/ Full archive

Faculty of Management research seminar series resumes with talk on accounting, rhinoceroses and sustainability

PG research

Professor Jill Atkins of Henley Business School at the University of Reading will speak to the first of a new series of staff research seminars organized in the Faculty of Management on Wednesday, October 14, at 15:00 at Bournemouth House, BG14. Her topic, “Exploring rhinoceros conservation and conversation: The emergence of emancipatory accounting for ‘extinction’,” links problems of sustainability of natural resources with theoretical developments that seek to take better account of the environment.
On October 21 (also 15:00 in BG14) the research seminar series, organised by Drs. George Filis and Christos Apostolakis, will hear a paper drawing on identity theory from Dr. Caroline Rock of Anglia Ruskin University concerning “Authenticity in the Workplace”.
Starting on October 28 the seminar series will link with a new season of the discussion forum for postgraduate researchers and staff. That week the PhD forum (now on Wednesdays at 14:00) in BG14 will hear from its organiser, Dr. Fabian Homberg, on “‘Conversations’ and expectations, literature searches and open questions”. Then at 15:00 Dr. Davide Parrilli, newly recruited as Associate Professor in the business school, will speak on “STI and DUI Innovation Modes: Scientific-Technological and Context-specific Nuances” – exploring the differences between science-led and use-led innovation.
Please join us. Both series are open to everyone interested in the research, across all faculties.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

money and cogsThe following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information.

Arts and Humanities Research Council

The AHRC’s Leadership Fellows scheme provides time for research leaders, or potential future research leaders, to undertake focused individual research alongside collaborative activities which have the potential to generate a transformative impact on their subject area and beyond. Funding is provided for research lasting between six and 18 months with amounts between £50,000 and £250000 at Full Economic Cost available. Closing Date: 30/9/16

British Academy

The Neil Ker Memorial Fund was created to promote the study of Western medieval manuscripts, in particular those with a British interest. Awards do not normally exceed £2000 and may last up to twleve months. Closing Date: 2/12/15

The Stein-Arnold Exploration Fund was created for aiding research on antiquities/historical geography/early history/early art of parts of Asia.  Awards are available up to £2500. Closing Date: 2/12/15

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

The EPSRC and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) wish to develop collaborative projects between the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the field of Smart Grids. up to £2m is available from the EPSRC and equivalent resource will be available within the ROK.  The EPSRC-KETEP Call for Call for Collaborative Research projects may be up to three years in duration. Expressions of Interest (EoI) Closing Date: 25/11/15 at 16:00

Innovate UK

Innovate UK is offering 4 businesses up to £35,000 (excluding VAT) each through its “Innovation in urban spaces” scheme to encourage innovation around smart urban spaces across the themes of engaging spaces, active citizenship and urban travel. Closing Date: 24/11/15 at Noon

Natural Environment Research Council

As part of the Oil and Gas Innovation Programme, a new opportunity on Decommissioning. NERC will invest up to £1m in a cohort of projects lasting six to 12 months which translate into existing NERC remits. Closing Date: 3/12/15 at 16:00

Wellcome Trust

Research Fellowships are available to support humanities and social science scholars who are not in an established academic post who wish to conduct research in any area of human and animal health.  Fellowships will provide research expenses and a salary. Preliminary application Closing Date: 22/1/16

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.

Undergraduate Research Assistantships – academic applications deadline extension – 25th October 2015

Funding opportunities, student research

The Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) programme academic applications are live.

If you need any assistance with your research projects, a URA could help your project greatly.  If your application is approved, you will recruit a student work with you on your research project for either 75 or 100 hours between 18th January 2016 and 21st March 2016.  Alternatively, there is an option to apply for the summer programme now.  The summer programme features support from a URA, full time for 6 weeks over the summer.

Academics who took part in the programme last year had experienced a variety of achievements, some highlights include:

  • “The process will likely inform a case study for my Teach@BU portfolio as well as future bids and I hope to continue working [with the URA] together by co-creating outputs”
  • “Based on their [URA] more than satisfactory performance and competence, my co-investigator and I have invited her [URA] to continue working on the study to write up (co-author two academic articles) and disseminate the findings”
  • “We have been invited to present the findings at the FoM research seminar, an ESRC seminar in September and we are also looking to publish this work and apply for follow-on funding”
  • “[URA] has contributed immensely to the advancement of both project”

Please submit your completed URA Application to urap@bournemouth.ac.uk by midnight on Sunday 25th October 2015.

If you have any queries, please contact Rachel Clarke, KE Adviser (KTP) on 01202 961347 or email clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk 

Innovate UK 2015

Business Engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

Innovate 2011v4
Innovate 2015 is a two day global spotlight on innovation. You will be able to meet inventive and creative companies, explore innovative ideas, discover new export opportunities and hear from original thinkers . It’s the one event that brings together the research base, business, UK and international investors,international buyers from overseas markets and government organisations, to help fund and support innovative ideas.
  • Day 1 will focus on the wide range of funding and support opportunities available and help in making valuable connections for UK businesses to grow on a global scale.
  • Day 2 will focus on the innovation capabilities of the UK, the vast array of regional funding opportunities and support on offer and help with making the right connections for UK businesses to succeed and grow.

Innovate UK is taking place on 9 and 10 November in central London.

Click here for more information including registration.

Are you working in knowledge exchange, knowledge tansfer and/or enterprise ?

Business Engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

PraxisUnico

Bournemouth University is a member of PraxisUnico. This membership is for the whole organisation – colleagues across the University will find it helpful to sign up to receive the  mailing list to have the NewsUpdate sent to your inbox  (news and information from across the sector, distributed every month to over 5000 individuals around the world). Other information channels include the  website, Blog and Twitter feeds of interest.

PraxisUnico is responsible for the range of activities which facilitate the commercialisation of university, public sector and charity based research.  The PraxisUnico website acts to signpost information relating to UK KT activity, expertise, success and impact – it gives Members a platform to promote to a range of stakeholders including government, industry, funders and overseas organisations – all of whom are regular visitors to the PraxisUnico website (and recipients of  wider communications) as a valued information source.

As a member organisation BU can advertise items on  the  website free of charge – a great way to share latest news, achievements and job opportunities!  Relevant content is also included in the  NewsUpdate emails.  Please send your content to website@praxisunico.org.uk.  The website also features various a range of practical tools and resources for those working within the commercialisation profession, key resources are restricted to members only.

The annual conference will take place in Stratford-upon-Avon, 15-17 June, registration will open in the New Year.

Individuals from BU  can also get involved as a volunteer by joining committees, contributing to workshops or delivering training – if this is of interest please let me know jcodling@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Have you been involved with an event designed for the external community?

Guidance, Research assessment

Then we want to hear from you! 🙂

The University is currently compiling the data for the annual Higher Education – Business & Community Interaction survey (HE-BCI) due to be submitted to HESA shortly. Data returned is used to calculate our HEIF grant.

We are asked to submit details of social, cultural and community events designed for the external community (to include both free and chargeable events) which took place between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015.

Event types that should be returned include, but are not limited to:

  • public lectures
  • performance arts (dance, drama, music, etc)
  • exhibitions
  • museum education
  • events for schools and community groups
  • business breakfasts

We cannot return events such as open days, Student Union activity, commercial conferences, etc.

All events that we ran as part of the Festival of Learning, ESRC Festival of Social Science and Cafe Scientifique series are likely to be eligible for inclusion and we will collate this information on your behalf centrally.

If you have been involved with any other event which could be returned, please could you let your contact (see below) know the event name and date, whether it was free or chargeable, the estimated number of attendees, and an estimate of how much academic time was spent preparing for (but not delivering) the event:

  • SciTech – Norman Stock
  • FoM – Rob Hydon
  • HSS – Deirdre Sparrowhawk
  • FMC – Mark Brocklehurst
  • Professional Service – Julie Northam (RKEO)

The data returned is used by HEFCE to allocate the HEIF funding so it is important that we return as accurate a picture as possible.

BU Academic has most viewed article in Current Issues in Tourism – Reaches 10.000 views

Dr. Miguel Moital, Principal Academic in Events Management in the Department of Events & Leisure, Faculty of Management, has just seen his paper published in the Current Issues in Tourism journal reach the 10.000 views mark. The paper has been leading the most viewed ranking for some time, and has now achieved this important milestone. Reaching 10.000 views is a major achievement since the paper was published only 2 years ago. The paper is co-authored with Scott Cohen (University of Surrey, UK, but formerly at the School of Tourism, BU) and Girish Prayag (University of Canterbury, New Zealand).

Current Issues in Tourism is a highly regarded tourism journal:

  • Edited by one of the most prominent tourism academics (Professor Chris Ryan)
  • 2 star ranking in the Academic Journal Guide by ABS – Association of Business Schools
  • 2014 impact factor of 0.918

The paper is freely available for download for everyone (golden access sponsored by BU) from this address.

10.000 views

HE Policy Update

Monday

David Willetts

The former Conservative Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts has criticised the stance of some Conservative colleagues who argue that “too many people go to university”, noting that Tory areas are the main source of the “problem”. David Willetts: Tory areas are ‘culprits’ if too many people go to university. (THE).

Tuesday

Overseas Students

At the Conservative Party conference, the Home Secretary Theresa May spoke about overseas students. She said that if international students do not have a graduate job after their studies, they must return home. She also commented that universities must be responsible for ensuring that overseas students do not stay in the UK without a graduate job. Theresa May: rules ‘must be enforced’ on overseas students. (THE).

Green Paper

The Universities and Science Minister, Jo Johnson has revealed that the higher education Green Paper will be due over the next few weeks. The Green Paper will have a focus on the upcoming Teaching Excellence Framework and will invite responses from the sector and employers. Jo Johnson: TEF will include metrics on widening participation. (THE).

Wednesday

Private School Students

UCAS has accused private-school students of “sleepwalking” through their education, shunning hi-tech subjects such as robotics and bio-engineering in favour of “predictable” careers, following many of their parents into law, banking and the media. Private-school students ‘sleepwalking into predictable careers’ (The Guardian).

TEF and REF

Paul Boyle, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, argues that the teaching excellence framework should not be divorced from the research excellence framework in a blog post for the Guardian. Don’t let politicians drive a wedge between teaching and research (The Guardian).

Thursday

Overseas Students

Concerns are growing about international students suffering “harsh and unjustified” refusals by Home Office officials after being accepted for admission by UK universities. The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), whose membership includes all British universities, says that it has received a “substantial increase in reports of [visa] refusals on grounds of ‘credibility’”. Home Office’s new visa crusade threatens to ‘cut overseas student numbers’ (THE).

Friday

Salaries

According to a report by the Sutton Trust, graduates from Oxford and Cambridge will over their lifetimes earn on average £46,000 annually, compared with £41,000 earned by other Russell Group graduates, and just under £36,000 by graduates from other universities. £10,000 extra a year – the reward of a degree from a top university (The Guardian).

Apprenticeships

Analysis commissioned by the Sutton Trust has revealed that young people who enrol on the highest-level apprenticeships can expect to earn more over the course of their careers than graduates of all but the most prestigious universities. Higher apprenticeships lead to ‘greater earnings than most degrees’ (THE).

Are you an early career, social science researcher? Contribute to this ESRC survey to inform future support decisions

AHRC

ESRC are looking for feedback from early career social scientists (no prescriptive definition given but excluding current Doctoral students) on the experiences and issues they face. Themes covered by the survey include motivations for doctoral study, current employment and future aspirations, availability of support, career advice and guidance – and what support was taken up, and educational background. Selected respondents will be invited to take part in follow-up interviews. The findings will be used to inform ESRC’s support for early career researchers in future years.

Further information is available on the ESRC website http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-events-and-publications/news/news-items/enhancing-support-for-early-career-social-science-researchers/ and the survey can be found at https://ioe.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/esrc-survey .

BU very well represented in this year’s ERCS Festival!

Awarded & submitted bids, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, PG research, Publishing

escrThe ESRC website lists its Festival events for 2015 and amongst the interetsing events is a record number of BU events! The full list can be found on the ESRC webpages, click here!

Pathways to impact: part deux!

7 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

This event aims to engage participants who attended a previous one-day ESRC Festival of Science event which took place in 2012 entitled, “Pathways to Impact: ageing, diversity, connectivity and community”.

Creatively mapping the coast

9 November 2015 | Bournemouth| Event

Festival of Social Science

Children will have the chance to take part in a creative mapping exercise using coastal artefacts and pictures to create their own sensory and emotional maps of the topic, starting with the question of ‘how does it make me feel to be here?’

Safeguarding vulnerable adults from financial scamming

10 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

Older people are increasingly at risk of falling victim to financial scams that target vulnerable people, including mass marketing fraud via post, telephone or email and doorstep fraud.

This event will give practitioners, agencies and members of the public, the opportunity to come together to learn more about the threats posed.

Church as place: ethnography

11 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

This event asked the question:

  • what meanings of place and space are constructed by secular or non-specifically religious and religious visiting of church buildings?

Creativity and dementia: making a connection

11 November 2015 | Poole | Event

Festival of Social Science

Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) will bring dementia awareness to life through running creative activities including a performance from the BUDI Orchestra – made up of people affected by dementia and musicians – poetry and technology such as IPads and Nintendo Wii.

Child deaths and poverty: disadvantaged British children!

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

Are British children disadvantaged compared to children in other Western countries? An analysis of data from global sources compares the standards of mortality, poverty and health funding for children and adults in Britain vs. those in 20 other Western countries.

Copyright reform: the implications one year on

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

One year ago, in October 2014, the UK Government introduced major changes to the Copyright Law with the aim of promoting innovation and creativity. These included a range of exceptions and limitations benefiting users as well as educational and cultural institutions.

Enhancing social life through global social research – event 1

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

These exhibitions run over the course of three days presenting a showcase of Bournemouth University research projects demonstrating our research impacts on social and community wellbeing and our concern for diverse groups and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Fused all ways: transdisciplinary insider research

12 November 2015 | Poole | Event

Festival of Social Science

A group of researchers from Bournemouth University are researching the lived experience of students entering higher education from and in ‘non traditional’ contexts. By bringing together research, educational practice and students as research co-creators, a unique lens is created through which to observe the question.

Increasing fruit and vegetable intakes: Why? How? – Event 3

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

The 5-a-day campaign went global after a recommendation from the World Health Organisation that we should all be eating a least 400g of fruit and vegetables per day. Variations on this message are repeated in countries all across the world. But does the message cause more confusion than good?

Enhancing social life through global social research – event 2

13 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

These exhibitions run over the course of three days presenting a showcase of Bournemouth University research projects demonstrating our research impacts on social and community wellbeing and our concern for diverse groups and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Enhancing social life through global social research – event 3

14 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

These exhibitions run over the course of three days presenting a showcase of Bournemouth University research projects demonstrating our research impacts on social and community wellbeing and our concern for diverse groups and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

FMC Research seminar Series: Wednesday 14 October, 3-5pm, Room W240 Weymouth House

Communicating Research
FMC Cross-Departmental Seminar Series 2015-16

When: Wednesdays, 3-5 pm
Where: The Screening Room W240, Weymouth House, Talbot Campus,
Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB

Wednesday 14 October, 3-4pm

Dr. Rebecca Watkins (Cardiff University) and Dr. Mike Molesworth (University of Southampton)
Title: Digital Possessions

This session will provide an introduction to digital virtual consumption, exploring the emergence of digital consumption objects and the opportunities and issues they present for consumers and for marketers.

Dr. Mike Molesworth is Principal Teaching Fellow at the University of Southampton. Principal Teaching Fellow. He has been lecturing since 1996, for most of that time focussing on online consumer behaviour and emerging consumer cultures. He was a Teaching Fellow in the Centre of Excellence in Media Practice at the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University, where amongst other things, he was involved with innovations in online course delivery. More recently he helped set up the Creative Enterprise Bureau, a unique staff/student collaborative consultancy at Bournemouth University, working for clients such as ITV, Channel 4, Toyota and Samsung. With colleagues he has won several best paper awards in journals and at conferences, including my work on digital consumption with Dr Janice Denegri-Knott in Consumption, Markets and Culture, and with Becca Watkins at the international Consumer Culture Theory Conference. He has also won a ‘most cited’ award in Teaching in Higher Education, for his work on the marketisation of Higher Education

Dr Rebecca Watkins is a Lecturer in Marketing at Cardiff University. She holds a PhD in Marketing from the University of Southampton, and a BA (Hons) in Advertising and Marketing Communications from Bournemouth University. Rebecca’s research uses qualitative methods to explore the impact of digital media upon consumer culture, in particular the ways in which notions of owning and possessing are transformed in the context of digital objects. Her work has been published in the Journal of Marketing Management, the Journal of Consumer Culture & Research in Consumer Behaviour, whilst her work in human-computer interaction, in collaboration with the Human Experience and Design research group at Microsoft Research, has been presented at the world’s leading HCI conference.

Wednesday 14 October, 4-5pm

Dr Katy Shaw (Leeds Beckett University)
Title: Financialised Masculinities: Men, Fiction and the Credit Crunch

After the height of the credit crunch, the blame game began, and focus fell firmly on bankers, and male bankers in particular, as being responsible for the crash. Variously dubbed the ‘Man-cession’ or the ‘He-Cession’ by media and political commentators, accusations that an excessively ‘masculine economy’ contributed to the crunch grew in the weeks and months following the economic downturn. Contemporary fiction was quick to respond to the global economic crisis as a source of inspiration for post-millennial narrative. Through this new genre of ‘Crunch Lit’, fiction continued its historical commitment to demystifying the financial world. Examining two case study examples of the new genre – Faulks’ A Week in December (2009) and Lanchester’s Capital (2012) – the paper will interrogate how and why fiction represents the twenty-first century impact of financialisation and its penetration of language, fashion and financial culture to question dominant narratives of the male banker as a new cultural villain for the post-millennial period.

Dr Katy Shaw is Principal Lecturer in Contemporary Literature at Leeds Beckett University. She is also editor of the internationally peer reviewed C21 Literature: journal of 21st-century writings. Her research interests include contemporary writings, working class literatures, regeneration and the languages of comedy. She has published extensively on working class women’s writings, the contemporary novel and twenty-first century literature. Her monograph Crunch Lit examines fictional responses to the global credit crunch.
About the series
This new seminar series showcases current research across different disciplines and approaches within the Faculty of Media and Communication at BU.The research seminars include invited speakers in the fields of journalism, politics, narrative studies, media, communication and marketing studies. The aim is to celebrate the diversity of research across departments in the faculty and also generate dialogue and discussion between those areas of research.

Contributions include speakers on behalf of
The Centre for Politics and Media
The Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community
Advances in Media Management Research Group
Emerging Consumer Cultures Research Group
Public Relations Research Group
Candida Yates, BA, MA, PhD, FHEA,
Professor of Culture and Communication

Bournemouth University
Faculty of Media and Communication
Weymouth House
Fern Barrow, Poole
Dorset, BH12 5BB

Text Box:

Congratulations to CMMPH Professor Edwin van Teijlingen on his publication !

Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, open access, Research Ethics

Congratulations to CMMPH Professor Edwin van Teijlingen on his latest publication about why researchers do not always seek ethical permission for health research conducted in low income countries. The authors in this paper have identified and explained five possible reasons; a) approval not needed: b) not familiar with the ethics committee: c) applying the wrethicsong committee; d) resource constraints; and e) assumption that non-clinical research are exempted, which are of course overlap and interact each other, for not applying ethical approval in low income countries. They have also provided examples of ethical approval taken from other countries than the host countries and further go on to stress that junior researchers and students should be encouraged to be familiar with research ethical approval. In their paper, they encourage journal editors and peer reviewers to ensure ethical approval beinProfessor Edwin and Professor Padamg granted for manuscripts based on empirical studies. This paper was co-authored by BU visiting faculty Professor Padam Simkhada and recently published in  Nepal Journal of Epidemiology. The paper is freely available through the journal’s website http://nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/issue/view/919

Reference:

van Teijlingen E, Simkhada P. Failure to apply for ethical approval for health studies in low-income countries. Nepal J Epidemiol. 2015;5(3); 511-515

 

Pramod R Regmi, PhD

Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Faculty of Health and Social Science

BU and Precision Acoustics work together on high-impact NDT software programme

Awarded & submitted bids, Business Engagement, Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

Aircraft engines

It is estimated that some 30% of airline engines worldwide are analysed using PA’s current-generation technologies to detect fan blade defects

A team from the Faculty of Science and Technology, led Professor Siamak Noroozi and Dr Richard Gunstone, have successfully obtained a Grant Offer Letter (GOL) for a high-impact KTP working with Precision Acoustics Limited (Dorset).

In this blog post we discuss some of the background to this KTP, and objectives.

Precision Acoustics (PA) manufactures acoustic measurement products for the medical and Non Destructive Testing (NDT) industries and is well established as a major supplier of equipment for the (MHz) ultrasound markets world-wide. PA has a close working relationship with the National Physical Laboratory, London, and academic establishments across the UK to further R&D.

The company’s core products are acoustics measuring devices. The company already has a significant share of the world market in this area, and is now embarking on innovative industrial NDT systems working on a number of precursor projects including with Rolls Royce. The longer term objective can only be achieved if PA introduces a software capability able to devise, maintain and develop a development process that has the expected attributes of resilience, performance and integrity, supporting product deployment. This is the principal focus for the KTP, capitalising on the capability in systems design, software, and assurance within BU.

The diagnostic systems work at PA are being developed and used in numerous applications, including malaria detection. It is estimated that some 30% of commercial airliners globally use the technologies developed by PAL for analysing defects in engine fan blades, for example. Due to the inherent nature of NDT systems and the potential application areas, these application areas are likely to have societal relevance and high-impact.

A great deal of effort has been spent in designing the project to be flexible and comprehensive. This has been made possible by the capable contribution of Norman Stock, the Faculty Business Relations Officer. He has worked closely with the academic staff and also the company to present a suitable proposal to Innovate UK, who are part-funding the collaboration.

In terms of project design, the KTP incorporates the new “KTP laydown” of an integrated MRes opportunity for the Associate, combined with expectations of research activity leading to co-authored papers. This provides a route for knowledge transfer of expertise from the university to the company, in a way that delivers advantages for all stakeholders.

We look forward to providing further reports on our collaboration with PA as time progresses.

In terms of advice for others considering KTP funding, Richard highlights a few relevant points:

“Engage early with the Business Relations Officer for your Faculty. Make sure deadlines are adhered to, including submission windows with Innovate UK. Finally, clarify the project plan as early as possible, including what is achievable in the project timescale – scoping is key”

Procedures for late submission of external R&KE applications

Guidance

procedure-wwThere has been quite a steep rise in the late notification of applications for external R&KE funding. Although it is always pleasing to see bids going in, the late bids cause a number of issues, not only for Faculty/UET approvers, quality assurance, but also in terms of RKEO resources.  Also it often puts unnecessary pressure on all involved, including the Principal Investigator.

All applications should normally be prepared in good time, informing RKEO (normally by the submission of an intention to bid form) at the beginning of the application process.  For major funders, applications should start to be prepared at least four months in advance of the closing date to ensure that a quality application is submitted.  There is a mandatory internal deadline of five working days for any (finalised) applications that are submitted to funders who have an e-submission process.  This is on advice from those funders as they require the research office to approve submissions.  This is to allow time for applications to be checked by RKEO in line with funder guidance and allow for any iterations required by the PI.  Research Councils are now office rejecting any slight errors rather than returning applications for amendment and so the checks that RKEO carry out are vital to ensuring that academics don’t fall at the first hurdle.

If a PI contacts RKEO at short notice or in the case of an e-submission, close to the five working days’ notice (please bear in mind that all costs and approvals must be in place beforehand), the decision may be made that they cannot submit the application.  This is particularly likely during busy periods where RKEO resources are already fully committed to support those applicants that have contacted us early.  Jo Garrad, RKEO Funding Development Manager, will discuss such cases with Faculty DDRPP’s before making a decision.  A full procedural document can be found on the staff intranet under the ‘Research’ section – Procedures for late submission of external R&KE applications.

IMF: global economic risks rising

Every year at this time (autumn), the IMF holds large international meetings to highlight and discuss the state of the global economy for its members.  The latest sessions, and the World Economic Outlook that supports them, have indicated slower growth this year, averaging 3.1% worldwide – a rate lower than in 2014 (3.4%) and lower than the previous forecast.  Prospects are termed “uneven”, with better numbers for the advanced economies and worse ones for emerging and developing countries.  Within these broad assessments, however, there is a range of projected experience, with commodity producers hurting and consumer orientated economies doing relatively fine.  The IMF concludes, ” In an environment of declining commodity prices, reduced capital flows to emerging markets and pressure on their currencies, and increasing financial market volatility, downside risks to the outlook have risen, particularly for emerging market and developing economies.”

A key issue is how the “Great Recession” has affected the underlying potential to grow in different economies around the world.  There is a debate about whether the 2008-10 drop permanently hurt the global growth rate.  Nothing is ever permanent in global economics but there is probably a case to say that persistent imbalances in trade, investment – real and financial, and productivity are dampening growth prospects.  The sluggish recovery looks set to continue.  In response, the IMF, as it often does, calls for infrastructure spending and continued monetary largesse.  If only it were that simple.

Vitae and the Researcher Development Framework

Guidance, PG research, student research, Training

Vitae logoVitae is an organisation set up to promote career development in both postgraduate researchers and academic staff. Their Researcher Development Framework is intended to help people monitor their skills and plan their personal development. At BU we will be using this framework to format the training on offer for the postgraduate research students and academic staff.

The Vitae website is an excellent resource and the organisation regularly runs free training events for researchers, PGRs and those involved in research development. Upcoming events include Vitae Connections: Supporting Open Researchers.

The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is the professional development framework to realise the potential of researchers. The RDF is a tool for planning, promoting and supporting the personal, professional and career development of researchers in higher education. It was designed following interviews with many successful researchers across the sector and articulates the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of a successful researcher.

There is a planner available on the Vitae website to help you assess which stage you are at with your skills and a tutorial providing guidance on how to use the framework.

Top 10 tips from researchers on using the Researcher Development Framework (RDF):

1. You might choose to use the RDF for short term as well as long term development. The RDF can be used in planning for your long term career ambitions but also to make a feasible short term plan. It can be useful to imagine your long term ambitions in order to focus your career path however the reality of progressing through to the higher phases may be more difficult to plan. In the short term, making decisions about how to progress to the next phase or what sub-domains are most important for you will be easier. Try to be realistic when setting these short term goals.

2. Use the RDF to highlight your strengths and areas for development and how these might be used to benefit/influence your personal, professional and career development.

3. Use the RDF to highlight your applicable and transferable skills. This is important for career progression within or outside academia.

4. Prioritise those areas which are most relevant. You don’t have to try to develop in all the areas of the RDF at once. There may be some sub-domains/descriptors where there is less relevance in progressing through the phases for you.

5. Draw on experiences outside of work to evidence your capabilities.

6. Progression to the highest phase in a descriptor will not be applicable to everyone but being aware of the possibilities can aid personal and career development.

7. Talk to others to get their views about your strengths and capabilities. Your supervisor, manager, peers, family and friends are a great source of information to find out more about yourself. Talk to them about how they perceive your capabilities. By understanding how others view you, you will be able to make more informed choices about your future.

8. To move from one phase to the next why not explore attending courses. These courses may be run at a local level (within your University) or may only be run nationally or internationally so awareness of opportunities for training is important. Vitae also run a wide range of courses which address many aspects of personal and career development.

9. Some phases may only be reached through experience and practice however good self-awareness and professional development planning will aid the process.

10. Networking is likely to enable you to reach more experienced phases.