Following the government’s ratification of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 1984 the first clutch of sites in the UK were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986. These comprised: the Castle and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd; Durham Castle and Cathedral; Ironbridge Gorge; Stonehenge and Avebury and associated sites; Studley Royal Park including the remains of Fountains Abbey; the Giant’s Causeway; and St Kilda. Celebrations are planned at many of these sites; that for Stonehenge and Avebury includes an international conference looking at how understandings of these iconic prehistoric monuments and their landscapes have changed over the last 30 years. It will be held in the Corn Exchange in Devizes, Wiltshire, on Saturday 19 November 2016, and contributions include a lecture by BU’s Professor Timothy Darvill entitled ‘Stonehenge: Beyond rock and roll’.
Category / REF Subjects
ESRC Festival of Social Sciences
Dr John Oliver, from the Advances in Media Management research cluster, recently delivered a keynote lecture at the Open Innovation Design Jam competition at the University of Glasgow. The event formed part of the ESRC’s Festival of Social Science programme of activities that ran from 5th-12th November across the UK.
The Design Jam also involved a number of short, intensive brainstorming sessions in which teams developed innovative solutions to challenges. This event was an opportunity for innovators and businesses to explore open, collective and user-led innovation.
Dr Oliver’s talk on media innovation strategies presented empirical data on how the innovation practices of UK media firms had transformed firm capabilities and corporate financial performance.
Midwifery Graduation: Honours & Awards
Alongside Bournemouth University’s midwifery and other health and social care students who graduated in last Friday’s ceremony, BU honoured prominent midwife Sheena Byrom OBE with an Honorary Doctorate for her services to the profession. Sheena Byrom gave an inspiring speech at Friday’s Graduation. Sheena said, “If they can keep in their hearts the passion and the drive they had when they first came to the university, it will help them to be more resilient and keep them motivated towards what they want to do. Healthcare is a blend between love and science and both are equally important. In practice, it is key that they have the skills, but the things that makes the difference are love and compassion.”
Alongside Sheena two students from the Centre of Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health(CMMPH) graduated with a PhD in Midwifery. Dr. Alison Taylor received her PhD for her qualitative research on breastfeeding. Her thesis is entitled ‘It’s a relief to talk ….’: Mothers’ experiences of breastfeeding recorded on video diaries. Dr. Rachel Arnold was awarded her PhD for her research Afghan women and the culture of care in a Kabul maternity hospital.
Congratulations to all BU undergraduates and Rachel, Alison and Sheena!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
1st International Military Law Conference in South Africa – BU Research receives global attention
Associate Professor in International Law (BU) and War Studies (FHS) Sascha Dov Bachmann just returned from Johannesburg where he presented on Hybrid War and Lawfare at the 1st International Military Law Conference in South Africa. A great experience and and from a media point of view as well as from a BU research point of view the conference and its coverage in the regional African and international media were a full success.
The reference below is taken from the official SA Government Media release and was taken up by various media sites inside the African Union and abroad: the UK, US, Ghana,Kenya, Sudan, NZ etc and reads as follows:
“The rest of the first day (under the sub-theme International Military Law) unpacked issues relating to the permissible and legal use of armed force by States, and the legal rules governing soldiers during such armed conflicts. Professor Sascha-Dominik Bachmann of Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom presented a paper setting out the implications of so-called “hybrid war” and the offensive and defensive use of “lawfare” (the use of litigation for political purposes aimed at impacting a State’s military operations). ”
defenceWeb – Africa’s leading defence news portal summarizes the objectives of the conference as:
The conference theme of “contemporary military law” was explored with sub-themes relating to international military law, human rights law, operational law and administration of military justice.
The objectives of the conference – to raise public awareness of the importance of military law in a democracy and to stimulate interest in academic research in this specialised field of public law to strengthen the development of South African military law – were successfully met with a number of international and local academics and military professionals presenting research papers, according to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
The conference was officially opened by SA National Defence Force Chief, General Solly Shoke. In his opening address he welcomed the opportunity provided by the conference for South African military lawyers to benchmark local approaches with that of other armed forces. He also expressed the wish for the conference to provide a basis for evaluating whether any amendments to military and other legislation may be necessary to empower commanders to instil and maintain military discipline.
14:Live with Dr Ashley Woodfall
Do you want to get creative for an hour? Do you have an interest in creative research methods?
14:Live is back on Thursday 17 November with Dr Ashley Woodfall.
Join us as we get creative and discuss Mess and Mayhem: Creative/Reflective Methods at Play. This mess and discussion led session will be a space to discuss the use (and abuse) of creative research methods. How can they help trigger meaningful research interactions, and how the outcomes might be understood?
This session will be exploring research in a creative environment from drawing, to molding, to improv’ and beyond. We ask if creative reflective methods can share something of your own life world and whether these methods can help unlock metaphorical insights that are missed through more traditional approaches.
Come along on at 14:00-15:00 on Floor 5 of the Student Centre for an hour of mess and mayhem. There will be free drinks and snacks!
If you have any questions then please contact Hannah Jones
Islam and Social Work: Culturally sensitive practice in a diverse world
The complexities of multiculturalism as a social ontology and as a political discourse have taken a rapid and alarming turn to the right in a political moment of increasing social turbulence on issues that revolve around national identity, ethnicity and religion. It is therefore timely, if regrettably so, that the second edition of Islam and Social Work makes its debut this month.
The first volume went to press in 2008, in my first year at BU, and my co-authors and I were overwhelmed when the book was showered with positive reviews. Regarded as not only the best, but the sole European text on this conspicuously important topic, it was also viewed as having no counterpart in the Global North (where the subject of social work and minority ethnic groups has been a dominant theme in the social work literature for decades). Since then it has been regularly cited and I been privileged to have anonymously reviewed dozens of papers on Islamic interpretations of social work practice. I have learned that Western social work is no longer the epicentre of practice – there are other worlds out there. I feel that this earlier book was, if nothing else, pivotal to opening the door much wider to be able to hear from our Muslim social work colleagues around the world, whose practice can challenge the restrictive, bureaucratised and therefore often inhuman professional processes in the UK
Strangely, however, over the years, despite the world having changed so very much since in terms of the shifting geo-political axes of power, the rise and fall of despotic regimes, the call for accountability of Western leaders implicated in invasion of Gulf nations, the Arab Spring, global terrorism, Al-Qaeda and later the monstrous birth of imploding Daesh – no one has produced a text to supersede the old first edition. And so, reader, we, Fatima Husain, Basia Spalek and I decided to produce the 2nd edition, which has been fully revised and updated, rewritten virtually from scratch, and I believe we have produced a book that is specific in detail, expansive in scope and completely international in outlook.
We hope that this will be a text that is the first port of call for all social work students across the globe who are interested in learning more about competent and sensitive practice with Muslim service user and client groups across the lifespan, as well as discovering the many beauties and wise profundities that are embedded, but often overlooked, in the youngest of the Abrahamic religions, Islam.
Professor Sara Ashencaen Crabtree
Professor of Social & Cultural Diversity
Beatriz Arrizabalaga – Returning to BU this summer
This summer I visited the Faculty of Media and Communication (Bournemouth University) as a Visiting Scholar for the second time for a period of three weeks (July-August 2016) to continue the research on Language, Communication and the Mass Media that I had started in 2015. During my second research stay at BU, I conducted research on the topics listed below:
- English as the global language: namely, its distinguishing features and its influence in other languages (mainly Spanish);
- The phenomena of culture and identity (heterogeneity vs. homogeneity);
- Transnational relationships;
- The specific language of different media spaces (mainly, advertising).
What I have learnt in these two research stays at BU forms the basis for the research project entitled Lenguaje y medios de comunicación: relaciones interlingüísticas e interculturales ingles-español (Reference: FFI2016-74858-P) (Language and the Mass Media: English-Spanish interlinguistic and intercultural relationships), for which I have applied for funding from the Spanish Ministry for Education and Innovation. Dr. Bronwen Thomas, Associate Professor at BU, will take an important part in the project, if approved and granted, thus helping to establish some institutional links between the University of Bournemouth and the University of Huelva.
Apart from the aforementioned research project, I am working at the moment on a scientific paper which analyses Spanish advertising, a particular means of communication almost completely unknown to me before my two stays in Bournemouth. My paper will have a special emphasis on the influence English advertising has – graphically, socially and linguistically.
Since the Sir Michael Cobham Library is an amazing source of a vast and rich number of bibliographical references related to the topics I am interested in, I hope to return to BU next summer to continue my research. Furthermore, I would take advantage of this third stay to get in touch with some other members of the Faculty of Media and Communication who might be interested in participating in my research project. Anyone who is interested can contact me at arrizaba@dfing.uhu.e
Brick-henge at the Jewell Academy, Bournemouth
Pupils at the Jewell Academy in Bournemouth have built a scale-model of Stonehenge in the school grounds using 80 house-bricks. The work was as part of an outreach visit by Professor Tim Darvill from the Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science to introduce young scholars to the results of recent research at Stonehenge. Orientated on the mid-winter sunset the model should survive long enough to help celebrate the end of term and the start of the winter festival in six weeks time!
BU excavations at Cotswold long barrow reported in Current Archaeology
Current Archaeology, the UK’s best-selling archaeological magazine, features news of BU’s discovery of a previously unrecorded Neolithic long barrow in the Cotswolds in its December issue that goes on sale today. The excavations, directed by Professor Tim Darvill and Dr Martin Smith from the Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science, revealed a large stone-built mound dating to around 3800 BC. Such mounds served as territorial markers as well as burial places for communities living in the area. The work forms part of a larger study looking at the history and development of the Cotswold landscape since prehistoric times and includes collaboration with staff from the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin.
Royal Academy of Engineering – SME Leaders Programme
Are you working with engineering companies that would be interested in this funding opportunity?
Why not send them this information in order that they can consider making an application ?
The Royal Academy of Engineering, sponsored through the Enterprise Hub, invites applications for its small- and medium-sized enterprises leaders programme. This supports promising leaders of high growth engineering SMEs. Recipients receive a grant of between £10,000 to £15,000 towards the cost of training courses and executive education for themselves.
This scheme is open for applications by SMEs until 4pm on 24 November 2016. For further details on the scheme click on this link.
Helping Nepal to establish its midwifery profession
The international journal Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (Elsevier publication) published the online first version of our latest maternity-care research paper on Nepal [1]. This paper is part of the successfully completed PhD research project of Malin Bogren (first author). The paper uses a qualitative approach based on the framework of Complex Adaptive Systems. Malin conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 key people representing eight different organisations (actors) promoting the development of the midwifery profession in Nepal. The move of midwifery from an occupation to a profession in Nepal is a challenging process. The study indicates the importance of understanding the motivations of, and barriers perceived by, actors that can promote or obstruct the establishment of the midwifery profession. It also points to the importance of informing the wider public about the role and responsibility of an autonomous midwifery profession.
The paper adds to our previous work around midwifery in Nepal [2-3].
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
References:
- Bogren, M.U., Berg, M., Edgren, L., van Teijlingen, E., Wigert, H. (forthcoming) Shaping the midwifery profession in Nepal – Uncovering actors’ connections using a Complex Adaptive Systems framework. published online: October 4, 2016
- Bogren M, van Teijlingen E., Berg M. (2013) Where midwives are not yet recognized: A feasibility study of professional midwives in Nepal, Midwifery 29(10): 1103-1109.
- Bogren, M.U., Bajracharya, K., Berg, M., Erlandsson, K., Ireland, J., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2013) Nepal needs midwifery, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (JMMIHS) 1(2): 41-44.
Stern review of the REF – what next?
The Stern review of the REF was published in July 2016. The government have accepted the main recommendations, and we are expecting in November a HEFCE technical consultation on implementation – to affect the next REF exercise (probably in 2021). It is expected that the new arrangements will be settled by the summer of 2017.
So what did Stern recommend – and what is likely to be in the consultation?
- The main thing that Stern might have done, but did not do – following widespread concern in the sector – was move to a metrics-based approach for the REF. Peer review and case studies will remain and there will be an opportunity to celebrate success wherever it is found in the REF – not a metrics based ranking. There may be new metrics, and a new Forum for Responsible Research Metrics has been launched, but the key is that these metrics should be used responsibly and carefully.
- All research active staff should be returned in the REF (and allocated to a unit of assessment).
- Outputs should be submitted at Unit of Assessment level with a set average number per FTE, but with flexibility for some faculty members to submit more and others less than the average. A total cap should be set based upon two outputs on average per FTE with an individual cap (e.g. six) and a minimum per FTE (potentially 0).
There has been some concern expressed about these changes – Maddalaine Ansell (University Alliance) via Wonkhe and James Wilsdon in The Guardian, 29th July 2016. At BU, our strategy is that all academic staff should be active in research as part of Fusion, so we will not be moving towards teaching only contracts. We hope the sector will not do so either – we will consider pressing for all staff to be included and remove any risks around the definition of “research active” to avoid this
- The total number of outputs per UoA should be adjusted so that it does not significantly exceed the 190,000 reviewed in REF2014. This may require the average number of outputs submitted per faculty member to be below two.
- Outputs should not be portable. The review proposes that outputs should be submitted by the HEI where the output was demonstrably generated and that work should be allocated to the HEI where they were based when work accepted for publication. There may be some flexibility around maximum numbers when staff have moved- e.g. maximum three outputs from those who have left.
Concern has been expressed that this will restrict employment options for early career researchers, e.g. Paul Kirby. James Wilsdon again “the broader move to reduce output numbers and decouple them from individuals should reduce pressure on those at the start of their career, or who take time out of research because of childcare, illness or caring responsibilities” Other views: – it might be fairer to early career researchers who will be recruited on potential not previous publications
- Institutions should be given more flexibility to showcase their interdisciplinary and collaborative impacts by submitting institutional level impact case studies
- Impact should be based on research of demonstrable quality. However, case studies could be linked to a research activity and a body of work as well as to a broad range of research outputs
- Guidance on the REF should make it clear that impact case studies should not be narrowly interpreted, need not solely focus on socioeconomic impacts but should also include impact on government policy, public engagement and understanding, cultural life, academic impacts outside the field and impacts on teaching – the report recommends that research leading to impact on curricula and/ or pedagogy should be included. BU welcomes these changes and we look forward to seeing more details of these plans.
So watch this space – once the consultation is launched the Research and Knowledge Exchange team will be working with the policy team to prepare a BU response. You can read more about BU’s policy and public affairs work on our intranet pages.
InsideBU – Out Now
The latest issue of InsideBU, the magazine for BU staff and students, is out now.
This issue brings the concept of Fusion to life through a range of features and articles including:
- Celebrating undergraduate research through hosting the prestigious British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) next year
- National research into the scale and impact of financial scamming in the UK, headed by BU’s National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice
- The research stories behind the Fusion mural on Talbot Campus.
Hard copies are available across both campuses and you can also read it online – simply click the arrows on the bottom right of the screen to expand it to a full page size.
If you use a screen-reader, Word and PDF versions are also available. The current issue – and all back issues – can also now be found on the Staff Intranet, under ‘Find’ on the bottom right of the homepage.
Please email insidebu@bournemouth.ac.uk if you would like hard copies sent directly to you.
We appreciate all feedback and suggestions for future issues. If you have a story for the next issue of InsideBU, email insidebu@bournemouth.ac.uk.
BU’s Dr.Sascha Dov Bachmann to speak at conference convened by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF)
Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann, Associate Professor in International Law and Extraordinary Associate Professor in War Studies (Swedish Defence University) will present his work on Hybrid War and law fare in the 21st Century at SANDF’s First International Conference on Military Law, in Pretoria from 1 to 3 November.
The objective of the conference is to expose and bring awareness to the South African public in general and academia in particular on the importance of Military Law within a country’s legal system.
South Africa is among the leading countries in contributing military personnel and major equipment for peace missions in pursuance of its policy to promote peace and stability in the continent. The country’s important role in mediation to end conflicts, has earned it a good standing, reputation and respect among the community of nations.
As an active participant in international structures, South Africa raises the interests of the African continent and other developing countries. Since it plays a meaningful role for the success of the region and the continent, it is incumbent that it stays afloat in every spectrum possible including the development and application of Military Law.
Furthermore here at home, the community at large; to some extent the Military community; academia and jurors alike seem not to be aware of the relevance, extent and application of Military Law.
The Conference will be opened by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans the Honourable Minister N.N. Mapisa-Nqakula. The Key Note Speaker will be our former Chief Justice, Justice Sandile Ngcobo.
Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann will present the findings on an ongoing project on Hybrid War and lawfare and how it impacts on AU states and their operational capacities and abilities.
Are you Slacktivist? – read story of student-academic co-creation journey
For me last academic year (2015-16) was amazing in terms of fantastic things I have been working on with UG and PG students. One of these projects was study on Slacktivists’ behaviour – study initiated and conducted by brilliant BA (Hons) Business Studies with Marketing student (about to graduate), Freya Samuelson-Cramp.
Results of Freya’s study have been extensively shared with external audiences, i.e. at ‘Parallel worlds: real life vs digital personalities‘ BU Festival of Learning event organised in partnership with Barclays Digital Eagle Labs and at ‘Digital Planet and its People’ BU Global Festival of Learning in Sias Internationa, China. ‘Slacktivism’ is a term that combines the words “slacker” and “activism“, it is most commonly associated with actions like signing online petitions, copying social network statuses or changing a profile photo in aid of a cause. Freya’s study, under my supervision, haa examined how slacktivists are behaving when it comes to charity-related content and what personality traits as well influencing factors drive slacktivist behaviour.
This topic in actual fact deserves recognition in other contexts of studies as slacktivism is a norm behaviour in online, social media, context and is exercised in relation to any type of social media content.
However, the reason for this post was primarily to communicate latest recognition and progress events that both Freya and I were part of.
Firstly, Freya’s final year research project was shorlisted for the ‘Best Bachelor’ thesis category at the Digital Communications Awards (DCA) 2016. The DCAs exclusively honour achievements in the field of digital communication throughout Europe and welcomes practitioners from various industries! It is prestigious event judged and attended by world-known pioneers in the field of digital communications. Freya has defended her work and was praised for rigorous methodological approach as well as topic that has interest and relevance to all businesses involved in use of social media channels.
Secondly, on 6-7 October 2016 I have presented joint conference paper titled ‘Helping the world one ‘like’ at a time – The rise of the Slacktivist‘ at the 5th International CSR Conference which took place in Bocconi University, Milan – fantastic conference, organised and chaired by BU academic Dr Georgiana Grigore. Once again, the paper has received enormous interest with follow-up controversial discussions around the notion of slacktivism and we are now working on submission of full paper as the book chapter.
Freya now works as account executive at Good Agency and about to graduate with First-class honours degree. In contradiction to all stories of UG student-academic collaborations, which end at the graduation point, I and Freya are planning to continue working together on understanding further what constitutes stacktivism behaviour. Apart from that we invite to Digital Me photo gallery event, part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, which takes place on 5th November at the Sovereign Shopping Center.
Finally, hope this positive story can inspire you to co-create with students. We also would love to thank CEL for funding the project through Co-creation fund, GlobalBU team, Department of Marketing (Faculty of Management) and Department of Leadership, Strategy and Organisational Behaviour (Faculty of Management) for ongoing support in conducting research and disseminating results of our study.
Any questions about our story, mentioned conference paper or Digital Me event, email at ebolat@bournemouth.ac.uk
ESRC’s Festival of Social Science- What is the Internet Hiding from you?
Date: Tuesday 8 November 2016
Time: 2:30pm-5pm
Location: Executive Business Centre (EBC), Bournemouth University, 89 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8EB
As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, BU’s Dr Nava Tintarev and Dr Paolo Palmieri will host an information session and focus group to talk about their research into digital privacy and discuss people’s opinions on the use of their personal data
As many of us may be aware our personal data is used to filter our Facebook timeline and that Amazon personalises our suggestions. With an exponential growth of information, many online systems filter and adapt what information we are exposed to. However as users, we have not always agreed to this personalisation and we’re often left unaware whether our personal data is being used to benefit us. There is also a risk that if personalisation gets ‘too good’; this can narrow down our exposure to new things. We’re left to wonder how our personal information is being used.
Imagine a tourist visiting a city and looking for new places to explore. A recommender system would suggest several places to visit and a certain sequence to visit them in. To give good recommendations, the system needs to consider the relationship between suggested items. For example, the tourist may not want to visit more than two museums in a day, and they would not want to go from one museum straight to another one, so there should be something else to visit in-between.
Working together with adults of different backgrounds and degrees of technological experience Dr Nava Tintarev hopes to understand what factors influence a good explanation for these sequences, through the focus group and better understand how people feel about this personalisation.
One scenario is when there is no best option and the sequences have taken into account trade-offs. For example, someone travelling in a group may not see their top preference within the sequence, because the system took into account the preference of others in the group.
The second scenario in which explanations can really help is when the recommendations contain unexpected, but risky items. Often recommender systems suggest safe items, for example suggesting the latest Star Wars movie to a Star Wars fan, or inferring from a user’s consumption habits that they are similar to users that like the newly released Jurassic World movie. The problem is that even though these systems suggest novel items, these recommendations are predictable. They miss out on what potentially could be the greatest strength of recommender systems: helping users discover new items and new interests they didn’t realise they had.
It is vital to understand people’s concerns. Dr Nava Tintarev’s research looks specifically at the use of explanations to help users make good decisions about recommendations of sequences of items. It is important that they are confident that they can trust these systems. Through her research, she hopes to help users gain a better sense of how their personal data is being used. This event will help you gather a better understanding of how big data companies use personal data and the challenges they face.
The 14th annual Festival of Social Science takes place from 5-12 November 2016 with more than 250 free events nationwide. Run by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Festival provides an opportunity for anyone to meet with some of the country’s leading social scientists and discover, discuss and debate the role that research plays in everyday life. With a whole range of creative and engaging events there’s something for everyone including businesses, charities, schools and government agencies. A full programme is available at www.esrc.ac.uk/festival You can also join the discussion on Twitter using #esrcfestival.
This event is running twice on Tuesday 8 November to allow as many people as possible to attend. I if you would like to attend the 14:30-17:00 session please book your free place here. If you would prefer to attend in the evening there is a session running 18:00-20:30 for which you can book your free place here.
To find out more about the ESRC Festival of Social Science and all the events taking place please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/esrc-fss you can also email Joanna Pawlik or Naomi Kay to find out more.
The past is not what it used to be: archaeological science in the 21st century
BU’s inaugural lecture series returns this autumn, with a taste of the past. Advances in technology are making a difference to all areas of our lives – even to how we understand our history. The use of technology in archaeology has been revolutionary, not just in the kinds of equipment that can be used, but also that so much can now be used in the field, giving almost instant analysis.
Bournemouth University’s Professor Kate Welham is an expert in archaeological sciences, with a particular focus on remote sensing techniques. Her work has taken her to sites all over the world – from Tanzania and Spain to Easter Island and closer to home – Glastonbury Abbey. Over the course of her career, she has seen the field of archaeology change and grow immeasurably.
Kate’s lecture will share stories of her fieldwork experiences across the world, the way technology has revolutionised the way archaeologists work and how she has involved BU students in her research. There will also be an opportunity before and after the lecture to meet some of BU’s current archaeology students and see some of the equipment used by BU’s archaeologists out in the field.
Bournemouth University’s Inaugural Lecture Series aims to celebrate new professorial appointments and the depth and breadth of research produced by the university. For further information on the Inaugural Lecture Series please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/public-lecture-series
About the event
To book your free ticket, click here.
Venue: The Fusion Building on Talbot Campus.
Date: Tuesday 1 November.
Time: 6:30pm for a 7:30pm lecture start.
Please do arrive early as there will be an opportunity to see and handle some of the equipment used by the Department of Archaeology, Anthropology & Forensic Science.
Refreshments will be provided at the event.
Parking is available for free on campus.
For more information about the event, please contact Rachel Bowen at rbowen@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Visitors from Nepal at FHSS
As part of FHSS’s sustained research in Nepal Dr. Sujan Marahatta and Mr. Jiwan Sharma from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) came to the UK to discuss further future collaborations. The Nepali visitors met with our Dean Prof. Steve Tee and Dr. Malcolm McIver FHSS’s Associate Dean for Global Engagement as well with Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Pramod Regmi and BU PhD student Mr. Jib Acharya.
BU academics have been collaborating with MMIHS for over seven years. Currently, we have three projects in Nepal with MMIHS: one funded by the Centre for Excellence in Learning on introducing CPD (Continuous Professional Development) in nursing in Nepal and coordinated by Dr. Catherine Angell; and project designed by Dr. Regmi on transgender issues in Nepal which is funded by FHSS monies, and study on returned trafficked women in Nepal which has received a small small amount of money from both FHSS and Liverpool John Moores University. Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH), has been a Visiting Professor at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences for nine years so it is a long-standing working relationship. 
MMIHS publishes its own journal the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences which is part of Nepal Journals Online (NepJOL) and Open Access. Apart from Prof. van Teijlingen, CMMPH Prof. Hundley, Dr. Regmi, or our BU media colleague Dr. Luce (Faculty of Media & Communication) and various members of FHSS’s Visiting Faculty have published in this journal.
FHSS and MMIHS are now working towards a more formal academic relationship.
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