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Fusion in Action Conference – Last chance to book

Fusion

 

Where: Kimmeridge House 

When : Thursday 18 April, 12pm – 5.30pm

What:

Fusion is at the heart of BU and over the last 12 months a range of funds and activities have been undertaken to help drive Fusion through our university.

The Fusion in Action half day conference on April 18 showcases the best examples of Fusion in Action from around the university.

The schedule of the day can be seen below but is subject to changes:

 

Time Presenter/s Detail
12:00pm n/a Arrival, networking and lunch with the opportunity to look at the posters and exhibitions
12:45pm UET Introduction from Tim McIntyre-Bhatty on Fusion and the benefits of BU’s investment in Fusion during 2012-13
1:00pm BUDI Presentation from Anthea Innes about the BU Dementia Institute and activities undertaken during 2012-13 in support of Fusion
1:25pm BU academic Presentation from Genoveva Esteban on her funding from the Fusion Investment Fund
1:50pm UG student Presentation from Alexander Hall who has benefited from the Global Horizons Fund
2:15pm PGR student Presentation from a PG researcher Marketa Zezulkova who has benefited from the PGR Development Fund
2:40pm n/a Afternoon break with the opportunity to look at the posters and exhibitions
3:10pm Student, supervisor and external sponsor Presentation from Sheetal Sharma on her match funded studentships (presenters to include the student, supervisor and external sponsor)
3:40pm BU academic Presentation from Zulfiqar Khan who has led one of the international projects funded by the FIF
4:05pm UET Panel Q&A session with representatives from all presentations to be chaired by Matthew BennettThis should open with a brief discussion of the key points raised from each of the previous presentations with an emphasis on linking to future funding ideas, followed by Q&A from the audience
4:40pm UET Closing presentation by Tim McIntyre-Bhatty to sum up key messages and promote forthcoming Fusion opportunities
5:00pm n/a Wine and nibbles with a final opportunity to look at the posters and exhibitions
5:30pm n/a Event close

 

There will also be posters showcasing various Fusion projects for you to view during the conference and Fusion Investment Surgery drop in sessions where you can discuss a potential application with a member of the Panel.

This is a great opportunity to find out how Fusion is in action throughout BU and also learn more as to how you can get involved and secure funding.

Bookings are essential and can be done via the Staff Development Webpage.

 

 

BU REF2014 – Staff Circumstances Disclosure

The University is currently preparing to take part in the first Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment, which is a national exercise to assess the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. To ensure that the University abides by its principles of transparency, consistency, accountability and inclusivity in preparing and finalising the BU submission to the REF, the BU REF 2014 Code of Practice (v2), BU REF Frequently Asked Questions and BU REF Individual Staff Circumstances Disclosure Form have been developed and are now being formally disseminated to all BU academic staff to ensure all eligible staff are fully informed.

These documents are also available on the BU Research Blog under the ‘REF’ tab.

How is this relevant to you?

If you are planning on submitting to the REF2014 assessment, there is a possibility that you might be eligible for a reduction of outputs, depending on your individual circumstances (please see link for more information).

What action do I need to take?

To find out if you are eligible for REF submission, please see section 3.1 of the BU REF 2014 Code of Practice and ‘Staff eligibility’ in the BU REF FAQs. You are then encouraged to complete the disclosure form. If further information is required about any circumstances disclosed, you will be contacted by a member of the HR team involved in the REF. You should print out, sign and return your completed form marked ‘REF Confidential’ to Judith Wilson, HR Manager, M601, Melbury House, 1-3 Oxford Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8ES. Alternatively, you can also email your completed form to refcircumstances@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Further information

The BU REF Circumstances Board next meet in May 2013 so if you feel that you have circumstances which you wish to disclose, please do so as soon as possible.

For more information on BU REF2014, please click on ‘ref’ on the right-hand tab, which will take you to all previous blog posts on all things REF.

Please feel free to get in touch with me or Rita Dugan (rdugan@bournemouth.ac.uk) if you wish to speak to someone about your REF eligibility.

Insurance and meerkats

What do insurance and meerkats have in common? On the face of it – very little. For comparethemarket.com, the well-known insurance aggregator, the combination has proven to be extremely successful and has captured the public’s imagination. The campaign achieved its 12 months targets in just 9 weeks and Aleksandr, the main character, has his own Facebook fans, is followed on Twitter and has received numerous marriage proposals.

Comparethemarket.com, or should that be Comparethemeerkat.com, was just one of the advertising campaigns reviewed by Dr. Julie Robson at a recent presentation on “Changes in Insurance Advertising” for the Bournemouth Insurance Institute.

Julie’s talk examined how advertising content, structure and style have changed over time. Beginning with one of the earliest forms of insurance advertising, as early as the 1700s, where fire insurance plaques were placed on the front of the insured’s building, signifying which company the property was insured with. She then tracked through the decades of change in advertising to today’s advertisements looking at visual prominence; the use of puns, metaphors and ambiguity; emotional vs. rational appeals; and the increasing use of digital technology within the sector.

Julie also examined what advertising works in a recession and how to get the most from your marketing budget before going on to look at some of the trends for the near future.

The Insurance Institute of Bournemouth has over 1,000 members and is part of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), the leading professional body for the global financial services profession.

Dr. Julie Robson specialises in financial services marketing. She has presented her research at internal conferences and published in academic journals on a range of marketing topics in the banking, insurance, broker and Islamic finance sectors. She has secured grants from the ESRC and HEIF to support this work and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Bank Marketing. Julie is currently Chair of the Qualifications Examination and Assessments Committee of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and a past President and current Education Secretary for the Bournemouth Insurance Institute.

Software Systems Research Centre Seminar, Prof. Kevin Warwick on “Cyborgs, Robots with Brains and the Turing Test”

Dear all,

We would like to invite you to our next Software Systems Research Centre seminar given by Prof. Kevin Warwick, University of Reading on “Cyborgs, Robots with Brains and the Turing Test”

Room: KG03,  Kimmeridge block,Talbot Campus: http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/transport_and_maps/maps/pdf/talbot-portrait.pdf

Time: 14:00 – 15:30

Date: Monday, 13-May-2013

Title: Cyborgs, Robots with Brains and the Turing Test

Abstract. In this presentation Kevin will look at the latest results with implant technology (linking human brains with computers), culturing biological neurons and putting them in a robot body (robots with biological brains) and practical Turing Test results (can you tell the difference between a human and a machine from interactive communication?). New experimental data will be presented in each of these areas and participants will be able to see for themselves if they can tell the difference, in a Turing sense, between human and machine dialogue. A brief look will be taken at the future and what all this might mean.

Biography.  Kevin Warwick is Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England, where he carries out research in artificial intelligence, control, robotics and cyborgs.

Kevin was born in Coventry, UK and left school to join British Telecom, at the age of 16.  At 22 he took his first degree at Aston University, followed by a PhD and research post at Imperial College, London.  He subsequently held positions at Oxford, Newcastle and Warwick Universities before being offered the Chair at Reading, at the age of 33.

As well as publishing 600 research papers, Kevin’s experiments into implant technology led to him being recognised as the world’s first Cyborg and featured as the cover story on the US magazine, ‘Wired’. Kevin has been awarded higher doctorates (DSc) both by Imperial College and the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague. He was presented with The Future of Health Technology Award in MIT, was made an Honorary Member of the Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, and has received The IEE Senior Achievement Medal, the IET Mountbatten Medal and in 2011 the Ellison-Cliffe Medal from the Royal Society of Medicine.  In 2000 Kevin presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, entitled “The Rise of the Robots”.

Kevin’s present research involves the invention of an intelligent deep brain stimulator to counteract the effects of Parkinson Disease tremors. The tremors are predicted and a current signal is applied to stop the tremors before they start – this is to be trialed in human subjects. Another project involves the use of cultured/biological neural networks to drive robots around – the brain of each robot is made of neural tissue.

Perhaps Kevin is though best known for his pioneering experiments involving a neuro-surgical implantation into the median nerves of his left arm to link his nervous system directly to a computer to assess the latest technology for use with the disabled. He was successful with the first extra-sensory (ultrasonic) input for a human and with the first purely electronic telegraphic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans.

For more info please contact Dr. Raian Ali: rali@bournemouth.ac.uk

We hope you will join us.

 Kind regards,

 

EPSRC Strategic Advisory Routes – time for you to have your say!

EPSRC logoThe EPSRC has recently commissioned an independent review of its strategic advisory routes. The review will focus on how the EPSRC obtains and utilises strategic advice at the Council and Theme levels and both the mechanisms and sources for obtaining such advice and how this influences strategic decision-making. Initial areas covered as part of the review are:

  • Nature of advice – who decides what advice is sought and needed;
  • Structures – to review the adequacy and effectiveness of the structures in place for obtaining strategic advice;
  • Credibility of Advisory Sources – assurance over the extent to which the individuals and bodies providing advice are credible sources;
  • Roles and responsibilities – to review the effectiveness, and clarity, of roles and responsibilities of those involved in commissioning, and those providing, strategic advice in EPSRC;
  • Provision and utilisation of advice – to review the effectiveness of the advice provided (e.g. its robustness and the degree to which it is free from bias or vested interest), and its value (e.g. its relevance and timeliness) in informing EPSRC’s strategic planning and decision making.
  • Transparency – to review the clarity and transparency of the strategic advisory processes to EPSRC’s wider stakeholder community;
  • Cost-effectiveness of the mechanisms and processes used. .

BU has been invited to submit evidence to assist in this review and I am collating responses. Please take a couple of minutes to complete this short survey; all responses will remain confidential. The deadline for completing the survey is 10am Tuesday 23rd April.

Book on the Digital Economy Sandpit now!

Feedback from BU staff who have participated in academic sandpits is always positive: “Sandpits stimulate creative thinking and encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone. They are an opportunity to learn from others whose approaches to research may be different from your own” – Prof. Adele Ladkin, School of Tourism, EPSRC Sandpit Participant

Sandpits provide an intensive, interactive and free-thinking environment. A group of participants from a range of disciplines and backgrounds use this space to get together to become immersed in a collaborative thinking processes in order to construct innovative approaches to issues or questions.

As sandpits involve diverse participants, they force catalysation, collision and collaboration. This produces unique and innovative outputs and fosters new partnerships.

We are facilitating with expert bid writer Dr Martin Pickard of GrantCraft, three 1-day sandpits at BU which focus around relevant Research Council UK cross-thematic areas. The next Sandpit is on Digital Economy Sandpit is being held on 17.04.13

Attending one of the sandpits will:

  • facilitate you networking with other researchers across BU who you wouldn’t normally come in to contact with
  • allow you to get a fresh perspective from a different discipline on the same issue
  • enable you to be part of a multidisciplinary team who potentially bids for Research Council funding
  • give you a truly unique experience

Spaces are limited for each of the sandpits and you can register for a place on the Staff Development website.

Application rejected? what to do next….

Guidance

As you all know, the research funding environment is highly competitive.   Whilst winning an award is a major achievement.  Rejection will be a common experience, for even the most seasoned academic.  

All is not lost!   A huge amount work goes into the development of a proposal.  It is a great shame to park your idea, when it could be re-worked, and submitted to an alternative funder.

Our internal peer review scheme, the RPRS, is very happy to support unsuccessful submissions.  We will provide feedback on your original proposal, and make suggestions as to where amendments could be made, how you can potentially improve the style of the proposal, advise on other possible funders, and provide other useful information.   To find out more please contact Caroline O’Kane.

I would also suggest you read a couple of blog posts from a little while ago on ‘coping with rejection’.   This is a two-part series, written by Adam Goldberg from the University of Nottingham, that looks at how you can move forward when it becomes clear your time courting a potential funder comes to an end.   Follow these links if you are interested:   Part 1,  part 2.

PhD student from BU presented his research to the MPs at the House of Commons, London

PG research

Mr Mayank Anand, a research     student in BU’s School of Design, Engineering & Computing, recently attended the SET for Britain at the House of Commons in London. SET for Britain is an annual national research conference which is organized by The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee and aims at promoting early-stage and early-career research  scientists, engineers and technologists of Britain.

Mayank presented his research on Lubricant condition monitoring for the in-service lifeboats of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) which is supervised by Prof Mark Hadfield and Dr Ben Thomas from BU, Mr Steve Austen (Head of Engineering) from RNLI and in-kind supported by BP Technology Ltd. The project has also been kindly supported by the members of Sustainable Design Research Centre. Mayank’s abstract was chosen out of hundreds of leading research applications from around the UK to appear amongst the 60 finalists at the conference and drew a great deal of interest from MPs and other participants.

The MPs for the constituency of Bournemouth, Mr Tobias Ellwood (East Bournemouth) and Mr Conor Burns (Bournemouth West) kindly attended the conference to speak to Mayank about his research.

On presenting his engineering research to the MPs, Mayank said, “it was a unique experience speaking to the MPs about my project and to see their enthusiasm for research. They asked valuable questions and there was a great deal of discussion about the different aspects of the project. It also gave me an opportunity to learn that how an individual research at the university level can contribute to the overall research outputs of UK and helps the government while making research based decisions”. Mayank added “My work also received attention from the industry people in terms of how the approach I adopted in my research can be applied to other engineering applications. This was a real boost to my confidence as not only my work was appreciated but also considered to be useful extensively. Networking with the other researchers from universities across the UK was an added bonus to get to know about their research and share ideas in common research interests”.

Reminder – Marie Curie morning session 16/04/13 – Need a Fully Funded Research Fellow ??

Funding opportunities, Grants Academy, Training

 

The Prize

These schemes provide strong financial support for a Research Fellow in your department for a period of 12 – 24 months on any research topic.

The Catch

The Research Fellow must come from another European Country or International Base worldwide. It is joint application with you and the fellowship candidate – so they must be identified. (If the fellow is already in the UK they must have been working here for less than 1 year in the last 3.)

The Deadline

Deadline for application is August 2013 – but the forms are relatively easy & straight forward – although moderately time consuming. Fellowships will start in early 2014 but this start date could be extended to early 2015.

Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)                  Deadline  Mid August 2013

International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)       Deadline  Mid August 2013

Note: For people already at the University there is a similar outgoing international Fellowship scheme to enable research periods in other , non European, Labs and Research Centres.

These fellowships are prestigious and highly sought after, especially as they pay very well. There is a difference in emphasis between the two schemes but the overriding criteria is candidate, and host, excellence with respect to the justification of the project rationale. This is all derived from the candidates cv and thus please discuss initially with Martin Pickard who can advise on suitability and fit.

These fellowships are an excellent, and often overlooked, way to expand and compliment a research team. Initial advice is imperative as, again, project structure and rationale with respect to the candidate are very important in determining success and need to be argued and justified around the actual science and project.

Requirements.

One University (Host) and one applicant, of any nationality, other than from than the UK. (candidates may already be in the UK but must have spent less than 12 months of the past 36 in the UK)

The higher the quality of the cv, rated against age and experience, the more likelihood of funding success. Each prospective fellow can only apply for one fellowship but any host can have as many fellows as they want applying to work with the same PI.

The Grant

Typical project period – Minimum 12 months — Maximum 24 months

Fellow income: In excess of 80,000 Euro per year.

University Income: Minimum of 18,000 Euro per year.

Help Needed ??

If you have a research Fellow in Mind (or can find one through networking or your colleague links) the application will not take a lot of time – but a clearly defined and specific approach is required. Guidance notes will be available as well as direct one to one support from our proposal writing specialist Dr. Martin Pickard. 

To assist further we have also arranged a series of 2 morning information sessions. The next one and last one is due to be held on the Tuesday 16th of April 2013 – Lansdowne Campus

Information Session 1 –  09:00am – 10:00am

A Brief Introduction to the Marie Curie Fellowship Schemes – for those of general interest.  

In addition to the general European topic specific calls under the cooperation programme there are a number of explicit opportunities arising through other schemes – some of which are far more easily accessible and have the advantage of being open to literally any research idea/topic. Several of these arise through the People programme under the Marie Curie calls and this 40 minute plus Q&A information session seeks to highlight some of these opportunities and identify their pro’s and cons so that a clear strategy can be developed to avoid missing these significant, and relatively easy, opportunities.

Information Session 2 – 10:15am – 12:15pm

How to Approach and Structure your Marie Curie Fellowship Application –  for those possibly intending to submit a bid.

The structure of any bid (partner interactions, methodology synergy etc.) is critical to the success of an application and forward planning is a key element of winning proposals.

If you are thinking of applying this August this session will illustrate the basic approach requirements for success and show how to structure and present your research application in the correct form of “Brusselese”.  A brief, 2 hour, guide to the Marie Curie application process.

Please note: If you are already intending to submit a bid this August then Session 1 will provide very little additional information. Also Grants Academy members who have already attended our Grants Academy 2 Day Bid Writing Workshop will not need to attend Session 1 as this has already been covered in your workshop so we would recommend you book into and attend Session 2 only.

If these are a potential interest to you – don’t miss this exceptional opportunity. Please book in ASAP via Staff Development Booking Link to reserve your space as we anticipate these sessions will be very popular.

Writing a successful proposal: live web chat and twitter feed this Friday

Universities are under increasing pressure to gain external funding and with budgets shrinking across the HE sector, this can be a difficult process.

To provide a little help, the Guardian are running a live web chat on Friday 12 April between 12-2pm for academics, whether a first-timer or old hand, to share experiences, advice and tips for writing and managing the process of a successful research grant proposal. You can also follow the live chat on Twitter using the hashtag #HElivechat

How not to write a PhD Thesis

PG research

In the following THE article, Professor of Media Studies at University of Brighton,Tara Brabazon, gives her top ten tips for doctoral failure:

“My teaching break between Christmas and the university’s snowy reopening in January followed in the footsteps of Goldilocks and the three bears. I examined three PhDs: one was too big; one was too small; one was just right. Put another way, one was as close to a fail as I have ever examined; one passed but required rewriting to strengthen the argument; and the last reminded me why it is such a pleasure to be an academic.

Concurrently, I have been shepherding three of my PhD students through the final two months to submission. These concluding weeks are an emotional cocktail of exhaustion, frustration, fright and exhilaration. Supervisors correct errors we thought had been removed a year ago. The paragraph that seemed good enough in the first draft now seems to drag down a chapter. My postgraduates cannot understand why I am so picky. They want to submit and move on with the rest of their lives……” Read the full Article.

Fused Bones: bringing students and osteo-archaeology together

Funding opportunities, Fusion

Archaeologists from the School of Applied Sciences have been awarded a Staff Mobility grant from the Fusion Investment Fund as part of the SMN Strand Santander Scholarships to develop a link with the Department of Archaeology at St Petersburg State University in Russia.

The aim of this proposal is to establish a collaborative, international project between BU and St Petersburg State University based on shared interests in the area of archaeology, with specific reference to osteoarchaeology. Building upon previous contacts established with Russian colleagues, the project that emerges from this proposal will aim to link students (from both SPSU and BU) and research-active staff (again from both institutions) in such a way that will allow student placements to be developed and funding identified and applied for that will support research and student participation.

Research into how people have used and treated domestic and wild animals over time has been one that the School of Applied Sciences has been pioneering for many years and will form the basis for this collaboration. This includes how people regarded animals within a cultural context as well as how human impact has affected animal populations (e.g. the decimation of the beaver population within NW Russia in the late medieval period). This project will bring together issues of biodiversity and environmental change within a study of how past societies have viewed certain animals within their culture.

The proposal is to use this summer as the opportunity to develop a specific project with our Russian colleagues, designing it and its methodology, identifying funding sources, and agreeing to collaborate in such a way as to involve students in the project.

The resulting project will deliver a clear contribution to Fusion by linking research, student placements, and teaching and learning for both undergraduates and post graduates within the School of Applied Sciences.

For further information please contact either Dr Mark Maltby (mmaltby@bmth.ac.uk)or Professor Mark Brisbane (mbrisbane@bmth.ac.uk).

Fusion Investment funded project – Internationalising Dementia Education and Research

Funding opportunities, Fusion

I am delighted to have been awarded funding from the Santander Staff Mobility and Networking strand of the Fusion Investment Fund. The aim of my proposal is to develop networks and collaborative work with colleagues working in dementia related areas in Overseas Santander Partner Universities in Colombia and Chile.

Dementia is becoming a problem of public health in Latin America. Research shows that the prevalence of this condition in Latin American countries is similar to developed countries. However, there is a higher incidence of dementia in fairly young individuals aged from 65-69 years old, which can be a consequence of the link between low educational level and lower cognitive reserve (Nitrini, et.al., 2009). Diagnosis rates in developing countries are lower than in developed countries making access to treatment, care and support more difficult for people with dementia (Alzheimer’s Disease International).

In spite of this, social research in dementia and education in dementia care are still scarce in Latin America. This proposal seeks to contribute in filling this gap through achieving two objectives. The first is to test the ‘Living well with dementia’ course, created and delivered by BUDI in Universidad del Rosario in Colombia with the view of exporting it to other parts of Latin America in the future. The second objective is to develop a collaborative research grant proposal that takes the shape of a comparative study about social/cultural constructions of dementia in the UK and Chile and how such constructions influence public policy and practice relating to dementia and services for people living with dementia and their families.

BU and specifically BUDI’s work in dementia will be disseminated internationally bringing possibilities for sustainable academic collaboration with top universities of Colombia and Chile.

Dr Mariela Gaete Reyes (HSC/BUDI)

My experience of the BU peer review scheme for research bids

Awarded & submitted bids, Grants Academy, R & KE Operations, Research assessment

My experience of the BU peer review scheme for research bids – Dan Jackson

Constructing a credible research bid is not an easy process. Anyone who has experienced this will attest to the headaches, confidence crises, as well as the very practical obstacles of application forms that include boxes that defy common sense! Building an internal deadline and peer review process into this might seem like another unnecessary headache.

Our experience of putting a Higher Education Academy (HEA) collaborative teaching grant included all of the above. As a relatively inexperienced grant consortium, we requested internal peer review, and found it to be an invaluable process. We submitted a draft version of the whole bid document to the reviewers and got very useful feedback from two colleagues who were familiar with the funding body. Not only that, we continued the dialogue with the internal reviewers over the next few weeks leading up to the grant deadline.

This is what I would recommend to anyone undertaking the internal peer review process:

  • Build it into your bid deadline from an early stage.
  • Give them as much of the bid document to comment on as possible. The more feedback the better.
  •  Choose your peer reviewers carefully – RKEO can help here – you ideally want people with experience of the particular funding body so as to give you the inside line.
  • If necessary, continue the dialogue with the reviewers after you receive the feedback.

Who can I ask for further help?

  • Caroline O’Kane in the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development team manages the RPRS and will answer any questions you have.