Category / BU research

Fusion Investment Fund – UAS Partnership

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion

A new Fusion fund travel grant has been awarded to Dr. Ben Thomas, lecturer in the School of Design, Engineering and Computing (DEC) in order to help develop an important strategic relationship with the University of Applied Sciences (UAS) in Wurzburg, Germany. The hope is that through collaboration and the sharing of important engineering resources both institutions will be able to deliver an improved experience to their students.

UAS was founded in 1971 as an Institute of Technology with departments in Würzburg and Schweinfurt, its focus is on business, design and engineering education, with a well-developed reputation for knowledge transfer and professional industrial research partnerships. With nearly 8,000 students UAS is the third largest of the 17 state run universities of applied sciences in Bavaria. UAS is notable for having excellent laboratory resources with over 20 dedicated research labs in the Faculty of Industrial Design alone, covering research topics from microwave engineering to dedicated polymer testing, with an emphasis on materials testing.

The facilities and expertise at UAS are very important to BU as these will support current DEC activities, particularly with the adoption of the new MEng course and the laboratory resources for the experimental final year projects this will require. The business and enterprise expertise at UAS will also directly benefit the existing BA course in Design Business Management.

It is hoped that this relationship will include research collaboration with the activities of the Sustainable Design Research Centre (SDRC), with initial discussions including existing BU research looking at RNLI marine engine oil condition monitoring, and two newly awarded match funded studentships entitled ‘Recyclable Materials Applied to Small Marine Leisure Craft’ and ‘An Optimised Tidal Energy Design for Poole Harbour’. These will benefit greatly from the extensive materials testing facilities available at UAS allowing greater research detail to be developed.

It is intended that UAS students and academics will visit BU regularly under the banner of the SDRC for research projects, seminar presentations and to discuss further research and academic collaboration.

Boost your bid writing confidence – the Grants Academy way

BU research, Guidance, Research news

Before arriving for the Grants Academy day, I had had little interaction with this group at BU. I had procured some experience with small grant writing, but it is a lonely affair and it wasn’t always clear where to go for advice amongst colleagues or exactly how to go about pitching particular ideas to targeted funding bodies. The first day arriving for croissant and coffee, ice was broken very quickly as academics chatted about their interest research ideas and general experience at the university. It’s always amazing to me just how relevant distant subject areas of enquiry can be to your own area of expertise and talk of possible collaborative work soon emerged.

Martin Pickard, then launched into his explanation of the art and approach to guiding funding applications through the hidden maze of funding bodies’, expectations, remits and landscapes. It left me with a sudden realisation that there were indeed straightforward ways to fundamentally alter my approach that could lead to much greater chances. It was like having always played chess rather badly, but being shown just 5 key moves that conferred dramatic changes to your chances of winning. It was quite an eye opening and positive experience.

In addition to this sea change in approach, the venue, food, coffee, chocolate biscuits (particularly) and atmosphere of openness and support from Dianne and Caroline and the other participants enabled relaxed and informative discussion and a real boost in confidence concerning writing grants.

The support has kept coming and follow up workshops are in the offing. I can’t recommend this support opportunity at BU enough.

Submitted by Dave Newell (AECC)

Dave joined the Grants Academy in January 2013, and attended a 2-day bid writing workshop led by Dr Martin Pickard.    For more information about the scheme please visit the Grants Academy page on the research blog.

FREE workshop for researchers (PGRs and Researchers): Charting an entrepreneurial career: how researchers can control their professional destiny

BU research, PG research, Training

Vitae and the Entrepreneurial Institution are pleased to announce two new enterprise workshops on the 5th March in Bristol and on the 7th March in London.

Wherever you are in your research career, whether you are applying for research funding, moving into a new career or starting your own business (commercial or social) this day will enable you to understand your enterprising potential to create impact through research and take your ideas into a business.

During the day, you will:

  • explore your own skills in relation to entrepreneurship
  • explore research impact in relation to grant applications and REF
  • explore different types of enterprise
  • hear from successful entrepreneurs
  • hear about social enterprise, commercialisation and knowledge exchange
  • network and plan next steps

To book your place on the workhops, please visit:

Tuesday 5th March 2013 – www.vitae.ac.uk/enterprise_Bristol
Thursday 7th March 2013 – www.vitae.ac.uk/enterprise_London

FIF SMN strand open for applications

BU research

The Fusion Investment Fund Staff Mobility & Networking (SMN) Strand has £45k to award from now until April 1st 2013.

The objectives , eligibility criteria and award limits are exactly as that found in the SMN Policy document found on our  Fusion Investment Fund webpages.

Applications must be on this FIF Application Form and emailed to Natalie Baines when completed; as many people experienced problems with the online form, this format is no longer valid.

Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis by the Committee and the fund will close either when the fund expires or on April 1st 2013, whichever occurs first. You are encouraged to discuss your potential application with a member of the Committee to ensure it meets the remit of the scheme.

All vital information including policy documents, FAQs  etc can be found on the SMN webpage.

Applying to the NIHR Info Day – register now!

BU research

The NIHR funds NHS related research (including the social sciences and humanities aspect of care) and issued over £200k of grants last year.  The info day being held on April 11th will provide an overview of the NIHR and give grant writing tips as well as having experts on hands to give you more specific info.

This is a free event with limited places so you must register here.

Fusion Investment Fund – BU Research in China

BU research, Fusion

Huiping Xian, Davide Secchi (both from Business School) and Yue Meng (Media School) have been awarded Fusion Investment Fund to consolidate an existing relationship with a Chinese university in order to establish a strategic partnership in the long term. The team will travel to Zhe Jiang Gong Shang University (ZJGS), Hangzhou, China, on 28th March, 2013 to engage in a series of intellectual and networking activities. During our 5-day visit, we plan to give 2 guest lectures and hold a research seminar with researchers in ZJGS to showcase research in BS and MS. Moreover, we will also disseminate findings of a recent research project – Business Ethics in Chinese Organisations – in a public workshop. Invitations will be sent to ZJGS’s current MBA students, alumni, local Chinese managers, entrepreneurs, academics and government officials via ZJGS’s network.
The project contributes to both research and education of the Fusion concept. The short-term output of this project includes 2 journal papers from the study (business ethics in China), 2 guest lectures, a research seminar and a public workshop in China. In a longer term, this project will potentially lead to future research collaboration, staff and student exchange, joint PhD supervision, and student recruitment with ZJGS and gradually develop a strategic partner for BU’s internationalisation. Zhejiang Province (where ZJGS is based) is one of the most developed districts and known for having a large number of students studying abroad every year. Located in Hangzhou, China, ZJGS is the 2nd highest ranked university in the province and mainly offers business, management, and economic programmes to UG and PG students.

For more information, please contact Dr Huiping Xian (hxian@bournemouth.ac.uk)

DEC receives successful KTP training session…..

BU research, Training

i love KTPAlthough KTPs have been around for over 30 years; for some academics they are still new territory! Bearing this in mind, it was suggested that a training session on KTPs would be welcomed by academics in the School of DEC.

The training session took place at the Talbot Campus last week, and was well received – especially as the session provided the opportunity to meet Neil Grice who is the KTP Advisor for the region.  KTP Advisors play a key role in the setting up of KTPs – they have a broad range of industrial expertise and are on hand to help with the preparation of a KTP proposal.  Then, throughout the life cycle of the KTP, they monitor the progress to ensure that all the partners achieve their goals.

Neil provided an excellent and engaging overview of KTPs, and in addition to his presentation, further project information was delivered by BU colleagues, Emily Cieciura and Norman Stock. They both did a fantastic job of explaining the particulars in bidding for KTPs and what is required post award. The technicalities of a KTP can be quite laborious, so credit goes to Neil, Emily and Norman for delivering a training session which was clear and straightforward!

If you feel you or your school would benefit from a KTP training session, please get in touch! KTP’s are an excellent opportunity for academics to engage with further Research and Development, and in particular they contribute to the REF.  Taking this into consideration, why not take advantage of a training session and find out the value of KTPs?

To find out further information, or to arrange a training session, please email Lucy Rossiter.

Fusion Funding

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion

A new Fusion project will shortly be starting in the School of Applied Sciences run by Dan Franklin and Genoveva Esteban. Concentrating on cyanobacteria (‘blue-green algae’) the team will attempt to isolate out new strains of cyanobacteria into culture at BU. Cyanobacteria are single-celled organisms that can turn freshwater ecosystems a vivid green colour. Cyanobacteria growth in reservoirs and lakes already causes substantial economic losses and amenity problems and the ultimate aim of the project is to investigate the properties of cells such that new management measures can be pioneered. The team will make multiple isolations of cyanobacteria from local lakes in order to establish new laboratory strains of cyanobacteria, including toxic species such as Microcystis. These will then be used to facilitate experiments on ways to inhibit cyanobacteria growth.                                                   

For more information please contact dfranklin@bournemouth.ac.uk

Images BU culture of Microcystis:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture credit: Ian Chapman, BU

Microcystis growth in nature:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See glerl.noaa.gov

Need help with Knowledge Transfer Partnerships or Innovation Vouchers?

BU research

Do you require further advice or guidance on Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)  or other funding initiatives such as Innovation Vouchers?  Well, hopefully I can be of help!

My name is Lucy Rossiter and I have recently started working at BU – I am the new Knowledge Exchange Officer within the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development team.  My focus will be on promoting and marketing BU expertise and services to external organisations to secure new business for the university. 

Perhaps you have links with organisations that would benefit from a KTP or use of an Innovation Voucher? If so, I will happily engage with the organisation and offer necessary guidance, or I can help develop any project ideas which you may have.

Over the coming weeks I will post further information on the benefits of KTP’s and Innovation Vouchers, but in the meantime please get in touch if you require any help or guidance regarding these funding initiatives.  

Please contact me by email , or should you wish to meet – I am based in Melbury House on the 4th Floor in the R&KE office.

I will look forward to working with you!

1-2-1 Sessions with an Expert Bid Writer at BU Available!

BU research, Research news, Training

The RKE Development team have organised a unique experience for BU staff; a 1-2-1 with a leading grant writer. With a career background in both Academia and Industry Dr. Martin Pickard of Grantcraft is a specialist in writing and supporting research grant applications and tenders as well as providing administrative and management support services for ongoing projects. During the last 20 years Martin has worked extensively across Europe with a large number of universities, and research institutes as well as industrial firms, ranging from small SME’s to major international companies.

Martin is providing individual 1-2-1 surgeries with any academic staff member and works individually and confidentiality with each Principal Investigator as the project is structured and prepared in order to optimize the application documentation from every aspect of the Funders perspective; guiding, steering and showing how to optimize the application throughout the bid process.

Academics at BU who have undertaken his guidance have stated his ‘support and direction was invaluable – Martin gave me some pragmatic suggestions which really helped to shape the bid. His eye for detail made the document much easier to read and the message much clearer. I was very grateful for his input’ Assoc. Prof Heather Hartwell, School of Tourism.

In this highly competitive environment, many strong applications pass the threshold but fail to reach the funding level not because of their science or what they say, but because of their structure and what they omit to say.  The science and art of Martin’s assistance directly addresses this major hurdle to success from innumerably perspectives; enabling demonstrated significantly higher success rates. Even experienced staff at BU who have utilized his services, have called Martin’s approach, ‘refreshing and helpful and renewed my energies in the arduous search for funding. He has had a major influence on the structure and presentation of my recent bids’ Prof Barry Richards, Media School.

Martin will work with you through a process of successive discussions and iterations of the application document, identifying and optimising as many of the weaker aspects as possible, starting with your 1-2-1 session. Identifying these weaknesses is important and takes considerable experience to be fully encompassing but the unique aspect of this approach is the direct provision of solutions and alternatives assembled from a lifetime career involvement, understanding and practise.  This way, not only are you made aware of the problem but given a direct improvement solution It is only at the latter stages that effective grant-writing becomes evident with tweaks to phrases and styles as well as implementation of key/typical standards and texts. Results confirm that without this build of research structure behind and throughout the application success is always limited. This unique experience is valued by academics who have undertaken this process with him ‘Martin makes you think differently about approaching bid writing, constructing a bid and how to build up an argument throughout the various boxes; without changing the actual content he makes you think how to make key points jump out at the reviewer’, Dr Darren Lilleker, Media School.

The process, although labour intensive, works; with a proven historical average success rates of close to 1 in 2 against norms of 1 in 8 to 1 in 10. You can take up this unique and valuable experience, by booking a session now. 

Appointments are approx 45 minutes long and you can book multiple sessions. You will also have unlimited telephone and email support to progress your application after meeting with Martin and you can discuss several applications with him. 

Martin is at BU on the following dates and times and sessions must be booked through Dianne Goodman

Upcoming dates:

  • 27th March 2013, 1:15-5pm (Talbot Campus) now full

Newly available dates (please note – limited availability):

  • 15th April 2013, 9-11am and 2-5pm (Lansdowne Campus) now full
  • 16th April 2013, 16:15-5pm (Lansdowne Campus) now full
  • 16th May 2013, 9:15am- 5pm (Talbot Campus) now full
  • 10th July 2013, 9:15am- 5pm (Talbot Campus)
  • 4th September 2013, 9:15- 5 (TBA)

 

Need A Fully Funded Research Fellow ???

BU research, EU, Funding opportunities, Training

  

 The Prize

These schemes provide strong financial support for a Research Fellow in your department for a period of 12 – 24 months on any research topic.

The Catch

The Research Fellow must come from another European Country or International Base worldwide. It is joint application with you and the fellowship candidate – so they must be identified. (If the fellow is already in the UK they must have been working here for less than 1 year in the last 3.)

The Deadline

Deadline for application is August 2013 – but the forms are relatively easy & straight forward – although moderately time consuming.Fellowships will start in early 2014 but this start date could be extended to early 2015.

Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)                  Deadline  Mid August 2013

International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)       Deadline  Mid August 2013

Note: For people already at the University there is a similar outgoing international Fellowship scheme to enable research periods in other , non European, Labs and Research Centres.

These fellowships are prestigious and highly sought after, especially as they pay very well. There is a difference in emphasis between the two schemes but the overriding criteria is candidate, and host, excellence with respect to the justification of the project rationale. This is all derived from the candidates cv and thus please discuss initially with Martin Pickard who can advise on suitability and fit.

These fellowships are an excellent, and often overlooked, way to expand and compliment a research team. Initial advice is imperative as, again, project structure and rationale with respect to the candidate are very important in determining success and need to be argued and justified around the actual science and project.

Requirements.

One University (Host) and one applicant, of any nationality, other than from than the UK. (candidates may already be in the UK but must have spent less than 12 months of the past 36 in the UK)

The higher the quality of the cv, rated against age and experience, the more likelihood of funding success. Each prospective fellow can only apply for one fellowship but any host can have as many fellows as they want applying to work with the same PI.

The Grant

Typical project period – Minimum 12 months — Maximum 24 months

Fellow income: In excess of 80,000 Euro per year.

University Income: Minimum of 18,000 Euro per year.

Help Needed ??

If you have a research Fellow in Mind (or can find one through networking or your colleague links) the application will not take a lot of time – but a clearly defined and specific approach is required. Guidance notes will be available as well as direct one to one support from our proposal writing specialist Dr. Martin Pickard. 

To assist further we have also arranged a series of 2 morning information sessions to be held on the Wednesday 27th of March and repeated again on the Tuesday 16th of April 2013 

Information Session 1 –  09:00am – 10:00am

A Brief Introduction to the Marie Curie Fellowship Schemes – for those of general interest.  

In addition to the general European topic specific calls under the cooperation programme there are a number of explicit opportunities arising through other schemes – some of which are far more easily accessible and have the advantage of being open to literally any research idea/topic. Several of these arise through the People programme under the Marie Curie calls and this 40 minute plus Q&A information session seeks to highlight some of these opportunities and identify their pro’s and cons so that a clear strategy can be developed to avoid missing these significant, and relatively easy, opportunities.

Information Session 2 – 10:15am – 12:15pm

How to Approach and Structure your Marie Curie Fellowship Application –  for those possibly intending to submit a bid.

The structure of any bid (partner interactions, methodology synergy etc.) is critical to the success of an application and forward planning is a key element of winning proposals.

If you are thinking of applying this August this session will illustrate the basic approach requirements for success and show how to structure and present your research application in the correct form of “Brusselese”.  A brief, 2 hour, guide to the Marie Curie application process.

Please note: If you are already intending to submit a bid this August then Session 1 will provide very little additional information. Also Grants Academy members who have already attended our Grants Academy 2 Day Bid Writing Workshop will not need to attend Session 1 as this has already been covered in your workshop so we would recommend you book into and attend Session 2 only.

If these are a potential interest to you – don’t miss this exceptional opportunity. Please book in ASAP via Staff Development Booking Link to reserve your space as we anticipate these sessions will be very popular.

 

Renewable energy and renewable technology within the BU fusion and cross-school collaboration initiative

BU research, Fusion

This cross-school fusion event is an opportunity to hear about renewable energy initiatives that are engaging the local community and businesses.  A multi-disciplinary network has been developed that engages students with practitioners, real world issues and the development of practical solutions.  In the presentations we will discuss the student experience and how this initiative is developing the transferable skills needed for employment in the 21st century.  You will also hear about the multi-disciplinary network that has been created to focus on renewable energy and renewable technology, current activities and future potential.  There will be an opportunity for informal discussion with those involved and for networking with local businesses and community organisations.

The event will take place on Thursday, 14 February from 1300-1530 in The Octagon, Sir Michael Cobham Library. For a full programme and more detail, please click here.

To book your place, please email staffdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk.

CIPPM Spring Lecture Series 2013

BU research, Featured academics, Uncategorized

The annual series of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management’s (CIPPM) http://www.cippm.org.uk/ Spring Lectures starts on Thursday 21 February 2013 at 6 pm.

Professor Hector MacQueen, Professor of Private Law at the University of Edinburgh will deliver the first lecture, titled “Ae fond kiss: A Private Matter?” on Thursday 21 February 2013.

Professor MacQueen has written extensively on Intellectual Property law and is author, co-author and editor of a number of books on Intellectual Property law. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Edinburgh (1999-2003) and Director of the AHRC Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law (SCRIPT) (2002-2007). In 2010 Professor MacQueen took up an appointment as Scottish Law Commissioner (2010-2014).

CIPPM Spring Lectures take place at 18:00, in the Executive Business Centre, close to the Bournemouth Travel Interchange (89 Holdenhurst Road, BH8 8EB). The lectures are free to attend, but places are limited, and admission to the building closes at 18:15. If you wish to reserve a place, please contact Mandy Lenihan at ALenihan@bournemouth.ac.uk

For further information on forthcoming CIPPM Spring Lectures and for booking information see http://business.bournemouth.ac.uk/news/2013/jan/ne001-cippm-lectures-2013.html

PhD Student from DEC presenting at the House of Commons, Westminster London

BU research

Mayank Anand a Post-Graduate Research Student at School of Design, Engineering & Computing, BU has been selected by the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee to present his research work to the Members of both Houses of Parliament at Westminster during National Science and Engineering week. In the current research, Mayank is working with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Head Quartered at Poole, Dorset. The project involves examining the real-time quality of lubricants used in lifeboats of RNLI. This is an industry based PhD in which he spent part of the time at the RNLI HQ working closely with engineering team. The research is also in-kind supported by BP Technology Centre, Pangbourne U.K.

Mayank said, “I see this upcoming event as a great opportunity for an early-stage researcher like me, where one can showcase his/her work and ideas alongside getting invaluable feedback from the judges. Networking will be an added bonus”. He added “the support from the supervisory team at university including Prof Mark Hadfield, Dr Ben Thomas, Sustainable Design Research Team, and the RNLI has been a key in producing good research outputs and gaining confidence to present to a wider mass”.
At the event, Mayank will also be competing against 60 other participants within Engineering and Science session for the prestigious Engineering Medal and 180 others for Westminster Medal for the overall winner as a part of National Competition.

BU to host 35th meeting of the Theoretical Archaeology Group!

BU research

BU will host the 35th meeting of the Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) on the 16-18 December 2013. TAG is a lively international meeting that promotes debate and discussion of issues in theoretical archaeology.

BU last held TAG back in 1997, a meeting that is still remembered for its strong international profile and also some rather disruptive snow-showers! This year we anticipate 300-400 delegates, many of whom will be undergraduate and postgraduate students. Indeed, TAG 

 is rather unique in the sense it is run by students (overseen by faculty) for students. It presents a valuable opportunity to fuse academic research with student learning, exploring new and topical ideas and showcasing original work.

More details will be posted in due course by event-leader Professor Timothy Darvill.

At an early stage in your research career? Then come to one of our ECR Forums!

BU research, Training

Last year we ran a series of forums for academic colleagues who are at an early stage in their research career.  You can find out more about the September session here

The forums are an open, informal sessions where you can meet with experienced academics and members of R&KEO to discuss anything you like to do with research. From publications to projects to funding to research strategy we will be on hand to help and advise.  Going forward we plan to hold these forums on a School by School basis.  If you would be interested in attending one of these events, please contact Nikki Gloyns here.

The next forum will be a Media School event and will be held on 27 March 2013 from 12:30 – 15:00 on Talbot Campus.  If you wish to attend the Media School forum, please contact Nikki Gloyns to book. Lunch will be provided so booking is essential.