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Collaborating with external organisations

Knowledge Exchange

Engaging with new collaborators can be an interesting challenge. As with many relationships, the foundations of collaborations will be built upon common interest and trust. Following many cliches, this is something that can take time to grow or demonstrate.

With the ever-changing world of research funding some organisations may not be eligible for funding based on geography, financial status or organisation type.  Broadly speaking, collaborators will be expected to provide some form of contribution (e.g. match funding) for participating in research projects.  For these reasons, some helpful reminders are provided below for adding stakeholders to research and knowledge exchange (RKE) activities.

1) Find common ground.

If you plan on contacting a stakeholder, ensure they are appropriate to join the project, and that the work would fit within their priorities. A common mistake is to contact a ‘big’ company, or multi-national organisation, without first identifying how the intended collaboration will fit within their priorities.

2) Get out there.

At times, serendipity can contribute to the forming of research collaborations. Publish to get your work known, attend open stakeholder events (e.g. KTN), and advertise your expertise and willingness to join collaborations (e.g. Konfer).

3) Haste makes waste.

Contacting a potential collaborator near a deadline, to apply pressure to join a consortium, may give the wrong impression. Given that many schemes require a form of match funding, ‘cold calling’ and essentially asking for money to join something that is of interest to you, may close more doors than are opened. Reach out, and if there is common interest (as number 1 above), establish ways to communicate further and perhaps arrange for future ways of collaboration. It may seem obvious but a common mistake is to be too informal, and too quick in writing a potential collaborator. Always start off formally in any correspondences and then judge from there.

4) Phone a friend.

You may already have a larger network than you realise. As well as contacts within your department, make use of colleagues throughout BU. If you contact RDS, you can be signposted to someone who can help you and who may already know the correct person to contact with established relationships. For some organisations, that receive hundreds of requests to collaborate every year, there may be agreements in place between BU and the stakeholder, so a named person will act as the conduit of communication in the first instance. If in doubt, ask BU colleagues.

5) Prepare a pitch.

Put what you wish to accomplish into writing. Ensure you put down what the future opportunities may be in joining a collaboration, put down your unique suitability to collaborate, and be sure to articulate the benefits of joining a collaboration. In short, this can be a quick pitch to collaborate, all in a short document. If you’ve sent this to the wrong person in an organisation, this can easily be shared.

Collaborating with industry: why it matters

These collaborations are important not only on a personal level to enhance your knowledge exchange profile, as a natural progression from your research – research in action, if you will – but also for BU and wider society.

Collaborations with external partners is a great way to demonstrate impact. This could be wide ranging from projects such as collaborative funding, to things like CPD and consultancy. A thing to remember is, that if somebody has paid for knowledge exchange, through direct funding or co-funding on an application, the odds are that they will use the work. This may be unlike any purely academic work that may never see the light of day beyond a journal paper.

On a personal level, you will develop a KE track record in working with industry that can help to bring your teaching to life and give further direction on your future research.

On an institutional level, all collaborations with external sources are tracked and contribute to BU’s annual returns. To explain further:

The Higher Education Business & Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey requires us to document all of our interactions with external sources, as the survey name suggests. As a result of this annual return, there is a mystical algorithm that uses this data and some other sources, to calculate our annual HEIF allocation. So, by BU maximising opportunities in working with external sources and documenting this work, we have a stronger return and thus could expect more HEIF funds to use across BU to strengthen our Knowledge Exchange provision – this could mean more HEIF project money is available!

The Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) is a relatively new addition to the Framework stool (with the Research Excellence and Teaching Excellence Frameworks being the other two legs). This Framework is set to be a regular return for institutions to complete as an aid to assess our own performance and provide continuous performance opportunities. The results of these returns are published to provide accessibility of world-leading research to external collaborators.

In short, by working with external collaborators, there are benefits to yourself on an individual level, benefits to BU and arguably more importantly, wider societal and/or economic benefits.

Celebrating BU’s impact case studies for REF 2021!

Behind the headline figure of 47 impact case studies BU submitted to REF 2021 is several years’ preparation: a ‘light touch’ exercise in 2015, a stocktake in 2017-18, an impact review in 2018, two full Mock Exercises in 2019 and 2020, and a further adhoc review last November. The number of case studies submitted to the 2020 Mock was actually 73 – illustrating the fact that an even larger pool of researchers was involved in the process of honing BU’s impact submission.

Impact is for life, not just REF

Inevitably,  impact case study teams heaved a huge sigh of relief once the button was pushed on REF 2021, but impact exists beyond REF, and, of course, existed before it. As Fast Track Impact’s Mark Reed puts it, ‘impact is the good that researchers can do in the world’. With that in mind, we will be showcasing BU’s impact case studies on the Research blog over the coming weeks. As well as acknowledging the hard work that went into producing them, and highlighting the breadth of BU’s research, we hope this series of posts will also provide insight and inspiration for researchers at all stages of their careers.

What exactly is an impact case study?

A 5-page document, comprising:

  1. A 100-word pithy summary of the impact achieved.
  2. A 500-word section describing the research underpinning the impact.
  3. 6 research outputs, referenced in the section above, which directly link to the impact.
  4. A 750-word narrative that details the impact/s achieved.
  5. 10 pieces of evidence to corroborate the impact claims, in the form of independent factual sources, testimonial letters etc.

… and all conveyed in a style as accessible to the lay reader, as to the expert in the field.

Next post: 1) how BU research informed one of the largest citizen science projects ever conducted; and 2) helped save consumers from more than £22m in scams.

SIA open call for game-changing research concepts: what could you do?

In today’s blog post, Dr Nicolette Barsdorf-Liebchen, our Research Facilitator for Animation, Simulation & Visualisation explores game-changing research ideas that have come across her desk. To learn more about the call for game-changing research concepts, see our blog post on where to find out more information. 

“In case you are not quite sure just how game-changing your research ideas are, here are some examples randomly culled from the many diverse current projects around the globe to guide and inspire you. Some may even relate to your own field, and provide an indication as to possible directions in which you could drive your research. All game-changing ideas require interdisciplinary collaboration nowadays. The ones below typify projects which integrate two or more of the SIAs, and so represent paradigmatically the type of game-changing ideas we seek to support. Read, and be inspired!

Innovative Technology in the Manufacturing Industry

In their article “Augmented Reality – A Game-Changing Technology for Manufacturing Processes”, Kohn and Harborth (2018) explain that current research has shown that in the digital era companies are experiencing ever-increasing pressure to be both more productive and produce better quality goods while simultaneously cutting costs. The integration of innovative new digital technologies throughout the manufacturing process is now crucial, requiring fundamental transformation in businesses to cope with these increasing requirements, and continue to be competitive. The current integration of such an innovative technology like, eg., augmented reality in the manufacturing industry has a significant impact on different work processes, improving production operations and especially assembly processes, while applied AR solutions involve maintenance and inspection processes. If you think you may have just such an industry solution, let it wing its way to us via your EoI!

Digitalisation and Sustainability

Digitalisation towards sustainability is a rapidly-growing area of research and innovation around the globe (Seele and Lock, 2017), and if you are not on board, you will surely get left behind! E-health services, robotics, emission reduction solutions, and so forth, are all areas of vibrant development geared towards helping ourselves and saving our planet. Sustainability is the buzzword, and rightly so: our survival literally depends upon making almost every area of our lives sustainable. However, the overall “sustainability gap” (Lubin and Esty 2014) continues to be a major issue. As Seele and Lock (2017) observe, “The overconsumption of natural resources and its harmful consequences threaten the basis of our existence and that of future generations”. If you wish to be part of the global mission to achieve a more sustainable planet in light of the sustainable development goals, gear your idea in this green direction. Any research which targets strategic innovation via digitisation in the services of sustainability is by its very nature game-changing research.

Urban Design and Spatial Development

One striking Leverhulme project we have found which inspires us concerns urban design. We love Professor Marion Roberts’ award-winning project. She describes it thus: “Urban design as a practical activity can be loosely described as three-dimensional town planning. Urban designers set out the framework for the spatial development of urban places, at scales ranging from a whole town down to an urban square. This ‘specialist-generalist’ activity covers a complex assembly of agendas, as it tries to accommodate buildings, hard and soft landscaping, transport and movement systems and of course, people in all their diversity. Contemporary urban design theory and practice has largely avoided the night as a time-space…” This project focusses on the dark side and is thus a game-changer in terms of frameworks for urban design. (https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/emeritus-fellowships/urban-design-and-urban-night)

Early Learning with Technology: Determining the Most Effective Use of Digital Learning Tools

The Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington describes 6 game-changing projects upon which its scientists are currently working. One of them concerns children and early learning with digital technology (http://ilabs.washington.edu/game-changing). Children are our future; we all know that. They are the ones to inherit this besieged planet and find messianically redemptive solutions for its diabolical troubles. So, from an ASV perspective, how do children benefit from the use of AR/VR technology in particular? Given that our visual sense is central to our learning processes, what we discover in experimenting with how children interact and learn with AR/VR could be used “to refine learning technologies, from computers to mobile phones, in ways that promise personalized learning in developing children”. CV-19 has required a rapid step-change in the further development of these tools, and the pedagogic research surrounding their use in early education. Let your ideas plug into the demand!”

A Guide to Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

What is KTP?

A KTP is part-funded by the government and is a three-way partnership with the aim to encourage collaboration between businesses and academics.  The idea is to for knowledge to be shared and transferred among all parties of the project team (academics, business and a graduate) to embed a new capability of strategic importance within the business. KTPs have been a successful funding stream for over 40 years and are managed by Innovate UK.

This scheme offers a fusion of academic and industry collaboration supported by an associate (graduate).

Why are they important to you?

KTPs are an excellent way of bringing in income and developing knowledge exchange with clear impact.

Key benefits are as follows:

  • Facilitates research impact
  • Increases income
  • Contributes to the University’s REF submission
  • Improves links with industry partners
  • Applies your knowledge to innovative business-critical projects
  • Raises your profile among colleagues, institution and beyond
  • KTPs are valuable to businesses as they provide a distinct transfer of knowledge to an strategic innovative project which adds significant value to their business.

How to apply

As you’ll be applying for funding, there is an application process to follow.  Once we’ve curated a project team and fully scoped out the project, including costings and expected outcomes, we then submit an expression of interest to the funder. As a team, we’ll then construct the application form and seek advice from the local Innovate UK Adviser who will have oversight of the project.  Once the application is ready, it will be submitted to Innovate UK for assessment.  Application deadlines are roughly every 8-10 weeks and application outcomes are expected to be communicated within 8-10 weeks of submission. There are 4/5 submission deadlines a year.

Project examples

If you think this sounds great, here are some examples of completed projects which might help you consider a KTP in future.

  • The Faculty of Science and Technology led a project with a local data management company to develop and embed innovative data analytics and machine learning capabilities to enhance existing and create novel data-driven products with a view to enhanced social impact
  • The Faculty of Media and Communication led a project with a successful and innovative animation company to develop new techniques and a software tool to generate new facial animation from existing face models.

Innovate UK are currently encouraging KTPs within management and have provided a large investment to entice KTP proposals within this area.

To generate some ideas, brainstorm business partners, or simply to find out more; please contact Rachel Clarke, KE Adviser.

Research seminar is on the Way! 😇Detox with nature: Communicating with the great outdoors, urban greenery and its history – 25th May 2021 From 10:00 –11:30 (ZOOM)

We will have a seminar session with a guest lecturer, Professor Hiroko Ochiai (National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center, Japan). This research seminar is conducted via ZOOM.
Professor Ochiai and Dr Oe will present the recent research outcome ‘Detox with nature: Communicating with the great outdoors, urban greenery and its history’.  Professor Ochiai is a Chief of Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, National Tokyo Medical Center and also a Certified physician of Forest Medicine.

Our research focuses on the the well-beings with forest bathing with medical evidence in the community context. This seminar is held in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as ‘Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being’and ‘Goal 17: Partnership for Goals’. This session also aligns with BU2025 strategic investment areas (SIAs), Medical Science.

The BU ECRs, PhD researchers, and MSc students are welcome to this session.
*For more details, please email to Hiroko Oe :hoe@brounemouth.ac.uk

Postgraduate Researchers and Supervisors | Monthly Update for Researcher Development

PG research, Training

Postgraduate researchers and supervisors, hopefully you have seen your brand new look monthly update for researcher development e-newsletter sent last week. If you have missed it, please check your junk email.

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.

Please also subscribe to your Brightspace announcement notifications for updates when they are posted.

If you have any questions about the Researcher Development Programme, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Natalie (Research Skills & Development Officer)
pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk 

Your opportunity to put forward the concepts for which BU will be known in the years to come!

Funding opportunities

The call for game-changing research concepts is currently open to enable the growth of BU’s Strategic Investment Areas.

This is your opportunity to put forward the concepts for which BU will be known in the years to come. Concepts that are prioritised for development by the SIA Steering Groups, will benefit from tailored institutional support to turn your idea into a reality.  This could include identification of match-funding, support from estates, personalised funding development support and much more – you tell us what you need!

 Game-changing research concepts are welcomed from all of our academic community across all career stages. 

To learn more about the SIAs, the open call and to discuss what you could do, read further details on the staff intranet The Teams links for each of the sesisons are here below for you to save in your calendars. For enquiries, please email sia@bournemouth.ac.uk. 

Briefing Events

Briefing events are taking place on the following dates:

  • Medical Science – 6 April, 9.30am

If you would like to join the meeting, please save this link in your diary and click on the link to join the meeting on the day: Click here to join the meeting

  • Animation, Simulation & Visualisation – 7 April, 10am

If you would like to join the meeting, please save this link in your diary and click on the link to join the meeting on the day: Click here to join the meeting

  • Sustainability, Low Carbon Technology and Materials Science – TBC

If you would like to join the meeting, please save this link in your diary and click on the link to join the meeting on the day:  TBC

  • Assistive Technology – 22 April 10.30am

If you would like to join the meeting, please save this link in your diary and click on the link to join the meeting on the day: Click here to join the meeting

 

General drop-in sessions

General drop in-sessions for any queries, to discuss potential ideas or to identify potential BU partners are taking place on the following dates/times supported by SIA Steering Group members and RDS staff:

  • 8 April 2pm

If you would like to join the meeting, please save this link in your diary and click on the link to join the meeting on the day: Click here to join the meeting

  • 19 April 11.30am

If you would like to join the meeting, please save this link in your diary and click on the link to join the meeting on the day: Click here to join the meeting

  • 29 April 2pm

If you would like to join the meeting, please save this link in your diary and click on the link to join the meeting on the day: Click here to join the meeting

 

Reminder about the BU Bridging Fund

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. It 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.

The Scheme was updated in 2020 to:

  1. Update the process to link the funding model with the conditions at the point of application:
    1. Sufficient external funding has been secured to retain the researcher but there is an unavoidable gap between funding (usually up to three months, but up to six months can be considered). If these conditions are met at the point of application and the application is approved then the central budget will cover 100 per cent of the salary and employers’ on-costs during the bridging period.
    2. The researcher is named on a submitted application for research funding and the decision is pending with an outcome expected before the end of the bridging period. If these conditions are met at the point of application and the application is approved then the central budget will cover 50 per cent of the salary costs during the bridging period. The Faculty will be required to meet the remaining 50 per cent of the salary and employers’ on-costs during the bridging period.
  2. Employment legislation updates.
  3. Add an additional financial approval to the application process.

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).

PRES 2021 | One week to go

PG research, student research

Just one week to go!

The Advance HE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) launches next Monday.

Have your say

We are keen to make sure our PGRs have the best possible experience while studying with us. To do this, we need to know what you think works well and what as a University we could do better.

PGRs are reminded to look out for an email from the University on Monday 12 April 2021 containing your unique link to the survey. If you can’t find this email, contact PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk and we’ll help you to get access.

It will take around 15 minutes to complete. Feedback is confidential and any reporting will be entirely anonymous.The survey is your chance to tell us about your experience as a postgraduate research student at Bournemouth University.

Your feedback is important. The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey is the only national survey of postgraduate research students and so is the only way for us to compare how we are doing with other institutions and to make changes that will improve your experience in the future.

We will be making a £1 donation for every survey completed to the student mental health wellbeing charity, Student Minds.

If you would like to know more about the survey, please visit: PRES 2021

We hope you take the opportunity to get involved this year and help us make improvements to your experience.

 

Best wishes,

The Doctoral College

Knowledge exchange: what is it and why does it matter?

Knowledge Exchange

Knowledge exchange (KE) is a process that brings together academic staff, users of research and wider groups and communities to exchange ideas, evidence and expertise.  By sharing knowledge with others you can disseminate your research to interested organisations and people, and your research can benefit from the expertise of those who work in relevant fields.  During this week we’ll be sharing some ways in which you could share your research beyond academia, as well as hints and tips for beginning a new collaboration.

Over the last few years, knowledge exchange has become increasingly important in HE policy thanks to the introduction of a number of new initiatives designed to help us measured and improve our KE performance.  These complement a number of existing initiatives, all of which are interlinked and described below.

The first of these is the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF), which measures our KE performance over the past three years.  This is a new initiative which is designed to make university KE performance more accessible to potential partner organisations.  Research England (RE) recently published the first iteration of KEF dashboards which can be found here.  RE recognises that not all institutions will be equal when it comes to KE: we all have different goals, different strengths and operate in very different kinds of location.  As a result, they’ve chosen to cluster similar institutions together in order to compare their performance.  At the moment our KEF performance isn’t linked to funding, but the likelihood is that it will inform our Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) allocation in future years.

Many aspects of our KEF performance are informed by the data we submit annually to the Higher Education Business Community Interaction Survey (HEBCI).  Each year we submit data that captures our activities in relation to collaborative research, consultancy, CPD, public and community engagement and commercialisation.  Our HEBCI performance also informs the amount that we receive for our HEIF funding, which many of you will have benefited from over the last few years.

Our HEIF funding is used to support and develop our knowledge exchange activities and is overseen by the HEIF Funding Panel.  The Panel issue regular funding calls and ensure that our activities are in line with our HEIF strategy.

The final piece of the puzzle is the Knowledge Exchange Concordat (KEC); another new initiative which is a set of principles designed to help us assess our KE performance and decide which areas we’d like to improve.  We will submit our response to the KEC for the first time later this year.  Over the last few weeks, our Heads of Department have been helping RDS and the Head of External Engagement to assess our progress towards each principle, which will inform our response and the areas that we choose to improve.

Tomorrow we’ll be sharing more about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), which are just one of the ways that you could involve external stakeholders in your research activities.

NIHR virtual event – Equality, diversity and inclusion in applied health and social care research

Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics, Training

The NIHR Research Design Service South East is hosting an event to discuss and explore what is meant by equality, diversity and inclusion in research and the importance of thinking about it when planning your health or social care research project.

Professor Kamlesh Khunti, Director of the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations East Midlands and Centre for BME Health, will talk about his recent research on COVID-19 in ethnic minority populations. Dr Esther Mukuka will talk about her new role as the Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the NIHR, and the increasing emphasis being put on those that apply for any NIHR funding to demonstrate their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and a healthy research culture more generally.

The presentations will be followed by informal workshops to look at different case studies demonstrating the application of equality, diversity and inclusion principles in research.

The event is open to anyone with an interest in applied health and social care research.

Sign up online

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/events/equality-diversity-and-inclusion-in-applied-health-and-social-care-research/27216?utm_source=newsletter-fs&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fs-2021-04

New BU guides on leading research collaborations, costing projects and maximising value from RKE activity- available for download

Guidance, Knowledge Exchange, Research Integritiy

Three new guides are available to assist BU colleagues with initiating and managing Research and Knowledge Exchange (RKE) projects. The guides are downloadable from the below links by BU Staff, or from policy documents section of the BU Staff Intranet.

Costing and pricing guide for Research & Knowledge Exchange activity

This guide is intended to constitute pragmatic advice in shaping costs for research and knowledge exchange proposals. The guide provides some outline details on terminologies and concepts used in designing research projects at a UK university. Frequently occurring costs are listed as reminders of items that each Principal Investigator (PI) would be likely to require against type of Research and Knowledge Exchange activity. Examples of sample costs and the expectations on designing sustainable research projects are set out in the appendices against each activity type.

Maximising Income in Research & Knowledge Exchange activity

The intention of this guide is to help shape best practice for a sustainable research environment at BU. The intended audience is Principal Investigators (PI), staff in RDS who are responsible for supporting academics to design or manage projects, and RKE leaders overseeing a portfolio of projects at BU (such as Executive Deans, heads of RKE Centres, Institutes etc.).

Guidance on Leading an external research application.

This guide is intended to assist you through the application stage when you intend to lead on an RKE project. The details of the process may vary between funding bodies, but the basic principles are likely to be very similar.
Helpful advice, and a pro forma table, are available to assist with ensuring the integrity of any collaborative relationships.

If you would like to discuss how to make the best use of these guides, please contact Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk).

Guidance on external bids – updated

Guidance

Last year, we published a Guidance on External bids, and this was updated in January 2021. This has been reviewed again and updated for the period April to May 2021. The main change is to the reduction in time for providing a fully completed intention to bid form to RDS. This has been reduced from five working weeks to four working weeks. Please note that there are caveats in terms of when completed applications (all costs and external forms finalised) are required for certain types of bid.

As a reminder, RDS have worked with Faculty DDRPPs to ensure greater transparency around the recent changes to the bidding approval process, and to ensure that research remains a key activity for our academics.

The document, Guidance on External bids, sets out the context for the changes, the measures in place (including timings for bid preparation and parameters for funding opportunities), and the support available to you. This will be reviewed mid-May 2021.

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 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 each month. You can register here for your preferred date:

11th May 2021

13th July 2021

14th September 2021

9th November 2021

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.

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.