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Brexit: The future for UK Higher Education

Since the announcement last Friday 24th June that the UK had voted to leave the EU, some light has been shed on the implications for UK universities.

The Minister for Universities and Science, Jo Johnson MP released a statement on 28th June on higher education and research following the EU referendum.

  • He confirmed that EU citizens currently studying in the UK or starting their courses in September 2016 will continue to receive loans until they finish their courses.
  • There will be no immediate changes concerning immigration rules of British students living in the EU, and European students living in the UK.
  • There are no changes to students studying in the EU, beneficiaries of Erasmus+ or those considering applying in 2017.
  • There will be no immediate effect on those applying to or participating in Horizon 2020.

Brexit should therefore not result in any immediate changes. However, there could be significant changes in the years to come, although this will depend on the arrangements negotiated between the UK and EU. The negotiations could begin when a new Prime Minister is announced, this will definitely be by October 2016, but could be as early as September with the conservative contenders due to launch their leadership bids imminently.    They could take up to two years, or even longer (if the EU partners all agree).

Although there is uncertainty ahead about the impact of Brexit for UK higher education, there have been some positive reports about the possible future of the sector’s relationship with the EU. On the 28th June, the Italian Prime Minister said he wanted to find a way for UK students to gain passports while they studied for degree courses. Additionally, the Independent has outlined some reasons to be optimistic about the future relationship of the UK universities and the EU, and states that as long as the UK government commits to higher education, and recognises the role it plays, the future for the sector could remain bright.   An article including quotes from the Minister in the THE is also interesting.

Our Vice-Chancellor has commented in an updated statement and Jane Forster has written a blog on what happens in HE after the vote.

Update on EU funding and the HE and Research Bill

BIS logoBIS have issued a statement on the HE and Research Bill.  Do click on the link to view the statement in full.  In terms of the Bill, BIS has said “As the prime minister set out last week, the government will continue taking forward the important legislation that was set before Parliament in the Queen’s speech, including the higher education and research bill,”.

Speaking at a House of Commons debate on 27 June, David Cameron said that all Horizon 2020 contracts “will be honoured for their duration”. “Science is an area in which we get more out from Europe than we put in and we’ll certainly want to safeguard that for the future,” Cameron said.  An article explaining this further can be read on the Research Professional site.

The European Commission has also published the following statement: ‘Following the referendum result in the United Kingdom, DG Education and Culture, which is responsible for EU programmes such as Erasmus+, Creative Europe and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, has received many questions from partners and participants.  According to the Treaties which the United Kingdom has ratified, EU law continues to apply to the full to and in the United Kingdom until it is no longer a Member. This therefore also applies to the projects financed through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions.’

Please do keep writing your funding applications to the EU and get in touch with the RKEO Funding Development Team for support.

Would you like to test the new research council grants system?

Je-S logoThe research councils are replacing their electronic grants submission service, Je-S, in 2017.  More information about this project can be found here http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/funding/2017update/

They are looking for more people to get involved in user research. Can you help?

Initially they are looking for researchers; they need to test with both people who have never applied for a research grant through the Je-S system before as well as those who are more frequent applicants.  At this stage they will predominantly be testing prototypes with users.  User testing will be carried out throughout the year in a number of formats, such as site visits, remotely over Skype, or through labs where users go to a central location nearby.

Test sessions will take between half an hour to an hour.  If you are interested in being a tester then please can you let me, Jo Garrad, know by 15th July 2016.  You will need to provide me with the following information:

  1. Name
  2. Organisation
  3. Academic Discipline (high level)
  4. Email address and telephone number
  5. Have you got experience of applying for grants? yes/no
  6. Are you likely to apply for grants in the future but haven’t done so to date? yes/no
  7. Do you work in a research development, finance or other research office role? yes/no
  8. Have you conducted peer reviews for the Research Councils or any other funder before? yes/no
  9. Have you sat on an assessment or moderating panel for the Research Councils or any funder before? yes/no

What’s been happening at the research councils?

Funding opportunities

RCUKlogoAs you will know, the Government has published a White Paper which details its planned policy to reform support for higher education and research, including proposals on the future of the Research Councils. ‘Success as a Knowledge Economy’ outlines how Government intends to take forward the implementation of the recommendations of Sir Paul Nurse’s Review.  What does this mean for the research councils, and more importantly, how will this affect the pots of money available for funding?

The quick facts on the over-arching changes are as follows:

  • New organisation to be formed: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI replaces RCUK (can you spot the difference?)) with John Kingman (HM Treasury) being appointed as interim Chair of the board for UKRIJohn Kingman
  • This will include the seven research councils plus Innovate UK and part of HEFCE (Research England)
  • New organisation to be headed by a single Chief Executive/Accounting Officer with existing RC Chief Executives to become ‘Executive Chairs’
  • Councils will retain names and will each have a council of 7-10 individuals (Council members will no longer be ministerial appointments)

The role of the UKRI will be as follows:

  • UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a new research and innovation funding body that will allocate funding for research and innovation and act as a champion for the UK’s world class system.
  • The names and brands of the Research Councils and Innovate UK will be retained.
  • UKRI will have a strong board with responsibility for leading on overall strategic direction, cross-cutting decision making and advising the Secretary of State on the balance of funding between research disciplines.
  • The board will manage funds with cross-disciplinary impact and a ‘common research fund’ as proposed by Sir Paul Nurse.
  • They will retain and strengthen leadership in specific research discipline areas, innovation and England only research funding by establishing nine Councils within UKRI with delegated autonomy and authority.
  • The Councils will be responsible for the strategic leadership of their disciplines and on scientific, research and innovation matters.
  • The Secretary of State will set budgets for each of the nine Councils through an annual grant letter.
  • There would be a new legislative protection for the dual support system in England and they are formally restating the Government’s commitment to the Haldane principle.

The second reading of the Bill is likely to be in July and it will then go to the ‘Commons Committee’ for intensive work for 6-8 weeks.  However, given the current uncertainty of who will be running the country and which MPs will form a new cabinet, this could change (see the latest Research Professional article on the uncertainty of the HE and research Bill).

If the Bill does go through, the RCUK Change Programme will move to centrally led corporate functions, such as HR and Finance, but this will also include the grant funding platform.  They are aiming for a (much welcome) single common approach as the default for all activities.  The overall aim is for better ways of working and responding to new challenges, such as the Global Challenges Research Fund (see by blog post on what this is).

You may also have heard that the research councils are replacing their electronic grants submission service, Je-S, in 2017.  Please see my other blog post on how you can be part of the testing group for the new system.

Applying for research funding post EU referendum

Funding opportunities

European IPR webinarsAcademics who are applying for external funding from the EU, such as Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellowships, have been asking whether the EU referendum results will impact on funding available. The RKEO advise that at this stage, there has been no confirmation received that funding will not be available to UK HEIs. As we are unsure how things are going to pan out and it potentially could take 2 years for us to leave the EU from when they operationalise article 50, we would suggest you continue as planned. We should operate on the basis of business as usual and continue to develop high quality bids.

For internal staff, please see the notification to staff from Professor John Vinney.

Innovation knowledge sharing event for Social Science and Humanities commercialisation professionals

innovation, Knowledge Exchange

events

An open-door event for commercialisation professionals to share information relating to good practice and successful case studies in the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities.

There seems a drive within the community of commercialisation professionals to engage more with the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities in a practical and meaningful way.  Some of this emanates from the drive for more impact within the research funding sphere where Knowledge Exchange has led the way, but carrying this through to tangible commercialisation opportunities for which standard Technology Transfer Office approaches have little traction is proving much more challenging.

Isis Innovation will host and facilitate an event for commercialisation professionals to come together and share knowledge about their successes and good practice in commercialisation from the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities.  This is open to staff in all Universities who may have an interest in this nascent area.

This is expected to be a highly interactive event.  This event is FREE.

 Programme will include:

·        Facilitated discussion on the subject of  incubators and different approaches

·        Facilitated discussion on the subject of Social Entrepreneurship and different approaches

·        Facilitated discussion on licensing and more traditional venture development approaches

·        Morning and afternoon refreshments and lunch will be provided

Venue

This knowledge sharing event will be held at the offices of Isis Innovation Limited, Buxton Court, 3 West Way, Oxford OX2 0SZ. Map.

Date: 27th September 2016 between 10.00 and 16.00

Please register for the event

Click here for or more information on this event and PraxisUnico.

Impact funding available

Funding opportunities

ahrc

 

The Arts and Humanities Research Council invites applications for its follow-on funding for impact and engagement scheme: connected communities highlight notice on creating living knowledge.

This supports new and unanticipated pathways to impact which have emerged or evolved from the connected communities programme on participatory research processes and practices.

Proposals must be based on either previous or current research directly funded by the AHRC, or on research that has been co-funded with another UK research council.

Grants are worth up to £100,000 over a maximum period of one year. Smaller grants of up to £30,000 may be awarded for shorter or higher risk activities.

Click here for further information.

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact your  RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.

For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.
If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

 

HE Policy Update

EU referendum

With the UK having voted to leave the EU, the higher education sector has responded with lots of material about what it means for universities.

THE has reported that a Brexit will have sparked a huge amount of uncertainty for the future of research funding, student fees and hiring of staff from the European Union.

The Independent reports academic’s fears around a new form of Brexit – a brain exit or brain drain –  that could hit Britain’s universities and the wider scientific community.

Wonkhe comments that universities must find a way to argue for the importance of higher education in the UK inside or outside of the EU.

At present, what we do know is that the immigration status of EU students and staff based at BU and in other European countries has not yet changed. We are likely to find out more about the implications when the two-year negotiation process between the UK and other Member States begins- we do not yet know exactly when this will be, but it could be this Autumn with the appointment of a new Prime Minister.

Work experience

The National Centre for Universities and Businesses has published a report exploring business practices and processes around work experience offers. The report highlighted that work experience is used heavily as a recruitment tool, however where work experience is gained is of less importance to employers than the development of transferable skills that the experience of work fosters. You can view the report here.

HE & Research Bill

The Vice-Chancellor of Regent’s University London has warned the Higher Education and Research Bill will meet with “substantial opposition” and may not make it through the House of Commons in its current form. HE bill ‘will face substantial opposition in Parliament’ (THE).

TEF

The TEF could radically reshape the hierarchy of UK higher education, with small campus universities and post-92s outperforming many of the elite Russell Group. TEF ‘set to reshape hierarchy of UK higher education’ (TEF).

If you would like to provide any direct feedback on any of the consultation workshops we have been running, please have a look at the consultation intranet page for more information and links to the relevant documents.

 

Best paper award!

international, open access, PG research, Publishing, student research, writing

Heart 2015Best Paper for 2015 Award in the international journal Heart.  A paper published by Bournemouth University PhD student, Edward Carlton,  and his supervisors, Prof. Ahmed Khattab (FHSS) and Prof. Kim Greaves from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia in collaboration with world-renowned hospitals: John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford; Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital in Australia; and Christchurch Hospital in New Zealand has  been announced as the Winner of the “Heart Best Paper 2015  Award” [1].  This award is in recognition of the high quality and clinical impact of the paper. The winner for this award were chosen by the Editorial Team from the top 10 papers in each of the following three categories: downloads, citations and Altmetrics Score.

Dr. Edward Carlton has just finished his PhD at BU and he is now working as an Emergency Medicine Consultant in Bristol.Heart PDF 2015

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

 

Reference:

Carlton EW, Cullen L, Than M, Gamble J, Khattab A, Greaves K. A novel diagnostic protocol to identify patients suitable for discharge after a single high-sensitivity troponin. Heart. 2015 Jul;101(13):1041-6. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2014-307288. Epub 2015 Feb 17.

Funding opportuntity for knowledge exchange and innovation

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

andrew archery

Research  shows that HEFCE funding for university knowledge exchange (KE) activity delivers significant and increasing return for public investment. The return on investment from £1 of Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF)  is currently estimated at £9.70 in benefits for the economy and society, and may deliver even higher returns in future.

Why not apply for the next round of HEIF funding available?

These results reflect the way universities overall are gaining greater expertise in KE, using HEIF more effectively and developing stronger partnerships, particularly with businesses. The research studies demonstrate the range and breadth of KE activity, and the significant benefits it brings to the economy and society.

The research studies describe positive feedback from businesses and social and community groups working with universities, on the benefits they have received from KE activities. Businesses feel that universities have become much more willing to engage and that higher education KE delivers value for money.

Funding call is now live!

Read the full article on the HEFCE website.

Interdisciplinary Research HE Sector Day – Great feedback from attendees

IR21616

BU’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Office (RKEO) hosted the Interdisciplinary Research HE Sector Day on Tuesday, 21st June.

Attendees said it was…. inspiring, encouraging, interesting  enriching, fun and diverse.

A big thank you is due to all the speakers, who, together, provided all in attendance with an engaging and thought-provoking day. There was a palpable buzz with on-going dialogue already developing across BU and beyond.

Read more about the event and the speakers previously, as posted on the BU Research Blog and on BU’s News and Events webpages.

Thank you to all who made this day such a success!

 

 

Hello from Osman Ahmed: Lecturer in Physiotherapy in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences

Hi all,

I’ve been a bit slow in uploading an introduction the BU research blog but wanted to say thanks to everyone for making feel at home at BU. I’ve been in the role of physiotherapy lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences for about 2 months now and am enjoying it greatly so far.

My clinical background is as a physiotherapist, and I have worked both locally (at Poole Hospital and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital) and internationally (in New Zealand). As well as working at BU, I am also currently working at Poole Hospital NHS Trust as an outpatient physiotherapist, and with the Football Association with their disability football squads. My work in this field is due to take me to Rio De Janeiro in September for the 2016 Paralympic Games.

My main areas of research interest are eHealth/mHealth, sports concussion, and disability sport. I was lucky enough to do my PhD at the University of Otago in New Zealand, where my thesis centred upon the use of Facebook to assist the return to play following sports-concussion. I am looking forwards to helping to educate the next generation of physiotherapists to be forward-thinking and able to cope with the demands of an ever-changing world.

Being Dorset born and bred, I am very proud to be working at BU at this exciting time for the university. I hope that BU can mirror the development of AFC Bournemouth (where I have a season ticket) with regards to reaching new heights and levels of success!

Best wishes,

Osman

Innovate UK – Current funding opportunites to develop innovative products or services

Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange

 

InnovateUK_LogoA_Interim_RGBx320govuk[1]Open funding competition

Innovate UK is investing up to £15 million in innovative R&D projects, in an open competition targeted at a whole range of technology, engineering and industrial areas. Are you working with a UK company that may be interested ? (This competition is open to all UK companies.)

For more information click here.

Manufacturing and materials

Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in innovation projects in manufacturing and/or materials. These projects will focus on identified technical or commercial challenges. Funding for projects will be for  projects that aim to lead to increased UK SME productivity, competitiveness and growth.

Click here to find out more.

Women in Innovation: infocus award

Innovate UK has up to £200,000 and a package of tailored support to award to businesswomen who have exciting ideas and the potential to become leaders in innovation and deliver economic growth.

To find ouut more and apply click here.

Connected digital additive manufacturing

Apply for a share of £4.5 million for innovation projects that develop smarter, better connected 3D printing solutions. Projects must show a significant innovation step in both additive manufacturing and connected digital manufacturing.

Click here to find out more.

Agri-food innovation in Turkey

Innovate UK is to invest up to £1.5 million for UK participants developing innovative solutions to challenges within the agri-food sector in Turkey. We are running this competition in partnership with the Newton-Kâtip Çelebi Fund.

Find out more and apply.

Energy Catalyst round 4

Technology innovation is needed to solve the global energy sector ‘trilemma’ of: low carbon, security of supply and affordability.  Innovate UK are  looking for innovative solutions in any technology or sector area. For round 4, applications must also be relevant to the needs of developing countries.

Click here to find out more.

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact your  RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.

For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.