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SciTech postgraduate conference and poster presentation

PG research

Yesterday the postgraduate researchers in the Faculty of Science and Technology (SciTech) held their annual showcase of their research projects. For the applied sciences students this took the form of 15 minutes presentations and the design, engineering and computing students presented posters.

Former PhD student Kathryn Ross opened the presentations in the Lawrence Lecture Theatre and likened the process of studying for a doctorate to taking part in a 100 mile walk. Kathryn was an inspiration to her peers, showing how hard work and persistence can get results. Her own PhD project investigating the effects of sea-level rise on the avocet population in Poole Harbour yielded new and interesting findings about the birds’ diet.

The subsequent presentations were outstanding, covering a wide variety of topics including how parasites impact eco-systems, volunteer engagement, the process of ageing fish and the spread of the domestic chicken through Europe.

The posters were equally impressive, featuring rescue robots, intelligent call routing and lie detector technology among others.

The work of the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) postgraduate researchers was strongly represented, including a remarkable project looking at adapted home environments for people living with dementia.

It was wonderful to see the amazing research being carried out by BU’s postgraduate community, with the support of their dedicated supervisors. I have no doubt many of them will make valuable contributions to their field in the future.

And to any postgraduate researchers reading this… If you would like to share your research more widely via the BU website or other channels, please do email me. I’d love to help you with that. Additionally, if you are interested in taking part in any public engagement activity, we have some great opportunities including a tent at Camp Bestival. If you like to find out more please email our Public Engagement Manager Barry Squires.

‘A Land of Wine and Beauty’

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion

A new Erasmus Fusion Investment Fund for staff mobility and networking was awarded to Dr Clive Hunt, Lead Academic – Design and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology.  This follows a recent Erasmus partnership agreement between BU and the University of Applied Sciences (FHWS) in Schweinfurt, which is situated in Franconia, Germany – one of Europe’s oldest wine-growing regions and described as “a land of wine and beauty” by the Franconian Tourist Board.
As reported in a previous blog, the educational focus of FHWS is on design and engineering with a strong business/industrial focus.  Clive’s visit to Germany, which has now taken place, was for a period of five days and included six hours of teaching as well as networking with two of FHWS’s industrial partners – ZF and Bosch and Siemens Home appliances (BSH).  ZF is a worldwide leading supplier of dampers and clutches to the automotive industry and BSH’s product portfolio, which most will be familiar with, spans the spectrum of modern household appliances from stoves and ovens to small appliances like vacuum cleaners and coffee machines.
From visiting these companies, as well as talking to staff and students at the university, it became very clear that the mind-set of the German industrial sector was such that it saw an active role in undergraduate development.  Prof Dr Marcus Schulz of FHWS, explained that the German industrial sector saw placement students as being particularly valuable in helping to solve business problems and he commented that “the university’s industrial partners actually compete for students!”  Companies provide undergraduates with a five month placement opportunity as well as providing almost all students with a final year project (thesis).
To further the strategic partnership between our two institutions, Clive’s visit included meetings with the University’s Vice President, Prof Dr -Ing Bernhard Arndt as well as Prof Dr Uwe Sponholz, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Engineering.  Developing joint research projects as well as encouraging student mobility between our two institutions is clearly a priority of FHWS and this aligns to the Faculty of Science and Technology’s (SciTech) own interest in furthering research and academic collaboration. From the beginning of next academic year FHWS will be delivering its courses in English which will provide SciTech students with an opportunity to study part of their degree abroad, providing units at BU can be aligned with theirs and delivery problems in terms of timing, etc., can be overcome.
One area in which FHWS is keen to develop its research is around creativity and ideas generation by engineers and their managers and the university has recently developed one of its teaching spaces into a “Creative Cube” for this purpose.  This room consists of a 70” touch screen computer, webcams, video cameras, an ambience ceiling with 40,000 LED’s, iPads, notebooks, relaxing chairs, a device that changes the smell of the room as well as having walls that are magnetic and which can be written on.  If there are any colleagues, here at BU, who would like to get involved in a joint pedagogical research project between ourselves and FWHS, that considers how learning is impacted upon by the environmental conditions of a teaching space then please get in touch with Clive (chunt@bournemouth.ac.uk).

IT as a Utility Community conference

As part of the community, BUCSU is supporting Southampton University with this UK network.

IT as aUtility: Network+ community conference

                                             Thursday 19th – Friday 20th June 2014

This will be a two-day presentation and reflection on the achievements so far and the future plans of the RCUK-funded IT as a Utility Network+. The event will be an opportunity to further examine the role of IT utilities in the digital economy both now and in the future.

If you are interested in booking onto this event, please book your place via Eventbrite.

In addition to this, BU will be hosting a ‘Data as a utility and analytics as a service’ workshop at the Executive Business Centre on Monday 9th June from 12pm – 6pm.

Collaboration between BU and China!

Last week Dr Biao Zeng organised a seminar with guest speaker, Jianfang Cheng, Deputy Chief of the Zhongguancun Science Park London Office.  Zhongguancun Science Park is a consortium of hi-tech industry and is often referred to as China’s ‘Silicon Valley’.

Dr Zeng invited colleagues and students from across the Institution to attend this seminar and find out more about how we can build a partnership with various companies who are based at the Park.  Ms Cheng was keen to find out about the key areas of research at BU and to explore whether there were research and collaboration opportunities between BU and Zhongguancun Science Park.

Rachel Clarke – KTP Officer

clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk

Money Available for Open Access Publishing!

Publishing

Back in April 2011 we launched the BU Open Access Publication Fund. This is a dedicated central budget that has been launched in response to, and in support of, developments in research communication and publication trends. The fund is also to support research in complying with some of the major funding bodies who have introduced open access publishing requirements as a condition of their grants.

The fund is available for use by any BU author ready to submit a completed article for publication who wishes to make their output freely and openly accessible.

If you are interested in applying to the fund then you need to email Pengpeng Hatch in RKEO with the following information:

  • Name of the open access publication
  • Confirmation this will be a peer reviewed paper
  • A short justification (1 paragraph) of why it is beneficial for your research to be published in this particular open access publication
  • The cost of the open access publication
  • Likely publication date
  • Likely REF Unit of Assessment (UOA)
  • A copy of the paper

If you have any questions about the Fund then please direct them to Shelly via email.

Further information: BU Open Access Fund policy

PGR Development Fund Activity Report by Gail Ollis, SciTech

PG research

ACCU 2014

(ACCU 2014: The conference for developers. Bristol, April 2014. accu.org/index.php/conferences)

Introduction

ACCU is an organisation for software developers which champions professionalism in programming. Its members and conference delegates are exactly the kind of audience my research must reach to be relevant in influencing professional software development practice.

Funding from the Graduate School enabled me to attend the ACCU annual conference, an ideal place to discuss my research findings and their practical applications. I reached an even larger audience than I had hoped: to date, more than 50 have attended my presentations and I have talked to many others informally. Speaking for ACCU also generated an unforeseen bonus: a new student placement relationship.

Engagement and impact

In my session entitled “What programmers want” I presented themes that have emerged, in my research interviews, about how actions taken by peers make a software developer’s job harder or easier. I also included an audience activity to let people try for themselves a card-sorting technique I developed for use in the interviews.

The ‘buzz’ in the room during the activity was extraordinary; everyone engaged with discussing just how much they are affected by the various good or bad peer behaviours listed on the cards. In my research I used the cards to prompt individual participants to talk about a wide range of activities that their job involves. It was evident from the audience response that the cards also function very well as a catalyst for group discussion; several people have asked for a copy to use in this way at their workplace.

Research project benefits

The session finished with a discussion and the audience was keen to contribute by sharing thoughts and questions inspired by my presentation and the activity. It is encouraging to find that my work is meaningful, interesting and useful to the people whose profession it concerns. Their feedback will play an important role in shaping how the research proceeds from here.

Personal development

 

Being a speaker at ACCU 2014 also led to invitations to speak to the local ACCU groups in Oxford (February 2014) and Bath/Bristol (planned for June 2014).  Presenting the material a second time has been a fantastic opportunity to refine my presentation skills by exploring different approaches to the same material.

Other benefits

As a direct consequence of the Oxford talk, a new student placement relationship has been set up between BU’s computing department and a company in Abingdon.

Conclusion

This was a great opportunity to share my research with the professional community. Many software developers are now aware of this work at BU and find it relevant and useful to their workplace. It is a tremendous encouragement to have established that my research makes sense to the people it is for.

Photos – courtesy of Anna-Jayne Metcalfe, @annajayne

GS Santander Mobility Activity Report by Jonny Branney – HSC

PG research

BRITSPINE 2014

Introduction

I was delighted to present the results of my PhD work in a presentation entitled “Does spinal manipulation change cervical inter-vertebral motion?” at BritSpine 2014. BritSpine is the largest and most prestigious spine research conference in the UK so it was a privilege to have had my abstract accepted for oral presentation. This provided the opportunity to experience presenting my work to some of the main spine researchers from around the world and promote myself as a researcher, and Bournemouth University.

Personal Development

I received valuable feedback on my presentation from the President of the Society for Back Pain research, and fielded audience questions from none less than the President of the British Association of Spine Surgeons, and the Chair of the United Kingdom Spine Societies Board who is Professor of Spinal Surgery, University of Oxford. My supervisor, who attended with me, was very pleased with how the presentation went and my competent answering of audience questions. This being my first large professional conference presentation, I feel much more confident in my presenting skills and in presenting at future conferences, an important part of being a researcher. The peer-review provided by this experience will also help as I finalise the writing-up of my thesis.

After finishing my presentation I was pleased to relax and enjoy the rest of the conference, attending presentations on the latest approaches to diagnosing and treating spinal problems. This allowed me to learn about (and critically evaluate) the methodologies used by other researchers, as well as staying up-to-date with developments in the spine research field.

Summary

The experience has been hugely worthwhile as I prepare to submit my thesis and embark on the next stage in my career. Many thanks to the Graduate School and Santander Universities for enabling me to attend BritSpine and gain this valuable experience.

 

Jonny Branney
PhD student, School of Health and Social Care
http://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/jbranney

 

Research Professional – Sign up to the 8am Playbook

Many of you will know of Research Professional as a great source for funding opportunities, but that is not all that this service can provide. As well as funding, Research Professional has an extensive news section.

If you just want to keep up to date with all the latest news relevant to Higher Education, sign up for the 8am Playbook. This will allow you to ‘be in the know’ and will help you to keep up to date with hot topics which might turn into research opportunities. It will also enable you to be up to date when talking to colleagues or, as mentioned at this week’s Doctoral Supervision event, be ready to converse if you meet John Vinney in the lift!

In addition, if you have particular interests, your personal account with Research Professional allows you to sign up to newsletters focussing on, for example, European News and Research. Going further, you can set up your own news searches and manage your alerts to receive these weekly direct to your inbox.

To find out more, go to our recent post on help and training sessions.

Facebook User Interface to suit Saudi Arabian culture

PG research

We would like to invite you to the next research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre that will be delivered by Hana Almakky.

 

Title: Facebook User Interface to suit Saudi Arabian culture

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 28th May 2014

Room: P302 (Poole House, Talbot Campus)

 

Abstract: Social media has continued growing in Saudi Arabia. Millions of businesses and trades are now using social media for entertainment, advertisement and promoting themselves internationally. Social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc., have gained huge popularity at personal as well as professional scale. Therefore, work is being done to evolve the modes of communication over these platforms, extensively. My research explores the effect of Saudi cultures on the design of social media site of Facebook. The expected outcome of this research will be a theoretical framework that guides the design of a user interface for Facebook to meet the Saudi’s expectations.

We hope to see you there,

 

Dr. David John

 

Professor Barry Richards on ‘The Conversation’

A piece written by BU’s Professor Barry Richards was featured as a lead article on ‘The Conversation’ website.

Entitled ‘A hymn confirms that the FA Cup final is a matter of life and death’, the article explores the reasons why ‘Abide with Me’ has become the FA Cup anthem.

The Conversation is a website, sourcing news and views from the academic and research community and sharing it with the wider public.

Read Barry’s article on The Conversation here.

Coffee and cakes…

Coffee and cakes will be available at the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office coffee morning this Thursday (22 May 2014), starting at 9.30am in the Retreat. This will be an informal opportunity for you to have a chat with various members of the R&KEO team. If you can’t make it this week, the next event will take place on 19 June in R303, Royal London House between 9am and 10am.

We also have coffee mornings arranged for the next academic year; the first event of 2014-15 will be in the Retreat on 30 October.

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Hot beverage and cupcake

HE in the news last week

Monday

Europe

Dame Julia Goodfellow, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent,  has made an impassioned defence of the benefits to universities of European Union membership amid the rise in popularity of Ukip. Kent v-c warns of dangers to HE of leaving EU (THE)

Independence referendum

Scottish universities could lose more than two-fifths of their non-EU students if the country votes for independence, a survey suggests. Of 200 overseas students surveyed, 46% of non-EU nationals said they would be less likely to choose a university in an independent Scotland because they wanted a British degree. More than a third feared the reputation of a Scottish degree would decline.

Rankings

Finally, the Complete University Guide rankings have been released today. Cambridge top for forth year (Mail)

Tuesday

One in five students is unhappy with the standard of teaching at their university, a survey by Student Hut suggests. A similar proportion of undergraduates has also complained of a lack of support from tutors beyond formal teaching in lectures and seminars. While the survey drew on a self- selecting sample, it chimes with growing criticism of teaching standards at English universities since the increase in tuition fees.

Applications
University is often “wasted” on school leavers because they fail to select the correct degree course, according to Mary Curnock Cook. She says that too many teenagers – particularly those from middle-class backgrounds – “sleepwalk” into university under pressure from their parents and peers without giving it proper thought. Middle-class children sleepwalk to university (Telegraph)

Election 2015

An interesting article in the Guardian where a series of education figures have their say on what should be included in 2015 manifestos. In my manifesto … education policy ideas for 2015 (Guardian Education)

Wednesday

University Alliance’s new report, ‘Closing the Gap: unlocking opportunity through higher education’, features in today’s THE. Our report argues that the UK’s social mobility debate is too narrowly focused on a “small number of elite universities” and needs to be “dragged out of the 1970s”. Social mobility debate ‘too focused on elite universities’ (THE)

Australian Budget

Also in the news, Libby Hackett comments on the announcement that Australia will slash public funding for university courses by 20% and remove the caps on the fees universities can charge.

Widening participation

The proportion of Cambridge places claimed by pupils from state schools has declined this year amid warnings from admissions tutors that the university does “not operate a quota system”. Cambridge University admits fewer state school students (Telegraph)

Rankings

A European Union-sponsored university ranking system has gone live after around six years of development. U-Multirank launched by EU commissioner (THE)

Thursday

University Alliance’s social mobility report is mentioned in this piece looking at whether the Russell Group is an oligarchy. Sean Coughlan at the BBC says, “it’s not a criticism of the individual institutions, but an irritation that belonging to a group, named after the London hotel where they used to meet, seems to have taken on a semi-official status.” Is the Russell Group really an ‘oligarchy’? (BBC) 

Student Experience

The Times Higher Education’s Student Experience Survey has been released today. Now in its ninth year, students rate their institutions in 21 categories, from the quality of staff and lectures, to course structure, social life, industry connections and accommodation.

Research

Which countries are steaming ahead in scientific output and power? Simon Marginson analyses the worldwide data. Research is now a global game (THE)

Fundraising

The amount of money pledged to UK universities by donors last year fell by more than 10 per cent and there was only a slight increase in the number of fundraising staff, according to a new survey. Plenty of jam donated today but tomorrow’s pledges spread more thinly (THE)

Funding

More English universities could be allowed to borrow money without seeking permission from the funding council under new financial rules to be brought in later this year. New rules let borrowers avoid HEFCE hurdle (THE)

International students

Universities should increase their tuition fees for international students to £11,000 a year because this appears to have little impact on demand, a survey has suggested. Overseas fees of £11,000 ‘have little impact on demand’ (THE)   

Rankings

Chinese universities outperform those of the US when the countries’ average incomes are taken into account, according to an international ranking of higher education systems. Dragons overtake eagles in income-related rankings (THE)

Friday

HE funding

Too many policy experts look to the US and Australia as “some higher education funding nirvana”, according to Michael Gunn (Chair of Million+). Nirvana of HE funding is not US and Australia, warns Gunn (THE)

Employability

Julia King, Vice-Chancellor at Aston University, looks at social mobility in the UK and argues that students are increasingly valuing the chance to earn while they learn. Why higher apprenticeships? They’re a debt-free route to a top quality degree

Graduates

One person in five who receives a university education becomes a millionaire, according to official figures.

Be in the loop on European funding – sign up to the UKRO Portal today!

As BU subscribes to UKRO you are entitled to a number of services, including your own personalised profile on the UKRO Portal.
Via the Portal, UKRO disseminates information on EU funding programmes for research and innovation, most importantly on Horizon 2020, the EU’s largest funding programme for research and innovation of the European Union, worth EUR 70,2 billion.
Who can sign up?
Whether you are a researcher, European liaison officer or research manager/administrator – you can sign up for free to stay up to date with the latest news, opportunities and insight in European funding.
What does the Portal cover?
The UKRO Portal provides regular updates and daily news on EU funding programmes, with a particular focus on Horizon 2020. The Portal also provides information on other European funding programmes and has a dedicated EU policy section.
When signing up, you can tailor your profile to meet your specific needs, by selecting research and policy areas of interest and by determining the frequency of email updates.
Why sign up now?
Horizon 2020 started at the beginning of this year and the first set of calls has been launched. UKRO keeps you up to date on the latest Horizon 2020 developments, including on the work programme development, the likely timetable for future calls, application, proposal writing and project implementation advice, information on networking and brokerage events, information days, partner searches and relevant related policy developments.
How do I sign up?
Signing up only takes a few minutes:
New users from organisations that subscribe to UKRO can set up a profile on the UKRO Portal by going to http://www.ukro.ac.uk. There is a Quick Registration option or the option to tailor your profile according to specific areas of interest.

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Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

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

In 2007, the BBSRC, in partnership with the MRC and the EPSRC, established the Diet and Health Research Industry Club (DRINC) with 15 company members. Approximately £3M of funding is available to support a portfolio of projects relating to DRINC. A workshop for the call will be held on 3 June 2014 in London and will be an opportunity for applicants to: understand the DRINC research challenges and assessment process; meet other potential applicants and form new collaborations; and discuss proposals with representatives from the DRINC steering group, the Club’s company members and the Research Councils. The deadline for the outline proposal is 4pm on 09/07/14 with full invited applications in November 2014.

The BBSRC, TSB and EPSRC are to invest £45m in major integrated research and development projects through the Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst. There are five types of award – early stage: translation; early stage: feasibility studies;  industrial research; late stage: pre-experimental feasibility studies; and late stage: experimental development – and, with the exception of translation awards which are academic, can involve a single business or be collaborative. Total project sizes can range from up to £250k for feasibility studies to up to £10m for experimental development. Applicants must register by noon on 03/12/14 and the full application must be submitted by noon on 10/12/14.

Following on from the successful partnership of the EPSRC and Find a Better Way (FABW) in 2013, which has resulted directly in FABW providing grants for two major research projects, this Call for Expressions of Interest aims to stimulate the academic community to propose truly novel approaches to the humanitarian demining challenge. FABW is prepared to commit up to £1M funding to support the research project(s) arising from this Call. Closing date 25/06/14 with invited applications to be submitted by 27/02/15.

The NERC Independent Research Fellowship Scheme is designed to develop scientific leadership among the most promising early-career environmental scientists, by giving all fellows five years’ support, which will allow them sufficient time to develop their research programmes and to gain international recognition. As part of this scheme, NERC will expand its fellowship networking and training activities, working with host institutions, to support the development of future leaders in NERC science.  Closing date 01/10/14.

NERC invites applications for NERC Independent Research Fellowships in the priority area of Bioinformatics to deliver part of NERC Mathematics & Informatics for Environmental Omic Data Synthesis (Omics) research programme. The aim of these fellowships is to develop scientific leadership among the most promising early-career scientists, by giving all Fellows five years’ support, which will allow them sufficient time to develop their research programmes, and to establish international recognition. Through this call NERC aims to support a minimum of six IRFs working in the area of environmental bioinformatics. This is the final year for this specialised opportunity with a closing date of 01/10/14.

Note: Applicants may apply either to the standard NERC IRF call or to the call for NERC IRFs in Bioinformatics, but not to both.

The Valuing Nature programme is a five year interdisciplinary NERC-led research programme in collaboration with ESRC, BBSRC, AHRC and Defra. On behalf of the programme funders, NERC are inviting applications from early-career researchers who wish to develop their understanding of the challenges identified in Goal 1 by developing their research expertise in a different discipline. The fellowships will address the aim of the programme by improving our understanding and questioning of: the complexities of the natural environment in valuation analyses; the wider societal and cultural value of ecosystems services; the links between ecosystem stocks and tipping points; how the values of ecosystem services change as tipping points are reached and exceeded; and critical levels of natural capital that avoid abrupt and damaging ecosystem change. It is expected that up to three fellowships may be awarded to support environmental researchers to develop social science (including economic) expertise in relation to the goals of the Valuing Nature programme, and for social scientists (including economists) to gain natural science expertise in relation to the goals of the Valuing Nature programme. Closing date: 16:00 on 14/08/14.

NERC and the TSB have announced the latest round of SPARK Awards in the field of Algal Bioenergy. These are £5k grants to encourage new collaborations between the research community and Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). It is the intention that small confidence building measures such as a SPARK award will encourage a longer term relationship between the SME and research-based partner. Up to £5,000 per grant is available. The closing date is 26/06/14.

NERC and the MRC are inviting applications from UK scientists to attend a joint workshop with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in Beijing on 14-16 July 2014 on Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Chinese Megacity. Application is via an Expression of Interest, to be submitted by 4pm on 02/06/14.

Please note that some funders specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKE Support Officer.

You can set up your own personalised alerts on ResearchProfessional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s RKE Officer in RKE Operations or see the recent post on this topic, which includes forthcoming training dates up to November 2014.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on ResearchProfessional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

BUDI Cake Sale in aid of Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Awareness Week – Tomorrow 20 May, Talbot Campus

This week (18-24th May) is the Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Awareness Week and this year’s theme is all about opening up (not bottling it up) and encouraging people who are concerned about dementia to talk to the Alzheimer’s Society.

As a charity, the Alzheimer’s Society are encouraging others to help them promote awareness of dementia and to raise vital funds to ensure that their valuable work of supporting people affected by dementia continues.

On Tuesday 20th May (10-12am) BUDI, with support from SUBU and the BU Baking Society, will hold a cake sale in the Atrium (Talbot Campus). Please come along and find out more about our work and purchase a tasty treat in aid of this worthy cause.

If you would like to donate cakes to be sold on the stall or have any questions please email mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk.