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Register to attend | The 16th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference

The 16th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference 2024 will take place on Wednesday 27 November, and registrations are open!

We are excited to share with you that the full conference brochure is now available.

The programme of the day will be as follows:
09:00 – 10:00 Poster Exhibition| FG06 & FG07
10:00 Opening Remarks | Dr Fiona Knight & Dr Julia Taylor, Heads of the Doctoral College | Share LT
10:05 – 10:15 Welcome from the Vice-Chancellor | Professor Alison Honour | Share LT
10:15 – 11:15 Session 1 Oral Presentations | Share LT
11:15 – 11:30 Comfort break
11:30 – 12:30 Session 2 Oral Presentations | Share LT
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break & Poster Viewings | FG06 & FG07
13:30 – 13:35 Welcome from the Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Knowledge Exchange | Professor Sarah Bate | Share LT
13:35 – 14:15 Keynote speaker | Professor Mary Davis (Oxford Brookes University) | Research integrity in the age of AI | Share LT
14:15 – 15:15 Session 3 Oral Presentations | Share LT
15:15 – 15:25 Comfort break
15:25 – 16:25 Session 4 Oral Presentations | Share LT
16:30 Closing Remarks

Conference brochure

This conference is a celebration of the incredible work being carried out by our postgraduate researchers, and we are proud to provide this platform for sharing knowledge, fostering collaboration and building connections. Whether you are presenting, exhibiting, or attending, this is a wonderful opportunity to network with fellow PGRs, colleagues from across the university and external visitors.

Poster and oral presenters do not need to register as their participation has already been confirmed.
This conference is open to external participants, please share this invite with companies and organisations you are cooperating with.

Register to attend

We look forward to meeting you on Wednesday 27 November. Don’t miss this chance to celebrate research and collaboration!

Best wishes,
The PGR Conference Team

Enrica Conrotto – Doctoral College Programme Manager
Arabella Moyse – Doctoral College Marketing & Events Coordinator
Zoe Leonard – Postgraduate Research Administrator

 

KTP Development Session, 20th November 2024: Telling a Compelling Story!

Business Engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Training

KTP Development Session with KTA, Stephen Woodhouse

 

Wednesday 20th November, 1.00pm to 2.00pm, BG315 (Bournemouth Gateway Building)

Telling a compelling story: Developing a coherent and convincing KTP application

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ktp-development-sessions-tickets-1040509119787

 

Developing a Coherent and Compelling Project Narrative

KTP application is not just a series of checkboxes; it’s a story. When crafting your narrative, consider the following key elements:

 

**The Problem Statement**: Clearly articulate the problem the business partner is facing. Avoid jargon or overly technical language; instead, focus on describing the issue in terms of its impact on the company’s operations, market position, or growth potential. Describe why the problem matters and how its resolution will create value.

 

**The Academic Solution**: This section should highlight your research expertise and how it aligns with the project’s needs. Provide examples of relevant past work, studies, or methodologies that showcase your department’s strengths. Be specific about how your knowledge will be applied to the problem. Remember, specificity and clarity here reinforce credibility and the potential for impactful results.

 

**Innovative Methodologies**: Describe the approach you’ll take to solve the problem. A strong application demonstrates not only that the academic team has the expertise but also that they have a clear, actionable plan. This might involve specifying experimental techniques, data collection strategies, or proprietary methods developed in your lab. Explain how these approaches differ from, or improve upon, traditional solutions.

 

Telling a compelling story is part of our series of developmental sessions for academics and businesses wishing to further their understanding of KTPs will be taking place monthly Moving between Talbot and Lansdowne Campus.

Sometimes organisations can see an opportunity for growth, something that will supercharge their business, but they don’t quite know where or how to start. That’s when a Knowledge Transfer Partnership could help.

Imagine having a specialist graduate, post-graduate or PhD student working closely with an expert academic, focused solely on bringing your idea to life. And having the UK Government fund a large proportion of that work. Often heralded as the World’s best kept secret, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) turn 50 this year. That makes them the UK government’s longest running and most successful innovation funding programme, investing £50m each year in R&D projects across a full range of sectors and business sizes. And companies that participate in a KTP programme are shown to grow at an exponential rate.

As part of ongoing work to grow our KTP numbers and to coincide with their milestone birthday, we are hosting a series of developmental sessions for staff (and businesses) to debunk myths, provide insights, and forge connections. These will take place once a month between October 2024 and May 2025 on Wednesday afternoons.

With 1 – 1 bookable sessions afterwards with faculty Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Managers and KTA, Stephen Woodhouse:

Rachel Clarke (BUBS): rclarke@bournemouth.ac.uk

Finn Morgan (SciTech): fmorgan@bournemouth.ac.uk

Matt Desmier (FMC): mdesmier@bournemouth.ac.uk

Mary-Ann Robertson (HSS): mrobertson@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

MSI (BUBS) Hosts Third Seminar in Monthly Research Connect Series

PG research

MSI (Department of Marketing, Strategy and Innovation) in the Business school, recently held the third seminar in its monthly Research Connect series, which provides a valuable platform for academics and PGR’s to share their research.

This month’s seminar featured two speakers. Prof. Jeff Bray presented on the EU-funded research project, FoodMAPP including several sub-projects and papers, with two articles currently under review. Our second presenter, Dr. Hande Turkoglu, who recently passed her PhD viva, shared insights on her PhD thesis titled , Behind the silence: Sexual harassment in hospitality workplaces of and her PhD journey.

The session was well-attended by PGRs and academics, concluding with a productive discussion on these topics and offering meaningful networking opportunities for all attendees. Following the seminar, we headed to Dylan’s for informal networking and continued conversations.

The final Research Connect seminar of 2024 will take place on December 11, from 4-5 p.m. in F108, with sessions continuing in 2025. We encourage you to join us, and if you’re interested in presenting your research at the upcoming sessions, please get in touch with me at sashraf@bournemouth.ac.uk.

See you 🙂

 

 

Journeys Through Research

Wednesday 11th December 2024 10:00-14:00 – tea and coffee from 9.45am

Are you curious about the stories behind successful research at BU? Want to hear from our academics about their journeys, the challenges they’ve overcome, and the role the Research Development and Support (RDS) team has played in their success? This is your chance to gain invaluable insights, ask questions, and discover how RDS can support your own research aspirations.

We’re thrilled to introduce a new pilot event with limited tickets, where you’ll hear from 4-5 BU academics who will share their research experiences and discuss how RDS has helped them along the way. Get the inside scoop on top tips, common pitfalls, and how to find funding opportunities, plus what’s coming up in the research landscape. After the talks, there will be a Q&A session where you can ask our speakers and the RDS team any burning questions you have.

To wrap things up, we’ll be hosting a relaxed networking lunch, giving you the chance to meet the RDS team in person, chat with fellow researchers, and connect those final dots in your own research journey.

Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out! If you’re interested, please be sure to book your ticket — and if you can’t make it, kindly let us know so someone else can take your spot.

We can’t wait to see you there!

For further information on this event please contact RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk

Book here

ADRC Launches Online Seminar Series

We’re thrilled to invite you to the first online seminar in the new ADRC series on Wednesday, December 4th, from 3-4pm. This session will feature Dr. Michele Board from Bournemouth University, presenting on the topic: Veterans and Dementia: A Collaborative Research Project.

The Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) at Bournemouth University, with funding from Dementia Research UK, launched a 2023/4 project focused on ex-military veterans—a typically underserved group in dementia research. The project explores veterans’ experiences through collaborative creative workshops, culminating in a documentary-style short film that amplifies their voices and personal stories. During this seminar we will share our film, highlight implications for practice and discuss the next stages of our project.

The seminar is open to all Bournemouth University staff, students, community organisations, and anyone interested in the topic.
Please keep an eye out for upcoming seminars throughout the new year!

Key Details:
• Date: Wednesday 4 December 2024
• Time: 3-4pm
• Topic: Veterans and Dementia: A Collaborative Research Project
• Speaker: Dr. Michele Board, Associate Professor Nursing Older People and Co-Lead Ageing and Dementia Research Centre ADRC
See you there!

Microsoft Teams 
Scan the QR code below or click on this link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZGI0NjE1YTUtNTIzYy00NTljLTk2OTEtYWZiNTc1ZmRjYzUy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22ede29655-d097-42e4-bbb5-f38d427fbfb8%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22612fce03-de45-44e3-b1e6-8404efc1b742%22%7d
Meeting ID: 364 666 916 013
Passcode: wJyC7U

RKEDF: Introduction to RED – the Research and Enterprise Database

This online session on 27 November 2024, 1pm to 1.30pm, is aimed at all academics to provide an overview of the Research & Enterprise Database.

Including how to access the system, the information available to view, budget management via RED, and how to use RED to identify your supporting pre and post award officers.

Book your place here

For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact RKE Development Framework

Using REDCap for data management in the whole research data lifecycle

Using REDCap for data management in the whole research data lifecycle

9am to 4pm 5 December 2024

Advanced course in person at Bournemouth Gateway Building 12 St Paul’s Lane Bournemouth BH8 8GP

Session 1: 09:00-12:00

Lunch break (lunch will be provided)

Session 2: 13:00 -16:00

Book here

Those with some basic REDCap knowledge* will be led by our external REDCap expert (Will Crocombe) though more in-depth real-world scenarios using REDCap.

Completion of the of basic training ‘REDCap A recommended tool for Data Management in Research Projects’ will enable participants to benefit from this advanced course.

What you will need for this course: Your own laptop and completion of ‘Recommended tools for Data Management in Research Projects’

Topics to be covered:

  • Data management – data workflow, queries and audit trail, site management
  • Simple randomisation – stratified lists
  • Electronic consent – design and setup
  • Longitudinal data collection – events and repeating forms
  • Surveys – patient data collection
  • Mobile data collection – using the REDCap mobile app

Our REDCap expert will do a small presentation on each topic and then arrange participants into small teams to carry out tasks on the topic. Our expert will be on hand to help and guide the teams through the tasks and will summarise the experiences, ‘take-homes’ and key learning at the end. At the end of the course, participants will be able to confidently set-up and use all the features in the training course.Refreshments will be provided

Book here

REDCap Key Features:

  1. Data Collection: REDCap allows users to easily create and manage data collection forms, which can be used for various purposes like surveys, longitudinal studies, or clinical trials.
  2. User-Friendly Interface: It provides an intuitive, web-based interface for project setup and data entry, allowing non-technical users to create complex projects without needing programming skills.
    1. Easy to Design Forms: REDCap provides a user-friendly interface for creating and designing online surveys and databases without needing advanced programming skills.
    2. Drag-and-Drop Interface: Allows for easy form building and question arrangement.
  3. Secure and Compliant: REDCap supports HIPAA compliance and other data security standards as GDPR and FISMA, making it suitable for handling sensitive or protected health information (PHI).
  4. Customisability: Users can customize forms, surveys, and workflows to suit their project needs, and it supports branching logic, validation, and automated alerts.
    1. Flexible Form Design: You can create complex branching logic, calculated fields, and use piping to personalize questions.
    2. Autonomy for Researchers: Users can independently design and manage their projects without needing IT support.
  5. Collaboration: It enables collaboration across institutions, allowing multiple users with different permission levels to work on the same project.
  6. Longitudinal Data Collection: It supports collecting data over time from the same participants, which is important for research projects that involve repeated measurements.
  7. Shared Library: REDCap’s Shared Library allows users to browse and search for data entry forms that other users have uploaded.
  8. Data Export: Data collected in REDCap can be exported to various statistical software formats (e.g., SPSS, SAS, Stata, R) for analysis

November Digest RKEDF

Book now for RKEDF training in November 2024

Click on the titles to find further details and book your place

Do you need to know about the Research & Enterprise Database? This online training session on Weds 27 November, 13.00-13.30, is aimed at all academics to provide an overview of the Research & Enterprise Database. This includes how to access the system, the information available to view, budget management, and identifying your pre and post award officers. Book your place here

REF for ECR’S: A beginners guide!

This in-person session on Weds 20 November 2024, 13:00-15:00, will introduce you to what the REF is, where it came from, where it’s going, and how it may impact you as an early career researcher. We will also discuss any questions you have around expectations and processes at BU and experiences will be shared by academics with previous and current involvement in REF.

Telling a compelling story & developing a KTP application

One of a series of in-person developmental sessions on Weds 20 November, 13:00-14:00, for staff (and businesses) to debunk myths, provide insights, and forge connections, this in person session on will focus on telling a compelling story and developing a coherent and convincing Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) application.

BRIAN drop-in surgery

This is a 2-hour, in-person, drop-in surgery for questions or issues relating to BRIAN.  No question is a stupid question so pop in and ask.  No booking required – drop-in between 13:00 and 14:00 on Tues 26 November, at BG-217 Gateway Building, Lansdowne campus.

Epigeum Research Skills Toolkit 

Do you want to refresh your researcher skills? Have a look at the Epigeum Research Skills Toolkit (on demand online modules).  Further information on how to access Epigeum courses can be found here. 

Look out for events in early December, to be announced soon!

A close-up of a blue and white megaphoneDescription automatically generatedPlease help us in avoiding any waste of resources; make sure you can attend or cancel your booking prior to the session. For any further information, please contact RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Volatile organic compounds as diagnostic biomarkers of skin cancer

 

The Analytical Science Research Group (ASRG) has been awarded substantial funding from 6 successful grant applications to support a major clinical study investigating volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as diagnostic biomarkers of skin cancer.

The research will be led by Prof Richard Paul, with co-investigators: Dr Ramin Boroujerdi, Dr Santanu Majumder, Prof Huseyin Dogan, and Prof Illankovan (UHD). The project is a collaboration between BU and the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Unit at University Hospitals Dorset. The project aims to identify VOC biomarkers of skin cancer, and develop a rapid, portable diagnostic device tuned to detect those biomarkers, for application in primary care.

Our vision is a user friendly, rapid sensor, capable of detecting skin cancers which does not require specialist training to use. Such a device could be confidently used by a range of medical professionals in primary care, including nurses, and would enhance the detection of skin cancers.

Skin cancer sites are known to release odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and these compounds can be collected and analysed to aid in the chemical profiling of skin cancers.

During a recent pilot study our team developed a custom extraction device based on a modified solid phase microextraction (SPME) approach, to capture VOCs released from skin cancer sites. Our new device enabled collection of a much wider range of compounds than previously possible. The technique was applied in a pilot clinical study with skin cancer patients.

Patients donated a VOC sample from a skin cancer lesion, as well as a sample from an area of skin not affected by cancer as a control. Volunteers from the general population served as a separate control group.

The trial demonstrated that the newly developed SPME technique was simple to apply during routine patient appointments, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) SPME was found to retain a wide variety of VOCs which remained stable for a minimum of 24 hours.

Analysis using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) revealed VOCs that were present in skin cancer lesions that may serve as diagnostic biomarkers.  The research has developed a novel, non-invasive sampling approach for VOC collection from skin cancer patients in situ, and reveals potential biomarkers associated with skin cancers.

Our latest funding will allow us to validate this approach over a major 3-year clinical study on skin cancer patients, and to undertake work to develop new portable skin cancer detection technology for use in primary care. The development of a rapid sensor, specific to skin cancers and deployable in a point of care device is an exciting prospect, which would enable rapid detection of skin cancer in primary care, enhancing patient triage and improving patient outcomes.

 

 

The Analytical Science Research Group (ASRG) at Bournemouth University provides a focus for analytical research in the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, and a platform for collaborative work across the university and with industry.

Our research concentrates on the development of new analytical methods to deepen scientific understanding across three key themes:

  • Bioanalytical Science
  • Environmental Analytical Science
  • Forensic Science and Toxicology

To find out more about the research undertaken by ASRG, and our technical capabilities to support chemical analysis for your own work, click here.

 

The Leverhulme Trust Visit to BU, 4th December now open for bookings-

Funding opportunities

Online event – 4 December 13.00-14.30

Join us at our upcoming virtual visit from The Leverhulme Trust, The Trust has been funding research for almost 100 years and has an essential role in the UK research funding landscape via its support for fundamental and higher-risk research, which has become much scarcer in some disciplines in recent years.

We will hear from the Director of Leverhulme about the funding schemes they offer, advice for applicants, Strategy and Looking into the future.

You are all welcome to join us and you will get a chance to raise your questions – to make the process easier can you please sent Eva Papadopoulou your questions in advance so we can coordinate them.

For more information about Leverhulme Trust visit https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/ and if you have any questions, please contact RDS.

Please book here: The Leverhulme Trust – funding development Tickets, Wed 4 Dec 2024 at 13:00 | Eventbrite

WAN Small Grant Fund 2024/25

Women’s Academic Network Application for Small Grant Funding 2024/2025

Details of the competitive funding scheme:

WAN project funds are designed to support research-based activities that meet WAN broad aims in supporting equality for women, promoting their careers and highlighting gender-based issues that affect women. Each grant is worth up to £500.

Conditions:

  • The scheme is only open to WAN members.
  • WAN members who are postgraduate researchers may apply, but the grant cannot be used to fund doctoral research.
  • Every funded project must be completed by the end of the fiscal year July 2025*.
  • Every project must lead to demonstrable outcomes/deliverables such as papers, book proposals, Research Blogs, pilot studies leading to bigger grants etc.
  • You must agree to present outcomes to WAN members and produce a blog post as a condition of funding.

*Funds must be spent by end July 2025 therefore it will not be feasible to use budget for hiring research assistants (e.g., for transcription)

Your application should be two pages in total, excluding references.

Deadline for funding application:

Please email your application to Dr Chloe Casey: ccasey@bounemouth.ac.uk by Monday 2nd December 2024

Successful applicants will be informed by Monday 16th December 2024.

Application form: WAN Small Grant Fund 202425

BASES Outreach Hub

On Tuesday 5th November academics from Bournemouth University welcomed 70 students from local schools to participate in a first of many outreach days showcasing sport and exercise provision at the university. After a competitive process, Bournemouth University was recently awarded Outreach Hub status by the British Association for Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES), the professional body for sport and exercise sciences in the UK. As a hub BU are responsible for running outreach events for local schools to promote and inspire students to study Sport and Exercise Science with Bournemouth University being an excellent place to do so.

The day began with a captivating introduction from Dr Emma Mosley, lead of the outreach project, who highlighted the expansive field of sport and exercise sciences. She illustrated the wide range of opportunities—from community health engagement to high-performance sports—that this field offers. This was followed by a keynote presentation from Dr Emma Kavanagh, a BASES Fellow, who shared her journey to becoming an HCPC-registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist. Dr Kavanagh also discussed her experiences of working with teams at major events like the Olympic, Paralympic, and Commonwealth Games. This session showcased the role of psychology in sport and the many pathways for psychologists to engage with individuals, teams and organisations in this dynamic field.

Dr Emma Mosley explained that, “The opportunity to become a BASES hub has been a fantastic springboard to promote the excellent provision of sport and exercise science we have here at Bournemouth University to local schools”

Our visitors joining us from Poole Grammar School and LeAF Academy then were introduced to nutrition, physiology, biomechanics, psychology and coaching through interactive practical sessions showcasing the university laboratory facilities and staff who are passionate about the subjects they teach.

Students got to critically evaluate the contents of sports drinks and produce their own optimally balanced version in our Nutrition laboratory delivered by the fantastic nutrition team Dr Paul Fairbairn and Dr Sarah Hillier. In the Human Performance Laboratory students took part in jump height measurement using force plates with Dr Louise Burgess, analysed their expired gas with Dr Rebecca Neal and had the opportunity to learn about reaction time and eye tracking with Dr Emma Mosley. Andy Boland completed the practical sessions with a dynamic coaching session exploring different types of practice for skill learning.

Callum Burt, teacher of PE from Poole Grammar School said “I know our students took a lot from the sessions and went away both highly engaged and motivated from the workshops delivered by the staff. We look forward to coming back next year!”

In the final session of the day students focused on the competitive element of the day, the BASES National School Poster Competition. During this time students planned an academic poster on a topic of their choice from across the day, some examples included “How do eye tracking glasses work” and “Why is muscle asymmetry problematic for athletes”. Students are due to submit their posters back to the outreach hub by the 20th of December and the team will choose a winner. The Bournemouth University winner will be entered into the BASES National School Poster Competition, where all the outreach hubs in the UK submit their posters to and BASES judge the final winner. The national winning poster entry receives a funded visit of a local sport star or coach to their school.

This outreach day was an incredible opportunity to engage with young people with a passion for sport and allow them to learn about the variety of roles across the sport sector while showcasing the sports provision here at BU.

We have undergraduate courses in for more information please look on our course pages.

BSc Sport and Exercise Science

BSc Sports Therapy

BSc Physiotherapy

BSc Nutrition

BSc Sport Coaching

BSc Sport Management

Thank you to all the team involved in the day (Dr Emma Mosley, Dr Emma Kavanagh, Dr Chole Casey, Dr Sarah Hillier, Dr Paul Fairbairn, Dr Becky Neal, Dr Louise Burgess, Emily Phillips and the school liaison team).

BU research presented at the House of Lords

The AHRC funded BRAID project, Shared-Posthuman Imagination: Human-AI Collaboration in Media Creation was honoured to share their research findings and proposed legal & policy interventions on Generative AI in the Media Industry at the UK House of Lords in an event organised by Policy Connect and Bournemouth University.

The round table event included participants from the House of Lords, Digital Catapult, BBC, The Law Society, Alan Turing Institute, PRS, UK-Music,  The Writers Guild, Equity, Industry and Academia amongst others.

The session featured an insightful discussion on the research project and its findings, particularly regarding the need for education on responsible use of Generative AI, and its impact on issues of intellectual property, labour, and accessibility. Members of Bournemouth University also  gave a  presentation in which they outlined some outcomes from the research project including a range of potential policy interventions, a summary of which is outlined below.

This scoping research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and BRAID UK Bridging Responsible AI Divides.

The interdisciplinary research team was Szilvia Ruszev, Maxine Gee,  Melanie Stockton-Brown, Tom Davis, Xiaosong Yang, Selin Gurgun, Liam Rogers, Boyuan Cheng, James Slaymaker and Stephanie Prajitna

As well as international research partners Catherine Griffiths and Kejun Zhang.

Members of the research group are also members of Emerge Research Group.

12 policy outmodes

Bid-generating Sandpit: Interdisciplinary Research towards Sustainable Development Goals

Calling early career researchers (including practice-led) for two days of sparking ideas, discovering new project partners, and developing interdisciplinary funding bids!

26 – 27 March 2025

The British Academy Early Career Researcher Network brings together ECRs across the humanities and social sciences disciplines, regardless of their funding source or background.

Please note that in order to book a ticket to attend this event you must be a member of the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network, unless you have been invited directly by one of the event organisers. To find out if you are eligible to join the Network if you are not already a member, please see our website for more information on eligibility and how to sign up. Any questions, please email ecr_network@thebritishacademy.ac.uk.

For more information and to book see here

To secure your spot in the Sandpit, please complete and submit the following application – note that all participants must commit to attending both full days:

APPLY HERE BY 29 November 2024: https://forms.office.com/e/AQiAsf5Wxn

Logo for the British Academy ECR network

British Academy ECR network