Category / BU Challenges

Student numbers in the next decade

BU Challenges, BU2025, Fusion, Fusion themes, innovation, international, the conversation

In contrast to recent student numbers intake across the country FT has published an article stating that, undergraduate numbers will see a rise in England in the next decade. [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved].

Total numbers have a direct relation to several factors including but not limited to overseas students, and both financial and planning challenges faced by international students. Various geographical regions for example South and Southeast Asia are conventionally more leaning towards traditional degrees for example engineering and medicine. Particular interest in these degrees is stemmed by primary and secondary education systems, national skill gaps and more widely societal impacts. Despite, a brief decline in the numbers of international students a pattern in terms of various disciplines varies according to available data. In order to attract and sustain international student numbers core engineering and medical/ medicine degrees will remain significant centripetal force.

FT also reported that, this year universities will make a loss on each domestic student unless there is a change in fees policy [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved]. In addition, a more diverse repositioning in terms of educational provisions is needed, such as strategic priorities for engineering & technology degrees, innovation in delivery models and methods of gradually but completely decoupling from textbooks taught system to a more flexible intuitive, research informed and practice-based education in partnership with industry which is fit for solving real world impact bearing problems. In turn safeguarding graduates’ future, placing their learning experience at the heart of education-research interface to guarantee higher levels of employability and job satisfaction.

HEIs are also facing a challenge in terms of financial sustainability as reported, the sector is struggling to recruit the higher-paying foreign students it relies on to subsidise lossmaking domestic places [FT 07 April 24]. A two-pronged approach would be needed to address these challenges. Firstly, repositioning in terms of facilities and resources to introduce, apply and integrate more state-of-the-art modelling and simulation techniques for practice, practical and experimental elements of teaching in engineering and technology degrees and initiating a phased transition from dependency on conventional hardware tools e.g. expensive machines to realise releasing economies of scale. Secondly, more robust, simpler and well understood parallels and transitioning pathways between HEIs and primary to higher secondary education are needed.

FT added that, “At the same time, government spending on skills will be 23 per cent below 2009—10 levels, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank.” [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved]. Collaborating closely with industrial partners and stakeholders’ skills gaps can be strategically prioritised for medium to long term needs, and educational provisions would need reshaping to integrate with research portfolio, UNSDGs, socio-economic, environmental impacts and relevant REF Unit of Assessment (UoA).

FT reported that, “The apprenticeship levy introduced in 2017 has also failed to deliver the expected boost to training, according to London Economics.” [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved]. This is an important pathway for filling the skill shortages and also bridging the gap between theory and practice. A steady rise in flexible learning engineering degree students’ numbers, have been observed. These students are industry professionals who join these degrees at L5/6 level for a BEng/MEng flexible learning program. In addition to academic benefits these professionals achieve academic benchmark qualifications for professional registrations with professional institutions. This is one of the best available models to address skill shortages with a flexible high-quality delivery and academic provisions underpinned by research.

A stronger and broader engineering sector in collaboration with industry partners and professional institutions to develop futuristic engineering degrees to contribute to economic growth and its sustainability with an upward trajectory to address real concerns that, “tackling (of) the UK’s entrenched skills shortages and low economic productivity.” [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved] is important.

Telescopic Electrochemical Cell (TEC) for Non-Destructive Corrosion Testing of Coated Substrate. Patent number GB2018/053368

FT also mentioned in its latest article that, “Policymakers should also remove the cap on FE college places in order to “level up” education, (Lord Jo Johnson), added, providing more opportunities.” [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved]. This can be looked into within the context of above-mentioned points in terms of establishing more defined parallels between HEIs and from primary to higher secondary education. A rethink to consider schools’ post code model for HEIs entry will help in levelling up.

Keywords: education, numbers, overseas students, engineering, skills, industry, professions.

 

Zulfiqar A Khan

Professor of Design, Engineering & Computing

NanoCorr, Energy & Modelling Research Group Lead

Email: zkhan@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

New paper on Digital Nomads and Smart destination strategies, innovation and competitiveness for regional development

BU Challenges, BU research

New paper on Digital Nomads

Zhou, L., Buhalis, D., Fan, D., Ladkin, 2024, Attracting digital nomads: Smart destination strategies, innovation and competitiveness, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, Volume 31, March 2024, 100850, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2023.100850

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2023.100850

Highlights

Digital nomads are an attractive market segment for global destinations
Smart destinations cater for the work, leisure & lifestyle needs of digital nomads
Digital nomad destinations innovate at structural and agency levels
International, destination-based & institutional stakeholders involve in innovation
Digital nomad visa regimes reinforce the global north and global south divide
Destinations assertively portray digital nomads as a homogenous group

Abstract

Digital nomadism, as a new form of tourist mobility, brings opportunities and challenges for destination management. To attract this new market, smart destinations need to innovate to develop readiness and competitiveness. This research examines 225 digital nomad destination web articles, from multiple sources and different continents. The study aims to identify innovative strategies and practices using semantic content analysis and hierarchical network analysis. It explores relevant stakeholders and their importance, and pinpoints digital nomad trends. Findings suggest that smart destinations cater for the work, travel, social, financial and basic-living needs of digital nomads. These are different from those of short-term leisure and business tourists. Destinations tend to portray digital nomads as a homogenous group, although different segments have been identified. The long-term impacts of digital nomads on local economies and societies have yet to be fully explored. The theoretical significance of this study lies in the provision of an agency-structural perspective of destination innovation and competitiveness. Practically, the study contributes to digital nomad management and marketing within smart tourist destinations.

 

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis has recently published a new service robots research paper based on a global survey in the hospitality industry

BU Challenges, BU research

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis has recently published a new service robots research paper based on a global survey in the hospitality industry

Pizam, A., Ozturk, A.B., Hacikara, A., Zhang, T., Balderas-Cejudo, A., Buhalis, D., Fuchs, G., Hara, T., Vieira de Souza Meira, J., García Revilla, R., Sethi, D., Shen, Y. and State, O. (2024),

The role of perceived risk and information security on customers’ acceptance of service robots in the hotel industry, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol.117, 103641 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103641

Highlights

•Perceived risk negatively and information security positively impacted intention to use service ts.

•Self-efficacy negatively influenced perceived risk, and positively influenced perceived information security.

•Innovativeness and facilitating conditions were positively associated with information security.

 

ABSTRACT This study proposed and tested a theoretical framework that investigated the influences of perceived risk and information security on hotel customers’ intention to use service ts. In addition, the impacts of self-efficacy, innovativeness, and facilitating conditions on perceived risk and information security were examined. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed model by utilizing data collected from eleven countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Spain, Romania, Japan, Israel, India, Greece, Canada, and Brazil. The study results demonstrated that perceived risk had a negative impact on customers’ intention to use services ts while information security had a positive impact. In addition, the study results indicated that self-efficacy negatively influenced perceived risk, and positively influenced perceived information security; and innovativeness and facilitating conditions positively influenced information security. The study findings offer several important contributions to the hospitality tics technology adoption literature and present valuable implications for hospitality practitioners and service vendors.

IMIV MRI Research Project Scheme 2023 – 2nd call closing 1st Oct

BU Challenges, BU research, BU2025, nhs, NHS, Research Centres, Research news

Earlier this year, we were delighted to award 80 hours’ scanning time to a study examining the impact of cold water immersion on depression, under the IMIV MRI Research Scheme 2023.

The second call for applications for the Scheme is currently still open, but closes on 1st October.

Under the scheme, imaging research projects can apply for up to 100 hours of scanning time on the IMIV’s state-of-the-art 3T Siemens Lumina MRI scanner.

  • The focus of the scheme is on multi-disciplinary and cross-institutional projects, and priority will be given to projects with a clinical partnership.
  • All research projects must have a Bournemouth University researcher as lead or co-lead applicant.
  • Projects must be able to demonstrate how they will lead to peer-reviewed academic outputs and external funding applications for further MR imaging studies.

Please note: the award does not cover any additional expenses related to scanning, or other aspects of the project.

For further information and an application form, please email imiv@bournemouth.ac.uk.

IMIV MRI Research Project Scheme 2023 – Call Re-opens

BU Challenges, BU research, BU2025, nhs, NHS, Research Centres, Research news

The Institute of Medical Imaging and Visualisation (IMIV) has re-opened its call for applications for the IMIV MRI Research Project Scheme 2023.

Under the scheme, imaging research projects can apply for up to 100 hours of scanning time on the IMIV’s state-of-the-art 3T Siemens Lumina MRI scanner.

  • The focus of the scheme is on multi-disciplinary and cross-institutional projects, and priority will be given to projects with a clinical partnership.
  • All research projects must have a Bournemouth University researcher as lead or co-lead applicant.
  • Projects must be able to demonstrate how they will lead to peer-reviewed academic outputs and external funding applications for further MR imaging studies.

Please note: the award does not cover any additional expenses related to scanning, or other aspects of the project.

Deadline for applications: 1st October 2023. 

For further information and an application form, please email imiv@bournemouth.ac.uk.

IMIV MRI Research Project Scheme 2023

BU Challenges, BU research, BU2025, nhs, NHS, Research Centres, Research news

The Institute of Medical Imaging and Visualisation (IMIV) is pleased to announce the launch of the IMIV MRI Research Project Scheme 2023.

Under the scheme, two innovative MRI research projects will each be awarded up to 100 hours of scanning time on the IMIV’s state-of-the-art 3T Siemens Lumina MRI scanner.  Applications for the scheme are now open.

  • The focus of the scheme is on multi-disciplinary and cross-institutional projects, and priority will be given to projects with a clinical partnership.
  • All research projects must have a Bournemouth University researcher as lead or co-lead applicant.
  • Projects must be able to demonstrate how they will lead to peer-reviewed academic outputs and external funding applications for further MR imaging studies.
  • Up to 100 hours of scanning time will be awarded to up to 2 research projects. The award will not cover any additional expenses related to scanning, or other aspects of the project.
  • Projects will be expected to start in the 2023-24 academic year.

Applications close on Friday 7th July 2023. 

For further information and an application form, please email imiv@bournemouth.ac.uk

Post-Doctoral Researchers, Research Assistants, ECR’s, Research Fellows

BU Challenges, BU research, BU2025, ECR Network, Fusion, Impact, Knowledge Exchange, Research Centres, Research Concordat, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, research integrity, research methods, Research news, research staff, Research Supervision, Research Training, RKE development framework, Vitae, Women's Academic Network

Post-Doctoral Researchers, Research Assistants, ECR’s, Research Fellows. It’s the final day of the CEDARS survey and not many of you have completed the survey. We would particularly love to hear your thoughts/feedback.

Don’t miss the chance to influence policies and initiatives relating to research at BU. Please complete the BU Vitae CEDARS survey 2023 (Culture, Employment and Development in Academic Research survey)* today. The survey closes today Friday 21st April.

This is an important survey as it benchmarks BU against the rest of the sector. It will, therefore, help us to identify where we are excelling and where there is room for improvement.

Participating in this study will also influence policy. Your input will help us to understand where to focus our efforts and resources – it will give us the data to make the argument for you. (The results of the previous PIRLS and CROS surveys that CEDARS has replaced were used to develop new policies and initiatives, as well as training and development opportunities).

The CEDARS survey is for everyone who is research-active (whether on a full-time, part-time or part-time hourly paid contract). This includes researchers at all stages in your career, those who manage researchers, or are Principal Investigators, or contribute to research by providing professional services for researchers, (i.e. researcher developers, research officers or technical staff).

Your responses will be anonymous; you will not be identified or identifiable in any published results. It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete the survey. BU Vitae CEDARS survey 2023

If you have any questions regarding the survey, please email Rachel Arnold: rarnold@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Thank you, the Research Development and Support Team

*CEDARS is a national survey that explores the views and experiences of researchers and those supporting researchers across the UK. It is based on the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, which aims to create the best culture for researchers to thrive. This survey replaces the previous CROS and PIRLS surveys.

Please find more information here on the ‘Concordat to Support the Careers of Researchers’ and what BU is doing to support researchers.

Webinar “Future Innovations in Tourism Destination Management” Thursday 2nd March 2023, 21:00-22:30 London Time

BU Challenges, BU research

Join us on the Tourism Review webinar
Thursday 2nd March 2023, 15:00-16:30 CST / 21:00-22:30 London Time / March 3, 08:00-09:30 Sydney time

“Future Innovations in Tourism Destination Management”

The webinar will bring academics and practitioners to reflect, re-explore, and re-examine the concept of innovation in tourism
and explore how innovation could contribute to the future of tourism.

Zoom link: https://unt.zoom.us/j/85903345930
NO registration required.
Please join us and share with your colleagues and students!

Chairs
· Dimitrios Buhalis, Bournemouth University, UK
· Xi Leung, University of North Texas, USA
· Daisy Fan, Bournemouth University, UK

Panelists:
· Brian King, Texas A&M University – USA
· Eduardo Parra Lopez, Universidad de La Laguna – Spain
· Pauline Milwood, Penn State Berks – USA
· Pauline Sheldon, University of Hawaii – USA

SciVal training for ECRs and PGRs – 22 February 2023

BU Challenges, Business Engagement, PG research, Publishing

Bournemouth University’s staff and students have access to the research intelligence platform SciVal, a tool that provides access to research analytics data.

Join us in this upcoming online session, delivered by our dedicated SciVal Customer Consultant.

You will learn how to:

• Effectively identify the right body of literature for a review paper or thesis chapter beyond keyword searches.
• Summarise the amount of scientific activity in a certain field over time.
• Discover which corporates or other institutes do research in a certain field.

To find out more about how to sign up for this session, visit this link on the Staff Intranet –

https://staffintranet.bournemouth.ac.uk/workingatbu/staffdevelopmentandengagement/fusiondevelopment/fusionprogrammesandevents/rkedevelopmentframework/careers/scivalforecrsandpgrs/

If you do not have access to the Staff Intranet, you can access the booking form directly via the link below –

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=VZbi7ZfQ5EK7tfONQn-_uHL-6XoUudlNkJOS948yf5NUNEUyMUJSWUVUR1ZRWUNEVjhVT0lIS01QVyQlQCN0PWcu

Metaverse towards immersive internet-research by Professor Dimitrios Buhalis

BU Challenges, BU research

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis has been developing research on Metaverse and has published a range of high-impact journal articles with colleagues around the world. Look forward to collaborate with Bournemouth University colleagues to develop this critical area.

Buhalis, D., Leung, D., Lin, M., 2023, Metaverse as a Disruptive Technology Revolutionising, Tourism Management and Marketing, Tourism Management, Accepted – forthcoming https://www.academia.edu/94737378/

Buhalis, D., Lin, M., Leung, D., 2023, Metaverse as a driver for hospitality customer experience and value co-creation: implications for hotel and tourism management and marketing” International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol.35, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2022-0631

Koohang, A, Nord, J, Ooi, K, Tan, G, Al-Emran, M, Aw, E, Baabdullah, A, Buhalis, D, Cham, T, Dennis, C, Dutot, V, Dwivedi, Y, Hughes, L, Mogaji, E., Pandey, N, Phau, I, Raman, R, Sharma, A, Sigala, M, Ueno, A and Wong, L (2023) Shaping the metaverse into reality: multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges, and future research. Journal of Computer Information Systems. ISSN 0887-4417 https://www.academia.edu/94457087

Dwivedi, Y., Hughes, L., Wang, Y., Alalwan, A.A., Ahn, S., Balakrishnan, J., Barta, S., Belk, R., Buhalis, D., Dutot, V., Felix, R., Filieri, R., Flavián, C., Gustafsson, A., Hinsch, C., Hollensen, S., Jain, V., Kim, J., Krishen, A., Lartey, J., Pandey, N., Ribeiro-Navarrete, S., Raman, R., Rauschnabel, P., Sharma, A., Sigala, M., Veloutsou, C., Wirtz, J.,, 2023, How metaverse will change the future of marketing: Implications for Research and Practice, Psychology and Marketing,  http://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21767

Dwivedi, Y., Hughes, L., Baabdullah, A., Ribeiro-Navarrete, S., Giannakis, M., Al-Debei, M, Dennehy, D., Metri, B., Buhalis, D., Cheung, C., Conboy, K, Doyle, R., Goyal, D.P, Gustafsson, A., Jebabli, I., Young-Gab Kim, Kim, J., Koos; S., Kreps, D., Kshetri, Kumar, V., Oui, K., Papagiannidis, S., Pappas, I., Polyviou, A., Park, S., Pandey, N., Queiroza, M., Raman, R., Rauschnabel, R., Shirish, A., Sigala, M., Spanaki, K., Wei-Han Tana, G., Tiwari, M., Viglia, G., Fosso Wamba, 2023, Metaverse beyond the hype: Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy  International Journal of Information Management, Vol.66, October 2022, 102542 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2022.102542

Buhalis D., Karatay N. (2022) Mixed Reality (MR) for Generation Z in Cultural Heritage Tourism Towards Metaverse. In: Stienmetz J.L., Ferrer-Rosell B., Massimo D. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2022. ENTER 2022. Springer, Cham. pp. 16–27, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94751-4_2

 

ADDISONIC Lab Now Up and Running!

Awarded & submitted bids, BU Challenges, BU2025, Industry collaboration, innovation, international, Research Centres, research opportunities, Strategic Investment Areas

The ADDISONIC, a lab in Poole House 2nd floor with the capacity for fatigue-accelerated testing of materials at Bournemouth University, is now up and running. We are now looking for research collaboration opportunities, so if you know anyone in the industry who requires help in this exciting new field or you are interested in developing the many research aspects in this area, please get in touch with us. We would be delighted if you could share your thoughts (and problems!) with us so that we can explore ways for future collaboration.

Please watch this exciting video that Mambo Media produced at: ADDISONIC – finding new ways of fatigue testing materials – YouTube

If you want to learn more, you can also check the ADDISONIC webpage.

Finally, please see here our latest publication here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prostr.2022.12.155.

 

Any questions? Please contact me on dmontalvao@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

I am looking forward to hearing from you soon. 🙂

 

Value propositions during service mega-disruptions: Exploring value co-creation and value co-destruction in service recovery.

BU Challenges, BU research

New Research Publication

Assiouras, I., Vallström, N., Skourtis, G., & Buhalis, D. (2023). Value propositions during service mega-disruptions: Exploring value co-creation and value co-destruction in service recovery. Annals of Tourism Research, 97, 103501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2022.103501 

Abstract

This paper explores value co-creation and co-destruction by focusing on the role of value propositions, practices, and institutions in the tourism ecosystem during COVID-19. Customers that had experienced travel cancellations were interviewed. The findings indicate that during service mega-disruptions, customers re-evaluate resources and value propositions by prioritizing eudemonic well-being, demonstrating at the same time sympathy for the tourism firms’ well-being. However, consumers expect reciprocity, honesty, transparency, and flexibility from tourism firms. The service mega-disruption of COVID-19 provoked a misalignment of practices and routines that led to value co-destruction. This paper proposes that value co-creation can be achieved during a service mega-disruption when actors demonstrate more altruism, solidarity, and shared intentions to maximize or protect the well-being of the ecosystem’s actors.