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Festival of Learning 2015- Thinking outside the box? Maybe try thinking outside of BU for your events.

Festival of Learning

When thinking about running an event at the Festival of Learning it is common to assume this has to be on campus, however you may have not considered the greater appeal you may be able to get at a different location. Here are some ideas about places that may add that unique selling point which will draw in greater numbers of the public and improve your overall engagement.

 

The Aquarium

Bournemouth’s Aquarium is an instantly recognisable symbol for what people associate with great venues in Bournemouth.  This would be a great place to , hold an event especially if your area of research is marine based, although this isn’t necessarily essential. An idea which could possibly be built on is to hold ‘A night at’ themed event at this location. So get your creative caps on and see what you can come up with for this fantastic venue.

Afc Bournemouth

Bournemouth University and Afc Bournemouth have an incredibly strong working relationship and there is always the possibility to run events from this location. This could be a great venue for sports related research topics, imagine the instant appeal if your event could be held at the Championship high flyers ground!

Shelley Theatre (Boscombe)

The Shelley Theatre is in a great location for when the Festival takes place. It is close to the town centre, creates a great atmosphere and provides audience members with a memorable experience. This venue would work well for a variety of event ideas and has played host to brilliant Festival of Learning events in the past.

 

If any of these locations seem to inspire you to submit an event, or you have a general event inquiry. Please email Naomi Kay and she will be happy to help you in the proposal process of making that event idea you have a reality. The deadline for proposals is fast approaching (19th December at noon) so don’t hesitate to get involved!

 

Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence – SUREBU 2015: call for submissions

Fusion, student research

SUREBU is a Fusion funded project aimed at showcasing the best of BU’s undergraduate research.  Research is broadly defined and could include work towards an undergraduate essay or dissertation, work carried out as part of a volunteer or work placement, or activities for an academic society.  Not only are research skills a central part of undergraduate study and academic life, but they are also vital skills for any future career.  By encouraging undergraduate students to think critically and develop their skills, research will help to enhance their student experience and increase their employability upon graduation.

The call for submissions is now open, and all BU undergraduate students – from all schools and courses – are eligible to apply.  Examples of research could be anything from preparing for a dissertation or an essay to work carried out during a placement year to volunteering or work with academic societies.   The main criteria is that evidence of the student’s own critical thinking can be demonstrated.  As well as developing new skills, this is a good opportunity to enhance their CVs through a conference presentation, publication of abstract or even being the winner of awards and prizes.

To get involved, register on SUREBU’s website and submit an abstract.  Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words, with a title no longer than 150 characters.  The deadline for submission is 5th January 2015.  If you know of a student or recent graduate who would be eligible to submit, do encourage them to apply!

National Contact Point: Manija Kamal

Guidance

 

National Contact Points (NCPs) provide impartial advice regarding EU Funding within their specialist area of Horizon 2020.  The advice is free and confidential and tailored to your needs.  This is an excellent service for drawing on the experience and knowledge of someone who deals exclusively with a particular scheme or work programme.  If you are interested in testing out project ideas, checking scheme eligibility, discussing the direction of travel of a particular funding stream or just asking some questions on the practicalities of applications they are a great source of help. 

This week we would like to introduce you to Manija Kamal, who is the NCP for Embedding Social Science and Humanities across H2020.  Follow the link for further details on NCPs and Horizon 2020.   

Funding Development Opportunities:Travel Fellowships

Funding opportunities

The British Council in Israel and the Science and Innovation Network have launched three travel fellowships: BIRAX Regenerative Medical Fellowships, Inaugural UK-Israel Science Fellowships, and Inaugural UK-Israel Science Lectureships. The schemes are designed to further research experience, establish or strengthen research links and develop scientific collaborations.  The deadline for these opportunities is 12 January 2015. 

The Executive Committee of HUCBMS has established two annual Fellowship Travel Awards to encourage collaboration in biomedical sciences teaching and research between UK-based and overseas universities.  The closing date for applications is 16 January 2015. 

For more information on these opportunities, visit the British Council website 

 

Newton – funding update

Funding opportunities

Further to the November post outlining the Newton Funding opportunities, two new calls have been announced for China and India.  Please note the closing dates:

 

UK-China Research and Innovation Partnership Fund (deadline: 27/02/2015)

Newton-Bhabha PhD Placements Programme (deadline: 15/01/2015)

India-UK Collaborative Industrial R&D Programme (deadline: 15/04/2015)

Further information and application guidance available on the website.

If you wish to apply, please contact your RKEO Officer as soon as possible.

MS Society looking for members to join their Grant Review Panels

Guidance

The MS Society is looking for members to join their Grant Review Panels. For the Grant Review Panel for Care and Services Research they are also recruiting a new Chair.

The closing date for expressions of interest is 12 noon on Thursday 11 December. Please email research@mssociety.org.uk  with your CV and a brief cover letter outlining your experience and how that will positively contribute to the work of the grant review panels.

 

Areas of Expertise Required

Members of the Panels would normally serve for a period of three years. They are looking for people from a variety of backgrounds, covering research, health and social care expertise.

If you possess the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and motivation to help ensure the MS Society funds high quality, relevant research then contact them ASAP. This is also a great development opportunity for you, as knowing how a review panel works can inform how you write and present bids.

For the GRP1 panel, they are encouraging applications from those with an expertise in the following areas:

–       Immunology

–       Stem Cells

–       Animal Models

–       Genetics

 For the GRP2 panel, they are encouraging applications from those with an expertise in the following areas:

–       Psychology

–       Statistics

–       Health economics

About the grant review panels

MS research work is driven by a strategy agreed with the Board of Trustees and which reflects the perspectives of the whole MS community – people affected by MS, clinicians, research scientists and others.

To help guide their research work they work with the advice and support of a Research Strategy Committee (RSC) and two Grant Review Panels (GRP). The RSC looks at the strategic picture, providing advice on broad areas of research, setting priorities and scrutinizing the larger, ongoing research programmes. The RSC does not decide which specific projects we should or should not fund. That more detailed work is carried out by our Grant Review Panels, one for Biomedical Research (GRP1) and one for Care and Services Research (GRP2).

Third book in PR history series published by Palgrave

The third book in Professor Tom Watson’s edited world history of public relations series, Middle Eastern and African Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations: Other Voices, has arrived.

Ten chapters from Turkey to South Africa and the Arab Gulf to Nigeria are covered by 14 authors.

The next book in the series, Latin American and Caribbean Perspectives, is due for online publishing by Palgrave Macmillan in its Pivot series next week. The hard copy will follow in 3-4 weeks’ time.

And the manuscript on Western European Perspectives will be submitted next week, too.

Busy times for PR history scholarship and publishing!

Digital Business Briefing – December 2014

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

 

Now available for December, the Digital Business Briefing is compiled by the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) in partnership with Innovate UK, Catapults, Tech City, Nesta, and Horizon2020. The briefing highlights funding, support, events and training relevant to those working in the digital industries.

Sign up to receive regular updates “Join the creative industries community”

Project funding available to support vulnerable, marginalised and deprived communities in order to address health inequalities which exist in Dorset

Funding opportunities

Introduction

The Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Local Authorities, supported by the Public Health team, are very keen to build on the success of the 2012 Olympics in Dorset and have developed a legacy fund to provide a significant resource for investment in innovative and evidence based local projects in Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole.

Aim

The aim of the legacy fund is to create a legacy and inspire communities by investing in projects that focus on the particularly vulnerable, marginalised and deprived communities in order to address health inequalities which exist in Dorset.

Criteria

Projects will:

  • Target vulnerable people or marginalised communities
  • Tackle identified health inequalities
  • Inspire people towards a healthier lifestyle
  • Have a lasting legacy

The next round of funding is now open and closes on 30 January 2015.

For more information click here.

(BUDI were successful in round 1 with 2 projects awarded through this fund  – Bournemouth Symphony Orchestera and Dorset Fire & Rescue Service. Click here for funded awards to date project reference 36 & 43 – PDF at the bottom of the page.)

Are you working with companies in an agri-food, space or user experience arena? Then this pot of funding may be of interest to you!

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

Have you heard about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)?  Or wanted to work on one?

Introduction to KTP

KTP is a part-funded government scheme to encourage collaboration on innovative projects between academia and business.  KTP is managed by Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) and further information can be found here.

Themed Calls

Innovate UK has a number of funding priorities which they highlight through dedicated competitions throughout the year.  Currently there are 3 competitions where extra funding has been allocated for projects relating to agri-food, space and user experience.

Agri-food

The reason for this call is to improve the competitiveness, resilience and responsiveness of the agri-food supply chain – from primary production, including aquaculture, through to retail.

  • Call closes on 11th February 2015

Space

All projects must use expertise from outside the space sector.  “Upstream” projects need to be generally aligned with the National Space Technology Strategy and “downstream” projects need to link to a defined market/end product.

  • Call closes on 11th February 2015

User experience

The aim of this call is to encourage new, enhanced forms of interaction between computing systems and the people who use them.  Proposals may address technologies that contribute to these new forms such as sensing information about the user or those that improve specific type of experience, such as mobile and wearable devices.

  • Call closes on 15th April 2015

To find out more about KTP or further information on these calls, please contact Rachel Clarke, Knowledge Exchange Adviser (KTP) on 61347 or email clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk

Research Professional – all you need to know

Guidance

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. To really make the most of your Research Professional account, you should tailor it further by establishing additional alerts based on your specific area of expertise.  The Funding Development Team Officers can assist you with this, if required.

Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to ResearchProfessional. These can be downloaded here.

Quick Start Guide: Explains to users their first steps with the website, from creating an account to searching for content and setting up email alerts, all in the space of a single page.

User Guide: More detailed information covering all the key aspects of using ResearchProfessional.

Administrator Guide: A detailed description of the administrator functionality.

In addition to the above, there are a set of 2-3 minute videos online, designed to take a user through all the key features of ResearchProfessional.  To access the videos, please use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/researchprofessional 

Research Professional are running a series of online training broadcasts aimed at introducing users to the basics of creating and configuring their accounts on ResearchProfessional.  They are holding monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with ResearchProfessional.  The broadcast sessions will run for no more than 60 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions via text chat.  Each session will cover:

  • Self registration and logging in
  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Each session will run between 10.00am and 11.00am (UK) on the fourth Tuesday of each month.  You can register here for your preferred date:

27th January 2015

24th February 2015

24th March 2015

28th April 2015

29th May 2015

23rd June 2015

28th July 2015

25th August 2015

These are free and comprehensive training sessions and so this is a good opportunity to get to grips with how Research Professional can work for you.

HE Policy Update

Monday

Postgraduate Loans

The Chancellor is expected to outline plans for government funded loans to cover the cost of one-year postgraduate degrees as part of the Autumn Statement. University fees: George Osborne plans new postgraduate loans (Telegraph).

Which? Report

A new report on HE by the consumer group, Which? has called for tougher regulations to encourage higher standards and to punish failings. The report also questions the workload of students with one in four undergraduates saying they get away with doing little private study. Universities that fail should be punished, says Which? (BBC),  Students gaining good degrees with ‘little or no work’, says Which? (Telegraph).

Tuesday

Extremism on campus

New powers for the home secretary to order universities to ban extremist speakers from their campuses are to be included in a new counter-terrorism bill. This comes as the government prepares for the publication on Tuesday morning of the official inquiry into the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby last year. Theresa May announced that the legislation would also place a statutory duty on; schools, colleges, prisons and local councils to help prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Terror bill requires universities to ban extremist speakers (The Guardian), Universities could be forced to ban ‘extremists’ under new law (Times Higher Education).

Graduate Employability

A research study conducted by the IPPR on behalf of the jobs website totaljobs.com has found that Graduates and A-level students are three times more likely to be jobless a year after finishing their courses than apprentices. The report also finds that employers are increasingly struggling to fill entry-level jobs as graduates and school-leavers are often lacking key skills with one in seven firms having been unable to fill an entry-level vacancy in the past three years. One in seven jobless after graduation, says IPPR (The Times).

Wednesday

Degree Apprenticeships

The government is to unveil a range of courses allowing young people to complete a full honours degree while working, without having to pay fees. Two-thirds of the course costs of the “degree apprenticeships” will be covered by the government, up to a maximum cap which has yet to be decided. Employers will cover the rest, while also paying the apprentice a wage. The first degree apprenticeships will start in September 2015, and will be co-designed by a range of employers and universities. Degree apprenticeships to offer ‘no-fee HE’  (Times Higher Education).

Thursday

Postgraduate Loans

The government may seek to limit a new postgraduate loans system to students in; science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects as it prepares for an announcement in next week’s Autumn Statement. However, some in the sector believe that Mr Osborne is likely to express an ambition for a loans scheme rather than outline a specific system, and to state that details will be finalised only after further rounds of discussion and possibly not until after the general election in May. Postgraduate loans may be limited to students in STEM fields (Times Higher Education).

Friday 

Student Numbers

Having been constrained for so long by government quotas, the lifting of the cap on student numbers next year will offer British universities the opportunity to expand rapidly if they wish, and to compete more aggressively with other institutions for the brightest and the best – as well as for tuition fee income. This article examines arguments for and against expansion. Is bigger better for universities? (Times Higher Education).

Greg Clark- Universities Minister

An opinion piece by The Independent discusses Greg Clark’s lack of presence amid talks around tuition fees and student protests. The article compares his presence with that of his predecessor, David Willetts and suggests that Greg Clark needs to start a public dialogue about what education can realistically achieve. Amid tuition fees, strikes and protests, where is Universities Minister Greg Clark?  (The Independent).

BU at the THE Awards 2014

PG research

 

The Bournemouth University and Poole Hospital research team who developed a medical device to make epidurals safer and more effective, were celebrating being shortlisted for the THE Awards 2014 in London last night.

The project was nominated for Outstanding ICT initiative of the Year and – although pipped to the post by the Open University – being shortlisted for an award of this calibre is an incredible achievement and honour.

BU’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation Professor John Fletcher was at the ceremony. He said: “Congratulations to the NHS-BU team for being shortlisted. We were very worthy contestants.  I felt privileged and proud to share the evening with such a successful team.”

The nominated team at the awards ceremonyThe clinical project was initially proposed by the senior consultant anesthetist at Poole Hospital, Professor Mike Wee. The device was developed by Dr Neil Vaughan for his PhD, supervised by Professor Wee and Dr Venky Dubey. Dr Richard Isaacs – now at Southampton General Hospital – was also part of the research team. All four, pictured here, were at the awards ceremony, along with colleagues from across the university who have supported this innovative and important project.

Comedian Jack Dee hosted proceedings, sharing his unique and entertaining take on the Higher Education sector!

A full list of categories and winners can be viewed on the THE website. The event organisers also took over £9000 in donations for the Institute of International Education’s ‘Scholar Rescue Fund’; a charity that has led global efforts to rescue threatened scholars and students.

Congratulations to all nominees and winners and thank you to THE for such organising such a fabulous evening!

Image: (Top left clockwise) Dr Venky Dubey, Dr Neil Vaughan, Dr Richard Isaacs, Professor Mike Wee.

BU exhibits at Growth Plan Launch Events

Business Engagement

The events were organised  by Christchurch and East Dorset County Councils to enable the Dorset business community  to hear comments from public and private strategists and investors in Dorset’s economy. Run throughout the month of November a number of staff across the university attended and took part in discussions and round table events in addition to exhibiting alongside partners such as The Dorset Growth Hub and The Dorset LEP.

Guest speakers included : Anna Rosier, Managing Director of Organix  – very much a local business success story starting in Christchurch 16 years ago (now based in Bournemouth).  Gordon Page, Chair of Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership provided an update on the Dorset LEP growth deal and its progression so far.  Apart from highlighting the million pounds worth of investment that the LEP has so far secured from central government for the improvement of the Dorset economy, Mr Page also highlighted the need for strong and united partnerships across Dorset in order to secure more funding. He also emphasised the importance of partnership between both public and private sectors in Dorset as an essential element to Dorset’s economic growth and success.

Councillor Claire Bath, Portfolio Holder for Economy for Christchurch and Councillor Simon Tong, lead member for the Economy Growth Plan, also presented at the events. Both Councillors stressed the need for feedback from the Dorset business and general community, so that the long term benefits of the growth investments can be both communicated and realised.

Thank you  to Jayne Codling (R&KEO), Claire Main (School of Tourism), Mark Painter (CfE and Business School) , David Parker, Lucy Rossiter (Cyber Security), Norman Stock (SciTech) and Liam Toms (Media School) who took the opportuntity to network with a number of local businesses and highlight how Bournemouth University can support the “Going for Growth” vision.