As part of the Future Research Assessment Programme, the four UK higher education funding bodies (Research England, Scottish Funding Council, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland) seek to understand the impact of the REF 2021 on the research community.
The real-time REF review report (pdf) collected attitudes to the REF as UK institutions prepared their submissions. Now the funding bodies aim to find out to what extent the views identified in the report are representative of the wider UK research community.
Although the REF is not an assessment of individuals, this survey looks at how unit-level assessment impacts individual researchers. Responses to this consultation are invited from any individuals with an interest in REF 2021. Only responses received through the online form will be reviewed and included in our analysis. All responses made through the online form by the deadline will be considered.
The survey will remain open until noon on 26 January 2022.
The paper argues that academic writing, especially in the health field, is usually an interdisciplinary team effort. It highlights some of the trials, tribulations, and benefits of working with co-authors. This includes collaborations and co-authorship between academics from different disciplines, academics of different level of careers, and authors from countries of varying economies i.e., high-income countries (HICs) and from low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper also provides advice in the form of several useful tips to lead authors and co-authors to support collaborative working. Our other co-authors are: Aney Rijal, postgraduate student and Executive Editor of the journal Health Prospect based in Nepal, and Alexander van Teijlingen postgraduate student in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland).
If you would like your research to have policy impact, this free event being run by UCL is a great opportunity to find out more about select committees and how to engage them with your research.
“This year marks the 120th anniversary of the IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, and we will be bringing experts, senior academics, doctoral students and early career researchers together online on 27 January 2022 at 12.30pm to discuss effective ways researchers and the professionals who collaborate with them can work with Select Committees, engage policy makers with their scientific findings and achieve real-world change!
Emily MacLeod, IOE Doctoral Candidate and UKRI Secondee at the Education Select Committee in 2021.
Much of the work of the UK House of Commons or House of Lords takes place in committees. There is a Commons Select Committee for each government department, examining three aspects: spending, policies and administration. These departmental committees have a minimum of 11 members, who decide upon the line of inquiry and then gather written and oral evidence. Findings are reported to the Commons, printed, and published on the Parliament website. The government then usually has 60 days to reply to the committee’s recommendations.
This interactive session consists of a brief introduction of the work of Select Committees, before sharing inside knowledge on how best to translate research findings into actionable recommendations that are included in their evidence reports, and launching into a Q&A session. Audience members are free to submit questions prior to and during the session.”
Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Sign up to guarantee your ticket below:
This interactive course will encourage participants to think about why evaluation is important, look at ways to get started, explore different techniques they can use, and consider what findings can tell the participant and their organisation or funder. With an emphasis on how to conduct evaluation, participating in practical activities and discussion as together the workshop facilitators and attendees will demystify evaluation and find the fun in revealing and identifying participants’ effectiveness.
These sessions are aimed at people with experience of public engagement with research; however, the session will be open to all experience levels.
Learning objectives:
To develop an awareness of the value and importance of evaluating public engagement.
To gain familiarity with the process of evaluation and the usefulness of planning.
To consider the uses of evaluation including improving activities; sharing good practice and reporting.
To begin to explore the issues and challenges of evaluating public engagement.
By the end of this session, you will:
Have a greater understanding and awareness of the importance of evaluating public engagement
Understand the processes of evaluation and how to plan for it.
It is a condition of booking that the attendee agrees that their contact email will be shared with the NCCPE for the purposes of programme administration.
Workshop
Date
Time
Location
Evaluation: Developing your approach
Tuesday 12th April 2022
14:00-16:30
Online
To book a place on this workshop please complete the booking form.
This is a brand new session for 2021-22 – providing an introduction to what is involved when developing mutually beneficial research partnerships with communities. It will also help you decide whether it is the favoured approach for you and your community partners.
The session will be delivered by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement and is aimed at those working in universities who want to know more about community engagement and are interested in the potential of applying a community-engaged research approach.
Learning objectives:
Consider your knowledge and understanding of community engagement and community engaged research
Explore the continuum of collaborative research with communities
Think about what helps to build strong community engagement and enhance your skills by experimenting with these ideas
Reflect on how community engagement relates to your own work and roles.
By the end of this session, you will:
Understand how community engagement works
Be aware of how community engagement relates to your own work
Have an understanding of what makes strong community engagement
Workshop
Date
Time
Location
Introduction to Community Engagement
Monday 14th March 2022
14:00 – 16:30
Online
To book a place on this workshop please complete the booking form.
Postgraduate researchers and supervisors, hopefully you have seen your monthly update for researcher development e-newsletter sent earlier this week. If you have missed it, please check your junk email or you can view it within the Researcher Development Programme on Brightspace.
The start of the month is a great time to reflect on your upcoming postgraduate researcher development needs and explore what is being delivered this month as part of the Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme and what is available via your Faculty or Department. Remember some sessions only run once per year, so don’t miss out.
Professor Mark Reed from Fast Track Impact is running a free online impact event:
Monitoring and Evaluating Impact, with invited guest case study and discussion (with Mark Reed, Poppy Townsend (UKRI) and Rachel Blanche (QMU)): 09.30-11.00 UK time, 28th February 2022.
Evidencing impact from research remains a huge challenge. This workshop will build on Mark Reed’s paper, “Evaluating impact from research: A methodological framework” (recommended reading prior to the workshop) to consider methods for evidencing impact in three particularly challenging areas: capacity building, policy and cultural impacts. Three speakers will provide case studies, methods and tips from their own experience of evaluating impact. Rachel Blanche (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh) will outline methods from the arts and humanities that have been used to evaluate the cultural impacts of professional practice in the arts. Poppy Townsend (UKRI) will consider how to evaluate capacity building impact from data services. Mark Reed will discuss the evaluation of policy impacts. The session includes significant time for group interaction, and participants are encouraged to bring their own evaluation challenges to the group for discussion.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO COLLABORATE WITH A CHARITY? ARE YOU AN EARLY OR MID-CAREER RESEARCHER?
free image from charity clip art @ clipground.com
If you can answer both these questions with a resounding YES, then now is your opportunity to apply for funding to contribute towards a collaborative research project. BU has a small fund available to facilitate engagement and research with charitable organisations. The purpose of the funding is to:
Increase Early career researcher (ECR – no more than 10 years within receipt of doctorate) /Mid career researcher (MCR – no more than 15 years from within receipt of doctorate) engagement with charities in order to further the impact of BU’s research
Increase the amount of ECR/MCR research undertaken collaboratively with charities
Encourage future interdisciplinary funding bids led by ECRs/MCRs with charitable partners
The fund can be used flexibly, providing a strong case can be made and the assessment criteria are met. You will find this guidance with the application form (link below)
Funding could be used to fund travel, equipment, merchandise or event costs etc., but all funding will need to be spent by 31 July 2022.
Eligibility
The fund is open to all ECR and MCR researchers across Bournemouth University, including those who are already working with charitable organisations and those who would like to build up new networks.
Amount and Requirements
Funds of up to£2,000 can be applied for. The applicant must be able fully to justify the amount claimed, which is intended either to facilitate new relationships and projects with charities, or to build on existing research collaborations.
Applicants will require a supporting statement from the charity they intend to work with.
Putting the Charity Impact Fund into strategic context, under BU2025, the following other funding panels operate to prioritise applications for funding and make recommendations to the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC).
There are eight funding panels:
HEIF Funding Panel
GCRF Funding Panel
Research Impact Funding Panel
Doctoral Studentship Funding Panel
ACORN Funding Panel
Research Fellowships Funding Panel
Charity Support Funding Panel
SIA Funding panel
Please see further announcements regarding each initiative over the coming weeks.
Principle 5 – which sets of the context for such funding panels,
Principle 6 and Outcome 9 – which recognises the need for interdisciplinarity and the importance of social science and humanities (SSH).
Please kindly declare any CONFLICT OF INTEREST you may have in respect of this application should you have any. If so, in your covering letter kindly detail any steps towards mitigation of the conflict to ensure transparency and fairness in both the application process and implementation of any award granted.
UKRI are reviewing their systems to better understand the effectiveness of approaches to supporting impact across the Research Councils.
In order to achieve this they have launched a consultation to gather feedback on how impact development activities are being embedded into proposals by applicants. The aim is also to determine the levels of stakeholder involvement, and how impact development activities within proposals are reviewed and assessed. The results from this consultation will be used to make improvements to UKRI’s processes and will be central to the development of a new reference guide on the topic of ‘maximising impact’ within applications, as well as being used as an evidence base for continuous improvement, cross UKRI policy and other UKRI programmes.
They are asking for input from:
academics
university research office staff
users of research
project partners (such as social enterprises, charities, non-governmental organisations, business)
other stakeholders.
You can access the survey until 4 February 2022 here.
Bournemouth University has a small amount of HEIF (Higher Education Innovation Fund) funding available to facilitate and enhance research and development collaboration with external partners.
Dr Diogo Montalvão, Professor Phil Sewell and Ms Abi Batley have been awarded £2,710 HEIF funding in July 2021 with the aim to pump-prime research through getting the engagement and commitment from industry in a future research grant application we intend to submit to the EPSRC under the Manufacturing the Future Scheme. The proposal intends to develop UK capability in Multiaxial Ultrasonic Fatigue Testing (UFT) to get predictability of advanced material properties, namely metal AM (additive manufacturing) materials.
This HEIF funding has been pivotal on the demonstration of our advanced manufacturing and testing capability.
Our Mission
Having as primary SIA Sustainability, Low Carbon Technology & Materials Science, our mission is to contribute to reducing global waste by extending the life and enhancing the optimisation of any engineered systems through incorporating novel advanced materials tested under ultrasonic fatigue for quick and reliable predictability of properties to extend their lives. Therefore, the project addresses the UN sustainability goals of Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; Responsible Production and Consumption; and, Climate Action.
Background
The Design & Engineering Innovation Centre has acquired a Metal Additive Manufacturing 3D printer (figure 1) that is capable of printing steel, aluminium, cobalt, nickel and titanium based alloys. The machine was commissioned in July 2021 and this HEIF funding is promoting the very first case study where metal 3D printed parts are produced with a purpose.
Figure 1. Orlas Creator Metal Additive Manufacturing machine in the Design & Engineering Innovation Centre.
Ultrasonic Fatigue Testing (UFT) in a nutshell
Little is known about the lifetime properties of novel advanced materials, such as metal 3D printed ones. Knowing that approximately 90% of all metallic failures are due to cyclic loadings (a layman’s example would be what happens with a paper clip when we bend it many times – it will eventually snap), we are leading global research into the application of ultrasonics for fatigue testing of advanced materials. This is the only method to quickly determine the predictability of material properties that will be subjected to cyclic loading: Ultrasonic fatigue testing (UFT) enable tests to be extended to 1 billion cycles in just a few days compared to months or years (figure 2). This allows engineering products with confidence to last for extended lifetimes, which was not so easy in the past.
Figure 2. Comparison between the duration different fatigue testing methods need to be completed, assuming tests can run uninterruptedly.
One example of specimens that have been used to determine material properties are specimens that are cruciform, as they account for loads in two different directions to better replicate real working conditions in the lab. The PI, Dr Diogo Montalvão, has been leading research in adapting these specimens to ultrasonic fatigue testing (figure 3) and, under this HEIF, has redesigned them to be produced, for the very first time ever, by additive manufacturing (i.e., on a 3D printer) rather than by subtractive manufacturing (i.e., from machining in a CNC mill)..
Figure 3. Ultrasonic fatigue testing equibiaxial cruciform specimens (i.e., enable testing two equal loads in two perpendicular directions).
Results
It took about 18 hours to 3D print the specimen represented in figure 3 on the right in the Orlas Creator printer in the Design and Engineering Innovation Centre. Material used was a stainless-steel alloy. According to Mr Richard Glithro (CAD Demonstrator) and Ms Abigail Batley (Additive and Virtual Manufacturing Technician), this very first specimen did push the envelope during the manufacturing process as it was designed to fit the maximum available space in the machine chamber (the specimen occupies the area of a circle with 100 mm diameter).
Video 1. 3D printing in progress in the Design and Engineering Innovation Centre: .
One interesting result, which corroborates the hypothesis that metal additive manufacturing is more eco-friendly with up to 4 times lower scrap material generated in parts manufactured, is that the buy-to-fly ratio was 1.25:1 only for the part in figure 3 on the right, with the produced part produced weighing 191 gf (a little bit under the 223.8 gf initially predicted due to some defects discussed below), whereas the scrap material was measured to weigh 47.4 gf. When the machined part represented in figure 3 on the left was produced (from subtractive manufacturing), the buy-to-fly ratio was determined to be 3.85:1, producing 3.1 times as much waste (in proportion) when compared to the metal additive manufactured counterpart.
Challenges and Future steps
There were a few problems with the printing with large defects appearing in one of the arms. While it is not yet known what the issue(s) is(are), Mr Richard Glithro and Ms Abigail Batley are determined to get a “perfect” part and are investigating what parameters need to be changed in the printing (or design) process. A new part is being sent to manufacturing and, once the intended design specification is achieved, specimens are meant to be tested in Ultrasonic Fatigue Testing. That will be done within the ADDISONIC research project that has been funded this Summer by the University under the Strategic Investment Areas game changing call.
The ADDISONIC is a project that counts with the International collaboration from the University of Lisbon in Portugal. Betta Della Giustina and Ryan Mappledoram are two BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering students who are driven by research and who have embraced projects in this exciting field as their final year projects. We expect that their contributions will bring valuable insights into the project’s future.
As an external outreach goal, which was part of HEIF’s initial objectives, it is expected that the outcomes from this work will attract local as well as Nationwide businesses who are concerned with the life of their products.
The FMC Research Process Seminars recommence this week and all staff and research students are warmly invited to attend. As always, this week’s topic is practically-oriented and should be of relevance to anyone considering preparing a book proposal, whatever your discipline.
Preparing an Effective Book Proposal – by Dr Chris Miles (BU)
This session looks at what publishers are looking for in a book proposal — it will cover such questions as: who will be evaluating my proposal, what are the main questions publishers want answered, how detailed do you have to be, how much do I need to ‘market’ this thing, do I need to provide sample chapters, and what are good strategies for success? I’ll be tackling all this from my experience getting three different monographs accepted by Routledge and Palgrave.
Then we want to hear from you! Deadline: 25 January 2022
BU is currently compiling the data for the annualHigher Education – Business & Community (HE-BCI) survey. Data returned is used to calculate our Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) grant and feeds into our Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) submission, so it’s really important that we can provide an accurate picture.
We are asked to submit details of all social, cultural and community events designed for the external community – including both free and chargeable events – which took place between 1 August 2020 and 31 July 2021. Event types that should be returned include, but are not limited to:
public lectures
performance arts (dance, drama, music, etc)
exhibitions
museum education
events for schools and community groups
festival activity
media engagement.
Please note that we cannot return events such as open days, Student Union activity, widening participation activity, commercial conferences, talks for academic audiences etc.
All events that were part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2020 and the Cafe Scientifique series have been collated on your behalf centrally, so there is no need to add these.
If you have been involved with any other event which could be returned, please go to the HE-BCI Table 5 SharePoint site and input further details about the event. The deadline for entries is 25 January 2022.
At BU we promote and celebrate the work done to engage public audiences with BU research.
The public engagement with research team in Research Development and Support (RDS) can help promote your event to relevant audiences through our regular newsletter and social media channels. It also helps us to stay informed on the public engagement work being carried out by BU.
Please note: we are keen to promote BU public engagement with research activity wherever possible, but completing this form does not guarantee that we will be able to promote your event. To be considered for inclusion, your event or activity must be;
Focused on BU research, either solely or as part of a wider programme.
Events or activities that do not involve BU research, such as marketing or recruitment events, will not be accepted.
Intended for and open to non-academic audiences, either entirely or as a portion of the audience.
Submitted, at the latest, in the first two weeks of the month preceding the event.
For example, an event taking place in June should be submitted via the form any time before 14 May. This is due to lead times on producing and sending the newsletter.
Event descriptions may be edited for consistency in style with other content. If you have any questions about this process, please contact us.
The Leverhulme Trust will be speaking at the Funding Development Briefing on 26/1/22. This funder spotlight will offer the chance to ask questions directly and to hear funder insights on specific schemes.
As a reminder, the RDS will be run Funding Development Briefings every Wednesday at 12 noon during term time.
For those unable to attend, the session will be recorded and shared on Brightspace here.Invites for these sessions have been disseminated via your Heads of Department.
In summer 2015, we launched the BU Bridging Fund Scheme which aims to provide additional stability to fixed-term researchers who are often employed on short term contacts linked to external funding. This situation may impact on continuity of employment due to breaks in employment, job security and can result in a costly loss of researcher talent for the institution.
The Scheme aims to mitigate these circumstances through early career planning, forward research project planning, redeployment where possible, or where feasible, by providing ‘bridging funding’ for the continuation of employment for a short-term (usually up to three months, but up to six months can be considered in exceptional situations) between research grants. BU’s Bridging Fund Scheme is intended to permit the temporary employment, in certain circumstances, of researchers between fixed-term contracts at BU, for whom no other source of funding is available, in order to:
(a) encourage the retention of experienced and skilled staff, and sustain research teams and expertise;
(b) avoid the break in employment and career which might otherwise be faced by such staff;
(c) maximise the opportunity for such staff to produce high-quality outputs and/or research impact at the end of funded contracts/grants.
To find out more about the scheme, including how to apply for bridging funding, see the scheme guidelines.
The Bridging Fund Scheme is an action from our Athena Swan action plan (which aims to create a more gender inclusive culture at BU) and our HR Excellence in Research Award (which aims to increase BU’s alignment with the national Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers).
Hello, we are delighted to share the 2020-21 BU PIER Partnership Annual report with you. This year’s report is packed full of examples, testimonies and case studies from the 2020-21 academic year. These illustrate how we worked together across our community to embed lived experience expertise in all aspects of health and social science education and research at BU and how all of our activity was richer for it. We are looking forward to expanding this across BU research in the coming year. We hope you enjoy reading it.
Impact and Funding Applications Training: Wednesday 16th February 15:30-16:30 Online
How to write about impact in your funding bids
Writing about impact in a grant application can be challenging. However, a strong description of the benefits you hope your project will have on society and the economy, and the means you will take to get there, can make all the difference between getting funded or not.
Book your place now on the online training session Impact and Funding Bids on 16th February at 3.30pm and we will help you understand what you need to include for the best chance of success, and look at the different ways impact may be considered within each call.
Soapbox Scienceis a fun and engaging way of communicating your research and raising the profile of female, non-binary and gender queer scientists. The aim of Soapbox Science is to promote female and gender diverse scientists and the work they do, challenging stereotypes of who can be a scientist.
Events
Soapbox Science events transform public areas into an arena for public learning and scientific debate; they follow the format of London Hyde Park’s Speaker’s Corner, which is historically an arena for public debate.
Learn, heckle, question, probe, interact with and be inspired by some of our leading scientists. No middle person, no PowerPoint slides, no amphitheatre – just remarkable women and non-binary scientists sharing their latest discoveries, and answering the science questions you have been burning to ask.
Open Call
The call for speakers is open to female, non-binary and gender queer STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) researchers and entrepreneurs from PhD to Professor.
Funding for travel is provided. The organisers will provide all speakers with training in public speaking and science communication, as well as supporting you to think creatively about how to communicate your research in the most engaging way.
The event will be held on Brighton Seafront on Saturday 21 May 2022
Alternatively, please contact Adam Morris (BU Engagement Officer) if you would like advice on planning or submitting your application: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk
BU staff can login below:
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As part of the Future Research Assessment Programme, the four UK higher education funding bodies (Research England, Scottish Funding Council, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland) seek to understand the impact of the REF 2021 on the research community.
Then we want to hear from you! Deadline: 25 January 2022
In summer 2015, we launched the BU Bridging Fund Scheme which aims to provide additional stability to fixed-term researchers who are often employed on short term contacts linked to external funding. This situation may impact on continuity of employment due to breaks in employment, job security and can result in a costly loss of researcher talent for the institution.
What is Soapbox Science?
BU to contribute to international midwifery workshop in 2026
Six BU contributions 2025 Festival of Social Sciences
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 Call
ERC Advanced Grant 2025 Webinar
Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 Published
Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme pre-Published
Update on UKRO services
European research project exploring use of ‘virtual twins’ to better manage metabolic associated fatty liver disease