022.

We welcome the new electronic Intention to Bid (e-ITB) forms from Early Career Researchers and/or for bids that deliver pump priming / seed  funding purposes.

Due to the volume of bids that are received by RDS in every round, the internal deadlines will be strictly applied to ensure that the pre-award team can provide

all interested academics with optimal support in a timely manner.

Where ITB forms are received after 10th October 2022 they will be moved automatically to the next round.

The British Academy has provided guidance and FAQs. They have stipulated that all applicants must read the documentation carefully before starting their application.

Timeline

The call closes at 5.00 pm on 9th November 2022.

Date Action

10/10 Intention to Bid forms to be submitted via the new electronic intention to bid platform.
At this date, advise your referee that you will be sending them your completed application on FlexiGrant and they will need to provide their supporting statement by .

12/10 If you are Grade 8 or below and you wish to use the support of an External Application Reviewer (EAR), you must submit a first draft of the application to RDS by this date.
An EAR will not be allocated to you if you send a draft to RDS after this date.

21/10 Latest date for you to fully complete your application on FlexiGrant, so it is ready for your referee to complete the supporting statement via FlexiGrant.
Note that the earlier you complete you application on FlexiGrant, the more time the referee will have to review your bid and provide the supporting statement by 31/10.

31/10 Latest date for referee to complete the supporting statement via FlexiGrant.
02/11 Click ‘submit’ and the form will be sent to BU’s account for RDS checks.
02-09/ 11 Institutional checking process – RDS will work with you to ensure compliance with all funder’s requirements.
09/11 Submission deadline – latest date to formally submit on FlexiGrant.

If you have any queries, please contact your Research Facilitator or Funding Development Officer.

 

Horizon Europe Update – October 2022

Since my last update, there is no significant news and the message from officials remains the same – UK researchers should continue to apply for Horizon Europe grants despite uncertainty over association.

I want personally to thank those BU academics who follow this advice in practice. As a result, 15 EU grant applications have been submitted in September. The fact is that the only way to secure external funding is to apply for it.

There are still calls open on EU Funding & Tenders portal with deadlines in November until early 2023. Work programme parts for 2023 – 2024 still are in development stage, more information regarding those you can find on Brightspace (presentation from yesterday’s funding briefing session is also there).

There was an interesting article published by Research Professional today about EU/UK negotiations related to Horizon Europe association; if interested, you can read full article here.

I only have to add that negotiations are not over; they speak in article about specific working group established in August 2022; unfortunately, their efforts ended up without any results.

We have recently seen some interest in COST Actions from BU academics. Formally, COST is not a part of Horizon Europe and the UK is one of COST member states. You can also read more here.

Once again, I would like to emphasise that regardless of outcome of EU/UK negotiations, international networking generates opportunities to apply for collaborative grants. If you are invited to join COST network, please do remember to submit e-ItB form, so RDS can process and support your application.

What can be done for more at-risk young people to become entrepreneurs?

The struggle to find sustainable employment is heightened among young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) and living in deprived communities. Despite initiatives to create more jobs, there is evidence to suggest a strong interest in entrepreneurship among young people in the UK.

A study on NEET young people’s views on entrepreneurship showed that 54% of 18 to 30-year-olds from the most disadvantaged regions in the UK would like to start a business. However, 54% of these young people are terrified of actually starting a business; only 22% know where to seek business advice and support, and only 8% would describe themselves as entrepreneurial.

According to the latest OECD Employment Outlook report, routine and low-skilled jobs are expected to decline by 12% in the UK by 2024. Although recent findings from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show that at least 70% of 15- year-olds in the UK aspire to professional and managerial careers requiring tertiary education, low-achieving students have no intention of continuing their education after secondary school and high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to realise such careers because they have a lower chance of pursuing post-secondary education.

What can be done?

The SPEED-You-UP project seeks to improve the entrepreneurial and employability skills of at-risk and NEET young people in deprived coastal regions of England, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. By encouraging young people’s appreciation of their talents and abilities as a springboard for launching a business, the project takes young people on a journey of self-discovery and confidence building. Through the project, young people have the opportunity to experiment with a business idea, which helps to raise their confidence and motivation.

According to three participants with no prior knowledge of starting a business and experiencing low self-belief: “Speed You-Up really helped us identify who we are and what we are trying to do and what we’re capable of doing.”

Funding Development Briefing 5/10/22 Spotlight on: ESRC

Funding opportunities

What are Funding Development Briefings?

Each session will cover the latest major funding opportunities, followed by a brief Q&A session. Sessions will also include a spotlight on a particular funding opportunity of strategic importance to BU. Sessions will be on Wednesdays, from 12 pm for half-an-hour. The same link can be used each week to join here.
Next Weds 5 October 12:00-12:30, we will cover ESRC.
Date Spotlight Funding Opportunity Briefing Research Facilitator Lead
14/09/2022 Innovate UK SMART Grants Innovation & Infrastructure
21/09/2022 NERC Pushing the Frontiers Life Sciences
28/09/2022 23/24 Horizon Europe Work Programmes EU & International
05/10/2022 ESRC Humanities & Social Sciences
12/10/2022 EPSRC Innovation & Infrastructure
19/10/2022 Wellcome Trust Life Sciences
26/10/2022 HALF TERM
02/11/2022 MSCA Overview of Actions EU & International
09/11/2022 AHRC Humanities & Social Sciences
16/11/2022 Regional Funding Innovation & Infrastructure
23/11/2022 NIHR Overview Life Sciences
30/11/2022 Horizon Europe Societal Challenges EU & International
07/12/2022 Leverhulme Trust Humanities & Social Sciences
14/12/2022 KTPs (Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Managers) Innovation & Infrastructure

Sessions will be recorded and made available after the session for those who cannot attend.