Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
The European Commission’s Work Programme for 2012 has been adopted! This document outlines political priorities and actions to be delivered. The 2012 programme is focussed on fostering a sustainable and job-rich economic recovery, reflecting the Europe 2020 strategy and its flagship initiatives and is built on three overarching priorities:
BournemouthUniversity’s Associate Professor,Heather Hartwell, took part in a lively online debate on Friday, discussing how to engage undergraduates in research.
Hosted by the Guardian Higher Education network, Dr Hartwell joined panellists from the Universities of Leeds,Central Lancashire,East LondonandLincolnamong others, to provide expertise and advice on how to develop undergraduate research programmes and ensure they are successful.
Dr Hartwell explained BU’s ‘fusion’ concept, describing ‘a community where research is part of core business and where both undergraduates and post graduates are engaged in that activity so becomes part of the ‘daily’ business’.
The British Conference for Undergraduate Research was widely considered by panel members to be an excellent initiative. This takes place at theUniversityofWarwickin March, with ten BU students from theSchoolofTourismpresenting posters.
Fellow panellists and participants in the web chat were also impressed by 
Dr Hartwell’s own experiences engaging undergraduates with research; notably her work with theUSarmy. “We were awarded a contract by theUSarmy to study food and emotions,” she said. “This was with the demographic of their ‘war fighters’, so young adults. During a first year lecture I asked for volunteers to help me, and the sea of hands was amazing. In fact recruiting students to help was beneficial because they were the same age group as the sample.”
But it’s not only the students who benefit from engaging with research. Dr Hartwell commented that sometimes dissertation data is of such high quality that she has been known to use it to form the basis of a short co-authored paper.
Inevitably the issue of peer ‘snobbery’ was raised, questioning the status of published undergraduate research. Dr Hartwell suggested that if ‘published work was blind peer reviewed and therefore the ‘process’ did not know where the work had come from – it was accepted on its merit’.
The full debate can be viewed via the Guardian Higher Education Network.
This week the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) will be posting daily blogs. In these blogs we will tell you a little about the Unit, what we do, who we are, and how we might be able to help in your research endeavours.
What is BUCRU?
BUCRU is a new model for supporting and conducting health related research in Dorset. It supports researchers in improving the quality, quantity and efficiency of research across the University and local National Health Service (NHS) Trusts. It does this by:
How can BUCRU help?
BUCRU can provide help in the following areas:
BUCRU focuses on health research that has relevance to the NHS. The Unit is available to Bournemouth University staff and people working locally in the NHS. There are no general restrictions on topic area or professional background of the researcher. However we do have special interests in areas such as chronic disease and complex interventions (interventions in nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology and so on).
How is it funded?
BUCRU is partly funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and incorporates the Dorset office of the NIHR Research Design Service (http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk). Further funding comes from a variety of research grants and contracts.
Contact us: In the first instance please contact
Louise Ward (administrator):
Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit
R505 Royal London House
Christchurch Road
Bournemouth BH1 3LT
Tel: 01202 961939
Watch this excellent short video from BU’s Dr Sukhpreet Singh who explains how BU’s strong relationships with UK media organisations have fed into copyright theories.
To see other BU videos on YouTube go to the BU YouTube page.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMRtV2GX_WU
Following hot on the heels of the event on 14 December, the second event in the Fusion Seminar and Conference Series is on Wednesday 18 January and will focus on the Creating aspect of the BU2018 strategy.
The January Seminar will take place between 12:00-1:30pm. Registration will open at 11:45 and the sessions will begin at 12:00. There will be one hour of short and focused presentations followed by 30 minutes of networking opportunities over lunch. The Seminar will be hosted by a member of UET who will open the seminar with a 10 minute presentation. This will be followed by five brief and succinct presentations by invited speakers, with each presentation lasting no more than ten minutes including questions.
The programme is available here: Fusion event – Creating – programme
The Seminar will be held in the EBC (7th floor) and will start promptly at 12pm. Please arrive for registration from 11:45am, ready for the 12pm start.
You can use the form below to register your place.
For an excellent summary of BU’s Fusion strategy, watch this short video from Professor John Vinney:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrUxINNWzjQ&
The Guardian Higher Education network hosts a live web chat today entitled ‘Engaging Undergraduates in Research’.
Dr Heather Hartwell from Bournemouth University will join the panel between 12:00-14:00.
You can view and contribute to the discussion here or follow it on Twitter via #HElivechat.
I’ve managed to obtain a draft version of the FP7 NMP Work Programme which features the calls for proposals to be released in 2012. This is just a draft and therefore subject to change but it gives you a great idea as to what the European Commission are looking to fund. The Work Programme is a tedious read so I’ve summarised the info on funding in there for you; the aim of the call etc. I have bookmarked the document so you can jump straight to the call that interests you from the front page.
As this document is highly confidential I have placed it on our I drive; it is strictly forbidden to circulate this outside of BU! I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Draft Work Programmes for 2012-13
There are also the drafts for Environment, Health, ICT and Food, Agriculture, Fisheries & Biotechnology in there too which I’ve blogged about previously.
The final official version of the Work Programmes aren’t released until July 2012 so this gives you a fantastic head start to preparing a submission.
I will summarise the other themes as soon as I get the drafts through so keep your eyes peeled on this blog for them!
Watch this excellent short video from BU’s Richard Williams describes research highlighting the UK as one of the top three countries in the world for child protection laws.
To see other BU videos on YouTube go to the BU YouTube page.
Well done to John Oliver (MS), Darren Lilleker (MS) and Hanna Janta (ST) who have all been awarded grants through the EU Networking Fund (EUNF) to help them gain collaborators for EU research projects. The EUNF is still open for applications, but with one-third of our budget for this scheme already gone, if you want to apply you better act fast!
More details on the EUNF can be found on my previous blogpost, along with details of the EU Academic Development Scheme which closes on 23.01.12. More details on both schemes will also be presented at the EU Showcase Event THIS FRIDAY so why not sign up?
What is Erasmus Mundus?Erasmus Mundus is a European Commission funded programme which provides support to organisations (such as BU) as a whole in order to establish partnerships and to individual researchers, students or professional support staff in order to study/ research/ teach. The programme is based on the following principles:
There are 3 different strands of funding:
Action 1: Joint Programmes (including scholarships)
This Action will foster cooperation between higher education institutions and academic staff in Europe and Third Countries with a view to creating poles of excellence and providing highly trained human resources. Joint programmes of outstanding academic quality are designed and implemented by a consortium of European universities from at least 3 different countries. Consortia may also include universities from other parts of the world. Scholarships / fellowships are open to higher education students and academics from all over the world. Programmes include obligatory study and research periods, in at least two universities, and award recognised double, multiple or joint degrees. Action 1 provides:
• Support for high-quality joint masters courses and doctoral programmes offered by a consortium of European, and possibly Third Country, higher education institutions. Other types of organisations concerned by the content and outcomes of the joint programme can participate in the consortium.
• Scholarships/fellowships for Third Country and European students/doctoral candidates to follow these Erasmus Mundus joint masters’ courses and doctoral programmes.
• Short-term scholarships for Third Country and European academics to carry out research or teaching assignments as part of the joint masters programmes.
Action 2: Partnerships with Third Country higher education institutions and scholarships for mobility
Partnerships in the framework of Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 are the basis for enhancing academic cooperation and exchanges of students and academics, contributing to the socio-economic development of non-EU countries targeted by EU external cooperation policy. Consortia must include a minimum of 5 higher education institutions from at least 3 European countries and a number of higher education institutions from targeted non European regions. Special attention is given to disadvantaged groups and populations in vulnerable situations. Action 2 provides:
1. Support for the establishment of cooperation partnerships between European higher education institutions and higher education institutions from targeted Third Countries with the objective of organising and implementing structured individual mobility arrangements between the European and Third Country partners.
2. Scholarships of various lengths – depending on the priorities defined for the Third Country concerned, the level of studies or the particular arrangements agreed within the partnership – for European and Third-Country individuals (students, scholars, researchers, professionals).
Action 2 activities are funded by different financial instruments available in the context of the External Relations activities of the Union (i.e. the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, the Development Cooperation and Economic Cooperation Policy Instrument, the European Development Fund and the Industrialised Countries Instrument). Because of the diversity in the policy objectives covered by these financial instruments, and the different needs and priorities of the Third Countries concerned, Action 2 implementation rules may vary considerably from one year to another and from one partner country to another.
Action 3: Promotion of European higher education
Action 3 promotes European higher education through measures enhancing the attractiveness of Europe as an educational destination and a centre of excellence at world level. Action 3 projects should contribute to:
1. the promotion and awareness raising of the European higher education sector as well as the relevant cooperation programmes and funding schemes;
2. the dissemination of the programme’s results and examples of good practice;
3. the exploitation of these results at institutional and individual level.
This Action provides support to activities related to the international dimension of all aspects of higher education, such as promotion, accessibility, quality assurance, credit recognition, mutual recognition of qualifications, curriculum development and mobility.
Activities can be implemented by mixed networks of organisations active in the field of higher education composed of at least 3 participating organisations from European countries and 1 from Third Countries.
Funding can be used for a range of activities, depending on the applicant, as the following table illustrates:
| Higher education institutions organised into consortia/partnerships
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Higher education institutions can participate in:
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| Other bodies
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Other bodies active in the field of higher education and research:
• Other public or private bodies active in the field of education and research can participate in: • Enterprises and other employers can participate in: • Erasmus Mundus National Structures can participate in: Other bodies which could be particularly relevant for the objectives and activities of the programme: • Associates partners from the eligible countries can be involved in the Partnerships (Action 2). They play an active role in the action but they are not beneficiaries and may not receive funding from the grant. |
| Students and academics
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• Students in higher education can receive scholarships for: – Undergraduate studies (Action 2); – Masters studies (Actions 1 and 2); • Doctoral candidates can receive fellowships for: – Doctoral studies (Actions 1 and 2); – Post-doctoral studies (Action 2);• Teachers and researchers can receive fellowships for: – Teaching and research periods (Actions 1 and 2);• Other academic staff can receive scholarships / fellowships under Actions 1 and 2 |
The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is responsible for the management of all three actions of Erasmus Mundus, under the supervision of the Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC of the European Commission) and EuropeAid Development and Cooperation (DG DEVCO). This means applications must be made to them directly. The process of application is dependent on who is submitting the proposal.
Institutions organised into consortia/partnerships: Higher education institutions and organisations active in the field of higher education have to apply centrally to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in accordance with the application conditions and timetable defined in the Programme Guide and the relevant Call for Proposals. There must be one co-ordinating/applicant institution that submits the application on behalf of the consortium/partnership/network of participating organisations Applicants must be located in an eligible applicant country as defined in the Programme Guide.
Scholarships and fellowships: Students, doctoral candidates, teachers, researchers and other academic staff should address their applications directly to the selected Erasmus Mundus Masters and doctoral programmes (Action 1) and to the selected Erasmus Mundus partnerships (Action 2), in accordance with the application conditions defined by the selected consortium/partnership.
Institutions organised into consortia/partnerships: Consortia/partnerships selected under Actions 1 and 2 receive lump-sum amounts for the implementation of their activities and a number of scholarships to award to the best applicants. Proposals selected under Action 3 are co-funded up to a maximum of 75% of their costs.
Scholarships and fellowships: Scholarship amounts can vary according to the level of studies/teaching/research, their duration (3 months to 3 years) and the grantee’s nationality (scholarships for non-EU individuals are higher than for EU individuals).
The Programme Guide provides all the necessary information on the application conditions and criteria corresponding to each of the 3 Programme Actions. Regular Calls for Proposals are published to specify the activities, the application criteria and the budgetary allocations relevant to the call concerned.
The European Commission has adopted the ‘Energy Roadmap 2050’ which is intended to be the basis for developing a long-term EU framework for energy. If you’re interested in applying for calls under the FP7 Energy theme, then you should familiarise yourself with the overarching principles to strengthen your application.
The Energy Roadmap 2050 sets out the challenges posed by delivering the EU’s decarbonisation objective, while at the same time ensuring security of energy supply and competitiveness, by analysing a set of scenarios to describe the consequences of a carbon free energy system and the resulting necessary policy framework. Key points from the Roadmap include:
If you’re thinking of applying for Energy FP7, read the Energy Roadmap 2050 Communication and FAQs on the Roadmap.
The BU Challenges (previously the Research Themes) were launched in December at the first of the BU-wide Fusion events. The Challenges are societally-led, encourage cross-School working and collaboration, and will be the main vehicle through which our research is presented externally in future.
To discuss how to take the Challenges forward and foster collaborative working, Matthew Bennett would like to talk to all staff interested in the Challenges. Matthew will spend an hour per Challenge either in the Costa in the Atrium or in the Costa in Studland House and invites you to join him to talk about the way forward for each theme.
The session times are listed below:
|
Research Theme |
Date and Venue |
| Creative and Digital Economy | 11 January – 2.00 pm to 3.00 pmCosta Coffee Shop, Poole House
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| Culture and Society | 12 January – 2.30 pm to 3.30 pmCosta Coffee Shop, Poole House
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| Environmental Change and Biodiversity | 16 January – 2.00 pm to 3.00 pmCosta Coffee Shop, Poole House
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| Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth | 18 January – 11.00 am to 12.00 pmCosta Coffee Shop, Studland House
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| Green Economy and Sustainability | 18 January – 4.00 pm to 5.00 pmCosta Coffee Shop, Poole House
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| Recreation and Leisure | 19 January – 10.00 am to 11.00 amCosta Coffee Shop, Poole House
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| Health, Wellbeing and Aging | 25 January – 1.30 pm to 2.30 pmCosta Coffee Shop, Studland House
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| Technology and Design | 23 January – 4.00 pm to 5.00 pmCosta Coffee Shop, Poole House
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Clean Sky JTI Workshop and Information Day: The Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) will be holding a workshop on selected topics of the Clean Sky Call for Proposals 11 on 19 January and an information day on the Clean Sky Call for Proposals 11 on 20 January. Both events are in Brussels, with free participation, but registration is compulsory. The workshop on selected topics of the Call will focus on those topics which are critical to the progress of the programme or are complex. Applicants will have the opportunity to seek clarification on the list of selected topics. The information day on the Clean Sky Call for Proposals will include presentations on the topics included in the calls; discussions on the evaluation procedure and contractual agreements; and advice and tips on submitting a successful proposal. There will also be the opportunity to have a short meeting with Clean Sky Joint Undertaking staff during the information day.
2012 EU Research Forum Stakeholders’ Conference on Research and Social Innovation : The European Foundation Centre (EFC)’s Research Forum will hold its next Stakeholder’s Conference in Barcelona on 9-10 February 2012.The theme for the conference will be ‘Research and social innovation: the potential for European foundations to pave the way’. The conference will include sessions on:
Registration is on the European Foundation Centre’s website.
The blogosphere sounds like a strange galaxy in another dimension, but is the term used to refer to all blogs (such as this one!) and their interconnections. Readers of blogs share their thoughts and views in a collected community. Academic blogs tend to focus on professional topics, showing explicit connections between blog content, research issues and academic life, and more academics than ever are now engaging with the blogosphere to share their work, establish networks and connections, and to develop their careers. But are the benefits really that great?
Academics who blog regularly report positive outcomes, such as networking and collaborating, finding new audiences and opportunities, disseminating research more widely, and building reputation. Bloggers argue that far from diluting scholarly success (as has been suggested by some academics), online writing can be a serious tool for academic practice. Blogging should be seen as part of a programme of dissemination and collaboration, and is best used alongside traditional academic outlets (such as journals) as a means of amplifying the reach and potentially the significance and future direction of the research.
Blogs are usually accessed by a different audience to traditional forms of academic dissemination. They are freely accessible to a global audience, and their public, collaborative nature has helped many academics to develop new relationships with students, peers and other audiences (such as schools, charities, the general public, etc) and to develop cross-disciplinary partnerships. The accessibility and exposure to different audiences tends to broaden reputations, which opens up new professional possibilities. Blogging can lead to further research and knowledge exchange work, public presentations and interviews, as well as invitations to write for academic publications.
Academic blogging is a method of public engagement, allowing academics to connect and share their work with the public, generating mutual benefit for both blog authors and readers. This can help to build trust and understanding of universities, and can increase our relevance to, and impact, on society.
Academic bloggers at BU include:
If you’d like access to add posts about your research to the Research Blog or would like your own blog then let me know.
Watch this excellent short video from BU’s Dr Phillip Alford who talks about undergraduate involvement in a real Ad-words campaign and the successes it brings to students and the small businesses involved.
To see other BU videos on YouTube go to the BU YouTube page.
ESRC is now inviting applications for membership of its Grants Assessment Panels in the following disciplinary areas:
This is an opportunity to work with other experienced people from across the academic, public, private and third sectors to help ensure ESRC funds high-quality research at the forefront of social and economic science whilst working to maximise the impact of the research it supports.
For further information on the vacancies and the work of the GAPs, please see the website and vacancy specification (PDF, 93Kb). For questions or queries that are not covered in the vacancy specification, please contact Gavin Salisbury at ESRC on email gavin.salisbury@esrc.ac.uk or telephone 01793 413136.
Application forms, with a short curriculum vitae (no longer than two A4 pages), should be submitted by email to gavin.salisbury@esrc.ac.uk not later than 17.00 on Wednesday 1 February 2011.
We have received information on the following funding opportunities which may be of interest to staff.
Teaching Development Grants from the Higher Education Academy
1. Round 2 of the Individual Grants scheme will open on January 3rd 2012, with a maximum of £7,000 per project, with a focus on employability or internationalisation.
• The submission deadline is February 19th 2012.
• Unsuccessful bids from the previous round could be re-submitted if they can be revised in line with the feedback you received from the HEA.
• However, any bids that do not satisfy the two key principles of student engagement and outputs of benefit beyond BU, or do not thoroughly address ethical issues, will not be considered by the reviewers. So it is critical to get these sections as strong as possible.
• Successful bids from the July 2011 round are here: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/teaching-development-grants
2. The Collaborative Grants scheme opens on February 27th 2012, with a submission deadline of April 22nd 2012.
• The maximum funding per project is £60,000, one bid per institution.
• These can be either collaborative bids between BU and external bodies, or interdisciplinary between different departments within BU.
• With collaborative bids, there must be a minimum of two UK HE partners, but other partners could include FECs, private providers or overseas HEIs.
• The project must be led by a Fellow of the HEA and matched funding is required.
• Some further details are available here to support early thinking, but more information will be available in January.
If you would like to discuss potential projects, please contact Jennifer Taylor, Janet Hanson or Linda Byles (both Janet and Linda are TDG reviewers for the HEA).
MS Society Grants 2012
The MS Society intends to run three grant rounds in 2012:
The MS Society 2012 Grant Round 1 for Innovative and PhD Studentship awards will open on the 17 January 2012, with a deadline for applications 12 noon on 10 February 2012.
For an overview of all the intended 2012 grant rounds and guidance on how to apply for an MS Society research grant please see thier website: http://www.mssociety.org.uk/ms-research/for-researchers/applying-for-research-grants
What do they fund?
As the largest dedicated charitable funder of MS research in the UK, the MS Society welcomes applications for projects that will increase the understanding of, and find new effective treatments for MS, as well as improve care and services for people affected by MS. The Society will consider any application that is relevant to MS. Applications are divided into two funding streams:
If you have any questions the society’s research team are happy to answer them at: research@mssociety.org.uk or on: 020 8438 0822.
There have been a number of strong Research Council bids submitted since my last email, most of which have been run through our internal peer review scheme (the RPRS) which is great news – good luck therefore to Venky Dubey (DEC) for submitting large bids to both the MRC and the NIHR, Barry Richards (MS) for a bid on interactive extremism submitted to the AHRC, Bronwen Thomas (MS) for submitting a bid on researching readers online to the AHRC, Neal White (MS) for being part of a large multi-institution bid submitted to the ESRC’s joint council Connected Communities scheme, and to Genoveva Esteban (ApSci) for a bid on food webs to NERC. One cross-School bid has been submitted this period – good luck to Peter Thomas and Zoe Sheppard (HSC) and Samuel Nyman (DEC) who submitted a joint bid on reducing falls for inpatients with dementia to the NIHR, an excellent example of cross-School working.
Good luck to Cornelius Ncube (DEC) for a systems design bid to the BBC, Hywel Dix (MS) for submitting a bid to the Leverhulme Trust’s Senior Research Fellowships call, Clive Andrewes (HSC) for a bid to Wiltshire Community Health Services to run some study days, Mark Dover (ApSci) for a bid to Dataloft to produce some GIS images, Steve Calver (and the MRG team) (ST) for a bid to NHS Bristol, Karina Gerdau-Radonic (ApSci) for a bid to the Wenner-Gren Foundation, Barry Surman (ST) for submitting a shorter KTP application, Richard Fisher (HSC) for a collaborative bid led by Imperial College to the Newman Foundation, Rob Britton (ApSci) for a bid to DEFRA, Kris Erickson (MS) and Fabian Homberg (BS) who each submitted a bid to the Intellectual Property Office, Rob Britton and Josie Pegg (ApSci) who have submitted a studentship bid to the FSBI, Dave Parham (ApSci) for a large bid to English Heritage, Samuel Nyman (DEC) and Jan Weiner (DEC) for each submitting a PhD studentship proposal to Age UK, Matt Northam (MS) for a bid to Drum Cussac, Tomasz Kakareko (ApSci) for a bid to the Fisheries Society of Great Britain, and to Richard Stillman (ApSci) for a second bid to Halcrow Ltd to continue his work on the Severn Barrage. Good luck also to Keith Hayman, Janet Dickinson, Philip Alford, Feifei Xu, and Susanna Curtin (ST) for submitting a collaborative tender to IRD Dunhallow Ltd on ecotourism, Stephanie Farmer (Red Balloon) for a bid to MicroNav to produce a corporate promo, and Keith Brown (HSC) for submitting a number of bids to local authorities.
Congratulations to Rob Britton (ApSci) for being awarded a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship grant from the EC – this is excellent news! Congratulations are also due to Genoveva Esteban (ApSci) for winning a contract with the Environment Agency to conduct an aquatic biodiversity survey, Richard Stillman (Apsci) for securing a contract with Halcrow Ltd, Mark Maltby (ApSci) for securing a small bone assessment contract with Bedfordshire County Council, Keith Hayman (ST) for securing a CPD contract with Hall and Woodhouse, Roger Herbert (ApSci) for securing a contract with the Shellfish Association of Great Britain to research pacific oyster issues, and to Mark Dover (ApSci) for winning a contract with Dataloft. Congratulations also to Mike Molesworth (Liam Toms and the CEB team) (MS) for securing a contract with Work Research Ltd, to Steve Calver (and the MRG team) (ST) for winning a number of contracts with local authorities and a repeat contract with the Holburne Museum in Bath, to Bronwen Russell (and the Bournemouth archaeology team) (ApSci) for a securing a number of contracts with Distributed Generation Limited, and to Richard Gordon (ST) for securing a training contract with NEMA..
Congratulations also to Les Todres (HSC) for organising a masterclass on gathering people’s ideas and opinions, Crispin Farbrother (ST) for organising a WSET 1 day short course, Vijay Reddy (ST) for organising the Tourism, Climate Change and Sustainability Conference to take place in September 2012, Tom Watson (MS) for organising the History of PR Conference, to Lai Xu (DEC) for organising the PRO-VE Conference, Julia Round (MS) for organising the Annual International Comics Conference, and to a number of staff in ApSci (Duncan Golicher, Martin Smith, Ross Hill, Paul Cheetham, Alex Otto and Damian Evans) for organising various short courses to take place in 2012, including the Big Dig Field School.
Best wishes
Matthew
BU staff can login below:
3MT Competition – Applications open
Doctoral College PGR Research Culture and Community Grant – Apply Now!
BU Professor has been invited to a series of plenary and invited lectures.
An Interview of BU-lead EU H2020 FIRST project published in “Horizon”, the EU Research & Innovation Magazine
Update on Horizon Europe Guarantee
Research Information Network