Category / Doctoral College

Upcoming opportunities for PGRs – collaborate externally

Sharing on behalf of Professor Fiona Cownie:

We have two opportunities for PGRs to collaborate externally.

On Wed 24 April we are launching our SUNRISE project in collaboration with Universiti Sains Malaysia to promote research around sustainability and collaborations moving forward.

On Thurs 25 April we hold our third SPROUT event – our PGR Sustainability network with PGRs from Universities of Cardiff and Newcastle. Our focus is Sharing our sustainability stories.

Join us online for either or both events or in person on Wed am – though we do start SUNRISE early at 8-10 am (DG06).

Sign up via Eventbrite:

SUNRISE Wednesday 24 April 8-10 am online or on campus DG06 – sign up here

SPROUT Thursday 25 April 1-2 pm online – sign up here

More details below – hope to see you at these events if you’re interested in sustainability and collaboration.

SUNRISE

Would you like to attend our showcase event for sustainability projects from BU and our collaborator Universiti Sains Malaysia?  We will meet together online and on campus next Wednesday April 24th 8-10 am UK time (sorry it’s early – it’s because of the time difference with Malaysia).

We will offer coffee and croissants and share three projects from BU and three from USM at the event. We will think through possible collaborations going forward and introduce the SUNRISE British Council funded project.

BU speakers include: 

  • Dr Sukanya Ayatakshi Endow who explores gender bias in crowd-funding
  • Dr James Fair who explores sustainable developments within cinema

USM speakers include:

  • Dr Musfirah Zulkurnain who explores sustainable solutions to food security
  • Ms Nuri Izyani Ramlee who explores stingless bee farming for a healthier  future

At the event we will launch our SUNRISE sustainability showcase which brings together sustainability projects from both institutions from academics and PGRs. We aim to use this to inspire possible collaborations and student research around sustainability. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this. Please note, if you’re part of the showcase we’re not asking you to present on the 24th , unless I’ve been in touch, but to be part of the audience and discussion.

We would be delighted if you can join – we’re on campus, but you can also join us online through this link https://bournemouth-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/89705878993?pwd=cG1hWGVic3NKdE5jd205c1VnM1pEdz09 .

Please register via Eventbrite (above).

SPROUT

Join us for the April SPROUT event: Sharing our Sustainability Stories  

Hear from PGRs as they share their sustainability stories and engage in a writing taster session to begin articulating (or refining) your sustainability story.

This is an interactive session. Our PGR leads will share their sustainability stories. We will follow with a writing workshop taster ‘Writing your sustainability story’ in which you can write and share your sustainability story. We will finish by introducing our plans for Sprout online writing workshops

Please register via Eventbrite (above).

2nd HSS PGR Conference – submission deadline 19th April

HSS conference poster

Last chance to submit…

The Conference Committee welcome all PGRs in HSS to submit an abstract to present at the 2nd annual department conference, which will be held on Tuesday 4th June.

Last year’s inaugural conference was very successful, with evaluations celebrating the welcoming and supportive atmosphere for sharing aspects of our PGR work. It was fantastic to hear from students across the faculty and to see the breadth of research being carried out. You can see some highlights on X, by searching for the tagline #FHSSPGRConference2023
We welcome applications from all HSS PGRS, at any stage of the research.  Please submit your abstract, for either an oral presentation (20mins/3mins) or a poster presentation at https://forms.office.com/e/uwMMNxstEYNB the deadline for submissions has been extended by 1 week. Closing date Friday 19th April.
 
We have 2 keynote speakers organised to present on the day.
Dr. Mona Seyed Esfahani will deliver a keynote on new technologies in healthcare in the morning.
Dr. Holly Henderson will deliver a keynote on AI in research in the afternoon.
We look forward to receiving your abstracts.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me on wardl@bournemouth.ac.uk or Tanya Andrewes on tandrewes@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Best wishes
Louise Ward, on behalf of the Conference Committee

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) now open


Have your say

The Advance HE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) is now open


We are keen to make sure our PGRs have the best possible experience while studying with us. To do this, we need to know what you think works well and what as a University we could do better. This is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGR at Bournemouth University. We also kindly ask that all supervisors encourage their PGRs to participate in the survey.

Thank you to all PGRs who completed the 2023 PRES survey – we listened to you and your feedback has helped us to enhance your PGR experience in a range of areas.

The survey is now open and will close on Thursday 16 May 2024. Upon completing the survey, PGRs will automatically entered into a free prize draw. Four winners will be able to claim a £50 shopping voucher. Terms and conditions apply.

In addition, we will be making a £1 donation for every survey completed to the student mental health wellbeing charity, Student Minds.

Once you have completed the survey, you are entitled to claim a coffee voucher worth £3.20, from the Doctoral College to use at any BU Chartwells outlet. Please come to the Doctoral College (DLG08, Talbot Campus) to collect your voucher. You will need to show a screen shot of the final page of the survey in order to claim your voucher.

How do I take part?

PGRs will receive an email to your student account from the University on Monday 15 April 2024 containing a unique link which will allow you to access and complete the survey. If you can’t find this email, contact PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk and we’ll help you to get access.

What will I be asked?

The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete. Your response is confidential, and any reporting will be entirely anonymous. The survey is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGR at BU. It will ask you to share your views on supervision, resources, research community, progress and assessment, skills and professional development and wellbeing.

Why should I take part?

Your feedback is important. The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey is the only national survey of PGRs and so is the only way for us to compare how we are doing with other institutions and to make changes that will improve your experience in the future.

More information

If you would like to know more about the survey, please visit: PRES 2024.

We hope you take the opportunity to get involved this year and help us make improvements to your experience.

Best wishes,

The Doctoral College

For any PRES related queries, please email: PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

New video summarises article on developing socio-emotional intelligence in doctoral students

Graphical abstract of the journal article available on the link

Graphical Abstract

Disseminating research in different mediums can be an effective way to reach wider audiences. Using video, illustrations and other types of graphic design and creative media can also bring research to life.

This new video summarises the paper in the Journal Encyclopedia titled “Developing the socio-emotional intelligence of doctoral students” by Principal academic at BU Dr Camila Devis-Rozental

It explores socio-emotional intelligence (SEI) within the context of doctoral supervision in the UK and it presents a variety of interventions that can be implemented throughout the doctoral journey to make a positive impact on the doctoral students’ SEI development and in supporting them to flourish and thrive in academia and beyond.

You can access the video Here

You can read the article Here

 

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2024


Have your say

PRES will launch on Monday 15 April 2024 for postgraduate research (PGR) students to complete.

Look out for an email from the University containing your unique link to the survey.


We are keen to make sure our PGRs have the best possible experience while studying with us. To do this, we need to know what you think works well and what as a University we could do better. This is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGR at Bournemouth University. We also kindly ask that all supervisors encourage their PGRs to participate in the survey.

Thank you to all PGRs who completed the 2023 PRES survey – we listened to you and your feedback has helped us to enhance your PGR experience in a range of areas.

This year the survey will open on Monday 15 April 2024 and close on Thursday 16 May 2024. Upon completing the survey, PGRs will automatically entered into a free prize draw. Four winners will be able to claim a £50 shopping voucher. Terms and conditions apply.

In addition, we will be making a £1 donation for every survey completed to the student mental health wellbeing charity, Student Minds.

Once you have completed the survey, you are entitled to claim a coffee voucher worth £3.20, from the Doctoral College to use at any BU Chartwells outlet. Please come to the Doctoral College (DLG08, Talbot Campus) to collect your voucher. You will need to show a screen shot of the final page of the survey in order to claim your voucher.

How do I take part?

PGRs will receive an email from the University on Monday 15 April 2024 containing a unique link which will allow you to access and complete the survey. If you can’t find this email, contact PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk and we’ll help you to get access.

What will I be asked?

The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete. Your response is confidential, and any reporting will be entirely anonymous. The survey is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGR at BU. It will ask you to share your views on supervision, resources, research community, progress and assessment, skills and professional development and wellbeing.

Why should I take part?

Your feedback is important. The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey is the only national survey of PGRs and so is the only way for us to compare how we are doing with other institutions and to make changes that will improve your experience in the future.

More information

If you would like to know more about the survey, please visit: PRES 2024.

We hope you take the opportunity to get involved this year and help us make improvements to your experience.

Best wishes,

The Doctoral College

For any PRES related queries, please email: PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk

New research paper published by PhD student Hina Tariq

PhD student Hina Tariq, currently undertaking the Clinical Academic Doctorate program at the Department of Social Sciences and Social Work (SSSW), published a new paper titled, “The Delphi of ORACLE: An Expert Consensus Survey for the Development of the Observational Risk Assessment of Contractures (Longitudinal Evaluation)” Open Access in the journal of Clinical Rehabilitation.
This paper is co-authored by her academic supervisors, Professor Sam Porter and Dr Kathryn Collins, her former academic supervisor, Dr Desiree Tait and her clinical supervisor, Joel Dunn (Dorset Healthcare University Foundation NHS Trust).

Summary: This paper used the Delphi method to provide expert consensus on items to be included in a contracture risk assessment tool (ORACLE). The items were related to factors associated with joint contractures, appropriate preventive care interventions, and potentially relevant contextual factors associated with care home settings. The promise of a risk assessment tool that includes these items has the capacity to reduce the risk of contracture development or progression and to trigger timely and appropriate referrals to help prevent further loss of function and independence.

The paper has already crossed over 250 reads. The full text can be accessed by following this link: The Delphi of ORACLE: An Expert Consensus Survey for the Development of the Observational Risk Assessment of Contractures (Longitudinal Evaluation)

 

BU collaborates with BCP Council and Cambridge University on congestion modelling

Bournemouth University (BU) collaborates with the Bournemouth Christchurch Poole (BCP) Council and Cambridge University on modeling traffic congestion propagation. The work, conducted by Dr. Wei Koong Chai and Ph.D. Candidate Assemgul Kozhabek from BU advocates the use of epidemic theory to model the spreading of traffic congestion in cities.

The team proposes a modified Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model that considers the road network structure for a more accurate representation of congestion spreading. Through an N-intertwined modeling framework and analysis using real-world traffic datasets from California and Los Angeles, the study demonstrates improved agreement with actual congestion conditions. The findings offer valuable insights for developing effective traffic congestion mitigation strategies.

Reference:

A. Kozhabek, W. K. Chai and G. Zheng, “Modeling Traffic Congestion Spreading Using a Topology-Based SIR Epidemic Model,” in IEEE Access, vol. 12, pp. 35813-35826, 2024, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3370474.

Doctoral Supervision | New Supervisors Development Workshop 5 March 2024

Whether you are a new supervisor, you plan to be one, or you have experience but are new to Bournemouth University, this development workshop is for you. (If you have already booked, your place is confirmed).

The workshop, which is mandatory for new supervisors, offers the necessary knowledge to supervise Postgraduate Research students by placing this knowledge within both the internal and external regulatory framework.

This workshop will cover the following key areas:

  • The nature and scope of doctoral study and the role of a supervisor
  • Purpose and operation of the BU Code of Practice for Research Degrees
  • Monitoring, progression, completion and the process of research degrees at BU
  • The importance of diversity, equality and cultural awareness
  • Student recruitment and selection
  • Keeping students on track – motivation and guidance

Date: Tuesday 5 March 2024

Time: 10:00 – 15:15

Location: Talbot Campus (in person) Poole House, Room 226

Click here to book via the staff intranet.

 

PGR Research Culture and Community Grant

Reminder the Second Call for Applications is Open 

The Doctoral College is delighted to offer a second round of funding of the PGR Research Culture and Community Grant. This grant is intended to support PGR-led activity across researcher development, research culture and research community building initiatives.

We are committed to fostering a cohesive and collaborative community of PGRs and we have dedicated grants aimed at supporting PGR-led social and/or academic events: this may be a social event, training activity or other initiatives to enhance the PGR student experience. In addition to community building, the purpose of the funding is to enable PGRs to gain transferable skills and experience in planning, organising, promoting and implementing PGR engagement activities.

Stream 1: PGR Researcher Development

  • Supports the organisation of skills focused workshops, events, or initiatives.
  • Grants of up to £500 per activity are available.
  • Examples: analysis workshops, guest speakers, digital skills sessions, writing sessions.

Stream 2: PGR Research Culture and Community

  • Supports the delivery of PGR research culture and community building, well-being or social activities.
  • Grants of up to £300 per activity are available.
  • Examples: cultural events, get togethers, wellbeing enhancing activities.

Applications close Monday 4 March 2024 (midnight)

Full details on how to apply, including the application form can be found on the Doctoral College Brightspace.

 

If you would like to discuss your ideas before submitting your application please contact:

pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk

3C Event – PGR Culture, Community & Cake

The Doctoral College is excited to bring you our first 3C event! This social event is a catch-up opportunity for all PGRs to meet informally with the PGR community, share your research and make new connections.

This is also a great opportunity to ask any questions you may have, particularly for any new starters. This is an informal session and it would be great to see you there.

Register here

Fully-Funded PhD Studentship Competition

To support the growth of our PGR community, we are delighted to announce up to 10 fully-funded PhD studentships for candidates starting in April 2024 (Funded PhD & MRes studentships | Bournemouth University). The focus of these awards will be on research excellence as we look to REF2029.

The studentships will be awarded via a competitive process to the best candidates who identify a supervisory team and develop research projects which align to one or more of the BU research themes:

  • Helping people to live better for longer
  • Helping protect and preserve a sustainable environment
  • Preparing for and recovery from crisis
  • Challenging marginalisation, misinformation and under-representation
  • Helping creative industries and cultural heritage to thrive
  • Using our expertise to be a catalyst for growth, boosting skills and advancing the region.

With this student focussed funding approach, we aim to develop the excellence of our research culture by attracting high calibre candidates with a passion for research and a strong desire to contribute to BU’s research environment. The allocative process, which is aligned to those adopted for external UKRI fully-funded opportunities, will be overseen by the Interim Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Knowledge Exchange and administered by the Doctoral College.

Full details can be found in the Fully Funded Studentship Policy. Applicants will be asked to complete a bespoke application form (also available in word here) and attach this to their online application.

Postgraduate Research Showcase Celebration

Meet fellow researchers and academics at the Postgraduate Research Showcase Celebration. Support your PGR community and celebrate some of the amazing research that is taking place at BU!

Register via the Doctoral College Brightspace

Any questions please contact pgconference@bournemouth.ac.uk

Supervisory Development Lunchbite Session: Wellbeing Support for PGRs at BU

These one hour sessions are aimed at all academic staff who are new to, or experienced at, supervising research degree students and are interested in expanding their knowledge of a specific aspect or process in doctoral supervision. Each session will be led by a senior academic or a service representative who will introduce and facilitate the topic. Staff will benefit from discussions aimed at sharing best practice.

Wellbeing Support for PGRs at BU

Ensuring the wellbeing of PGRs and supervisors can be challenging and this session will look at the support available for PGRs at BU. This discussion will be led by Dr Chloe Casey, FHSS.

Staff attending this session will:

  • have gained additional knowledge of how to support vulnerable PGRs
  • have gained an understanding how to signpost PGRs to the support available at BU

Date: Tuesday 30 January 2024

Time: 12:00 – 13:00 (online)

For further details and to book visit the Doctoral College Supervisory Development staff intranet pages.

Doctoral Supervision | New Supervisors Development Workshop Dates 2024

Sessions coming up in January, March and May 2024.

Whether you are a new supervisor, you plan to be one, or you have experience but are new to Bournemouth University, this development workshop is for you. (If you have already booked, your place is confirmed).

The workshop, which is mandatory for new supervisors, offers the necessary knowledge to supervise Postgraduate Research students by placing this knowledge within both the internal and external regulatory framework.

This workshop will cover the following key areas:

  • The nature and scope of doctoral study and the role of a supervisor
  • Purpose and operation of the BU Code of Practice for Research Degrees
  • Monitoring, progression, completion and the process of research degrees at BU
  • The importance of diversity, equality and cultural awareness
  • Student recruitment and selection
  • Keeping students on track – motivation and guidance

Book your place onto one of the Doctoral Supervision: New Supervisors Development workshops below. Further details about this workshop can also be found on the staff intranet.

Date Time Location Booking (via Eventbrite)
Wednesday 31 January 2024 10:00 – 15:15 Online Book
Tuesday 5 March 2024 10:00 – 15:15 Talbot Campus (in person) Book
Wednesday 15 May 2024 10:00 – 15:15 Lansdowne Campus (in person) Book