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The order of things: Starting an M.Sc. after your Ph.D.

In the 1990s after I had completed my Ph.D. in Medical Sociology my first lectureship was in Public Health at the University of Aberdeen where my job title included that of coordinator of the B.Sc. Health Sciences.  At the time I was required to do a variety of training modules and workshops on education at university level. Since there was the option to register for the Master of Education (M.Ed.) in the Department of Education at the University of Aberdeen, I thought I might as well gain more insight into education and learning than the required basic training and get a degree out of it at the same time.  For a long time, I considered myself as odd, starting a lower degree after having completed a higher one.  I bit like the guy I met thirty years ago who had completed to Ph.D.’s, one in Chemistry and then afterwards one in Divinity.

My view changed a few years ago when a colleague (with a Ph.D.) commenced an M.Sc. for a different reason.  On this occasion to become a qualified practitioner, through the completion of a practice-based M.Sc. in Mental Health Nursing.  The M.Sc. programme started a decade after the completion of a Ph.D. in Public Health.

And the idea for this blog sprang on me this morning when a colleague with a Ph.D. in Statistics and Epidemiology asked me for a reference to support his application for a place on an M.Sc. in Neuroscience.  His argument for starting such M.Sc. is that he is actively involved in several neuro-psychology research projects and as a quantitative researcher he wants to have a greater understanding of the underpinning science and the wider topic area.

Having successfully passed your Ph.D. viva is evidence that you study and learn effectively on your own, the subsequent M.Sc. can offer licensure (the right to practice) or greater insight into an academic field different from your Ph.D. one.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025

This week, there have been a few news updates related to Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships.

MSCA PF 2025 Call opening

The first news reported by UKRO is that the EC has a delay in the launch date for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 call, moving it from 9 April to 8 May 2025. However, this delay will not affect the closing date, which remains as planned – 10 September 2025.

UKRO also states that, to minimise the impact of the shortened application period, the Guide for Applicants and the Application Form will be uploaded in advance to the Funding & Tenders Portal call page.

MSCA PF Information session

CONNECTS-UK is organising an online informative session/workshop on MSCA Individual Fellowships on 27th March 2025, from 15:30 to 17:00 UK time. Participants will also have the opportunity to engage directly with successful MSCA fellows from various research fields.

This session will provide a comprehensive overview of the MSCA programme and Individual Fellowships, offering insights into the application process, eligibility, funding, and featuring successful MSCA fellows from different fields sharing their experiences. Full details and the agenda can be found via this link.

Those new to the MSCA PF scheme are encouraged to join this event or any other MSCA PF-specific event, as there will not be specific workshops organised at BU.

Although the information session is free of charge, participants must register in advance to attend.

Internal processes

Please note that, given that almost all Horizon Europe 2025 collaborative calls will have deadlines in September and October, the internal deadline for submission of MSCA PF ItBs will be in late June or early July.

We kindly ask that supervisors submit the CVs of their potential fellows in the funder’s defined format, along with the ItB, as this is required to assess their eligibility and competitiveness. A document outlining the requirements for the researcher’s CV is available on the RDS SharePoint site.

If you have any EU funding-related questions, feel free to get in touch with me – Research Facilitator International Ainar Blaudums. For general pre-award or non-EU queries, please email the Pre-award Enquiries mailbox or contact my colleagues who assist with applications to UK funders.

The Friendly Food Club to present at Community Voices Webinar Wednesday March 12th 12-1pm

The March Community Voices Webinar will welcome Liz Guilmant-Cush, CEO of  The Friendly Food Club to share the amazing work they do in the Dorset community: The Friendly Food Club
The Friendly Food Club – Dorset’s cooking and food education charity.  Their team delivers cooking skills sessions and food education programmes across the community. Their work focuses on disadvantaged and marginalised children and adults through therapeutic cooking sessions and community meals. Please join us as we invite Liz to discuss the charity’s important work.

Community voices is a collaboration between BU PIER partnership and Centre for Seldom Heard Voices to provide a platform and a voice to local community activists. 

Please do join us for this webinar…. 

Microsoft Teams
Meeting ID: 354 791 763 744
Passcode: CD9oA9KR

Horizon Europe info days 2025

This information has been updated on 4 April 2025 (added more details about Cluster 2).

I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who attended the Horizon Europe event in February, particularly those who participated on the panel and shared valuable insights with other colleagues. BU staff can access the presentation on the RKE SharePoint site here.

We are currently awaiting the publication of the 2025 Work Programme, expected in about a month. While the official publication date is not set, some work programmes may be made available through pre-publication a couple of weeks in advance, although this is not guaranteed. According to the latest available information, around 7 April, the European Commission is planning to pre-publish at least the 2025 Horizon Europe Missions Programme with the call topics under the Cancer Mission and around 30 April, the calls and topics on the EU’s Funding and Tenders Portal.

In preparation for this, the European Commission has announced the first Horizon Europe 2025 information days, scheduled to take place in May. These events will be held online, with live streaming available. For more details, please click on the link for each event.

Below is a summary of what we know so far.

Tuesday 6 May 2025, 09:00 – 15:30 (CEST) Horizon Europe info days – Cluster 5: Climate, Energy and Mobility. This Info Day will take place both onsite in the Charlemagne building (Brussels) and online. Please note that onsite participation is limited. Registration for onsite participation closes on 31 March 2025 (or earlier if the capacity of the venue has been reached).

Tuesday 13 May 2025, 09:30 – Wednesday 14 May 2025, 17:00 (CEST) Horizon Europe info days – Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space. Speakers from the European Commission will provide detailed insights into the call topics, evaluation and award processes. The 6 destinations under this cluster are:

  • Climate neutral, circular and digitised production
  • Increased autonomy in key strategic value chains for resilient industry
  • World leading data and computing technologies
  • Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the Green Deal
  • Open strategic autonomy in developing, deploying and using global space-based infrastructures, services, applications and data
  • A human-centred and ethical development of digital and industrial technologies

Thursday 15 May 2025, 09:30 (GMT+02:00) Horizon Europe info days – Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Societies. This cluster aims to aims to meet EU goals and priorities on enhancing democratic governance and citizens participation, on the safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage, and to respond to and shape multifaceted social, economic, technological and cultural transformations.

The event will provide prospective applicants with an opportunity to learn more about the funding options under the new work programme. The event will be livestreamed, register here.

Thursday 16 May 2025, 09:30 (GMT+02:00) Horizon Europe Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Societies online Brokerage Event.

The brokerage event is organised by the network of National Contact Points for Cluster 2, the Net4Society project.

Tuesday 20 May 2025, 09:00 – 17:00 (CEST) Horizon Europe info days – WIDERA Work Programme 2025. Speakers from the European Commission will present the new call topics.

Tuesday 20 May 2025, 09:00 – Wednesday 21 May 2025, 18:00 (CEST) Horizon Europe info days – Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment. The event will cover:

  • Insights into the policy context
  • A ‘key-to-success’ session focused on guidance and tips for quality proposals
  • Pitches for each of the topics from the Work Programme 2025
  • A dedicated session on co-funded partnerships

You can also sign up to the Info Days and receive updates on the latest news related to the event.

Thursday 22 May 2025, 09:00 – 17:00 (CEST) Horizon Europe info days – Cluster 1: Health. This cluster aims to deliver on the following six destinations:

  • Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society
  • Living and working in a health-promoting environment
  • Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden
  • Ensuring access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality health care
  • Unlocking the full potential of new tools, technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society
  • Maintaining an innovative, sustainable and globally competitive health-related industry

I will update this blog as soon as new information becomes available about clusters 2 (Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Societies) and 3 (Civil Security for Society), so stay tuned!

As usual, if you have any EU funding-related questions, feel free to get in touch with me – Research Facilitator International Ainar Blaudums. For general pre-award or non-EU queries, please email the Pre-award Enquiries mailbox or contact my colleagues who support UK applications. There is a lot of useful information on our RDS pre-award SharePoint site.

Coming soon : The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey 2025


The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2025 will launch on Monday 17 March 2025 for postgraduate research (PGR) students to complete.

Look out for an email from the University containing your unique link to the survey.


We’re keen to make sure our postgraduate research students (PGRs) have the best possible experience while studying with us. To do this, we need to know what you think works well and what we could do better.

We will be emailing you soon to invite you to complete this year’s Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES 2025). Please take a few minutes to take part.

The survey is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGRs at Bournemouth University.

Your feedback is important. PRES 2025 is the only national survey of PGRs 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.

The more PGRs that take part the better we can do that. The more specific your feedback is, the more targeted and effective our actions can be.

The survey will open on 17 March 2025. It will take around 15 minutes to complete. Your feedback is confidential, and any reporting will be entirely anonymous.

As a thank you for your time, we will give you a Chartwells Voucher (worth £3.95) which will pay for a meal from the “Savour Menu” or can be used towards other items from Chartwells outlets. You will also automatically be entered into a prize draw where four winners will receive a £50 shopping voucher.

The Doctoral College will also make a £1 donation to Student Minds, which is the UK’s student mental health charity, for every completed survey.

If you would like to know more about the survey at Bournemouth University, please visit: Your feedback | Bournemouth University.

Please click here to see actions that we have taken based on feedback from previous surveys

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

Best wishes,

The Doctoral College

Email: PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk

RKEDF: Imposter Syndrome session

Wednesday 19th March, in person, 13:00-14:00, Talbot Campus

 

This development session is aimed at any colleagues dealing with feelings of imposter syndrome in academia. The session will offer a space to discuss this growing issue as well as offer advice, guidance and support on how to manage, avoid and overcome such feelings. At the end of the session, attendees will have achieved greater confidence in developing their career and profile.

This workshop is facilitated by our ECRN leads, Prof Sam Goodman & Prof Ann Hemingway, and is aimed at: All staff – Academic, teaching, research, professional services & PGRs.

Book your place HERE

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

NERC Pushing the Frontiers Call

NERC Pushing the Frontiers Call – internal competition

NERC introduced demand management measures in 2012. These were revised in 2015 to reduce the number and size of applications from research organisations for NERC’s discovery science standard grant scheme. As the standard grant scheme has been superseded, demand management measures will be applied to the Pushing the Frontiers scheme only. Full details can be found in the BU policy document for NERC demand management measures.

BU has been capped at one application per Pushing the Frontiers round. An application counts towards an organisation, where the organisation is applying as the grant holding organisation (of the lead or component grant). This will be the organisation of the Principal Investigator of the lead or component grant.

BU process

BU has a process for determining which application will be submitted to each NERC Pushing the Frontiers round. This takes the form of an internal competition, which will include peer review. The next available round is estimated to be in July 2024. The deadline for internal Expressions of Interest (EOI) which will be used to determine which application will be submitted is 14 March 2025.  Please email kpercival@bournemouth.ac.uk for the EOI form.

Following the internal competition, the Principal Investigator will have access to support from RDS and will work closely with Research Facilitators and Funding Development Officers to develop the application.

RDS Contacts

Please contact Kate Percival, RDS Research Facilitator – kpercival@bournemouth.ac.uk if you wish to submit an expression of interest.

BRIAN drop-in surgery, 11th March.

Do you have a question about BRIAN or your staff profile page? Then come along to the next BRIAN drop-in surgery!

  • Date: Tuesday 11th March
  • Time: 14:00-16:00
  • Location: F203, Talbot Campus

Come along to this informal 2-hour drop-in surgery with questions or issues relating to BRIAN, or if you need a refresher on how to update your profile.

No booking is required, just bring your laptop and questions!

Presenting HSRI results at Nepal Dialogue UK

Today, Saturday morning, BU Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada from the University of Huddersfield was guest speaker at the third Nepal Dialogue UK webinar series of the Centre for Nepal Studies UK (CNSIK).   His presentation was titled Is Nepal’s Health System fit for Purpose? Reflections on Transformations, Maladies and Future Needs.  He outlined the state of health (epidemiology) as well as that of the health system.  He presented a lot of change in the health of the population, in the health system, as well as issues around human resources, including the high rate of migration of health workers.  He highlight that there is in Nepal insufficient investment in health, unethical practices,

He introduced some the key findings from our recently completed study on the effects of the federalisation process on Nepal’s health system.  Padam was one of the co-applications on this study together with academics from the University of  Sheffield, Canterbury Christ Church University and Bournemouth University in the UK, and colleagues in Nepal from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) and PHASE Nepal.  The project was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative (Grant ref MR/T023554/1). For more information on the Nepal Federal Health System Team, see: https://www.nepalfederalhealthsystem.com/.  This interdisciplinary study has been disseminated in the form of eight published papers [1-8].

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

 

References:

  1. Koirala, B., Rushton, S., Adhikary, P., Balen, J., et al. (2024) COVID-19 as a challenge to Nepal’s newly federalised health system: capacities, responsibilities, and mindsets, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (online first) https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539524125012.
  2. Sapkota, S., Rushton, S., van Teijlingen, E., et al. (2024) Participatory policy analysis in health policy and systems research: reflections from a study in Nepal. Health Research & Policy Systems22 (No.7) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01092-5 .
  3. Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., et al. (2023) Selection of Study Sites and Participants for Research into Nepal’s Federal Health System, WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health 12(2):116-119.
  4. Sapkota, S., Dhakal, A., Rushton S., et al. (2023) The impact of decentralisation on health systems: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ Global Health 8:e013317. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013317.
  5. Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E.Rushton, S., et al. (2023) Overcoming the Challenges Facing Nepal’s Health System During Federalisation: An Analysis of Health System Building Blocks, Health Research Policy & Systems 21(117https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01033-2
  6. Sapkota, S., Panday, S., Wasti, S.P., et al. (2022) Health System Strengthening: The Role of Public Health in Federal Nepal, Journal of the Nepal Public Health Association 7(1):36-42.
  7. Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., et al. (2020) The COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system, Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (3): 1-11.
  8. Rushton, S., Pandey, S., van Teijlingen, E., et al. (2021) An Investigation into the Impact of Decentralization on the Health System of Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences7(1): 3–14. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v7i1.43146

 

 

 

Nepal maternity care paper online yesterday

Yesterday the international journal PLoS ONE published the latest paper of former Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) PhD student Dr. Sulochana Dhakal-Rai [1].  As in many countries, Caesarean Section (CS) rates are rising in urban hospitals in Nepal. However, the reasons behind these rising rates are poorly understood. Therefore, this study explores factors contributing to rising CS rates in two urban hospitals as well as strategies to make a more rational use of CS.  Dr. Dhakal-Rai was supervised by Dr. Juliet Wood, Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen all based in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.

The paper highlights that high CS rates in the private hospital reflects the medicalisation of childbirth, a public health issue which needs to be urgently addressed for the health benefits of both mother and baby. Multiple factors affecting rising CS rates were identified in urban hospitals. This study provides insights into factors affecting the rising CS rate and suggests that multiple strategies are required to stem the rise of CS rates and to make rational use of CS in urban hospitals.

The journal is Open Access and the paper is freely available to read in Nepal (and elsewhere) for anyone with internet access.

 

Reference:

  1. Dhakal Rai S, van Teijlingen E, Regmi PR, Wood J, Dangal G, Dhakal KB (2025) Explaining rising caesarean section rates in urban Nepal: A mixed-methods study. PLoS ONE 20(2): e0318489. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318489

Last chance to apply for ECRN/RKEDF Funding. Closes 10th March

The BU ECRN & RKEDF are delighted to offer funding to organise an event, roundtable, meeting, training, or workshop in support of research at BU. 

This funding supports BU Early Career Researcher Network members to organise and facilitate an event that can be thematic, subject/discipline based, foster community engagement, knowledge exchange or networking and does the following; 

  Brings ECRs and others together to share ideas, knowledge and learning. 

 Provides a space for intellectual discussion. 

 Helps to facilitate collaboration and future opportunities.  

 Enables an opportunity for networking.  

 BU ECRN members can access up to £500 to organise and host an event, roundtable, meeting, training, or workshop at BU. Please see the requirements below.  

Read about past successful applicants here: BU Research Blog | Early Career Researcher networking funding outcomes: A Tabletop Discussion on Cyber Signatures in Human Trafficking | Bournemouth University

BU Research Blog | Early Career Researcher Network funding outcomes: Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) workshop | Bournemouth University

 – Please note all requests are subject to approval by the RKEDF Team and must be made at least 3 weeks in advance of the event date. No reimbursements for payments will be made without prior authorisation from the team. 

 – All expenses must be paid by the end of the BU financial year (July 2025) 

 – You will need to receive written confirmation from RKDEF that your request has been successful before you can proceed with organising the event.   

 – The event cannot have taken place prior to submitting your application. 

 Eligible costs  

  • Event space 
  • Travel bursaries for attendees 
  • Catering and refreshments (Tea, Coffee, Water, Light snacks, Lunch) 
  • Av (projector, screen, laptop, tech support on the day, microphones)  
  • Printing costs (meeting handouts) 
  • Speaker fee (up to £500) 

Ineligible Costs  

  • Software or hardware. 
  • International event, speaker, or travel costs.  
  • Costs for dependants or spouses to attend events.  
  • Research costs.   

How to apply: 

Please download and complete all of the sections of the EOI for BU ECRN Funding 2425 (500 words max per section) and email your completed application to: RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk by 10th March 2025. Successful applicants will be notified by 17th March 2025. 

If you have any questions or queries, please contact BU ECRN Academic Leads Ann Hemingway (aheming@bournemouth.ac.uk) and Sam Goodman (sgoodman@bournemouth.ac.uk) or RKEDF Advisor Joelle Fallows (jfallows@bournemouth.ac.uk).

RKEDF March digest

Book now for RKEDF training in March 2025 

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

ECRN: Intellectual Property and Your Research 

Tuesday 4th March 14:00-15:30 – online 

Intellectual Property underpins academic research, as it is through Intellectual Property protection that we can protect, commercialise, and own our research & creative outputs.  As researchers, we are constantly engaged in the works and products of others, all of which are underpinned and protected by Intellectual Property. We are also constantly creating our own outputs that can be protected by Intellectual Property.  This workshop will explain the key areas of Intellectual Property that relate to academic research; how to protect your own Intellectual Property; and how to avoid infringing on the Intellectual Property of others. 

Research Data Management: An introduction 

Wednesday 5th March 12:00 – 13:00 – online 

Attendance is recommended for any academic wishing to maximise the impact of their research data, and to learn how it can be managed through the research life cycle in a way that complies with research best practice and any legal, ethical or commercial requirements.  It aligns with BU’s Research Data Policy, which closely reflects many funder and journal requirements.  

Writing for The Conversation interactive workshop 

Wednesday 5th March 14:00-16:00, in person, Talbot Campus 

Learn how to consider the news potential of your expertise, how to look for story hooks and angles from the news, how to write a quality story pitch to section editors, and other advice.  In this interactive session, you’ll find out more about communicating your research to the public, what The Conversation is looking for, and have the chance to discuss your research with a Conversation editor and pitch potential story ideas. 

BRIAN – drop-in surgery – no booking required

Tuesday 11th March 14:00-16:00, F203, Fusion Building, Talbot Campus 

This is a 2 hour drop in surgery for any questions or issues relating to BRIAN.  No question is a stupid question so pop in and ask.  

ECRN – Imposter Syndrome 

Wednesday 19th March 13:00-14:00, in person, Talbot Campus 

This session is aimed at colleagues dealing with feelings of imposter syndrome in academia. The session will offer a space to discuss this growing issue as well as offer advice, guidance and support on how to manage, avoid and overcome such feelings. At the end of the session attendees will have achieved greater confidence in developing their career and profile.  This workshop aimed at: All staff – Academic, teaching, research, professional services. 

Principal Investigation – Post Award for RKE 

Wednesday 19th March 13:00-14:30, in person, BGB, Lansdowne  

This session is aimed at any researcher who is or plans to be a Principal Investigator for an externally funded research or knowledge exchange project.  By the end of the session, attendees will have a strong foundation of what to expect when being responsible for their awarded projects. Topics covered include: 

  • What is post award? • Roles and responsibilities • Systems
  • Key policies • Starting your awarded project • Making changes to your project and reporting • Hints and tips

KTP Development  

Wednesday 19th March 13:00-14:00, in person, Talbot 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.  We are hosting a series of developmental sessions for staff (and businesses) to debunk myths, provide insights, and forge connections.  This session will focus on Fiduciary Responsibility and Evaluation of Company Accounts, Demonstration of Financial Strength, Suitability of Company Finances & Eligibility for KTP Scheme. 

Links for further RKE information and support are below: 

RKE SharePoint page: RKE – Home 

RKEDF SharePoint for development opportunities: Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework RKEDF – Home 

RKEDF Brightspace: Homepage – Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework  

Please 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   

Next CWLTH Research Seminar and Centre Meeting

The Centre for Wellbeing and Long-Term Health‘s next Research Seminar and Centre meeting will be 13:00-14:00 on Wednesday 19th March. Dr Chris Long (Principal Academic on Healthcare Statistics) with be speaking about ‘Avoiding the common statistical pitfalls when planning a research project.’ For more information contact CWLTH@Bournemouth.ac.uk.