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PhD researchers in the Dragon’s Den

A message from Clare Dean (thanks, Clare!), one of our postgraduate researchers, about a recent workshop that she attended along with some of her colleagues, with a focus on developing science-related business skills.

“Post graduate researchers from the School of Applied Sciences recently attended an ‘Environment YES!’ workshop in Oxfordshire. Environment YES! and Biotechnology YES! are NERC and BBSRC funded initiatives to teach early career scientists how to transfer research and innovation into viable business ventures. Attendees at these workshops listen to presentations from professionals who have made the leap from science into business, learning about everything from marketing to financial planning. See: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/using/schemes/yes/

Over the course of the workshop, teams from each attending university developed a business plan for a hypothetical product which had to be based on plausible science. At the end of the workshop each team was given the opportunity to present their business plan to board of mock venture capitalists, in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch. Based on these pitches, two teams were chosen to compete in a final to select the best business plan. Bournemouth University team created Ωmega Worms Ltd. a company who has developed a novel rearing technique for mealworms which induce them to synthesise omega 3. The business plan was to sell these mealworms as an omega 3 supplement to manufacturers of aquaculture feed, reducing the manufacturer’s reliance on oily fish as a feed ingredient, and thus their connection with unstable wild fish stocks.

The five members of the Bournemouth University team were Justine Cordingley, Clare Dean, Sui Chian Phang, Natalia Tejador and Kathryn Ross. All team members felt that Environment YES! was an extremely valuable learning experience.

 “With so much national focus on business and the economy it was a really useful exercise in thinking about how our research can be both profitable and solve environmental problems.”  – Justine Cordingley

 “This was an excellent experience which allowed us to strengthen a range of skills such as team work, time management, communication and presentation skills. Also it gave us the chance to learn about setting up a company and patenting products. It was enlightening!”  – Natalia Tejedor

Environment YES! And Biotechnology YES! run every year and are open to PhD and post doc researchers working in biological sciences. This year’s Bournemouth team would thoroughly recommend that members of the Applied Science community get involved in future workshops”.

Brewery Investing in its Future

Hall and Woodhouse brewery, famous for its ‘Badger’ award winning beers, has agreed to a second cohort of students to complete the ‘Business and Hospitality Management’ accredited Higher Education course at Bournemouth University. This development arose from engagement between business development staff in the School of Tourism and the HR team at the company.

Company Managers recognised that investing in its people was critical to beat the recession and ensure that the business is well managed and providing the best experience for its customer base. However, they could not find the right level of education, training and support to upskill its existing workforce and were looking for options tailored to their distinct needs.

In order to develop a bespoke Higher Education degree programme for the company, the Hall and Woodhouse HR team, working in conjunction with Keith Hayman (Head of CPD for the School), has invested significant commitment and resources. Keith has used his vast experience to identify skill gaps within the company and has created a bespoke course for its employees. The course is delivered at times that suit the management level students and includes elements of Marketing, HR and Financial Reporting to ensure effective management; and a motivated workforce throughout the chain.

In addition to the new cohort commencing next month, the first cohort progresses to Foundation Degree in March 2012. Once completed, recipients will receive a BA (Hons) degree.

BU Researcher Development Programme – November 2011

PG research

Sessions for the BU Researcher Development Programme in  November 2011 are as follows:

Statistics Surgery: Individual statistics advice with Dr John Beavis

    • Date: Every Wednesday
    • Time: max 45 minutes consultation –10:00-16:00
    • Room: tbc
    • Prior booking essential through Staff Development

Managing your Thesis workshop (Part 1 & 2) Using MS Office 2007 to manage your thesis and other documents facilitated by Su Kensley

    • Date: Wednesday 2 November and Wednesday 9 November
    • Time: 10:00-13:00
    • Room: MG08
    • Prior booking essential (max 12 places) by emailing itskills@bournemouth.ac.uk

Literature Reviews Undertaking your literature review with Professor Adele Ladkin

    • Date: Wednesday 16 November
    • Time: 10:30-11:30
    • Room: PG22
    • No booking needed

BU Research Strategy & REF Overview of research at BU and its wider context, introducing the REF with Professor Matthew Bennett

    • Date: Wednesday 16 November
    • Time: 13:00-14:30
    • Room: PG22
    • No booking needed

Introduction to Qualitative Research The main aspects of qualitative research with Professor Kate Galvin

    • Date: Wednesday 23 November
    • Time: 10:30-12:30
    • Room: PG22
    • No booking needed

Introduction to Quantitative Research The main aspects of quantitative research with Professor Adrian Newton

    • Date: Wednesday 23 November
    • Time: 13:30-15:00
    • Room: PG22
    • No booking needed

Managing your Thesis workshop (Part 1 & 2) Using MS Office 2010 to manage your thesis and other documents facilitated by Su Kensley

    • Date: Wednesday 23 November and Wednesday 30 November
    • Time: 10:00-13:00
    • Room: S103
    • Prior booking essential (max 20 places) by emailing itskills@bournemouth.ac.uk

These sessions are primarily aimed at new PGRs however all PGRs and ECRs are welcome.  Prior booking is essetial on some sessions where places are limited.

If you have any questions about the sessions, please contact Dr Fiona Knight or Susan Dowdle.

 

Bournemouth University research into prosopagnosia (face blindness)

Prosopagnosia – or ‘face blindness’ – is a little known condition affecting 1 in 50 people. As Bournemouth University psychology lecturer Dr Sarah Bate explains, it is ‘literally a loss of memory for faces’.

Speaking to BBC Inside Out’s Jon Cuthill, Dr Bate said: “Prosopagnosia sufferers know what a face is. They know the basic configuration of a face, but they absolutely fail to indentify individuals, no matter how close those people are to them.”

Dr Bate and her team at Bournemouth University have developed a brand new test to identify how good people are at face recognition. It works by processing patterns in eye movement whilst looking at a face.

The findings show that in control trials, participants scan the face in a triangular pattern, looking at the eyes, nose and mouth. In contrast, prosopagnosia sufferers compensate for their lack of recognition by looking at external features of the face, such as the ears and hair.

You can find out more about BournemouthUniversity’s research into the condition by watching Dr Bate’s recent interview on BBC Inside Out. The feature is 11 minutes in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0160zzv/Inside_Out_South_17_10_2011/

You can test yourself for prosopagnosia at Sarah’s website: www.prosopagnosiaresearch.org.

 

Have you been involved with an event designed for the external community?

Guidance, Research assessment

Then we want to hear from you! 🙂

The University is currently compiling the data for the annual Higher Education – Business & Community Interaction survey (HE-BCI) due to be submitted to HESA in December.

We are asked to submit details of social, cultural and community events designed for the external community (to include both free and chargeable events) which took place between 1 August 2010 and 31 July 2011.

Event types that should be returned include:

  • public lectures
  • performance arts (dance, drama, music, etc)
  • exhibitions
  • museum education
  • events for schools and community groups
  • business breakfasts

We cannot return events such as open days, Student Union activity, commercial conferences, etc.

If you have been involved with an event which could be returned, please could you let your contact (see below) know the event name and date, whether it was free or chargeable, and the estimated number of attendees:

  • if you are in a School – your Director of Operations or Deputy Dean (R&E) / equivalent
  • if you are in a Professional Service – please contact Julie Northam in the Research Development Unit

The data returned is used by HEFCE to allocate the HEIF funding so it is important that we return as accurate a picture as possible.

BU Researcher Development Framework

PG research

BU has adopted the VITAE Researcher Development Framework to help you identify your strengths and prioritise for personal and career development, inform discussions with the supervisory teams and consider what skills and experiences will enhance career prospects and how to articulate capabilities to future employers.

 By monitoring and recording your development activities within the RDF, you will be able to:

  • aid self-reflection and set aspirational goals
  • choose the most appropriate formal and informal development
  • assess opportunities provided by BU and look for development opportunities externally
  • prepare for one-to-one progress reviews, appraisals and career
  • prepare for development conversations with Supervisory Team
  • consider how skills and experiences will enhance career prospects
  • highlight, articulate and evidence the transferability of their skills in their CV, in job applications and at interviews.

As a Postgraduate Researcher at BU, you are required to engage in a personal programme of researcher development throughout the duration of your enrolment. This is not formally credit bearing, however you are required to compile evidence of specific training and development courses undertaken, as well as evidence of personal development through independent activities undertaken as part of your research.  The process is as follows:

  1. Discussion of individual training needs with supervisory team at initial supervisory meetings to prioritise development activities throughout the course of the research.
  2. Identify most appropriate mechanism for developing identified training needs
  3. Record development on overview sheet and complete record sheet for each development activity
     – outline the activity, the skills gained from the activity and how the skills can be applied
    –  Supervisors to be sign off
  4. Review individual training and development needs as part of the Annual Monitoring Process
  5. Develop and maintain portfolio of research activities

Many generic research methodology and skills development sessions are offered centrally by the GraduateSchool and RDU and details will be communicated via the Research Blog.

 Specific and in depth methodological training should be offered by the Academic Schools or identified externally.  Other independent development activities may include:

  • Attendance at externally organised Researcher Development activities (e.g. Vitae events)
  • Participation in specific training related to individual research projects
  • Participation in internal Seminars and Conferences
  • Participation at external Seminars and Conferences
  • Publication of papers
  • Wider research activities – organisation of seminars, conferences, etc
  • Public engagement & outreach activities

Need to publish a paper quickly for the REF?

open access logo, Public Library of ScienceThen come to our free Open Access event this Wednesday in the EBC!

Publishing via an open access route often results in much faster publication times, meaning your research is out in the public domain much more quickly than traditional subscription journal routes.

BU fully supports open access publishing and has recently launched a central Open Access Publication Fund to enable academic staff to access funds to easily publish via open access outlets.

We’re holding an open access publishing event this Wednesday between 10am-12:30pm in the EBC (7th floor).

You can access the programme here: BU Open Access event programme

It is free for BU staff and students to attend. Refreshments and lunch will be provided.

To reserve a place at the event please contact Anita Somner by email.

We look forward to seeing you there! 😀

How to find partners for EU Projects

EC projects usually require partners, with the number and geographical location varying for each call. A useful tip to remember when considering your partner options is that a consortium should include a good balance of sectors industry, academia, user groups etc) and that all partners should be well-matched to the activities in the proposal.

You can find partners through your existing contacts, by reviewing previously awarded FP6 and FP7 projects, by searching/ advertising on the UKRO website ,by seeking the assistance of the relevant UK National Contact Point and by attending EU conferences and project evaluations, by scanning the CORDIS website.

The best and most effective way to become involved in FP7 consortia however, is to join European Technology Platforms (ETPs). These are groups of industry-led stakeholder forums who explore Europe’s key challenges. ETPs define the EU Strategic research agenda and then bid for European Commission funds (through FP7 etc) to address these. The biggest players in the field across Europe belong to these groups and obviously as they set the research agenda, they are increduibly successful at winning FP7 funds for research. Joining these groups will not only open you to a plethora of partners but also will allow you to contribute in shaping the research agenda of Europe (which you can then address through funding). Some of the major ETPs are listed below with hyperlinks to their webpages:

Advanced Engineering Materials and Technologies
Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe
Embedded Computing Systems
European Biofuels Technology Platform
European Construction Technology Platform
European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council
European Rail Research Advisory Council
European Road Transport Research Advisory Council
European Space Technology Platform
European Steel Technology Platform
European Technology Platform for the Electricity Networks of the Future
European Technology Platform for Wind Energy
European Technology Platform on Smart Systems Integration  
European Technology Platform on Sustainable Mineral Resources
Farm Animal Breeding and Reproduction Technology Platform
Food for Life
Forest based sector Technology Platform
Future Manufacturing Technologies
Future Textiles and Clothing
Global Animal Health
Industrial Safety ETP
Integral Satcom Initiative
Mobile and Wireless Communications
Nanotechnologies for Medical Applications
Networked and Electronic Media
Networked European Software and Services Initiative
Photonics21
Photovoltaics
Plants for the Future
Robotics
Sustainable Nuclear Technology Platform
Sustainable Chemistry
Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform
Waterborne ETP
Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants

RCUK Research Outcomes Project is ready to launch!

Following my previous post about the development of the Research Councils UK (RCUK) Outcomes Project, the launch of the new system for collecting information about research outcomes from all RCUK grant holders is nearly here. Assuming all goes to plan with the final phase of user testing, the system will go live from 14 November 2011. Grant holders will be required to upload information about the following for each of the RCUK-funded projects they are responsible for:

  • Publications
  • Other research outputs
  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Exploitation
  • Recognition
  • Staff development
  • Further funding
  • Impact

Grant holders will be able to log in to the system using their Je-S login and will be responsible for maintaining the outcomes information about the grants they have been awarded, even if they move institution. RCUK have issued a list of FAQs to help answer some common queries.

Migration and Climate Change

The Migration and Global Environmental Change Report (commisioned by government) has been published today. The report warns of the serious implications of climate change for the world’s poorest people, who will be forced to migrate away from sterile land. The report suggests that migration will need to be managed – which is in itself controversial because migration is usually seen as a bad thing by aid agencies. Further, unless carefully managed, migration often gives rise to unrest and conflict, particularly where the migrants either impose an extra burden or are unwelcome by those living in the areas to which they migrate. Some difficult issues will need to be planned for – unfortunately such issues are often low down the priority in terms of planning .

The report can be accessed at:

http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight

 

Bamboozled by Intellectual Property Right in FP7 proposals…?

Then the new factsheets published by the European Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Helpdesk is for you!

The factsheets aim to help you with your IP issues at different stages of FP7 projects before you start writing your proposal. How to manage IP in FP7 during the proposal stage looks at some of the issues you need to consider when putting your proposal together, as well as questions you should address in the text of the proposal itself. How to manage IP in FP7 during the negotiation stage highlights issues that consortia should bear in mind during negotiation of grant agreements with the EC once a proposal has been lucky enough to have been selected for funding. ‘How to manage IP in FP7 during and after the project’ isn’t quite ready yet, but will be published on the IPR website soon!

How to kill your funding application

Guidance

Funding proposals are not the easiest (or quickest) thing in the world to write.

Not least for multi-tasking academics up against a wall of deadlines.

Jonathan O’Donnell, author of the most excellent Research Whisperer Blog,  has a similar job to mine – supporting the writing of funding proposals at his university.

I like him.  He has some good advice.   I found this post – its called 5  ways to kill your application. I think its worth reading. 

I hope you find it helpful too.

For information about how BU’s very own Research Proposal Review Service can support your current/next funding application, please contact Caroline O’Kane.

Research by Prof Keith Brown featured in The Guardian

Congratulations to BU’s Professor Keith Brown from the Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work. Keith co-authored a report with Learn to Care that contains details of a leadership development scheme for social workers currently underway in Hampshire. The scheme aims to give managers the confidence to lead through change and hold staff to account, and is already being viewed as a model for other local authorities.

Details of the scheme are contained in a new report that outlines a strategy of guiding principles on leadership development and a proposed “pathway of leadership progression”. Aimed at giving managers the confidence to lead through change and hold staff to account, it is being seen as a model for other local authorities.

You can access the online story here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/oct/19/model-for-social-care-management?newsfeed=true

Southern Universities REF event at BU – 22 February 2012 – SAVE THE DATE!

Research assessment

REF logoBU will be hosting a half day Research Excellence Framework (REF) event for southern universities, supported by the REF Team, on 22 February 2012 to which all staff are invited to attend.

This event follows hot on the heels of the first REF Team-supported event held at BU on 19 May 2011, to which over 150 delegates from 39 institutions attended (see our previous blog post – The excellent HEFCE REF event at BU!).

The sector-wide consultation on the proposed REF panel criteria closed earlier this month and the final documents are due to be published in January 2012. This event will provide an update on the current developments with the REF and the confirmed REF panel documentation, focusing specifically on the assessment of impact within each of the four Main Panels.

The event will be open to BU staff and external delegates and the provisional programme is shown below.

Provisional programme:

09:30 – 10:00    Coffee and registration

10:00 – 10:30    REF Team overview of the assessment framework

Chris Taylor, Deputy REF Project Manager, REF Team

10:30 – 11:00    Similarities between the 4 Main Panel criteria

Professor Stephen Holgate, Chair of Main Panel A

11:00 – 11:30    Morning break

11:30 – 12:15    Panel specifics, differences and impact assessment

There will be concurrent sessions, one for each of the four Main Panels. Attendees choose which one to attend.

Main Panel A:    Professor Stephen Holgate, Chair of Main Panel A

Main Panel B:    Professor Philip Nelson, Chair of sub-panel 15 (General Engineering)

Main Panel C:    Professor John Scott, Chair of sub-panel 23 (Sociology)

Main Panel D:    Professor Bruce Brown, Chair of Main Panel D

12:15 – 13:00    Panel Q&A session with all participants

13:00 – 14:00   Lunch, networking and close

 

The event is free to attend but booking is essential. Booking will open very soon – further details to follow!
 

BU workshop on Meta Transfer of Knowledge as part of EU project

You are invited to contribute and participate in a Workshop on Meta Transfer of Knowledge – Challenges in Transfer of Knowledge in Industry.

The workshop is taking place at the International Conference on Innovation through Knowledge Transfer at BU on 19th and 20th of April 2012.

The workshop is a part of Knowledge Transfer activities that take place within the EU funded INFER project coordinated by Prof. Bogdan Gabrys, DEC. INFER offers participants the opportunity to move between sectors and country in order to provide, absorb and implement new knowledge in a professional industrial-academic environment.

The workshop will allow conference delegates to benefit from experiences in knowledge transfer, knowledge exchange and knowledge sharing, during the progress of the INFER and other similar projects.

The goal of the workshop is to share the knowledge about the most effective transfer of knowledge activities that can and have been organised especially in large international projects such as those carried out within EC “People” Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) programme.

Such projects are of particular interest to this workshop as their aim is to stimulate intersectoral mobility and increase knowledge sharing through joint research partnerships in longer term co-operation programmes between organisations from academia and industry where effective knowledge transfer is critical to the success of the projects.

As the transfer of knowledge mechanisms can be observed in all areas where the cooperation between academia and industry exists, it is hoped that sustainable collaborations between people who are interested in continuous development of these mechanisms and improvement of their efficiency will be fostered. This will give the opportunity to push further the discussion upon the potential of Transfer of Knowledge phenomena across different communities.

More about this event can be found on the project website and if you have any further questions about the Workshop please contact Katarzyna Musial.

Funding opportunity – ESRC Research Seminars

Funding opportunities

Seminar groups are multi-institutional groups of academic researchers, postgraduate students and non-academic users who meet regularly to exchange information and ideas with the aim of advancing research within their fields. Where appropriate, seminar group members should be drawn from the public sector, commercial private sector, third sector and other relevant organisations as well as from academic institutions. We would particularly encourage seminar groups designed to bring together leading researchers from across disciplines to identify new research agendas or capacity building priorities. These grants are non-fEC and are limited to £15,000. This covers:

  • travel and expenses for speakers and participants
  • administrative costs
  • stationery, postage, copying and telephone costs
  • hire of rooms and facilities

An additional £3,000 can be made available when applicants have made a strong case for the inclusion of international academics or the holding of events abroad.

Further information regarding eligibility can be found on the RCUK website: (http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/research/Pages/Eligibilityforrcs.aspx).

The deadline for applications is 10 November 2011.

If you’re interested in submitting an application, please contact the RKE Operations team.

Launch of the Research & Knowledge Exchange Office

Following the announcement by the Vice Chancellor in August 2011 that CRE would move from Finance & Commercial Services I am delighted today to formally launch the Research & Knowledge Exchange Office (R&KEO) with the remit of supporting all research and knowledge exchange (formally enterprise) activity at BU.

Under the new arrangements our existing research and knowledge exchange units will report directly to me forming a collection of discrete, but cognate elements.  Administrative support for the new R&KEO will be based in the Research Development Unit working in support of all the different teams. An overview of the status of each team is provided below.

Research Development Unit – This will continue to be led by Julie Northam and has been expanded to also include knowledge exchange development. Two new posts will be advertised later this month: a research development officer to focus specifically on research ethics, governance and conduct, and a commercialisation and KTP officer.

RKE Operations – Previously CRE Operations, this will continue to be led by Julia Taylor.  We are currently reviewing the R&KE processes and systems, with a view to improving the already excellent service delivered by this team over the next 3-6 months.

Business Engagement Unit – This is a new unit to be established as part of the HEIF-5 strategy.  We will soon advertise for a Business Engagement Leader, followed by four Business Engagement Consultants each related to the investment themes set out in the HEIF-5 Strategy.  It is hoped this team will be established from January 2012 and will work closely with the BU Foundation in developing BU as Knowledge Broker.

Graduate School – Professor Tiantian Zhang joins BU as the Head of the Graduate School in January 2012 when we will formally re-launch the Graduate School.  Until then Fiona Knight, and the School PGR administrators are keeping everything running smoothly.

DM Centre for Entrepreneurship – The CfE is led by Professor Dean Patton and has recently moved into the Business Engagement Centreof the 6th floor of the EBC and currently in the process of seeking potential tenants initially around the two specific themes as set out in the HEIF-5 Strategy, namely: (1) digital and creative; and (2) tourism & leisure.

You can access a structure diagram of the new R&KEO here: R&KEO structure diagram

I will ensure future developments with the R&KEO are announced regularly via the BU Research Blog.

Matthew Bennett

Interested in bio-based economy? Then you need to read this consultation summary!

The EC has published a summary of responses to the recent consultation on the bio-based economy in Europe. The consultation gathered views from stakeholders in advance of the upcoming EC Communication on the Bio-Based Economy (to be published in November) which will be the main EU strategy until 2020 for developing and promoting a sustainable bio-economy in Europe (and therefore influence funding!).

225 responses were received in response to the consultation, which contained 12 questions around potential benefits and risks of fostering a bio-based economy in the future, the current achievements and existing obstacles that hinder the functioning of the bio-based economy today; and future actions that will be necessary.

The responses indicated that the reduction of waste and pollution was the biggest potential benefit of a bio-based economy that could be achieved in the short term (by 2020). Strong consensus was gained on the possible achievements in the short term of the provision of agricultural advisory services and/or knowledge transfer systems to farmers, and on the increase in the use of bio-waste and other waste streams. There was major concern over the possible over-exploitation of natural resources and food security and only 27 % of all respondents thought research and innovation actions on the bio-based economy are effective both at EU and Member State levels. Respondents also claimed that insufficient links between decision-makers and stakeholders from the bio-based economy sectors is hindering the successful functioning of the bio-based economy, along with not enough links between policies, lack of long-term impact analysis in decision-making and insufficient provision of loans and venture capital and that lack of general public information and understanding of the sustainable bio-based economy is a concern.

You can read the full consultation document for yourself on the EC webpages.