Category / BU Challenges

Dr Eliza Watt’s Contribution to the UN GGE 2015 Norms Proposal

BU Challenges, Fusion themes, REF Subjects

Dr Eliza Watt Commended on Her Excellent Contribution to the Commentary on the UN Group of Government Experts 2015 cyber norms proposal coordinated by Leiden University’s Hague Programme for Cyber Norms

In response to rapidly emerging threats and risks relating to state behaviour in cyberspace the United Nations Group of Government Experts (UN GGE) issued in 2015 a list of recommendations of responsible state behaviour. Three years later, Leiden University’s Hague Program for Cyber Norms successfully concluded its commentary project on these recommendations, titled ‘Civil Society and Disarmament 2017: Voluntary, Non-Legally Binding Norms for Responsible State Behaviour in the Use of Information and Communication Technologies: A Commentary’ (the Commentary).

Dr Eliza Watt, a Bournemouth University law lecturer and researcher at the Centre for Conflict, Rule of Law and Society (CRoLS), was invited to take part in the consultation process and to contribute to the commentary on UN GGE 2015 Recommendation 13(e). The Recommendation calls upon states to guarantee full respect for human rights ensuring the secure use of ICTs. Dr Watt made a valid contribution to the Commentary, including the analysis of the scope of application of human rights treaties in cyberspace, in particular the extraterritorial obligations of states under these treaties and the extent of states’ obligations when conducting cyber surveillance activities. She has also provided a synthesis on the proposal by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) regarding its multilateral ‘non-spy’ treaty put forward in 2015. In addition, Dr Watt also recognized the need for a clear definition and distinction being made in law between cyber surveillance and cyber espionage. Her other contributions related to the issues of data protection, focusing on the CoE  2001 Additional Protocol  to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data regarding supervisory authorities and transborder data flows. Her recommendation in this context related to the CoE Draft Modernized Convention on the Automatic Processing of Personal Data published in 2016 as representing perhaps the only prospect for a universal standard in the field of data privacy.

Dr Watt has been commended for her ‘excellent contribution to the Commentary’ by one of its co-authors, Dr Barrie Sander of Leiden University.

Innovate UK funding – precision medicine technologies

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Transfer

Image from insidermonkey.com

Innovate UK will invest up to £5 million in innovation projects to support the development of precision medicine (PM) technologies.

Applications can be for either feasibility study projects or industrial research and experimental development projects, although projects may have work packages in different research categories if necessary.

You must explain clearly how your proposed technology will advance precision medicine.

All projects must involve at least one UK based business.

Feasibility study projects must be led by a UK based business either:

  • working alone or
  • working with other businesses or research organisations

Research and development projects must:

  • be collaborative and led by a UK based business of any size or research and technology organisation (RTO)
  • include at least one other grant-claiming organisation, such as an NHS organisation, another healthcare provider, a business, a Catapult or other research technology organisation, a research base or a third-sector organisation

Please see below a summary of this funding opportunity:

Funding type : Grant

Project size : Feasibility study projects – up to £100,000/ Industrial research and experimental development – up to £2 million

Project dates : 1 November 2018 and up to 24 months 

Deadline : 11 July 2018, 12noon

Please see this link for more information on how to apply.

Innovate UK funding – commercialising quantum devices

BU Challenges, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Transfer

Image from warontherocks.com

Innovate UK will invest £20 million in innovation projects to develop prototype quantum technology devices that address one or more of these important industrial challenges which are explained further in the scope of this competition:

  1. Situational awareness.
  2. Infrastructure productivity.
  3. Seeing the invisible.
  4. Trusted peer to peer communication

Your proposal must:

  • demonstrate how the device can be brought to market, with manufacture or assembly in the UK
  • fulfil an end user need through the technological advances in quantum technology

A business must lead the project. You must work in collaboration with others.

Please see below a summary of this funding opportunity:

Funding type : Grant

Project size : Between £3 million and £10 million

Project dates : 1 November 2018 and up to 29 months (must be completed by March 2021)

Deadline : 13 June 2018, 12noon

Please see this link for more information on how to apply.

Innovate UK Funding available – robotics and AI (ISCF)

BU Challenges, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Transfer

Image from timeout.com

Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £15 million from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) in business led collaborations to develop robotic and artificial intelligence systems that remove humans from infrastructure inspection, maintenance and repair in extreme environments.

The Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network is inviting businesses to one of three briefing events in Glasgow, Manchester and London to learn more about this £15m competition which includes a 5-day residential workshop to develop collaborative proposals for R&D projects.

To sign up for the briefing events, please click on the links below:

Glasgow, 23rd May

Manchester, 24th May

London, 4th June

For more information about this funding opportunity, please visit this link.

BU’s Acorn Fund for ECRs – just over a week to the closing date

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, Fusion Investment Fund

Will you be applying to the Acorn Fund (Acceleration Of Research & Networking) for Early Career Researchers?

This new scheme will provide c. five awards, of up to £5,000 each, to support BU’s ECRs, with the most promising talent, to gain experience of managing and leading their own pilot research projects. These award support BU’s commitment to the Concordat to Support to Career Development of Researchers and is made possible by the BU Fusion Investment Fund

There will be a strong link to the new ECR Network and the ECR Showcase event, also being launched in 2018. In this way, those who do not benefit directly from the Acorn funds scheme by receiving funding, will benefit indirectly though interaction with those ECRs who receive support via the scheme.

For eligibility, an ECR in this case is defined as someone who started their research career on or after 1 August 2013. This is the point at which they held a contract of employment of 0.2 FTE or greater, which included a primary employment function of undertaking ‘research’ or ‘teaching and research’, with any HE or other organisation, whether in the UK or overseas. 

To assist with the budget section, please refer to the RKE Sample Costs, within the Research > Pre-award area on the staff intranet.

Find out more and apply.

The closing date for applications is 18th April 2018. As these require faculty support, start your application and obtain faculty approval as soon as possible. Applicants are responsible for obtaining an electronic faculty signature and for submitting the application to the email below.

Please address any queries to RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Acorn Fund Launch – Internal funds for ECRs

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, Fusion Investment Fund

The Research and Knowledge Exchange Office is pleased to announce the launch of the Acorn Fund (Acceleration Of Research & Networking) for Early Career Researchers.

This new scheme will provide c. five awards, of up to £5,000 each, to support BU’s ECRs, with the most promising talent, to gain experience of managing and leading their own pilot research projects. These award support BU’s commitment to the Concordat to Support to Career Development of Researchers and is made possible by the BU Fusion Investment Fund

There will be a strong link to the new ECR Network and the ECR Showcase event, also being launched in 2018. In this way, those who do not benefit directly from the Acorn funds scheme by receiving funding, will benefit indirectly though interaction with those ECRs who receive support via the scheme.

An ECR, for the purpose of this scheme is the REF definition modified to: an ECR in this case is defined as someone who started their research career on or after 1 August 2013. This is the point at which they held a contract of employment of 0.2 FTE or greater, which included a primary employment function of undertaking ‘research’ or ‘teaching and research’, with any HE or other organisation, whether in the UK or overseas

Find out more and apply. The closing date for applications is 18th April 2018. As these require faculty support, start your application and obtain faculty approval as soon as possible.

To assist with the budget section, please refer to the RKE Sample Costs, within the Research > Pre-award area on the staff intranet.

Please address any queries to RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Industrial Challenges STEAMLab on 11/4/18 – New speakers confirmed

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, innovation

On Wednesday, 11th April 2018, BU’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Office will be facilitating a STEAMLab event on the Industrial Challenges.

External Speakers include: 

Jayne Codling of the Enterprise Europe Network

Dr. Herbert Daly, IBM Champion, University of Wolverhampton

with other speakers to be confirmed.

What will happen…?

We’re seeking to come up with novel research that could form part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy.

So, who should attend?

We want anyone who thinks they might have something to contribute, and who is available all day on Wednesday 11th April to come along. We will also be inviting relevant external attendees to contribute to the day.  We welcome academics, NGO/business/government representatives who wish to contribute to having a positive impact through addressing Industrial Challenges.

What do I need to prepare in advance? What will the sandpit entail?

Absolutely nothing in advance. During the STEAMLab, you’ll be guided through a process which results in the development of research ideas. The process facilitates creativity, potentially leading to innovative and interdisciplinary research ideas. These ideas will be explored with other attendees, and further developed based on the feedback received.

What if I don’t have time to think about ideas in advance?

You don’t need to do this. Some inspiring speakers with a range of backgrounds will be coming along to give you ideas…

What about afterwards? Do I need to go away and do loads of work?

Well… that depends! The STEAMLab will result in some novel research ideas. Some of these may be progressed immediately; others might need more time to think about. You may find common ground with other attendees which you choose to take forward in other ways, such as writing a paper or applying for research funding.  Support will be available to progress project ideas after the day.

What if my topic area is really specific, such as health?

Your contribution will be very welcome! One of the main benefits of a STEAMlab event is to bring together individuals with a range of backgrounds and specialisms who are able to see things just that bit differently to one another.

So, is this just networking?

Definitely not! It is a facilitated session with the primary intention of developing innovative research ideas, which also enables the development of networks. It gives you the opportunity to explore research ideas which you may develop over time, together with the chance to find common ground with academics from across BU and beyond.

So, how do I book onto this event?

To take part in this exciting opportunity, all participants  should complete Eventbrite form here and return this to RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk by Friday, 6th April. Places are strictly limited and you will be be contacted to confirm a place place on the STEAMLab with arrangements nearer the time.  The event will be held in Bournemouth at the Executive Business Centre.

By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event on 11th April (c. 9:30 – 16:30). Spaces will be confirmed from 28/3/18.

If you have any queries prior to submitting your application, please contact Ehren Milner, RKEO Research Facilitator.

 

Catapult Researchers in Residence Programme

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

The Catapult centres are a network of world-leading centres designed to help transform the UK’s capability for innovation in specific areas and drive future economic growth. To find out more, please visit this link.

To encourage increase in the connections between the UK research base and the Catapults, RCUK is supporting the development of new collaborations through research visits/ residencies for university (and other eligible research organisations) academics to spend time embedded within the Catapult teams through the Catapult Researchers in Residence (RiR) Awards. Please see a summary below of what this scheme offers:

Aims:

  • Accelerate the impact of RC-funded research
  • Increase knowledge exchange and co-creation between academia and Catapult centres
  • Develop new collaborations between academia and Catapult centres
  • Expand the capabilities and knowledge of the Catapults
  • Nurturing talents and skills development of researchers and Catapult staff
  • Create a cohort of RiRs able to share their experiences with a wider network of academics.

Funding:

  • value of up to £50k (100% FEC); flexibly spread between one and four years.
  • Funding awarded directly to the host university and not the Catapult.
  • Funding to cover the salary costs for the visit of each RiR, travel and subsistence costs, and any consumables used at the Catapult.

Timeline:

The programme will run until March 2023, with two RiRs announcements of opportunity each year, with the last RiR opportunity announced in January 2019. 

Current closing deadline is 23 March 2018; 5pm.

Eligibility:

  • applicants must be employees of eligible organisation; must be resident in the UK
  • EPSRC eligibility criteria apply

Please visit this link for more information on how to apply or speak to your Funding Development Officers.

Funding opportunity – UKRI Centres for Doctoral Training in artificial intelligence

BU Challenges

The UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is currently inviting outline proposals for new Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) to develop the UK’s skills in artificial intelligence (AI).Funding to support 10-20 CDTs focused on areas relevant to AI across UKRI’s remit is available through this call.

Please visit this website for more information – http://www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/available/postgrad/focused/cdt/ukri-2018/

Closing date (outline proposals): 16:00 on 28 March 2018

Closing date (full proposals): TBC

Multi-million pound funding opportunities from Innovate UK

BU Challenges, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation

 

 

Innovate UK has millions of pounds to invest in innovative UK businesses up to April 2018. Please see an overview below:

Emerging and enabling technologies and health and life sciences

Up to £19 million will be invested to support productivity and cutting-edge innovation across these 2 industry sectors.

Find out more about this competition.

Open programme

A share of up to £19 million will be available for game-changing or disruptive innovations that have the potential to impact the UK economy.

Projects may come from an Innovate UK industry sector – emerging and enabling technologies, health and life sciences, infrastructure systems and manufacturing and materials – or be outside of them.

Biomedical catalyst

This first biomedical catalyst competition of 2018 will offer up to £12million to SMEs working on projects solving healthcare challenges and these include:

  • disease prevention and proactive management of health and chronic conditions
  • earlier and better detection and diagnosis of disease, leading to better patient outcomes
  • tailored treatments that either change the underlying disease or offer potential cures

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: Faraday Battery Challenge

The Faraday Battery Challenge supports the design, development and manufacture of batteries for the electrification of vehicles as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Find out more about this competition.

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: robotics

Up to £20 million will be available in this competition. It is being funded as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund for robotics and artificial intelligence in extreme environments.

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: medicines manufacturing

Innovate UK is investing up to £10 million in innovation projects in medicines manufacturing through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Collaborative research and development projects with focus on the technical and commercial challenges of manufacturing new medicines are sought.

New opportunities will be published on the Innovation Funding Service as and when they are available. Search for funding.

Sign up for Innovate UK’s newsletter or email alerts to get the latest news and funding competitions.

RKEDF Event – Intellectual Property considerations when approaching industry to undertake a research collaboration

BU Challenges, Training

This workshop will cover what should be considered about Intellectual Property (IP) when establishing links with industry for research purposes.  Included in the conversation will be background IP, protecting work by copyright and techniques and available tools for sharing future (foreground) IP that may result from research.  A pragmatic view will be presented and informal advice will be offered to attendees.

The intended learning outcomes of this session are:

  • Attendees will learn more about IP and why it is important
  • Attendees will learn methods to engage with industry in relation to IP
  • Attendees will gain insight into the implications of not having formalised agreements in place
Title Date Time Location
Intellectual Property considerations… Wednesday 31st January 2018 12.00 – 13.00 Talbot Campus

To book a place on this event please click here. If you wish to find out more about this event, do get in touch with Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk).

RKEDF Event – Engaging with a business audience

BU Challenges

This one-day workshop aims to equip you with the necessary skills to be proficient and confident at networking.  We will introduce you to various toolkits to gain a better understanding of working in partnership with businesses

Key learning outcomes are:

  • communicating to a business audience
  • being confident at networking
Title Date Time Location
Engaging with a business audience Thursday 25th January 2018 9.00 – 16.00 External Venue

To book a place on this event please click here. If you wish to find out more about this event, do get in touch with Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk).

RKEDF Event – Commissioned research for impact

BU Challenges

This workshop will cover the merits of working with business. Attendees will learn the small details that need to be considered in order to turn working with business into research that can lead to major impacts.

The intended learning outcomes of this session are:

  • Attendees will learn why working with industry can have a major impacts
Title Date Time Location
Commissioned research for impact Monday 22nd  January 2018 14.00 – 16.00  TBC

To book a place on this event please click here. If you wish to find out more about this event, do get in touch with Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk).

RKEDF Event – Meeting the Industrial Challenges

BU Challenges

It’s still not too late to sign up for the ‘Meeting the Industrial Challenges’ event as part of the RKEDF.

This session will detail what we’ve learned about preparing projects in relation to meeting the UK governments Industrial Challenges.  While specifically addressing the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, other avenues will also be explored covering how academia and industry can work together.

The intended learning outcomes of this session are:

  • Attendees will learn about the latest Industrial Challenge related schemes
  • Attendees will learn the which partners are eligible for specific funding calls
  • Attendees will gain insight into what has been learnt prior ISCF applications
Title Date Time Location
Meeting the Industrial Challenges Monday 8th January 2018 13.00 – 14.00 Talbot Campus

To book a place on this event please click here. If you wish to find out more, please do get in touch with Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk).

Funding opportunities : Industrial Collaboration

BU Challenges, innovation

IF you currently have a good working relationship with an industry partner and you are seeking funding opportunities for future/further collaborations, you and your industry partner might find the funding opportunities below useful. Please note that some of these will require working with industry with some of the funders specifically targeting the industry partner as the lead.

Food Innovation Network innovation vouchers

Innovate UK, GB

This new fund is aimed at helping support small businesses with a bright idea to develop their concepts in partnership with researchers or academic institutions. These support small food and drink business innovators with an idea to develop their concepts in partnership with researchers or academic institutions. The competition, run on behalf of Defra by the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), will support projects of three to six months.

Maximum award: £5,000

Closing date: 12 Jan 18

Industrial fuel switching market engagement study

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, GB

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is calling for tenders for its industrial fuel switching market engagement study. The tenderer will focus on the potential for low carbon fuel switching across industry, identifying a range of potential technologies that through fuel switching can reduce the carbon intensity of industry and should include a review of the existing evidence, starting with the 2050 Roadmaps; identifying the types of process technologies that require a fuel (energy) and determine the potential for fuel substitution to a low carbon fuel; develop a list of technologies with future market potential and support the technology developers in detailing the potential carbon saving.

 

The contract is worth £200,000.

Maximum award: £200,000

Closing date: 12 Jan 18

 

Preparatory action – digital transformation of European industry

Digital Single Market, EU

The European Commission is launching a Call for proposals for a preparatory action in the field of digital transformation of European industry for a maximum amount of €1.494.000

The European Commission is launching a Call for proposals for a preparatory action in the field of digital transformation of European industry for a maximum amount of €1.494.000

The aim of the preparatory action is to develop a coherent, coordinated and sustainable approach to enhance the engagement of all relevant stakeholders interested in the digitisation of European industry (business, academia, research organisations and civil society) and to inform, prepare and help them develop projects designed to face the new transformations.

Maximum award: €1,494,000

Closing date: 31 Jan 18

Please do get in touch with Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk) at RKEO for further queries.