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Daiwa Foundation Tohoku Scholarships open now!

In response to the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the north east of Japan the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, in partnership with the British Council in Japan, launched a £250,000 scholarship fund to support Japaneses students in the Tohoky region.  They are now accepting applications for the 2012 round of scholarships.

The aim of this initiative is to support post-secondary level students affected by the March 2011 disasters, in particular those areas most affected (Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate prefectures), seeking to study for a period at an educational institution in the United Kingdom. Applications will also be considered from students from the Tohoku region who are currently studying in the UK but who require financial support to continue their studies.

Scholarship applications may be submitted for the following types of courses, beginning in 2012 or 2013:

  • Undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses (including foundation programmes) in all subject areas
  • PhD and post-doctoral research programmes
  • Vocational courses at universities and colleges of further education
  • English language courses (e.g. pre-sessional courses, English language summer schools)

The amount of funding available will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Sufficient funding will be awarded to cover fees, living expenses and travel expenses for an applicant’s intended course, in line with its level and duration. Therefore, applicants are required to explain their vision for the future and financial plans as part of the application process. Priority will be given to students who can demonstrate seriousness of purpose and financial need. Successful applicants must secure a place on a course of study at a UK institution in order to take up funding.

Application forms can be downloaded from the British Council’s Japan website (www.britishcouncil.or.jp), and should include a personal statement outlining the purpose of study and long-term goals. Completed application forms should be sent to: Daiwa Foundation Tohoku Scholarships section, British Council, 1-2 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0825

The application deadline is 15 June 2012 (applications postmarked up to this date will be accepted). Applicants who intend to study in the UK on courses of up to three months will be assessed on the basis of the application form alone; applicants who intend to study on courses of over three months will be asked to come to either London or Tokyo for an interview. The selection panel will assess applications and inform applicants who are selected for interview by early July. Interviews will take  place on 10 and 11 July 2012 in London, and on 18 and 19 July 2012 in Tokyo. All successful applicants (for courses of both up to and over three months) will be informed of the results in mid-August.

For further information visit the call website: http://www.dajf.org.uk/ and read the scheme notes: http://www.educationuk.org/userfiles/file/Daiwa%20Foundation%20Tohoku%20Scholarships%20publicity.pdf 

The closing date is 15 June 2012.

EPSRC/ESRC Invitation for Outlines: Consortia for Exploratory Research in Security

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

As part of their contribution to the RCUK Global Uncertainties Programme, EPSRC and ESRC are jointly inviting proposals for research consortia (PDF 79KB) to explore current and future cyber security challenges.

CEReS consortia are encouraged to work across or between established disciplines and to draw on expertise from multiple research organisations wherever necessary. They particularly welcome proposals with significant novel mathematics and/or social science content.

Initially, outline proposals will be assessed for their novelty and fit to the aims of the call. Successful outline applicants will be invited to submit full proposals later in 2012.

EPSRC and ESRC have made available up to £4M available to fund full proposals funded through the CEReS call. They expect to support a range of projects which is broad in terms of scale (likely to be between £500k and £1M for each consortium), duration (two to four years), mix of disciplines (with single discipline proposals being the exception rather than the norm) and subject matter (although all must focus on cyber security-related challenges in the broadest sense).  Activities funded through CEReS are limited to those currently allowed on EPSRC grants. As a result they will not be able to accept applications which request funding for PhD studentships, even if they are outside EPSRC’s remit.

CEReS is a call for exploratory research. Consortia should identify ambitious goals with far-reaching impacts on future research and, potentially at least, practice in cyber security. Projects which continue or extend current work in a straightforward or obvious way will not be supported. Collaboration between disciplines is strongly encouraged. Although it is not essential that all projects include cross- or intra-disciplinary working it is likely that the assessment process will select positively for consortia which adopt this approach.

Although it is being managed by EPSRC the CEReS call is also open to researchers eligible to apply for targeted funding from ESRC. There is no quota of applications or funding based on Research Council remits. It is possible for the same researcher(s) to be associated with more than one consortium application.

For further information visit the call website: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/ceres.aspx and read the call documentation: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Calls/2012/CEReSCall.pdf. Outline proposals should be prepared and submitted using the Research Councils’ Joint electronic Submission (JeS) System (https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/).

The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.

The closing date is 14 June 2012.

Blogs and wikis now available to BU staff

The “Collaboration Tools for Academics” project has been looking into the variety of writing tools that BU currently provides to staff. A shared writing tool, also known as a blog or a wiki, is a system for posting, editing, and managing a collection of hypertext pages, generally pertaining to a certain topic or purpose.  A Blog is displayed as a set of pages in time order (like the BU Research Blog!), while a Wiki is displayed as a set of linked pages (such as Wikipedia).

There are currently a number of these technologies being used within the University and one of the key distinctions is between those that are internally facing and those that are external.

Internal blogs and wikis are currently available through myBU and externally available blogs which are best described as microsites are managed by M&C who have a responsibility for how BU appears to the outside world.

The project has helped develop sufficient tutorial guidance to allow staff to decide which kind of tool they require and they will now be able to request access to the service.

To access information about blogs and wikis at BU follow these steps:

  1.  Access SNOW via: https://bournemouth.service-now.com/navpage.do
  2. Click on: Raise a Request or Incident on the left menu
  3. Click on: Blogs, Wikis and Mircosites on the right menu
  4. To request one of these services log a job via the SNOW system

If you have any questions regarding the service then please use the contact details specified within the SNOW page you are directed to.

Please note that you can also gain access to the SNOW page through the Staff Intranet.

ECOSAL-Atlantis: An ecotourism project

Bournemouth University (BU) hosted a visit from the national co-ordinators of ECOSAL-Atlantis last week; an EU ecotourism project recording and promoting the heritage of salt production around the Atlantic Coasts of the UK, France, Spain and Portugal.

The ECOSAL-Atlantis project goal is to create a traditional salt-working route to highlight the fascinating archaeological and ecologically characteristics of these historic landscapes, thereby encouraging economic success of small-scale salt production and tourism development.

BU is the sole UK partner in this project, providing invaluable archaeological and ecological expertise. Researchers are also helping to develop ‘Traditional Salt-working: The Atlantic Route’ and are working with heritage consultants A&A Fielding Ltd to encourage other organisations and sites to join in the creation of the Route.

Other partners have been busy completing the heritage inventory of salt working sites, as well as collecting environmental data from coastal lagoons. This last aspect includes work on the eco-system of these fragile landscapes, producing guidelines that will protect them.

UK national co-ordinator Mark Brisbane, Professor in the School of Applied Sciences at BU said: “This is a highly innovative and original project that brings together archaeology and heritage, ecology and biodiversity, tourism and economic development and forces them to work together in a novel way for the long-term good of these fragile and precious landscapes”.

During their stay the ECOSAL team visited Poole Museums and Poole Harbour, including Brownsea Island, where they witnessed work taking place in the lagoon, recorded bird species and analyzed factors encouraging breeding and length of stay.

Poole Harbour has been an area of salt production from the late Iron Age period (if not before) carrying on into the Roman period, with sites making salt excavated at Ower and Hamworthy. Salt production must have continued into the medieval period around the harbour area but by the 18th century the salt-works were at Lilliput, where they used peat-fired boiling houses crystallising salt from seawater drawn from ponds in what is now known as the Blue Lagoon.

The ECOSAL team also visited the salt marshes in the Lymington-Keyhaven nature reserve, where Hampshire County Council and St Barbe Museum are creating the Lymington Salt Walk.

Now a tranquil wildlife haven, 200 years ago this area was the centre of the second most important site for salt production after Liverpool. The land would have been covered by salt pans where brine was concentrated, windmills would have pumped it into storage tanks and boiling houses which then used coal to bring the brine to a low boil in large iron or copper pans, producing salt as the water boiled away. There was also a network of inlets with docks for boats to deliver the coal and collect the salt. The success of this industry directly contributed to the wealth of the town of Lymington and helped to build many of its important 18th and early 19th century buildings.

There are 13 organizations involved in the ECOSAL project, from four countries (Spain, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom) as follows: Diputación Foral de Alava, Spain (project leader), Ecomuseé du Marais Salant, France, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France, Communauté de comunes Océan – Marais de Monts, France, Communauté de comunes de l’ile d’Oléron, France, Cap Atlantique, France, Asociación Cultural Amigos de las Salinas de Interior, Spain, Fundación Espacios Naturales Protegidos de Andalucía (Andanatura), Spain, , Bournemouth University, UK, University of Aveiro, Portugal, Aveiro Municipality, Portugal, Rio Maior Municipality, Portugal and Municipality of Figueira da Foz, Portugal.

More information can be found on the Bournemouth University website.

Welcome to our first Grants Academy members

We are delighted to announce that the selection process is complete and the Grants Academy has its first members!

 Membership includes not only early career academics, but also professors and everyone inbetween.  This mix of skills and experience will add extra depth and interest to the Academy programme.   

Our new Academy members will be attending their Strand One training  workshop next week.  The aim is that 2 days locked away in a hotel in Bournemouth with our workshop leader Martin Pickard, will give our new members the skills and confidence to develop some really strong funding applications.   They will be supported throughout the bidding process by bid mentors, bidding clinics and all the other resources and benefits available to the Academy.

We are really pleased to be getting this new initiative up and running.   We will let you know how the first workshop goes, and what our members think of it. 

Do you want to be part of our Grants Academy?  

Don’t worry – we will be soon be letting you know about the next round of applications.  Please keep in touch with the blog to stay on top of developments – click on the Grants Academy tag to find out about the Grants Academy and what it involves.

Any questions?  Please contact Caroline O’Kane

FP7 NMP Tailored Exploitation Services Available for Project Partners

A new service helping NMP project partners take their research to market has been launched by the EC. 

Partners in Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies (NMP) projects can now make use of a new service offering help in to bridging the gap between research outcomes and exploitation. A range of tailored services, provided by Commission-approved consultants, is available. The services are:

  • Project Risk Analysis (PRA) to identify the risks and potential obstacles to the future exploitation of project results;
  • Exploitation Strategy Seminars (ESS) to brainstorm on how a consortium can address the risks and potential obstacles identified in the PRA;
  • Business plan development service to assist partners with this crucial step towards exploitation;
  • Assistance for patenting to support the partners with the writing, filing and legal follow-up of patents; and
  • Assistance for standardisation to help partners to exploit project results that can benefit from the development of standards.

NMP project partners can request the services listed above. If the request is validated by the Commission, these services are provided by exploitation strategy and innovation consultants for free and under confidentiality agreement.

FP7 FAFB Registration Open for Information Day on 2013 Call

The European Commission is organising an Information Day and Brokerage Event on the 2013 FAFB call (also often referred to as KBBE, or Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy). As stated in the leaflet enclosed below, the call is foreseen to be published on around 10 July 2012, although this date is still provisional.

The morning session will consist of presentations of the topics in the 2013 call, divided into the three “activity areas” of the FAFB theme. The afternoon will consist of parallel sessions with group discussions by thematic areas, in order to help bring together consortia, and pre-arranged face-to-face meetings to discuss potential partnerships for proposals. Participants can sign up for both when registering for the Information Day. There will also be a focus on opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the 2013 FAFB call, which is foreseen to be a particular priority. 

This is a great opportunity to network!

New Service – Requesting a Virtual Server

The “Collaboration Tools for Academics” project is currently delivering a service which allows academics to request a virtual platform on which to install (or have installed) any server based software they wish to evaluate.

I am pleased to inform you that this service is now available to ALL BU staff.  The service is available as of now and will continue to run as a pilot until Feb 2013.

You are able to make requests for this service via the SNOW request form using this link:

https://bournemouth.service-now.com/ and click on “virtual server request”

Please contact the IT Service Help Desk for further information on ext 65515 and ask for assistance on “virtual server requests”.

Seminar on Software Design and Research Tomorrow

It is my pleasure to announce the next seminar of the STRC tomorrow, 2nd of May in Lawrence Lecture Theatre at 16:00 h

The program for tomorrow evening is particularly attractive for those of you connected with software research and design in varied industrial settings.
Our speaker this time will be Ms Monika Bedersen, a highly experience Project Manager and developer in EVONIK industries AG since 1986; where she was responsible for the successful completion of very challenging projects; and a nice colleague.
Please feel free to show up any time on your convenience,

Best Wishes, Emili

(ToK Coordinator STRC)

Reminder of the Executive Briefing Centre rooms – open to staff to book

The sixth floor of the Executive Business Centre (EBC) on the Lansdowne Campus was refurbished last year to include a Briefing Centre, an impressive new facility which is now available for staff to use when meeting and hosting external visitors and contacts. Co-located with the Centre for Entrepreneurship, it offers the ideal venue to brief external clients.

The Executive Briefing Centre suite consists of a Reception area with sofas and Welcome Desk, two large state-of-the-art meeting rooms (EB602 & EB603), as well as access to the floor’s kitchenette facilities. The purpose of the Centre is to provide suitable meeting space for all staff and students to book when hosting external visitors, with the aim of facilitating links and engaging with the business community. Such meetings may include developing consultancy projects and research opportunities, media relations, student consultancy assignments, and more.

The larger of the two rooms, EB602 which sits 12, houses an exciting state-of-the-art HD video conferencing system which enables real time broadcast of video and audio as well as the transmission of computer graphics over the internet. A network-based image store is also available, and lighting in this room has been specifically designed to enhance the quality of the video calls.

Bookings and access – To book either of these two superb meeting rooms please use the Room Booking Request form on the Estates and IT Services web page, http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/itservices/index.html. If you require EB602 for a video conference, please fill in the relevant information on the request form.

In order to access the meeting rooms, please collect key card/s from the EBC Reception and ensure that all cards are returned on your departure. The information on the confirmation email includes a link to the Chartwells website to order catering, as well as information on how to book car parking for external visitors.

Instructions on how to use the AV equipment are available in the meeting rooms in paper format, however training can be given on how to operate the equipment in advance of your booking. Please call the IT Service Desk on 01202 965515 in order to arrange this, if required.

Royal Society Research Professorship scheme now open!

The Royal Society’s Research Professorship scheme is now open for applications! This scheme is for world-class scientists who would benefit from a period of long-term support to allow them to focus on research and collaboration based at an institution in the UK. The scheme provides salary costs, a one-off start-up grant and research expenses. Appointments are usually made for 10 years.

The Professorships may be awarded in any field across the natural sciences. These prestigious posts provide long-term support for internationally recognised scientists of outstanding achievement and promise.

For further information visit the call website: http://royalsociety.org/grants/schemes/research-professorship/ and read the scheme notes: http://royalsociety.org/uploadedFiles/Royal_Society_Content/grants/schemes/Research-Professorship.pdf.

The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.

The closing date is 26 June 2012.

Research Development Fund – Small Grants Scheme Closes 31 May

The next round of the internal small grants scheme closes this month on 31st May.  The scheme provides up to £2000 per application for direct costs.

Examples of research activities covered by the RDF include:

  • Pilot projects
  • Pump-priming
  • Interview transcription
  • Fieldwork
  • Visiting major libraries, museums, other research institutions, etc.
  • Organisation of an academic conference at BU with external participants
  • Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
  • Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations
  • Preparation of specialist material or data
  • Short-term Research Assistant support or replacement teaching
  • Research consumables and equipment (providing it is clear these would not normally be purchased by the School)

This list is not exhaustive; applications can be for other expenses providing it is clear how the funding will benefit research at BU.  This Scheme is only open to BU Academic Staff members (normally restricted to academics based in Schools).

If you would like to apply the application form and full details can be found here.  The applications must be emailed to the Research Development Unit (RDU@bournemouth.ac.uk) by 31st May 2012

Update on the Culture and MEDIA programme replacement ‘Creative Europe’

The EC has released five short videos where questions on the Creative Europe (the successor to the current Culture and Media programmes, starting in 2014) are answered.  The videos cover questions such as why the proposal for the new programme combines the current Culture and Media programmes, the planned budget increase, the new focus on audience development, the new finance facility and the new programme objectives and are answered by Ann Branch, Head of the Culture Programme and Actions Unit from the Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC).

These videos give you a great insight into what may come under this Programme and will allow you to really make plans for applying. You can also read this very helpful UKRO article on the Creative Europe Info Day to get even more insight.

 

FP7 FAFB and Environment UK Information Day for 2013 Calls open for bookings!

DEFRA, BBSRC, NERC and the Food Standards Agency are co-hosting a UK Info Day the 2013 FP7 Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnologies (FAFB) and Environment (including climate change) calls on Friday 6 July. The venue is the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in London.  Registration for the event is now open, simply complete and return this Registration Form. There is no charge for this event, and places are limited and will be on a first-come first-served basis.

The information day is designed for everyone interested in these two FP7 thematic areas, in particular those considering submitting a proposal for the 2013 work programme calls. These are scheduled to be published on around 10 July, and will be the last such calls under FP7. The information day will feature:

  • Presentations from the European Commission’s DG Research and Innovation on the 2013 work programmes for the FAFB and Environment themes;
  • Information on the opportunities available in other FP7 schemes, including the “Ideas” (the European Research Council) and “People” (the Marie Curie Actions) programmes;
  • Presentations by FP7 project participants in the FAFB and Environment areas, along with lessons learned about participating in the programme; and
  • An update on Horizon 2020.

The UK National Contact Point for the FAFB and Environment themes will be available all day to provide information and advice on participation in FP7. The event will also provide an opportunity to network with others interested in EU collaborative research.

EC Launches Initiative on Sustainable Energy for All Initiative

The EC announced at the high-level EU Sustainable Energy for All summit a new EU energy initiative which will provide access to sustainable energy for an additional 500 million people in developing countries by 2030.
The proposed EU Technical Assistance Facility will provide EU expertise in the sustainable energy field. This will promote sustainable development and inclusive growth and will include a new EU Technical Assistance Facility, worth EUR 50 million over the next two years.

The future of EU Energy funding

Two exciting developments related to EU Energy funding are now in the public domain.
 
The European Commission has recently published an illustrated brochure on its “Energy Roadmap 2050” which is intended to be the basis for developing a long-term EU framework for energy policy.
 
The Smart Grids European Technology Platform, a stakeholder platform relating to smart grids, had published an updated version of its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) entitled “SmartGrids SRA 2035”. This updates their previous research agenda from 2007. The presentations and conference summary from the Smart Grids 4th General Assembly, in March 2012, are also now available. The SRA of European Technology Platforms, such as the Smart Grids Technology Platform, are likely to influence future European Commission research calls.  This is because they represent the views of a large stakeholder group on what future research priorities should be. The updated SRA should therefore be of interest to researchers interested in applying to European research funding in this area.

Bournemouth Researcher returns from field work in Brazil

Dr Miguel Moital of the School of Tourism has just returned from Brazil having undertaken the first block of fieldwork for a Santander funded project entitled, 

“The internationalisation of the Brazilian tourism, hospitality and events research: Barriers and opportunities to publishing in international (English language) journals”  

The economic growth of the past 15 years in Brazil has had a profound impact on the country’s tourism industry, further establishing tourism as an important economic activity. While Brazil attracted only just over five million international tourists in 2010, the country has a substantial tourism industry which is driven by a buoyant domestic market. The Tourism Ministry estimates that in 2009 there were 175 million domestic trips. 

As the tourist industry matures, so does the need to develop a more in-depth understanding of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of the tourism phenomenon. There has been substantial growth in terms of education provision, but academic research has remained somewhat parochial, with much being published in the growing number of Brazilian tourism journals and some in foreign journals, whether Portuguese or Spanish language journals (mainly South American, but also Spanish). Very few have been published in English language journals. The end result is that Brazilian research and researchers are little known by the International community. 

Therefore the aim of this research is to examine the barriers and look for opportunities to expand the international audience for research based on the Brazilian tourism, hospitality and events industries and in so doing develop a valuable international partnership.

 

Grounded Theory Masterclass 18-19 June 2012

The Centre for Qualitative Research at Bournemouth University is pleased to announce its next Masterclass in Grounded Theory.Date: 18-19 June 2012 

Venue:Bournemouth University, Executive Business Centre, 2nd FloorBook your place online now.This masterclass will focus on grounded theory – theory developed from data. We shall examine the origins of the approach and the way it has developed over time. Key writers such as Strauss, Glaser and Charmaz will be discussed and their specific approaches described with examples from grounded theory work.

Who should attend
The masterclass has been designed to suit postgraduate students, academics and professionals who are using or may wish to use grounded theory methodology and methods in their research. You can also achieve masters level credits through taking this masterclass – visit our masterclass event page for more details.

Masterclass facilitators
Prof. Immy Holloway is internationally recognised for her work in qualitative approaches to research and has authored many articles and books on the subject. She not only has a deep theoretical knowledge of grounded theory but also takes a very practical approach.
Dr. Liz Norton is a Senior Lecturer at BU and has a particular interest in Glaserian grounded theory. She has used grounded theory in practice in the completion of environment and health-related grounded theory studies.

Cost
The fee of £200.00 (£125 for postgraduate students, with further reductions for BU staff/students) for this Masterclass includes two full days with the course facilitators, all refreshments and all class materials. Accommodation and travel costs are not included.

To book your place please use our online booking form.

For more details please visit our masterclass event page.

Best wishes,

Caroline Ellis-Hill
Masterclass Co-ordinator and Senior Lecturer at BU