/ Full archive

Introducing Alice Brown, your Funding Development Officer (SciTech)

R & KE Operations

I am a Funding Development Officer supporting the endeavours of the Faculty of Science & Technology to succeed in being awarded research funding. I am here to provide assistance in the pre-award process. My work days are Tuesdays to Fridays. I will either be at Melbury House or in Christchurch House (phone number 01202 68247). Please do not hesitate to leave me emails any time and I will attend to them as soon as possible.

As a brief background to myself, just before commencing in this role, I was the Senior Research & Knowledge Exchange Officer at the Arts University Bournemouth as secondment cover. During that time, I managed research degree students and academic research, under which there was funding development work. Before that, I have relocated with my family from Australia, having worked for 7 years in the Western Australian State Government in legal, policy and research roles.

My interests are travelling, hiking, painting and fine dining.

HE Policy Update

Monday

UUK report

In the first year of the new charging regime (2012-13), UUK report Patterns and trends in UK higher education confirms that the number of first year undergraduates enrolled in UK institutions fell by 16.7% compared with the previous year. The number of first year postgraduates also dropped, by 3.8%. Impact of higher fees on HE laid out in UUK report (Times Higher Education).

Tuesday

Overseas influence of UK universities

William Hague gave a speech at Greenwich University in which he described the international impact of the UK’s universities and their role in promoting democratic values in a time of growing authoritarianism.  He also highlighted the importance of universities as places for exchanges of ideas and cultures and the long-term influence of attracting overseas students. Hague says UK universities deliver overseas influence (BBC News Online).

Private Colleges

MPs on the Public Accounts Committee held a hearing on controls over public-backed funding at private colleges, following a report by the National Audit Office. Martin Donnelly, Permanent Secretary at BIS, who appeared at the hearing faced particular criticism. Going on to call the private provider situation a “complete scandal”, Ms Hodge said HEFCE had warned BIS about the potential for problems in 2010. Hodge tears into government over private colleges (Times Higher Education).

Wednesday

Nick Clegg

The Deputy Prime Minister has said he has learned his lesson over the tuition fee U-turn and has made an impassioned plea to young voters alienated by the Liberal Democrats’ broken tuition fee pledge. In a question and answer session with young people organised by the Bite the Ballot voter engagement drive, he argued that the coalition had introduced a fairer fees system. Nick Clegg ‘has learned lesson’ from breaking tuition fees pledge (The Daily Telegraph).

Postgraduate study

New HEFCE research based on the Intentions After Graduation Survey (IAGS) 2013 shows that over half of graduates who plan to go onto postgraduate study end up not doing so because of finance issues.  Intentions after Graduation Survey (HEFCE).

Thursday

REF2014 Results

The REF results revealed that 30% of the research submitted was classed as world-leading (4*), 46% was internationally excellent (3*), 20% was nationally recognised (2*) and 3% was nationally recognised (1*). Mark Leach, founder of Wonkhe said that the results clearly demonstrate a substantial grade inflation which while positive, may undermine the sector’s credibility and bargaining power with an austerity Treasury that simply will not buy it. Despite this, he argues that the REF shows how a mature society can find reasonable ways to fund and support the creation of new knowledge and the individuals that power it – fairly and with accountability to the taxpayers. The REF: fascinating, flawed and essential (Wonkhe).

Friday

UCAS Report

In its End of Cycle report for 2014, UCAS says the number of students who secured places in UK universities broke through the 500,000 barrier for the first time in 2014, rising 3.4 per cent to 512,000. However, when it came to actual results, the proportion of English 18-year-old students entering higher tariff universities having achieved the equivalent of ABB or better at A level fell to 82 per cent in 2014, after a high point of 89 per cent in 2011. Ucas report suggests fall in entrance grades at selective universities (Times Higher Education).

REF Results-London

London universities are breaking up the traditional dominance of Oxford and Cambridge, according to official figures on research excellence. Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said that unless there was an increase in overall budgets, funding would increasingly be concentrated in fewer places, such as the so-called “golden triangle” of London, Oxford and Cambridge. London overtaking Oxbridge domination (BBC News).

 

FIF Santander funding awarded

Santander funded networking and conference visit to Spain Dec 14

Dr Daniel Franklin from the Faculty of Science and Technology has been awarded funding from the Santander strand of the Fusion Investment Fund to establish working relationships and collaborations with the University of Malaga, Spain, a Santander Partner University.

The Department of Ecology and Geography at the University of Malaga hosts an active group of researchers interested in the response of aquatic ecosystems to increased CO2. Members of the Malaga research group have recently worked at the prestigious international mesocosm facility at the University of Bergen (Norway) which allows large-scale experimental manipulation of the aquatic environment to test research hypotheses. They have also used this powerful approach in their work in the Mediterranean. The Malaga group have just (late 2014) published a series of papers on the effects of CO2 enrichment on aquatic ecosystems.

Dan applied for and was awarded funding to visit the group in February 2015 in order to facilitate networking with the aim of establishing joint EU research proposals in the future and also researcher visits to BU. In addition to these activities, there is an international meeting of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) in nearby Granada (22-27 February 2015) for which two BU PhD students have had abstracts accepted and Dan will now also be attending the conference.

Open for registration – Up to £2m funding for feasibility studies available

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities

Innovate UK  has launched a funding competition for feasibility studies with up to two million pounds funding available.

The competition is open only to small and micro companies (click here for eligibility) across the following technology sectors:

Advanced materials
Biosciences 
Electronics, Sensors & Photonics
Information & Communications Technology 

A briefing event for this competition was held on 25 November.  You can view the webinar recording here. 

For any queries on this competition, please contact support@innovateuk.org.

Latest Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

 

 

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

 

 

Medical Research Council GB – Tackling antimicrobial resistance theme one: understanding resistant bacteria in context of the host – Innovation grants

Innovative Medicines Initiative invites proposals for its call on The Medical Research Council and partners have delayed the expected opening and closing date for proposals for their innovation grants within the theme tackling antimicrobial resistance – understanding resistant bacteria in context of the host. The expected opening date has been delayed from 3 November 2014 to 19 January 2015, and the expected closing date has been delayed from 13 January to 17 March 2015. Award amount – up to £250,000. Closing date 17/03/2015

Natural Environment Research Council – NERC – Large Grants

Large Grants replaced the consortium grant scheme in 2012.

They support adventurous, large-scale and complex research tackling big science questions that cannot be addressed through other NERC funding opportunities.

The minimum funding level for large grant proposals is £1·2m. The maximum funding level for large grant proposals is £3·7m, with a duration of up to five years. Closing date for outline proposals is 10/03/15

Innovate UK, GB – Urban Living – integrated products and services

Innovate UK is to invest up to £7m in collaborative R&D projects that develop products and services from integrated data generated by cities.

The aim of this competition is to stimulate innovations that can help cities meet the challenges of achieving sustainable growth and other pressures.

Ultimately, the goal is to make the lives of the people who live and work in them happier, healthier and more harmonious.

They are seeking proposals to prototype, develop and evaluate products and services. Specifically, these will need to use data from an integrated city management system to solve problems around the management and operation of cities.

They expect to fund projects of £350k to £700k. Closing dates – please note this is a two-stage competition that opens for applicants on 15 December 2014. The deadline for registration is at noon on 4 February 2015 and the deadline for expressions of interest is at noon on 11 February 2015.

 

British Academy, GB – International Partnership and Mobility Scheme

Wellcome Trust, GB The International Partnership and Mobility Scheme aims to support the development of partnerships between the UK and other areas of the world where research excellence would be strengthened by new, innovative initiatives and links.

The Scheme intends to strengthen research capacity/capability, with all partners gaining from the collaboration, and to initiate the development of long-term, links between the UK and overseas scholars whilst also encouraging an intra-regional exchange of expertise and knowledge sharing.

In this round the Scheme is open to three-year and one-year awards for research partnerships between scholars in the UK and scholars in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Eurasia, South Asia, East and South-East Asia. Grants are offered up to a maximum of £10,000 per year for a period of one year or three years (£30,000) Closing date 11/02/2015

 

The Wellcome Trust, GB – Senior research fellowships in basic biomedical science

The Wellcome Trust invites applications for its senior research fellowships in basic biomedical science These support outstanding postdoctoral scientists based in academic institutions in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Fellowships are tenable for five years in the first instance, and provide a basic salary, normally of up to £55,000 per year, with an additional trust supplement of £12,500 per year.

Closing date 08/05/2015

The Wellcome Trust, GB – Senior research fellowships in clinical science

This scheme provides support for clinical investigators to further develop their research potential and to establish themselves as leading investigators in clinical science

The fellowship is for five years in the first instance, and provides:

  • a basic salary, as determined by the host institution
  • research expenses essential to the research programme
  • provision for public engagement costs.

Closing date 08/05/2015

Leverhulme Trust, GB – 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. The prize scheme makes up to thirty awards of £100,000 a year, across a range of academic disciplines. The 2015 round opens on 5 January 2015 and closes to nominations on 14 May 2015

Please note that some funders 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.

 

Funding Opportunity: The International Partnership and Mobility Scheme

Funding opportunities

The International Partnership and Mobility Scheme aims to support the development of partnerships between the UK and other areas of the world where research excellence would be strengthened by new and innovative initiatives and links.

In this round the Scheme is open to three-year and one-year awards for research partnerships between scholars in the UK and scholars in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Eurasia, South Asia, East and South-East Asia.  Please note that  applicants must be of postdoctoral or equivalent status. Research must be in the field of the humanities or social sciences.

 Both a principal applicant and co-applicant are required for this scheme. The principal applicant must be ‘ordinarily resident’ in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands and must be able to demonstrate that they will be based at their present employing research-active institution in the UK for the duration of the award.  The co-applicant must be an academic based in a research-active institution in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Eurasia, South Asia, East or South-East Asia and must also be able to demonstrate that they will be based at their present employing institution for the duration of the award.

 The 2015 round is now open for applications. The deadline for applying will be Wednesday, 11 February 2015 (17:00 pm UK time).

Applications must be submitted via e-GAP2, the Academy’s electronic grant application system, but please note that preliminary enquiries should be directed through the RKEO Funding Development Team.

Applicants are asked to read the International Partnership and Mobility Scheme Notes before beginning an application.  For further information about the scheme, please follow the link.

 

BU academics appointed as dual editors-in-chief

Women's Academic Network

Dr Sara Ashencaen Crabtree and Professor Jonathan Parker of the Centre for Social Work, Sociology & Social Policy have been appointed as joint editors-in-chief for a journal published by UK publishing house Whiting & Birch and the Tbilisi SState University in Georgia: Social Policy & Social Work in Transition.

The journal stemmed from an earlier EU-funded Tempus project between Sheffield Hallam University and post-Soviet Eastern European states, including Georgia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and has recently negotiated a bipartite arrangement with Whiting & Birch to ensure its sustainability.

The journal aims to provide a platform for developing insight and research into transitions in social policy and social work predominantly in Eastern European countries, and this remains its primary focus. However, the new editors-in-chief will also expand the journal’s reach into Asia, the Asia Pacific region, Africa and the Americas especially in countries moving through complex socio-political, economic, historical and post-colonial transitions.

This important position was confirmed on the basis of the new editors’ international research links and reputations and adds to the strengths of the Centre for Social Work, Sociology and Social Policy at BU. Dr Ashencaen Crabtree and Professor Parker will lead a multinational editorial board assisted by continuing editors Professor Iago Kachkachishvili of Tbilisi State University, Georgia and Dr Tetyana Semigina of National University ‘Kyiv-Mohyla Academy’, Ukraine (current Secretary of the International Association of Schools of Social Work). Outgoing editor, Professor Emeritus Mark Doel, Sheffield Hallam University, will also remain on the board.

The position offers a springboard to further collaborative social science research in Eastern European and Balkan states, something which the journal is committed to developing.

Prof Jonathan Parker & Dr Sara Ashencaen Crabtree

EUADS: Deadline tomorrow!

Funding opportunities, Training

The EU Academic Development Scheme (EUADS) is a unique scheme developed to kick start your career in EU research, and is open to all BU academic staff.  The scheme will help you work towards making a submission by providing unlimited 1-2-1 support from an expert EU bid writer, group mentoring and unlimited assistance in actually writing your application over a 12 month period.  In addition to the training, the EUADS scheme also includes an individual fund. Each successful participant will have access to grants up to £3ooo to spend on activities supporting bid development, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Pilot research work
• Fieldwork
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations
• Preparation of specialist material or data
• Replacement teaching 

You can read more on this scheme in the EUADS Policy Document  and make a submission using the  EUADS Application Form.   

The deadline for applications is Friday 19th December 2014.  Applications and any questions should be submitted to the Funding Development Coordinator, Giles Ashton, gashton@bournemouth.ac.uk

The REF results are in! BU’s research recognised as world leading

REF Subjects, Research assessment

REF logoAfter many years of preparation, numerous mock exercises and thirteen long months of waiting, the REF results are finally published today! And the news for BU is excellent!

62% of BU’s research has been recognised as internationally excellent, with 18% rated as world-leading. This is a significant uplift on our RAE 2008 scores and has been achieved whilst also submitting considerably more staff to REF 2014 (161.8 FTE, an increase of 45.5%). This highlights the growing research volume and quality at BU and is testament to the significant investment that has been put into research over the past decade. The assessment recognised BU as a leading university in both the UK and south west region.

Key achievements for BU overall include:

  • BU was in the top half of all institutions that submitted to the REF (69th out of 154) based on the proportion of research rated of international standard
  • BU was 11th out of the 69 post-1992 universities based on the proportion of world-leading research
  • BU was fourth in the south west based on the proportion of world-leading research, behind Bristol, Bath and Exeter
  • 30% of BU’s research impact was rated world-leading
  • 58% of BU’s research outputs were rated internationally excellent or world-leading
  • 63% of BU’s research environment was rated internationally excellent or world-leading
  • The THE has ranked BU 69th overall, an increase from 75th in 2008, and 69th for impact – http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/ref-2014-results-table-of-excellence/2017590.article

Key achievements for our research areas include:

  • Tourism (UOA 26) was rated as joint-first in the UK (out of 51 institutions) based on its internationally-recognised research
  • Art and design (UOA 34) is in the top quartile in the UK for its world-leading research, and is ranked first in the south west (out of 7 institutions)
  • Communication, Cultural and Media Studies (UOA 36) is in the top third of institutions in the UK (17th out of 67) for its world-leading research, and 7th in the UK for its world-leading impact
  • Psychology’s (UOA 4) outputs scored particularly well with 73% rated as internationally excellent or world-leading, placing BU 27th out of 82 institutions in the UK
  • Research impact was rated highly in General Engineering (UOA 15) which scored 73% internationally excellent, placing it fourth out of 29 post-1992 institutions.
  • BU submitted considerably more staff to Allied Health Professional, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy (UOA 3) than in the last assessment exercise (9.2fte in 2008 and 21.4fte in 2014) and achieved a significant uplift in the proportion of its research that was rated internationally excellent and world-leading (40% to 54%).
  • Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology (UOA 17) is in the top quartile in the UK (joint-17th out of 74 institutions) based on the proportion of research rated of international standing, making it also 1st out of 20 post-1992 universities
  • Business and Management Studies (UOA 19) scored particularly well in terms of impact, resulting in it ranking 9th in the UK (out of 101 institutions) for its world-leading impact

HEFCE, on behalf of the four funding councils, publish the results of the REF today. You can browse the results here: www.ref.ac.uk.

Congratulations to all – this is a milestone achievement 🙂

UKRO – RISE workshop in January 2015

Training

Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE): Information Event

In its capacity as UK National Contact Point for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the UK Research Office is holding an information event for researchers who are interested in applying for the 2015 MSCA Research and Innovation Staff Exchange call, which opens on 6 January 2015, with a closing date of 28 April 2015.

Aim of the Research and Innovation Staff Exchange funding
The RISE scheme supports projects which promote international and/or inter-sectoral collaboration through staff exchanges and the sharing of knowledge and best practice. The scheme involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors, organisations based in Europe (EU Member States and Associated Countries) and outside of Europe (third countries).

Date and venue
Thursday, 22 January 2015
London South Bank University
Room 806, Keyworth Centre
Keyworth Street
London  SE1 6NG

Aim of Information Event
The event will provide participants with an in-depth overview of the RISE scheme. Participants should gain a clear understanding of the proposal format and the key issues relating to planning, writing and submitting proposals.

Who should attend?
The event is aimed at staff at UK academic and non-academic organisations, including industry, who are planning to submit a proposal to the RISE call.

Registration
Attendance is free of charge, but capacity at the venue is limited and places will therefore be allocated on a first come first served basis. Register via the UKRO workshop announcement.

The event will only take place if a minimum number of participants is reached. All interested participants will be notified by Friday 16 January 2015 at the very latest.

Agenda
The event will cover key issues relating to planning, writing and submitting proposals. A successful RISE 2014 project case study will be presented by the Principal Investigator.