Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
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A conference at Bournemouth University explored some of the issues around finance and lending to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
The two-day Entrepreneurship and Access to Finance for SMEs conference brought together speakers and delegates from industry, academia and government agencies to discuss the most pertinent issues of SME finance and credit risk.
A number of breakout sessions and workshops explored key issues around SME finance, borrowing and policy, while keynote speeches were also given by leading names in the finance and lending world – Thortsen Beck, from City University London, and Josh Ryan-Collins, of the New Economics Foundation.
The event marked the start of a project which will be delivered after a successful bid to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the UK’s leading research and training agency addressing economic and social concerns.
Opening the conference, BU’s Professor Jens Holscher, Principal Investigator for the project, said: “This is the start of a two-year project and the first of seven meetings.
“This is ‘blue sky’ and so we wanted to exchange ideas and even get new things we should be looking at.”
He added: “A key long term and strategic position of BU is to become known for regional economic development and SMEs are key, so we see this project as part of a bigger vision of regional economic development.”
The project team consists of Professor Jens Hölscher and Co-Investigators Professor Andrew Mullineux and Professor Dean Patton, with colleagues from the University of Brighton, Aston University and the University of Nottingham.
The project team will also collaborate with Professor Andreas Horsch and his colleagues from the Technical University of Freiberg in Germany, who will contribute on access to finance from Germany.
The Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team (fondly known to us as KEIT) are a relatively new team within RKEO. KEIT is made up of an enthusiastic group of people working on exciting institution wide projects aimed at promoting research and engaging everyone 
from businesses to the general public with the work carried out by our academic community. As a new team we wanted to take the time to introduce some of our favourite successes from 2014, and let you who you can contact if you have an opportunity you think we should be involved with.
In 2014 we facilitated circa 15,000 engagements with BU research through activities such as the Festival of Learning, On Tour and Café Scientifique. In December we headed off to the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement’s annual conference and presented the story of “Professor Puzzles Big Day Out”. The story followed our colourful mascot as he discovered the Festival of Learning, booked his tickets and came along to sessions such as “A Family Safari”, took part in fringe activities to build on his football skills and gave his feedback on his experience through a focus group. The story and gave us a chance to convey the unique nature of the Festival of Learning to our public engagement peers from across the UK. One of the highlights for us was hearing was our session pulled out by delegates as one of the highlights of the conference during the plenary.
In 2014, BU received funding offers for three new Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP). This demonstrates that BU is increasing it’s KTP activity and also our strong links with business. A KTP is a part-funded innovative project between the University and business which is of mutual benefit.
The approved KTPs are diverse in nature and highlight the range of expertise across the Institution:
2015 sees the 40th birthday of the KTP programme. This year will be used to celebrate successes from KTP over the past 40 years and our very own Rachel Clarke, KE Adviser (KTP) is on the national steering group for the KTP@40 initiative.
We’ve been working to enthuse students about the exciting research being done at BU. At the end of last year we took over the atrium on two occasions and ran mini activities for students to have a go at. Stalls included topics such as marine diving videos, setting secure passwords and live action international server hacking maps, psychological taste tests, and displays of microscopic organisms. Over the 2 days over 300 students stopped to interact with stalls and learn more about BU research.
If you’re feeling inspired by our blog post and would like to get involved with some of our projects then feel free to get in touch:
Rebecca Edwards – Knowledge Exchange and Impact Manager
Rachel Bowen – Research Communications Manager
Rachel Clarke – Knowledge Exchange Adviser (KTP)
Jayne Codling – Knowledge Exchange Adviser
Naomi Kay – Public Engagement Officer
Harry Gibson – Public Engagement Event’s Organiser
Sam Squelch – Student Engagement Coordinator
To find out more about us and what we do, take a look at our team page.
I am delighted to announce the launch of the second Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Academic Development Scheme (KTPADS). This scheme is centrally coordinated through the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office and aims to equip academics with the skills and knowledge required to identify and pursue a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).
What is KTP?
A KTP is part-funded by the government and the aim of this scheme is to encourage collaboration on projects between businesses and academics. KTP is managed by Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) and provides benefits to all parties involved – this scheme offers a fusion of academic and industry collaboration supported by an associate (graduate).
What is to benefit to me?
KTP is an excellent way of bringing in income and developing knowledge exchange with a clear pathway to impact.
Key benefits of KTP are as follows:
What does this scheme involve?
This scheme consists of an initial one-day development course, on Wednesday 1st April 2015, off campus, to provide you with the necessary information to pursue a KTP in your area of research. The development day consists of information about KTP, engaging with business and writing proposals. Members will be required to bring KTP ideas to develop.
Members are then supported throughout the year in developing their KTP ideas including support in working with business and bespoke one-to-one sessions with the Innovate UK KTP Adviser. Additional support includes a travel budget for members to use on potential KTP collaboration visits.
Expected time commitments for this scheme are: one full day for the development course on 1st April 2015, two half-day support networks in 2015, at least three one-to-ones with the KTP Adviser from Innovate UK and unlimited one-to-ones as per your requirements from the KE Adviser (KTP) within the BU Research and Knowledge Exchange Office.
Please note: the expectations of the scheme are for members to collaborate with business and submit a KTP proposal within a year of starting the scheme.
Dates for your diary
Wednesday 1st April – all day development day
Week commencing 6th April – initial one-to-one
Wednesday 10th June – afternoon support network
Week commencing 21st September – mid-point review one-to-one
Wednesday 9th December – afternoon support network
What are the KTP funding priorities?
If you’re interested in working on KTP, there are a number of funding priorities for KTP as detailed below:
Special funding calls are also regularly released, currently there is a specialized call for agri-food and space respectively, which are due to close in February and also a call for user experience which closes in April. Further themes are due to be announced throughout the year.
If your research expertise fits into any of these themes, then KTP could be a great knowledge exchange project for you.
How do I apply?
To apply for a place on the scheme, please contact Rachel Clarke to request an application form. This form will need to be signed by your Line Manager and please note that all applications will be submitted to the respective Deputy Dean of Research for review to ensure applications meet Faculty strategic aims. Applications open on Monday 9th February and close at 5pm on Friday 27th February.
If you would like to discuss this scheme or receive an application form, please contact Rachel Clarke, Knowledge Exchange Adviser (KTP) on 01202 961347 or clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) are a fantastic way of making long-lasting relationships with industry, bringing in income and measuring impact, which is quite a feat for a scheme that is 40 years old this year..!
Submission deadlines are every two months and once proposals are reviewed, statistics are released on how well the proposals submitted, fared against the Proposal Approval Group (PAG).
Below is an update documenting the most recent statistics from the Innovate UK PAG in December 2014.
| Proposals submitted | 86 |
| Proposals supported | 77 |
| Of which, number supported without amendments | 39 |
| Withdrawn by Adviser prior to consideration | 0 |
| Proposals not supported | 9 |
| Of which, number that can be revised for resubmission | 8 |
| Success rate | 90% |
These statistics demonstrate the high success rate of KTP proposals that are awarded and also the amount of proposals that were submitted in November.
If you’re working (or want to work) with industry on innovative projects, find out more about how KTP can help you. Contact Rachel Clarke, Knowledge Exchange Adviser (KTP) on 61347 or email clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk
The next generation of mobile communications technology, 5G, will be a flexible infrastructure capable of handling our ever increasing demand for mobile data and providing connectivity for a wide range of future technologies, from the Internet of Things to digital healthcare, and from advanced gaming to driverless cars. 5G’s short and fast network response times will unleash a new wave of exciting and disruptive applications and with experts predicting deployment from as early as 2020, this evening’s speakers will consider the opportunities for smart start-ups and innovators and share their thoughts on how entrepreneurs can seize this opportunity to create new, world-class businesses.
Confirmed Speakers:
Innovate UK has launched a funding competition for collaborative research & development with up to nine million pounds funding available.
The aim of this competition is to meet user needs by connecting people and/or goods to transport products and services.
More information & competition registration page.
Briefing Event, 20 January, London
You can attend the competition briefing event, either online or in person. This event is an excellent opportunity for you to receive first hand information about the competition – its scope, application process, key dates etc. as well as a chance to network. Register for the briefing event or webinar.
For queries about this competition, please contactsupport@innovateuk.gov.uk
Are you working with or have contacts with a Dorset based organisation that helps people back into training or work?
Does this organisation support socially excluded groups?
The new £10 million EU/BIG Lottery funded Building Better Opportunities programme for Dorset will:
There are a number of free workshops taking place across the region. Places are limited and registartion is required:
These workshops will:
Date: Wednesday 11 February
Location: Bournemouth University – Executive Business Centre
Time: Starting at 9.30am (all day event)
Event details:
The Wessex Conservation Forum aims to bring together representatives from NGOs, Universities and Government bodies for a free one day conference discussing ‘Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services & the Green Economy’ in the Wessex region. The services which nature provides us with, such as clean water, clean air, fertile soil and food, are not only crucial for the well-being of human-kind, they also represent an astronomical value. It has been estimated by economists that the loss of biodiversity was costing the EU €450 billion annually, equal to 3% of GDP. Hence, halting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services is now a UK and EU priority for 2020.
Confirmed speakers include representatives from organisations such as: the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Freshwater Biological Association, Bournemouth University, University of Southampton, the Dorset Local Nature Partnership, Wessex Water and the Bournemouth & Poole Sustainable Food City Partnership. The conference will be centred around a series of talks in order to showcase research output, identify areas for further research and promote collaboration in order to fulfil these needs.
A complimentary lunch and refreshments will be provided on the day, and there will be plenty of opportunities to make and renew contacts throughout the day.
To book: This event is popular and places are limited. Click here to register for your free place.
More information: We hope to see you at this event but if you are unable to attend and want to find out more about the work that BU is involved in why not sign up to receive more information. The Wessex Portal (formerly the Poole & Purbeck Portal has been developed with the assistance of funding from the Higher Edication Innovation Fund – HEIF) as an online community to promote a better understanding of our region’s unique natural and heritage assets.
Innovate UK has launched a funding competition for feasibility studies with up to two million pounds funding available.
The competition is open only to small and micro companies (click here for eligibility) across the following technology sectors:
Advanced materials
Biosciences
Electronics, Sensors & Photonics
Information & Communications Technology
A briefing event for this competition was held on 25 November. You can view the webinar recording here.
For any queries on this competition, please contact support@innovateuk.org.
Now available for December, the Digital Business Briefing is compiled by the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) in partnership with Innovate UK, Catapults, Tech City, Nesta, and Horizon2020. The briefing highlights funding, support, events and training relevant to those working in the digital industries.
Sign up to receive regular updates “Join the creative industries community”
Have you heard about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)? Or wanted to work on one?
Introduction to KTP
KTP is a part-funded government scheme to encourage collaboration on innovative projects between academia and business. KTP is managed by Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) and further information can be found here.
Themed Calls
Innovate UK has a number of funding priorities which they highlight through dedicated competitions throughout the year. Currently there are 3 competitions where extra funding has been allocated for projects relating to agri-food, space and user experience.
The reason for this call is to improve the competitiveness, resilience and responsiveness of the agri-food supply chain – from primary production, including aquaculture, through to retail.
All projects must use expertise from outside the space sector. “Upstream” projects need to be generally aligned with the National Space Technology Strategy and “downstream” projects need to link to a defined market/end product.
The aim of this call is to encourage new, enhanced forms of interaction between computing systems and the people who use them. Proposals may address technologies that contribute to these new forms such as sensing information about the user or those that improve specific type of experience, such as mobile and wearable devices.
To find out more about KTP or further information on these calls, please contact Rachel Clarke, Knowledge Exchange Adviser (KTP) on 61347 or email clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk
The events were organised by Christchurch and East Dorset County Councils to enable the Dorset business community to hear comments from public and private strategists and investors in Dorset’s economy. Run throughout the month of November a number of staff across the university attended and took part in discussions and round table events in addition to exhibiting alongside partners such as The Dorset Growth Hub and The Dorset LEP.
Guest speakers included : Anna Rosier, Managing Director of Organix – very much a local business success story starting in Christchurch 16 years ago (now based in Bournemouth). Gordon Page, Chair of Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership provided an update on the Dorset LEP growth deal and its progression so far. Apart from highlighting the million pounds worth of investment that the LEP has so far secured from central government for the improvement of the Dorset economy, Mr Page also highlighted the need for strong and united partnerships across Dorset in order to secure more funding. He also emphasised the importance of partnership between both public and private sectors in Dorset as an essential element to Dorset’s economic growth and success.
Councillor Claire Bath, Portfolio Holder for Economy for Christchurch and Councillor Simon Tong, lead member for the Economy Growth Plan, also presented at the events. Both Councillors stressed the need for feedback from the Dorset business and general community, so that the long term benefits of the growth investments can be both communicated and realised.
Thank you to Jayne Codling (R&KEO), Claire Main (School of Tourism), Mark Painter (CfE and Business School) , David Parker, Lucy Rossiter (Cyber Security), Norman Stock (SciTech) and Liam Toms (Media School) who took the opportuntity to network with a number of local businesses and highlight how Bournemouth University can support the “Going for Growth” vision.
On the 4th and 5th of November, I represented Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) at the Birmingham Care Show with my colleagues Clare Cutler and Dr Rick Fisher. This show attracted over 350 national exhibitors from many sectors of the care industry, including care home providers. This was a fantastic opportunity for BUDI to network and meet a range of potential collaborators. During the event we met over 200 delegates, many were interested in our bespoke educational services and our forthcoming MSc Applied Dementia Studies programme (due to start in September 2015 subject to validation).
The event demonstrated the current focus on making services and products within the care industry ‘dementia friendly’. Many of the displays were heavily influenced by a medical perspective of dementia care, such as medicine compliance aids and monitoring technologies. However, I also noticed small businesses promoting a more psycho-social approach, including one organisation who delivered drama sessions to help carer’s gain an empathetic understanding of what living with dementia is like. The experience was, for me as a PhD student within BUDI, a good opportunity to meet practitioners in the field of dementia care, and to see first-hand the range of products and services on offer to people affected by dementia.
Chris Poyner, PhD student, BUDI
The Bournemouth University Cyber Security Unit (BUCSU) exhibited at the annual National Cyber Summit in London on 20 November. The Cyber Security Summit 2014 welcomed high-profile representatives from the Cabinet Office, Home Office and National Cyber Crime Unit, as well as over 150 central government and police force leaders.
The BUCSU stand received quite a lot of interest from delegates, particularly around the newly developed Cyber Security Job Retention through Education programme, which includes the BSc Cyber Security Management course and the MSc Cyber Security & Human Factors course. This job retention programme will provide students with a 10-year education/employment plan while also ensuring employers retain their capable cyber security professionals for at least 10 years – it’s win-win for students and employers. As a standalone course, the MSc Cyber Security & Human Factors received particular attention from experienced professionals aiming to further develop their cyber knowledge in a part-time/distance learning course. Additionally, several delegates and fellow exhibitors expressed interest in our enterprise/consultancy engagement opportunities, so these will be followed up as well.
As the Cyber Security Summit brought together over 350 cyber security experts, senior officials and policy-makers from across public sector and industry to discuss the ever-changing threats posed by cyber-crime and share best practice strategies to help the UK effectively combat these threats, this was an ideal opportunity for us to inform the cyber community about the Unit and what we offer.
For more information, check out ComputerWeekly.com’s article on the event – Cyber Security a shared responsibility, says Cabinet Officer minister Francis Maude.
A centre to provide leadership and management development opportunities and support across the health and social care sector has been launched at BU.
The Centre for Leadership, Impact and Management in Bournemouth (CLiMB) offers a range of development options – including leadership and management programmes; coaching and mentoring development; accreditation for in-house programmes; and consultancy, research and impact evaluation.
Director of CLiMB Professor Keith Brown said: “CLiMB is being launched to bring together Bournemouth University’s strengths of research, consultancy and education in the leadership of health and social care services. “Never before have these services been under the level of financial pressure and public scrutiny that they are currently, coupled with increasingly high public expectations for quality services. “These needs and demands can only be met by better leadership at all levels within the health and social care sector.”
The centre has been launched after more than five years of research and development in the field of leadership and management in health and social care. Professor Brown was asked by the government’s Social Work Reform Board, established following the death of Peter Connelly, to develop a leadership pathway for social work managers.
This was extensively evaluated for impact and then adapted for healthcare in response to the Francis report at Mid Staffordshire Hospital.
The Centre was officially opened on 12th November by Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns, who said: “Too often in health and social work, organisations have become too immersed in process and procedure that they lose sight sometimes of the outcome. We should be proud of what Keith and the team do in terms of outcomes for people… making a contribution emotionally and economically.”
Sue Sutherland OBE, Chair of BU’s Board and former Chief Executive of Poole Hospital, said: “The launch of this centre is really important. It is absolutely rising to the challenges that the sector faces, helping to develop the best health and social care service that’s borne out of leadership at every point of the sector.”
CLiMB currently receives HEIF funding. Higher Education Innovation Funding aims to support and develop a broad range of knowledge-based interactions between universities and colleges and the wider world, which result in economic and social benefit to the UK.
InnovationKT 2015 is an international conference focussing on innovation and knowledge transfer.
InnovationKT 2015 is the conference for knowledge professionals – those academics, business people, managers and researchers working with innovation, enerprise, knowledge transfer, exchange and sharing.
Featuring world-class speakers, oral and poster presentation sessions and interactive workshops, the InnovationKT 2015 Conference will provide an excellent opportunity to disseminate, share and discuss the impact of university-business and business-business interactions. Applicable themes include:-
InnovationKT 2015 will be hosted by the University of Staffordshire on its Stoke-on-Trent campus, and chaired by Dr Matthew Hocking.
Call for papers – click here for more details
Call for proposals for special sessions and workshops – click here for more details
An special session consists of a presentation session of six papers on a specific conference topic, organised as a mini-conference. We invite senior researchers or managers who have a special interest in a specific conference topic to to take responsibility for a special session, gathering papers from colleagues and managing the review process. We also invite proposals for workshops and other activities that will be of interest to delegates.
For more details see the invited sessions page.
InnovationKT2015 is organised by KES International in partnership with the Institute of Knowledge Transfer and the Staffordshire University.
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Location
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The collaboration between Staffordshire University and UK partners includes
excellent relationships with local and national companies as well as 17 further education
colleges plus charitable organisations such as the Institute for Children, Youth and Mission
and Oasis College.
Staffordshire is world renowned for its pottery and there are many beautiful attractions around
the area where you can immerse yourself in British culture. Take a tour around various pottery
museums, galleries and attractions, maybe visit Stoke Minster and round it off with a nice cup
of English tea at Gladstone Tea Room overlooking their famous cobbled courtyard!
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Further information
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SPARK 2014 is a brand new opportunity to see the latest innovations developed to meet NHS needs alongside a national conference that brings together the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), industry partners and NHS leaders and clinicians.
The conference will be of interest to the following audience who are keen to know what the next innovations in healthcare are:
The SBRI Healthcare programme is an NHS England funded scheme to accelerate the development of new technologies for known health needs. With over 100 companies in the SBRI Healthcare fold some of the key areas in which innovations are being developed are:
Cancer : COPD : CVD : Diabetes : Dementia : End of Life : Hand hygiene : Meds Adherence / Meds Optimisation : Mental Health : Long Term Conditions : Patient Safety : Patient Empowerment : Renal : Research Tools : Telehealth / Telecare for People with Learning Disabilities.
Conference details: 10 December, QE II Conference Centre, London
Booking information including discounted rates for universities: click here
Proposed agenda: click here
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*New* Full Economic Cost thresholds for research and knowledge exchange (RKE) activity
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