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Last chance – What will Marty McFly need in 25 years?

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, Research themes, Training

Or, to put it another way, how do we realise the transformational impact of digital technologies on aspects of community life, cultural experiences, future society and the economy’?

On 26th and 27th January 2016, RKEO will be hosting a sandpit workshop to facilitate exploration of this topic to:

  • Raise awareness – interdisciplinary approaches are an integral element of research successclock
  • Provide a space to explore ideas
  • Provide a mechanism for continual peer review
  • Support proposal development
  • Stimulate research proposals in promising areas of research for the University

The Research Sandpit process comprises:

  • Defining the scope of the issue
  • Sharing understanding of the problem domain, and the expertise brought by the participants to the sandpit
  • Taking part in break-out sessions focused on the problem domain, using creative and innovative thinking techniques
  • Capturing the outputs in the form of a research project

To take part in this exciting opportunity, BU academic staff should complete the Sandpit Application Form and return this to Dianne Goodman by Tuesday 12th January – please note the deadline has been extended due to the festive break. Places are strictly limited.

By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event – full day 26th January and half day 27th January.

This event is part of BU’s Interdisciplinary Research Week.

New Public Health paper on Christmas Eve

Publishing, writing

Douglas 2015 Men healthOur latest paper and the last one for 2015, published the day before Christmas.  The paper ‘Implementing Health Policy: Lessons from the Scottish Well Men’s Policy Initiative’ appeared in AIMS Public Health [1].  The paper draws on evaluation research led by Dr. Flora Douglas (University of Aberdeen).  This was a set of evaluations of the Well Men’s Health projects which were part of an initiative running in many health regions (or health boards as they are called in Scotland).

 

The focus of this particular paper centres around the fact that little is known about how health professionals translate government health policy into action [2]. Our paper examines that process using the  Scottish Well Men’s Services policy initiative as a ‘real world’ case study [1]. These Well Men’s Services were launched by the Scottish Government to address men’s health inequalities. Our analysis aimed to develop a deeper understanding of policy implementation as it naturally occurred.  We used an analytical framework that was developed to reflect the ‘rational planning’ principles health professionals are commonly encouraged to use for implementation purposes.

Our analysis revealed four key themes: (1) ambiguity regarding the policy problem and means of intervention; (2) behavioral framing of the policy problem and intervention; (3) uncertainty about the policy evidence base and outcomes, and; (4) a focus on intervention as outcome. This study found that mechanistic planning heuristics (as a means of supporting implementation) fails to grapple with the indeterminate nature of population health problems. A new approach to planning and implementing public health interventions is required that recognises the complex and political nature of health problems; the inevitability of imperfect and contested evidence regarding intervention, and, future associated uncertainties.

 

The paper is published in an Open Access journal, so it is easily and freely available to public health professionals, policy-makers and health workers across the globe.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen 

CMMPH

 

Reference:

  1. Douglas, F., van Teijlingen, E., Smith, W.C.S., Moffat, M. (2015) Implementing Health Policy: Lessons from the Scottish Well Men’s Policy Initiative, AIMS Public Health 2 (4): 887-905. http://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/publichealth.2015.4.887/fulltext.html
  2. Killoran, A., Kelly, M. (2004) Towards an evidence-based approach to tackling health inequalities: The English experience. Health Education Journal;63: 7-14.

Mixed methods: not without its downside?

REF Subjects

Prof Edwin van Teijlingen

Conducting mixed-methods research has become very popular over the past decade especially in the health research field.1-4 This development ties in with the growth in inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary research. Many grant applications, PhD project and the resulting papers especially in the health field apply a mixed-methods approach, where in the past a single approach would have dominated.   This interest in combining methods seems to be the case even in the more traditional quantitative field of clinical effectiveness and randomised controlled trials. Whilst I find this development encouraging as a mixed-methods social scientist, it also makes me wonder whether the applicants putting forward a mixed-methods project have thought about the disadvantages or at least the opportunity costs of using such approach.

A mixed-methods approach is ‘simply’ combining two or more research methods to address a research question, i.e. what the label suggests. It is often perceived as the combining of qualitative with quantitative methods, but it can technically also be a mix of quantitative methods or a combination of qualitative methods. The advantage of a mixed-methods approach is that the different methods in the mix address different aspects of the research question and that combining these methods offers a synergetic effect. So what are the possible limitations of or barriers to mixed-methods research?

First, using a mixed-methods approach means you need an understanding of two different philosophies and how to bring the findings of these two different methods together.4-6   One requires expertise in two different research approaches, either as individual or in the team as well as someone who can do the combining of the findings. For the latter you really need someone in the team who understand the pragmatic approach commonly used in mixed-methods approaches. Otherwise there is a great risk that the original mixed-methods study will be analysed and reported as two or more separate papers each based on data from one of the methods applied in the mixed-methods study.

Secondly, you can spend your money only once, hence there are opportunity costs. Thus if the maximum grant is £200,000 or £300,000 you can’t spend the full amount on the designing a large-scale quantitative study/survey, as you need to spend a proportion of your money and your attention and time on your qualitative study.

Thirdly, and related the above, both quantitative and qualitative methods have ‘rules’ about sampling and sample-size.5 Just because you have two methods this does not mean you can necessarily do a study with a smaller sample. The sample size calculations will still say you need at least xxx participants. Similarly, although perhaps not so rigidly you need a certain number of interviews or focus groups to do you qualitative study appropriately.

Fourthly, a common mistake seems to be to add a bit of qualitative research to a larger quantitative study, perhaps a bit tokenistic.7 Often it is so obvious in a grant application that the qualitative research is an add-on, an afterthought perhaps from a reviewer in the previous failed grant application.

Finally, not all mixed-methods studies are the same, in fact each mixed-methods study is more or less unique in the way in the way it mixes and matched individual research methods.3 So although mixed-methods may be the best way to address a particular research question, your particular proposed mixed of quantitative and qualitative research might not be the most appropriate to answer the overall research question.8

As with all research methods and research proposals my recommendation is if in doubt go and find an expert for advice.6 If necessary get an expert on your team of researchers to strengthen your application.

 

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

References:

  1.  Barbour, R.S. (1999) The case of combining qualitative and quantitative approaches in health services research. Journal of Health Services Research Policy, 4(1): 39-43.
  2. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Wasti, S.P., Sathian, B. (2014) Mixed-methods approaches in health research in Nepal, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 4(5): 415-416.
  3. Plano Clark, V.L., Anderson, N., Wertz, J.A., Zhou, Y., Schumacher, K., Miaskowski, C. (2015) Conceptualizing Longitudinal Mixed Methods Designs: A Methodological Review of Health Sciences Research, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 9: 297-319.
  4. MacKenzie Bryers, H., van Teijlingen, E. Pitchforth, E. (2014) Advocating mixed-methods approaches in health research, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 4(5): 417-422. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/12018/9768
  5. Bryman, A. (1988) Quality and Quantity in Social Research, London: Routledge
  6. Bazeley, P. (2003) Teaching mixed methods. Qualitative Research Journal, 4: 117-126.
  7. Maxwell, J.A. (2016) Expanding the History and Range of Mixed Methods Research, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 10: 12-27.
  8. Brannen, J. (2005) Mixing methods: The entry of qualitative & quantitative approaches into the research process. International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(3): 173-85.

 

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange, open access, R & KE Operations

Welcome back!

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information. Money Bear Funding

 

EPSRC

Pilot call: Access to the Research Data Facility (RDF) for UK researchers

EPSRC have recognised the need to store active computational data and to be able to use this data for further scientific benefit, so are looking at giving access to storage on the national Research Data Facility (RDF).

This call is for applicants within the remit of RCUK but performing research outside of the remit of EPSRC and NERC. The total amount of storage available for this pilot call is 1000TB.

deadline dates:

Technical assessment : 29th January

Closing date: 12th February

 

Marine Renewable Energy KE Fellow call

NERC invites proposals for a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship in the area of marine renewable energy. NERC is seeking to invest in a suitably qualified academic to broker links between the academics and businesses within the UK marine renewable energy community, as well as with relevant regulators and policymakers.

Applicants should outline their own approach to a programme of work in the marine renewable energy sector. Further guidance on this opportunity is at the foot of this page along with instructions on how to submit the application via Je-S.

deadline dates:

17 March 2016 at 16:00

 

Philip Leverhulme Prizes

Philip Leverhulme Prizes recognise the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising. This call is repeated once a year.

deadline dates:

16 May 2016 at 16:00

 

Artist in Residence Grants

These awards support the residency of an individual artist in a UK university or museum in order to foster a creative collaboration between the artist and the staff and/or students of that institution. The term ‘artist’ encompasses visual artists, creative writers, musicians, poets and other producers of original creative work.

The scheme brings an artist into a research and study environment where their artistic form or creative art is not part of the normal curriculum or activities of the host department. There must be a distinct contrast between the artist and host department’s expertise (for example, a poet being hosted by a physics department, a composer by a geography department). It is not the objective of the residency to provide additional teaching capacity for the host department. An artist may not apply directly – all applications must be made by the host institution.

Applications open on 8 April 2016. The closing date is 4pm on 8 September 2016

 

Joint Call of the JPI Urban Europe, supported by the European Commission

JPI Urban Europe’s fourth call – the ERA-NET Cofund Smart Urban Futures (ENSUF) – supported by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme, is open.

Three call topics are defined:

  • Concepts and strategies for smart urban transformation, growth and shrinkage
  • New dynamics of public services
  • Inclusive, vibrant and accessible urban communities

deadline date (pre-proposals):

15 March 2016 at 12:00 Central European Time

 

 

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

Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer

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.

 

More events at the IRW

InterdisResWeek2As well as the lectures, debates, films and music at the Interdisciplinary Research Week 2016, we have even more events that are of interest to all.  These include:

Monday 25 January 2016             

Ashley Woodfall

Researching with Children and Young People: Method and Mayhem

EB708, Executive Business Centre, 16:00-18:00

This ‘catalyst’ event is an opportunity for anyone with an interest in research with children and young people to:

  • meet BU researchers from across the university
  • share experiences and future research ambitions; and
  • develop future research partnerships

Operating in a ‘bring and buy’ spirit, this event recognises the benefits of sharing knowledge and expertise across different disciplines. The event is open to all those interested in research with children and young people whatever their research interests, affiliation or tradition.

Thursday 28 January 2016            

Professor Matt Bentley

Interdisciplinary Research Training Session

KG03, Talbot Campus, 09:30-11:00

This 90-minute training session will give attendees the opportunity to find out more about interdisciplinary research including:

  • What is interdisciplinary research?
  • What counts as a discipline?
  • The reasons why it is becoming increasingly important both inside and outside the university (e.g. by funders, policy makers etc.).
  • How it might impact on your research practice?
  • The potential and the challenges of this type of work.
  • The role it has in institutions and careers.

Click on the links above to book on to the events.

What would Marty McFly need in 25 years’ time? EB705, Executive Business Centre – For BU academics and researchers only, we also have on Tuesday 26th January (10.00 – 17.00) and Wednesday 27th January 2016 (morning only) an interactive workshop session designed to tackle a big question for modern day life – how digital technology affects different aspects of our daily lives.  The session will create a collaborative space for researchers to share ideas, challenge assumptions and develop future research proposals.

To take part in this exciting opportunity, BU academic and research staff should complete the Sandpit Application Form and return this to Dianne Goodman by Tuesday 5th January. Places are strictly limited.

Inspiring lectures at the IRW

InterdisResWeek2The Interdisciplinary Research Week 2016 has thought provoking and inspirational lectures that will of interest to all.  These include:

Monday 25 January 2016

Professor Lee Miles

Inaugural public lecture: Entrepreneurial Resilience and Disaster Management: Where Innovation and Integration Meet?

EB708, Executive Business Centre, 18:30 for 19:00 – 20:00

BU’s inaugural lecture series returns in January 2016, with a fascinating glimpse into the world of disaster management, delivered by Professor Lee Miles, Professor of Crisis and Disaster Management. Professor Miles has carried out research into emergency and crisis management for many years and is currently exploring the relationship between innovation and resilience in successful crisis and disaster management.  Click here to read more.

Thursday 28 January 2016                            

Inspirational Speaker: Professor Jane Falkingham, University of Southampton

EB708, Executive Business Centre, 18:00-20:00

Professor Jane Falkingham is Director of the ESRC Centre for Population Change and Dean of Social, Human and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Southampton. Through a career spanning almost 30 years, her research pursues a multi-disciplinary agenda combining social policy and population studies, which span both developed and developing countries. Much of her work has focussed on the social policy implications of population ageing and demographic change, and what this means for the distribution of social and economic welfare.

Click on the links above to book these events.

Live Migration of Virtual Machines to the Cloud and its associated issues

PG research

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.LiveMigration

 

Speaker: Ibrahim Mansour

 

Title:   Live Migration of Virtual Machines to the Cloud and its associated issues

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 6th January 2016

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract: Cloud computing provides users the ability to access shared, online computing resources. However, providers often offer their own proprietary applications, interfaces, APIs and infrastructures, resulting in a heterogeneous cloud environment. This heterogeneous environment makes it difficult for users to change cloud service providers; exploring capabilities to support the automated migration from one provider to another is an active, open research area. Many standards bodies (IEEE, NIST, DMTF and SNIA), industry (middleware) and academia have been pursuing approaches to reduce the impact of vendor lock-in by investigating the cloud migration problem at the level of the VM. However, the migration downtime, decoupling VM from underlying systems and security of live channels remain open issues. This talk focuses on analysing recently proposed live, cloud migration approaches for VMs at the infrastructure level in the cloud architecture.   The talk will highlight issues with flexibility, performance, and security of the approaches, including additional loads to the CPU and disk I/O drivers of the physical machine where the VM initially resides. Finally, the talk will introduce how a new approach, LibZam (Libya Zamzem) will be developed. LibZam is a tangible system that will work towards addressing the identified limitations.

 

We hope to see you there.

 

AHRC New Generation Thinkers

Sam GoodmanBU’s Dr Sam Goodman is one of the AHRC’s New Generation Thinkers.  He features in this film from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which shines a light on the AHRC/ BBC Radio 3, New Generation Thinkers scheme.

Click on the link above to watch the film.  You can also find out details about the scheme and how you can apply for 2016 in this AHRC press release.

Congratulations to Dr. Caroline Ellis-Hill

NIHRDr. Caroline Ellis-Hill  has just been accepted as a qualitative methodologist on the NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) panel for Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR).  Caroline from the Centre for Qualitative Research (CQR) in FHSS is the second BU academic to join a NIHR panel this year.  Earlier this year Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen was invited to be a member of the NIHR’s HTA Clinical Evaluation & Trials Board ( http://www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/hta/our-people ).

Congratulations!

Professors Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Festival of Learning 2016

Festival of Learning

The festival of learning is in its fourth year and the dates for 2016 have been set as Saturday 25 – Wednesday 29 June for a shorter and more compact 5 day festival. Do make a note of these dates in your diary and let your friends and family know as there will be a huge variety of events they will be able to attend, all for free!

What kind of events could I put on?

We’re open to ideas and willing to support a wide variety of events, you could run anything from a professional development workshop to an art exhibition or you could just have a stool with some hands on activities for passers-by.

Some examples:

  • Gaming, computing and coding
  • Everyday professional skills
  • Health and fitness
  • Topics involving real-world issues
  • Media workshops

I’m keen to run an event! What do I do now?

You have until 31st January to submit your application to be considered as part of the festival of learning. Please click here to find the proposal form and instructions on how to submit. If you would like support in developing an event idea or for any further information then please get in touch with Naomi Kay (nkay@bournemouth.ac.uk), Public Engagement Officer.

Get your cultural fix at the IRW

InterdisResWeek2The Interdisciplinary Research Week (IRW) has a number of cultural highlights for everyone’s tastes.  Free popcorn will be available at the films as well as refreshments.  The events include:

Tuesday 26 January 2016             

Written and Directed by Professor Erik Knudsen

Raven on the Jetty

PG16, Talbot Campus, 16:00-18:00

In the midst of separation, one boy’s silent longing has the power to change everything.

On his ninth birthday, Thomas travels with his mother to visit his estranged father who, since an acrimonious divorce, has abandoned urban living in favour of an isolated rural life in the English Lake District. The bitter separation of his parents is not something Thomas understands, nor does he understand his own dysfunctional behaviour as a silent cry for help. As a digital native city boy, Thomas’s encounter with the natural world, and his gradual understanding of the pivotal connection he provides for his, ultimately, lonely parents, leads to realisation and discovery. There are things his parents don’t know about each other that only he can reveal. Perhaps he has the power and the means to change everything. (Fiction: 88 minutes. 2014).

Following the film there will be a Q & A session with the Director.

Thursday 28 January 2016            

Lizzie Sykes

Are You There?

Coyne Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus, 16:00-18:00

In 2014, Lizzie Sykes was awarded an Arts Council-funded residency at Mottisfont, a National Trust property and gardens in Hampshire. Mottisfont is a place where artists have met and worked for hundreds of years.

Are You There? is a film made from inside the Mottisfont residence. It is performed by Louise Tanoto, and is a response to how it feels to be alone in the house and to be inescapably linked to it in a private and intimate way; free from expected codes of physical behaviour that such a formal space normally represents.

Following the film there will be a chance for a Q&A session

Friday 29 January 2016                            

Emerge music group performance

Allesbrook Theatre, Talbot Campus, 17.30 – 18.30

BU’s Emerge Research Centre has a research music performing group, a creative space where each person develops their own instruments and music based on personal research into sound as well as gesture and technology as part of their creative practice.

The experimental music and sound-art event features a soundtrack of electronic atmospheres, noisescapes, pulses and rhythms, tones and drones. It will include an exploration of hardware-hacked devices, simple electronic instruments, data networks and basic sensors to augment and inform laptop improvisations, immersive fixed-media soundscapes and live visuals.

Performers include:
Anna Troisi, http://www.annatroisi.org/
Antonino Chiaramonte, http://www.antoninochiaramonte.eu/
Rob Canning, http://rob.kiben.net/
Bill Thompson, www.billthompson.org
Ambrose Seddon, http://www.ambroseseddon.com/
Tom Davis, http://www.tdavis.co.uk/

Visuals by Kavi, https://vimeo.com/user324972

Click on the event titles above to book your tickets.

COP21: a summary of the Paris Agreement and the implications for BU

As we move into an era where the emphasis on carbon reduction will come to the fore, we are sharing with you a brief summary of the Paris Agreement and the implications for Bournemouth University. This is an extract from a longer paper that includes the implications for Industrialised and Developing Nations as well as  policy implications. Aplologies but it was just too long for a blog post.

At Bournemouth we have achieved much to reduce carbon and to develop iniatives to secure more sustainabel development. In the light of the Paris Agreement, we need to do more in 2016!

Main Points of the Paris Agreement:

  • The main difference between this treaty and others that have gone before it is its scope. In particular, the draft lays out plans to limit temperature rises until at least 2050 – this is much longer term than has ever been agreed before.
  • 187 countries have put forward plans to cut and curb carbon emissions to 2020, and beyond.
  • Within the agreement, the targets are known as Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs). All 187 countries have submitted their INDCs.
  • Developed and developing countries are required to set targets to limit their emissions to levels which would see warming of 2°C, with an aspiration of limiting warming to 1.5°C. Vulnerable countries – like the Marshall Islands in Micronesia – pushed for a 1.5°C limit but the draft deal only promises to make it a target rather than a pledge.
  • However, observers have calculated that all of the targets, if delivered, will not keep warming to 2°C but to 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels. Above this 2°C threshold, effects of climate change such as droughts, floods, heat waves and sea level rises are likely to become catastrophic and irreversible.
  • Additionally, emissions targets are not legally binding and are determined by individual countries. However, it promises to hold countries to account if they fail to meet the targets they set out in their plans to reduce emissions during the 2020s.
  • Countries are required to review and submit their emissions targets every five years with the “first global stocktake in 2023 and every five years subsequently”. The review process is to ensure that targets are in line with the latest scientific advice. This review process is legally binding.
  • The agreement covers “loss and damage”: finance will be provided to poor nations to help them cut emissions and cope with the effects of extreme weather. The agreement makes some concessions to developing countries, acknowledging “urgent need to enhance the provision of finance, technology and capacity” and promote “universal access to sustainable energy” – particularly in Africa – with a focus on renewables. There will be a $100 billion fund from developed economies to help emerging and developing nations decarbonise their energy mix. Countries affected by climate-related disasters will gain urgent aid.
  • The agreement also requires a limit on the emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity to the same levels that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally, beginning at some point between 2050 and 2100.
  • IMPLICATIONS FOR BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY
  • In the aftermath of the Paris Agreement, it is more important than ever that BU makes a commitment to reduce its carbon emissions as much as possible, as quickly as possible. However, commitment alone is insufficient if it does not translate into effective action.
  • The EU is one of the top greenhouse gas emitters accounting for 9% of global emissions.
  • As a large organisation, we emitted 7,680 tonnes of carbon in 2014. BU needs to play its part in helping the UK meet its reduction targets.
  • With social and environmental responsibility at the heart of the BU ethos, we must take our role in curbing global warming seriously.
  • BU2018 states: “We will consider corporate social responsibility as we develop policies and procedures across all relevant areas for example corporate governance, environmental management, stakeholder engagement, employee and community relations, social equity, and responsible procurement.” This is directly in line with the Paris Agreement, with regards to ensuring the poorest people in developing nations are protected from the worst effects of climate change.
  • BU is committed to “ensuring we operate an affordable, sustainable and secure estate”. It is quite possible that in order to control UK greenhouse gas emissions, we will see higher energy prices and increased taxation on emissions in the future. From a financial standpoint, BU needs to do everything it possibly can to reduce its emissions as a business as usual scenario is likely to seeing spiralling costs over the coming years and reduce the competitiveness of the University as a whole.
  • Embedding sustainability into the culture of BU will be important to secure further reductions; technological solutions alone will not suffice.
  • BU aims to “ensure that graduates develop a global perspective and understand the need for sustainable development by seeking to embed sustainable development across the curriculum”. If sustainable development is more fully embedded within the curriculum and across the extra-curricular sphere the impact will be to reduce unsustainable behaviours (with reductions of carbon and utilities) but also BU graduates will be better prepared for an employability context where carbon reduction is a key focus.

Thanks to Victoria Penson (for starting the paper) and  Dr. Neil Smith for their contributions. Please contact me if you would like to read the other sections.

 

 

Policy Update

Monday

Green Paper

The independent reports that Oliver Letwin, David Cameron’s policy advisor, thinks that green paper reforms, such as increasing tuition fees, could be introduced as secondary legislation rather than as an Act of Parliament. Government trying to ‘sneak’ tuition fee increases into controversial reforms (Independent).

State School Access

The latest Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission report has revealed that Oxford and Cambridge recruit a much lower proportion of state school pupils than their calculated benchmark suggests. Oxford and Cambridge condemned over failure to improve state school access (Guardian).

Tuesday

TEF

The president of the Higher Education Policy Institute has claimed that English universities are “not very good at teaching”. He said he welcomed the TEF because universities needed “a counterweight to the imperative to do research”. English universities ‘not very good at teaching’, says Hepi president (THE).

NHS Student Funding

The Guardian looks at the impact of replacing student nurse bursaries with loans, including the idea that this move will reduce the diversity of those able to access a career in healthcare. George Osborne considers axing student nurse bursaries (The Guardian).

Wednesday

University Research Funding

Baron Stern of Brentford, president of the British Academy, will lead a review into university research funding. The review will look at how to cut the “administrative burden” on academics and will also “strengthen the focus on excellence”. REF sceptic to lead review into research assessment (THE).

Thursday

UCAS

Following the publication of the UCAS 2015 End of Cycle Report, women are 35% more likely to start a degree course than their male counterparts. Among those from disadvantaged backgrounds, the report reveals that young women were 52% more likely to go into higher education than their male counterparts.  Women take record number of university places (BBC News).

Friday

Curriculum Design         

THE looks at the different ways in which students are helping to shape curriculum, teaching and assessment – leading to better teaching, more effective learning and graduates who are better prepared for the workplace. Should students be partners in curriculum design? (THE).