Category / Fusion Investment Fund

Faith Matters? New Book on Women and the Quest for Spiritual Authenticity

BU research, Fusion Investment Fund, Women's Academic Network

The quest for women’s authentic experience of spirituality and faith is a topic of broad and profound social significance. Since the first published, scholarly and excoriating critiques by women theologians in the nineteenth century we have had to rely on men’s accounts of what women should and do believe about mortal existence, its meaning and relevance, if any, to the unfathomable cosmos and the mysteries of creation (however the latter is understood). Women’s voices on questions of faith continue to be largely unheard across all faith communities, even though, as we know, organised religions, and other faith groups, rely so heavily upon women’s support and sheer hard work.

My new Routledge research monograph, Women of Faith and the Quest for Spiritual Authenticity makes its own special contribution to our understanding of these questions, as derived from 59 selected interviews with women in Malaysia and the UK concerning their experiences, beliefs and practices across the faiths of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and diverse Pagan pathways. The accounts are often very personal and detailed in referring to both the micro (individual) and the macro (social) in terms of how faith and gender are negotiated in multicultural societies that struggle with the politics of diversity.

The gestation of this unfunded research monograph in terms of data gathering has felt longer than gestation for a whole family of reproducing female elephants, although time moved from protraction to contraction and acceleration. The Women’s Academic Network provided much needed ‘space’ for me to concentrate on the book proposal, which was accepted in record time owing to enthusiastic reviews. Thereafter, words flew onto the page and the book was completed in less than a year from start to finish, including time off recuperating with Covid-19.

This academic year I road-tested some of these Sociology of Religion ideas in the classroom and found that social science students really enjoyed and related to the discussions. So much for secular, materialistic youth! Furthermore, braced for some pain at the cruel hands of reviewers, given the innovative cross-faith, cross-cultural approach I took, I was astonished and thrilled at the wonderful reviews garnered from eminent scholars in the field, even before the book hit the shelves (later this month).

So, given little in the way of funding and a rather off-piste topic, what led me on? The book seriously began back in 2014 on my precious and hectic study leave in Malaysia busily engaged in a round of international teaching, training and public speaking engagements around Southeast Asia; plus busily gathering data with my co-researcher, for our condensed ethnography on Indigenous communities under ecological threat; plus gathering data for this book as well. It was a wonderful and unforgettable time, crazy of course but incredibly productive and happy.

Back in the UK I was helped by the generosity of so many people of both sexes, across different faith communities locally who introduced me to their circles where I found many women willing to talk to me, teach me and sometimes pray for me too (who says I don’t need it?!). This was a very personal journey in all ways and I have many to thank, not forgetting those BU colleagues managing the former Fusion Investment Fund for making my study leave possible!

I am now delighted to see that following the departure of our good friend, Reverend Dr. Bill Merrington, we now have a new woman chaplain, Reverend Ruth Wells. I feel that Ruth’s arrival at BU heralds new opportunities to reach out to women across diverse faiths and spiritualties and in so doing we are already planning collaboration to develop a series of public engagement, interfaith seminars. I look forward to working closely with Ruth on a continuing big issue of our time: feminism, faith, diversity and inclusion.

Fertile Ground: Collaborative Success

Fusion Investment Fund, Research news

Dr Jeffrey Wale (FMC) and Professor Sam Rowlands (FHSS) have been fortunate enough to have three papers accepted for publication during the lockdown period.  First, they have an article ‘A constructivist vision of the first-trimester abortion experience‘ being published by the Health and Human Rights Journal in June 2020.  Second, they have a paper ‘Incentivised Sterilisation: Lessons from India and for the Future‘ being published by The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care.  Finally, the BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health Journal will be publishing their paper ‘The ethics of State-sponsored and clinical promotion of long-acting reversible contraception‘.

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

BU Challenges, BU research, Funding opportunities, Fusion Investment Fund, RKE development framework

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

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

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

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

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

Find out more and apply.

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

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

Acorn Fund Launch – Internal funds for ECRs

BU Challenges, BU research, Funding opportunities, Fusion Investment Fund, RKE development framework

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Student Research Assistantship – deadline extended

BU research, Fusion Investment Fund

The deadline for student applications for the SRA Scheme has been extended to 2nd April 2018. The summer programme is for 120 hours work between late May and 31st July 2018 and is open to all campus-based undergraduate and postgradaute-taught students from all faculties who have grades of over 70%. Students can apply via MyCareerHub using the links below.

2D/3D Animation Tool Developer – Student Research Assistant – Dr Xiaosong Yang

An analysis of Channel 4’s broadcast coverage of the 2016 Rio Paralympics – Student Research Assistant  – Dr Dan Jackson and Dr Emma Pullen

Augmented Reality Student Research Assistant – Dr Tom Wainwright

Blockchain and its potential to transform business operating models in tourism and hospitality – Student Research Assistant – Dr Viachaslau Filimonau

Brythm App Project: Producing media content to support implementation of an app for clinical trials – Student Research Assistant – WeZ Nolan

CAIRIS Research Software Engineer – Student Research Assistant – Dr Shamal Faily

Creating a citizen science website for identifying wildlife habitats: Wildlife Space Search (WiSS) – Student Research Assistant – Dr Anita Diaz

‘Debt Financing Impact – Family Firms UK’ Student Research Assistant – Dr Suranjita Mukherjee

Digital connectivity and leisure in later life – Student Research Assistant – Prof. Janet Dickinson

Entrepreneurial Graduates Student Research Assistant – Clive Allen

Evaluator for children’s emotional education and well being – Student Research Assistant – Dr Ching-Yu Huang

Facebook Personalisation and Digital Literacy (Algorithms and Fake News) – Student Research Assistant – Dr Roman Gerodimos

Student Research Assistant: Food donations in the UK grocery retail sector – The role of local charities – Dr Viachaslau Filimonau

Food waste collection and recycling by local councils in England: identifying ‘best practice’ models – Student Research Assistant– Dr Viachaslau Filimonau

‘Housing Information Retrieval System’ Student Research Assistant – Dr Edward Apeh

HTML5 Game developer – Student Research Assistant – Dr Vedad Hulusic

Inter-professional attitudes and beliefs about pain management: support to write a research paper – Student Research Assistant – Dr Desiree Tait

Low power IoT devices for Network Visuals – Student Research Assistant – Liam Birtles

Marketing & Economic Well-being Student Research Assistant – Prof. Juliet Memery

Marketing and Media Student Research Assistant – Dr Tom Wainwright

Modelling and System design for Intellectual Property law application – Student Research Assistant – Dr Sofia Meacham

M-shopping and senior consumers: A multi-method investigation into attitude and shopping process – Student Research Assistant – Dr Jason Sit

Older carers story project research assistant post – Student Research Assistant – Dr Mel Hughes

Public Engagement Student Research Assistant (Virtual Avebury) – Prof. Kate Welham

Public Service Motivation and Civic Engagement – Student research Assistant – Dr Joyce Costello

Quantifying Dyslexic Performance in Classroom Copying Tasks – Student Research Assistant – Dr Julie Kirkby

Reconstructing Disney Films – Student Research Assistant – Dr Alexander Sergeant

Student Research Assistant for a Political Anthropology Project on Gibraltar & Spain – Dr Laura Bunt-MacRury

Research Assistant: Economic Impact of the Rohingya Refugee Crisis – Dr Mehdi Chowdhury

Student Research Assistant in Managing Crises and Disasters at International Sport Events – Dr Richard Shipway

Student research assistant to support the development of a change framework for Higher Education – Dr Lois Farquharson

Researching the role of public engagement events to increase understanding of financial scams – Student Research Assistant– Dr Sally Lee and Prof. Lee-Ann Fenge

Student Research Assistant to The TACIT Trial: TAi ChI for people with demenTia – Dr Samuel Nyman

Story-mapping Marginal Voices: Using Modes of Interactive Storytelling – Student Research Assistant– Dr Paula Callus

AI and Business Applications – Student Research Assistant – Dr Martyn Polkinghorne

Public Engagement Activities of Postgraduate Researchers – Student Research Assistant – Dr Martyn Polkinghorne

Entrepreneurship Education – Student Research Assistant – Dr Mili Shrivastava

Student Research Assistant (micro-plastics and disease dynamics) – Prof. Robert Britton

Student Research Assistant in Law & AI – Dr Argyro Karanasiou

The effect of signage on driving performance: Student Research Assistant – Dr Christos Gatzidis

The material culture of mantelpieces as expression of self-identity – Student Research Assistant– Dr Fiona Coward

Traveling with Diabetes – Student Research Assistant– Prof. Dimitrios Buhalis

Understanding the Hackers: Student Research Assistant – Dr John McAlaney

‘Who’s a scientist?’ Project Student Research Assistant – Dr Shelley Thompson

Team-based Learning Student Research Assistant – Lucy Stainer

‘TRAnsparent Web protection for alL, TRAWL’ Student Research Assistant – Dr Alexios Mylonas

Research Assistant: UK on the European and International Stage – Dr Sangeeta Khorana

Research Assistant in Entrepreneurship – Dr Thanh Huynh

Student Research Assistant in two-dimensional oxides – Dr Amor Abdelkader

Electrochemical remediation of contaminated soils – Dr Amor Abdelkader

“Institutions, Regulations and Performance” Student Research Assistant – Dr Khurshid Djalilov

Please encourage your students to apply.  All jobs are live on MyCareerHub, our Careers & Employability online careers tool.  You will need to use your staff/student credentials to login.

If you have any questions about th scheme, please contact Charlene Parrish, Student Project Bank Coordinator, on 61281 or email sra@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Student Research Assistantships open for applications!

BU research, Fusion Investment Fund

The following projects have been awarded for the summer round of the Student Research Assistantship (SRA) scheme. Projects are open for applications and students can apply via MyCareerHub using the links below, the deadline is 18th March.

This summer programme is for 120 hours work between May and 31st July 2018 and is open to all campus-based undergraduate and postgradaute-taught students from all faculties, who have grades of over 70%. Please do encourage your students to apply!

2D/3D Animation Tool Developer – Student Research Assistant – Dr Xiaosong Yang

An analysis of Channel 4’s broadcast coverage of the 2016 Rio Paralympics – Student Research Assistant  – Dr Dan Jackson and Dr Emma Pullen

Augmented Reality Student Research Assistant – Dr Tom Wainwright

Blockchain and its potential to transform business operating models in tourism and hospitality – Student Research Assistant – Dr Viachaslau Filimonau

Brythm App Project: Producing media content to support implementation of an app for clinical trials – Student Research Assistant – WeZ Nolan

CAIRIS Research Software Engineer – Student Research Assistant – Dr Shamal Faily

Creating a citizen science website for identifying wildlife habitats: Wildlife Space Search (WiSS) – Student Research Assistant – Dr Anita Diaz

‘Debt Financing Impact – Family Firms UK’ Student Research Assistant – Dr Suranjita Mukherjee

Digital connectivity and leisure in later life – Student Research Assistant – Prof. Janet Dickinson

Entrepreneurial Graduates Student Research Assistant – Clive Allen

Evaluator for children’s emotional education and well being – Student Research Assistant – Dr Ching-Yu Huang

Facebook Personalisation and Digital Literacy (Algorithms and Fake News) – Student Research Assistant – Dr Roman Gerodimos

Student Research Assistant: Food donations in the UK grocery retail sector – The role of local charities – Dr Viachaslau Filimonau

Food waste collection and recycling by local councils in England: identifying ‘best practice’ models – Student Research Assistant– Dr Viachaslau Filimonau

‘Housing Information Retrieval System’ Student Research Assistant – Dr Edward Apeh

HTML5 Game developer – Student Research Assistant – Dr Vedad Hulusic

Inter-professional attitudes and beliefs about pain management: support to write a research paper – Student Research Assistant – Dr Desiree Tait

Low power IoT devices for Network Visuals – Student Research Assistant – Liam Birtles

Marketing & Economic Well-being Student Research Assistant – Prof. Juliet Memery

Marketing and Media Student Research Assistant – Dr Tom Wainwright

Modelling and System design for Intellectual Property law application – Student Research Assistant – Dr Sofia Meacham

M-shopping and senior consumers: A multi-method investigation into attitude and shopping process – Student Research Assistant – Dr Jason Sit

Older carers story project research assistant post – Student Research Assistant – Dr Mel Hughes

Public Engagement Student Research Assistant (Virtual Avebury) – Prof. Kate Welham

Public Service Motivation and Civic Engagement – Student research Assistant – Dr Joyce Costello

Quantifying Dyslexic Performance in Classroom Copying Tasks – Student Research Assistant – Dr Julie Kirkby

Reconstructing Disney Films – Student Research Assistant – Dr Alexander Sergeant

Student Research Assistant for a Political Anthropology Project on Gibraltar & Spain – Dr Laura Bunt-MacRury

Research Assistant: Economic Impact of the Rohingya Refugee Crisis – Dr Mehdi Chowdhury

Student Research Assistant in Managing Crises and Disasters at International Sport Events – Dr Richard Shipway

Student research assistant to support the development of a change framework for Higher Education – Dr Lois Farquharson

Researching the role of public engagement events to increase understanding of financial scams – Student Research Assistant– Dr Sally Lee and Prof. Lee-Ann Fenge

Student Research Assistant to The TACIT Trial: TAi ChI for people with demenTia – Dr Samuel Nyman

Story-mapping Marginal Voices: Using Modes of Interactive Storytelling – Student Research Assistant– Dr Paula Callus

AI and Business Applications – Student Research Assistant – Dr Martyn Polkinghorne

Public Engagement Activities of Postgraduate Researchers – Student Research Assistant – Dr Martyn Polkinghorne

Entrepreneurship Education – Student Research Assistant – Dr Mili Shrivastava

Student Research Assistant (micro-plastics and disease dynamics) – Prof. Robert Britton

Student Research Assistant in Law & AI – Dr Argyro Karanasiou

The effect of signage on driving performance: Student Research Assistant – Dr Christos Gatzidis

The material culture of mantelpieces as expression of self-identity – Student Research Assistant– Dr Fiona Coward

Traveling with Diabetes – Student Research Assistant– Prof. Dimitrios Buhalis

Understanding the Hackers: Student Research Assistant – Dr John McAlaney

‘Who’s a scientist?’ Project Student Research Assistant – Dr Shelley Thompson

Team-based Learning Student Research Assistant – Lucy Stainer

‘TRAnsparent Web protection for alL, TRAWL’ Student Research Assistant – Dr Alexios Mylonas

Research Assistant: UK on the European and International Stage – Dr Sangeeta Khorana

Research Assistant in Entrepreneurship – Dr Thanh Huynh

Student Research Assistant in two-dimensional oxides – Dr Amor Abdelkader

Electrochemical remediation of contaminated soils – Dr Amor Abdelkader

Please promote these vacancies to students where applicable.  All jobs are live on MyCareerHub, our Careers & Employability online careers tool.  You will need to use your staff/student credentials to login.

Please do look out for SRA updates on the BU Research Blog.

If you have any questions about this scheme, please contact Charlene Parrish, Student Project Bank Coordinator, on 61281 or email sra@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Student Research Assistantships – recruiting now!

BU research, Fusion Investment Fund

The Student Research Assistantship Scheme is open to student applications until 18th March. Vacancies are open to all on-campus undergraduate and postgraduate taught students with an average grade of 70%+, please do encourage your students to apply!

The programme is funded by the Fusion Investment Fund and the scheme continues to focus on supporting departments to reach co-creation targets while supporting students to undertake research that is directly related to their career path and/or academic discipline under the guidance of an experienced academic.

This round of SRAs is for 120 hours work over four weeks between late May and 31st July 2018. Students can browse the full list of vacancies and apply via MyCareerHub.

If you have any questions about the SRA Scheme, please call Charlene Parrish on 61281 or email the SRA inbox.

SRA academic applications – closing date this Friday

Fusion Investment Fund

A reminder that the deadline for academic applications is Friday 26th January 2018.

 

Academics are invited to submit applications for this years’ SRA programme.  Application deadline is 26th January 2018.

The programme is funded by the Fusion Investment Fund and the scheme continues to focus on supporting departments reach co-creation targets whilst supporting students to undertake research under the guidance of an experienced academic that is directly related to their career path and/or academic discipline.  Each department has its own allocation of funding and we encourage collaboration between departments for this scheme.

The academic applications will be assessed against the following criteria which you will need to demonstrate within the application form:

  • Student-centred
  • Co-creation and co-production
  • Fusion
  • External engagement
  • Impact
  • Cross-Faculty

This scheme is for successful students to work for 30 hours a week for a total of four weeks in June/July 2018.

The SRA programme is coordinated via RKEO.

Academics will apply for the funding via an application form. A Faculty based panel will review all staff applications and decide which applications to continue to the student recruitment stage of the scheme.  The application deadline for this round is 26th January 2018.

Approved academic applications will be advertised as SRA positions to students with student applications being received, processed and managed centrally within RKEO and distributed to the relevant academics after the closing date. Academics will be responsible for shortlisting, interviewing and providing interview feedback to their own candidates. Successful students will need to complete monthly timesheets, signed by their supervisor for payment.

These SRA vacancies will be available to taught BU students only, where SRA applicants must be able to work in the UK, be enrolled during the time of their assistantship and also hold an average grade of over 70%.  Staff are permitted to have multiple SRAs.

If you have any queries, please contact Rachel Clarke, KE Adviser –  sra@bournemouth.ac.uk

Student Research Assistantship scheme – academic applications now live

Funding opportunities, Fusion Investment Fund, student research

Academics are invited to submit applications for this years’ SRA programme.  Application deadline is 26th January 2018.

The programme is funded by the Fusion Investment Fund and the scheme continues to focus on supporting departments reach co-creation targets whilst supporting students to undertake research under the guidance of an experienced academic that is directly related to their career path and/or academic discipline.  Each department has its own allocation of funding and we encourage collaboration between departments for this scheme.

The academic applications will be assessed against the following criteria which you will need to demonstrate within the application form:

  • Student-centred
  • Co-creation and co-production
  • Fusion
  • External engagement
  • Impact
  • Cross-Faculty

This scheme is for successful students to work for 30 hours a week for a total of four weeks in June/July 2018.

The SRA programme is coordinated via RKEO.

Academics will apply for the funding via an application form. A Faculty based panel will review all staff applications and decide which applications to continue to the student recruitment stage of the scheme.  The application deadline for this round is 26th January 2018.

Approved academic applications will be advertised as SRA positions to students with student applications being received, processed and managed centrally within RKEO and distributed to the relevant academics after the closing date. Academics will be responsible for shortlisting, interviewing and providing interview feedback to their own candidates. Successful students will need to complete monthly timesheets, signed by their supervisor for payment.

These SRA vacancies will be available to taught BU students only, where SRA applicants must be able to work in the UK, be enrolled during the time of their assistantship and also hold an average grade of over 70%.  Staff are permitted to have multiple SRAs.

If you have any queries, please contact Rachel Clarke, KE Adviser –  sra@bournemouth.ac.uk

Student Research Assistantship Scheme: Opens soon

Funding opportunities, Fusion Investment Fund, Student Engagement, student research

The Student Research Assistantship (SRA) scheme will open for academic applications this week.

Stay tuned on the Research Blog for further information on how you can apply for the funding to recruit a student research assistant for a co-created output.

Please direct any questions to Rachel Clarke, KE Advisor on 01202 961347 or email sra@bournemouth.ac.uk

EU Info Day: ‘Health, demographic change and well-being’, Brussels 8/12/17

EU, Events, Fusion Investment Fund, Info Days, innovation, Research themes

There will be an EU Societal Challenge 1 Health & Wellbeing Info day on 8 December 2017, in Brussels. As you can see form the outline below, there are opportunities for BU across all four faculties within this part of the Work Programme for 2018-2020, due to be released in October.

 

With the principle of better health for all at its core, Horizon 2020’s Societal Challenge 1 (Health, demographic change and well-being) focuses on personalised health and care, infectious diseases and improving global health, innovative and sustainable health systems, decoding the role of the environment (including climate change) for health and well-being, digital transformation and cybersecurity in health and care. Horizon 2020′ Societal Challenge 1 Work Programme 2018-2020 will be expected to offer calls for proposals with an overall budget of about €2 billion.

Draft programme and registrations are to follow at the end of September.

Related to the Health Open Info Day, the Directorate-General for Research & Innovation supports the following two events which will be organised on 7 December 2017, also in Brussels

Partnering Event – organised by the EU-funded project Health-NCP-Net 2.0 – the event aims at helping you find the right project partners for the upcoming 2018 health calls. Registration opens on 8/10/17.

Satellite event on Innovation Procurement in health care – Limited to 80 participants – First come, first served basis, with booking already open.

Booking links and further information are on the main Info Day page.

Please let Emily Cieciura, RKEO Research Facilitator: EU & International, know if you plan to attend.

Back to the future, what are the most in demand skills/attributes of our graduates?

Fusion Investment Fund, Student Engagement, student research

This article was written by Brandon Clark and Edward Court, graduates of the BA (Hons) Business Studies degree at Bournemouth University.  They also completed their consultancy project in industry.

 

Skills…every job description has them, every experience enhances them, but what are the key skills prospective employers want 21st century university graduates to have?

With the UK exiting the European Union, Andrews et al (2010) highlighted the significance to employers of the UK graduate pool. They also stressed the importance for students to have a global mind set and to be culturally aware as many positions will involve working within diverse organisations and potentially with colleagues in other countries. Another factor that needs to be considered is from Marjanis’ (2008) research into challenges for Generation Z. The research finds that Gen Z students find the ‘psychological stress’ of graduate positions very demanding. This, coupled with the changing skills set required from graduates, presents a challenging and changing environment where students need to do everything they can to stand out in the employment market.

Through our research we have found a variety of skills that current employers are looking for (Vora 2008; Diamond et al 2011; Singh et al 2013; Adams 2015; QAA 2015; Levy et al 2016; Target Jobs 2017). These have been collated in to a matrix that can be seen below (Figure 1). Whilst it is clear about the key skills that are currently in demand, our research points towards a future shift, and there are several reasons that are cited for this.

Figure 1 – Matrix depicting the skills that are currently in demand from UK graduate employers.

As members of Gen Z ourselves, we both agree that a wider variety of skills are being demanded from graduates. We experience this through the application processes we are put through, and the countless job descriptions we read. These skills have been enhanced through a multitude of experiences throughout university, from group-work assignments and presentations to extra-curricular activities like volunteering and involvement in societies and most notably our placement year. Without this invaluable experience of a year in industry, neither of us would feel as prepared as we currently do to enter the graduate job market. We each worked with a number of people during our time on placement, including those based in different time zones and continents. This experience has provided us with an edge over what many are citing as the future requirements of UK graduates. However, whilst there are still a number of programmes that do not include a placement opportunity as part of the degree, or there are students who are not successful in securing a year in industry, will the future crop of UK graduates meet industry needs by simply obtaining a degree level education?

Newman et al (2017) points out that these questions are not just the concern of students, but that universities also have a huge role to play. Their report found that 80% of HE students believed that digital skills were vital for their careers however, half of the students felt that their courses weren’t developing these skills. Moreover, The World Economic Forum’s report, Future of Jobs (2016) stated “widespread disruption” in the jobs market with industries such as artificial intelligence growing rapidly. This suggests that students and education systems need to be interlinked with industry in order to future-proof students and develop the best graduates, equipped with the most in-demand skills.

Both of us have recently completed our Business Studies degrees and feel some disconnect between the skills we have gained through the taught part of the course and those that are expected of us when we apply for graduate positions. Whilst many of our assessments were based around verbal and written communication and teamwork, i.e. fundamental graduate skills skills that our research confirmed are in demand , these sorts of skills are required within any role.  We have found personally, through our placement year and through research on this project, that skills need to be more specific to job roles and industry sectors.  For example, we both found data processing and analytical skills using tools like MS Excel were crucial while on our placement year. This kind of in-depth skills assessment is not embedded in our programme.  However, we acknowledge that this may be the right approach. As specific skills such as Excel, need to be chosen by the student as they are the ones who know what roles and industries they want to pursue. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) (2015) states that business and management degrees “equip students to become effective and responsible global citizens” through the “enhancement of a range of general transferable intellectual and study skills”. Whilst this direction provides some confidence that the current HE curriculum is focusing on enhancing the skills demanded by recruiters, are graduates fully prepared for what is ahead?

References:

Adams, S., 2015. The 10 Skills Employers most want in 2015 Graduates [online]. Forbes. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/11/12/the-10-skills-employers-most-want-in-2015-graduates/#30ac69b22511 [Accessed 26 June 2017].

Andrews, J. and Higson, H. (2008). Graduate Employability, ‘Soft Skills’ Versus ‘Hard’ Business Knowledge: A European Study1. Higher Education in Europe, [online] 33(4), pp.411-416. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03797720802522627?needAccess=true  [Accessed 3 July 2017].

Diamond, A., Walkley, L., Forbes, P., Hughes, T., and Sheen, J., 2011. Global Graduates into Global Leaders [online]. AGR, CIHE & CFE.

Hawawini, G., (2017)., Higher Education Must Still Go Global. [online] INSEAD Knowledge. [Online} Available at: https://knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-organisations/higher-education-must-still-go-global-6276 [Accessed 3 July 2017].

Levy, F. and Cannon, C., 2016. The Bloomberg Job Skills Report 2016: What Recruiters Want [online]. NYC: Bloomberg.

Marjani, A., Gharavi, A., Jahanshahi, M., Vahidirad, A. and Alizadeh, F. (2008). Stress among medical students of Gorgan. Kathmandu University Medical Journal, [online] 6(23), pp.421-425. Available at: http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/KUMJ/article/view/1726 [Accessed 3 July 2017].

Newman, T., and Beetham, H., 2017. Student digital experience tracker 2017: the voice of 22,000 UK learners [online]. Bristol: JISC.

QAA., 2015. Subject Benchmark Statement for Business and Management [online]. Gloucester: QAA.

Singh, P., Thambusany, R. X. and Ramly, M. A., 2013. Fit or Unfit? Perspectives of Employers and University Instructors of Graduates’ Generic Skills [online]. Malaysia: Elsevir LTD.

Target Jobs., 2017. The top 10 skills that’ll get you a job when you graduate [online]. Oxfordshire: Target Jobs. Available from: https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/career-planning/273051-the-top-10-skills-thatll-get-you-a-job-when-you-graduate [Accessed 26 June 2017].

The Future of Jobs Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. (2016). Global Challenge Insight Report. [online] Geneva: World Economic Forum, pp.19-20. Available at: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs.pdf [Accessed 3 July 2017].

Vora, T., 2015. Skills for Future Success in a DIsruptive World of Work. qaspire.com [online]. 31 August 2015. Available from: http://qaspire.com/2015/08/31/skills-for-future-success-in-a-disruptive-world-of-work/ [Accessed 3 July 2017].

World Economic Forum., 2016. The Future of Jobs [online]. Switzerland: World Economic Forum.

The 5 W: My experience as a Research Assistant explained

Fusion Investment Fund, Knowledge Exchange, Student Engagement, student research

My name is Teodora Tepavicharova and I will be in my second year in September 2017. I have always been interested in Digitalisation and when I found out about the opportunity to work as an assistant for ‘Investigating Forms of Leadership in the Digital Age’ research project, I couldn’t be happier and more excited to apply for it. I knew that working on something like this is a big responsibility but being able to be part of a team of professionals from the area you are passionate about is definitely worth it!  Let me explain you more about my experience as an Student Research Assistant.

What? The Student Research Assistant job role is a great opportunity no matter of the year of study. Every student who meets certain criteria can apply for it. My role for this project was to conduct literature reviews, collect data and make conclusions upon it. It was a challenge to find new information that hasn’t been researched before but working on the project, we found very interesting theories that may be a game changer for the way the Digital World has been looked up at until now. I found the foundation needed for the creation of an evaluative research paper on NVivo 11.

Why? The advantages of working this are many – make new contacts within the university and the environment where you are working, meeting new people, gaining new skills etc. In my opinion, one of the best things that you can learn is the information that you are looking for. I wanted to meet and work with tutors who will be teaching me in future and URA gave me this opportunity. Being able to dive so deep into a topic is a great way to learn new things, theory and real-life examples about something that you are passionate about. I found it very interesting to read and observe different papers, websites and get in touch with people who can give you inside of a brand-new topic is amazing experience for a student.

Where? The job is extremely flexible. Depending on you and the Project Leaders, you may choose to work from home, local web café, university or any other place where you can be productive. I worked from home and in the university depending on the amount of work I had. For me this was very useful because sometimes I needed much more time to work in the office rather than at home. Being able to choose makes the work pleasurable. I had my own desk, computer and needed materials for working productive.

Who? Every undergraduate and postgraduate taught student who is studying in the university and whose grades are 70 and above can apply for the position. At the end of my first year, I decided to work at least a month during the summer. The unique opportunity is great for everyone because no matter of your year of study, you always need experience in your CV. If you are curious, reliable, focused and enthusiastic, then definitely go for it!

When? I worked from the beginning to the end of June which again was my preferable time. This is another advantage of the job – you can spread the hours depending on your free time. Of course, it depends on the amount of work you have, the amount of time you spent working and the arrangements with your Project Leaders. The job was greater than my expectations as it was dynamic and I was able to learn how to work with NVivo 11.

I think that the most amazing thing about working as a SRA is that you are very welcomed to the team. My Project Leaders are wonderful, intelligent women who made me feel very calm, welcomed and helpful since day one. Being able to work in such cohesion, gives you the motivation and at the same time you are enjoying every moment of this journey. Working with NVivo 11 was a pleasure because it is easy to navigate and manage. I will certainly use the software again for my assignments and dissertation! So, if you are driven and ready to show what you are capable of, apply for Research Assistant!

Student Research Assistant – awarded projects

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, student research

The following is a list of current awarded projects, complete with live job links, for the summer round of the Student Research Assistantship (SRA) scheme:

 

Prof Alan Breen – Spinal Image Processing Assistant

Prof Alison McConnell – Cardiorespiratory Physiology Research Assistant: Development and evaluation of a mobile device App to lower blood pressure

Dr Anita Diaz – Enhancing public engagement with co-creating science through our science co-creation website

Dr Ann Bevan – Understanding behaviour change towards healthy diet patterns in women of childbearing age

Dr Ann Luce – Student Research Assistant: Media and Midwifery

Dr Anna Feigenbaum – Building a Database on Housing in London

Dr Anya Chapman – Climate Change and Seaside Piers: Student Research Assistant

Prof Barry Richards – Research support for a book and for teaching on the psychology of politics

Dr Brad Gyori – Mobile Application Research Engineer

Dr Carol Clark – Exploring the evidence relating to intrinsic factors that predict falls

Dr Christa van Raalte – ‘Understanding Media Careers’ – Student Research Assistant

Dr Darren Lilleker – Post-Truth: the challenge to liberal democracy

Dr David Botchie – Gender and SME finance in Ghana

Dr Debbie Sadd – Digitisation of Volunteer Stories

Dr Desiree Tait – Exploring data relating to a pain beliefs questionnaire

Dr Desiree Tait – Self-monitoring in pregnancy: women’s views

Dr Donald Nordberg – Governing the BBC

Dr Elvira Bolat – ‘Investigating Forms of Leadership in a Digital Age’ – Student Research Assistant

Dr Elvira Bolat – Marketing industry competitions and their role in fusing research, education & professional practice

Prof Iain MacRury – Research Assistant: Global University Advertising Survey Data Project 2000-2017

Dr Ishmael Tingbani – SME Finance, Investment and Performance: Typology and Impact

Dr Jae Yeon Choe – Migrant and Refugee Leisure Spaces Research Assistant

Dr James Gavin – Daily Activities as Training Exercises for Orthopaedic Patients

Dr Janet Scammell – To co-create a systematic literature review for publication to support funded research study

Dr Janet Scammell – Qualitative data analysis from an education evaluation project and co-create project publication

Dr Jian Chang – Research Centre Web Developer

Dr Jian Chang – Virtual and Augmented Reality Content Developer

Prof Julian McDougall – Digital Outreach Research Assistant

Karen Thompson – Carbon Reduction Programme Analysis

Dr Katherine Curtis – A review of literature on the availability, use and impact of health Apps among an older people

Dr Lorraine Brown – Female Muslim tourists in the West

Dr Lucy Lu – Global Engagement Assistant

Dr Marcin Budka – Public engagement assistant

Mathew Charles – Digital Research Programmer

Dr Mehdi Chowdhury – Research Assistant: International migration and the trade in cultural goods

Dr Mel Hughes – Evaluating models of Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in research

Dr Michael O’Regan – Dietary acculturation and Food Cultures at BU project

Dr Michele Board – ‘Evaluation of dementia training designed for hospital care staff’

Dr Michele Board – Student Research Assistant to review the literature on ‘What factors enable a more humanised approach to care in a residential setting

Dr Milena Bobeva – Research Assistant

Dr Milena Bobeva – Research Assistant in exploring the value of project-based experiential learning

Dr Nan Jiang – Optimising a web based decision making tool for cancer care

Dr Neelu Seetaram – An investigation of the types of tourism taxes imposed at destinations worldwide

Dr Nigel Williams – A visual tale of 3 Cities

Dr Rosie Read – From fieldwork to published article: Turning student ethnographic research co-produced publications

Dr Sangeeta Khorana – UK Trade Policy Post Brexit

Dr Shamal Faily – CAIRIS

Sharon Docherty – Visual perceptions and falls

Dr Shelley Thompson – Women, Science and Journalism Student Research Assistant

Simon Thomas – An investigation of the placement year on student’s career expectations

Dr Steven Trenoweth – A literature review of the factors affecting mental distress of Post-Graduate Research (PGR) student

Dr Tim Breitbarth – Sport and Society: Public Perceptions and Social Media Conversations about the Social Value of Sport

Dr Vanessa Heaslip – Mobile Web App for Migrants Project – Student Research Assistant

Dr Vanessa Heaslip – Supporting Educational Attainment, Progression and Aspiration of young, white disadvantaged males

Dr Viachaslau Filimonau – Food donations in the UK grocery retail sector – The role of local charities

Dr Viachaslau Filimonau – Tourism and (food) waste – a systematic literature review of an emerging research domain

 

Please promote these vacancies to students where applicable.  All jobs are live on MyCareerHub, our Careers & Employability online careers tool.  You will need to use your staff/student credentials to login.

Please do look out for SRA updates on the BU Research Blog.

If you have any questions about this scheme, please contact Rachel Clarke, KE Adviser (KTP and Student Projects) on 61347 or email sra@bournemouth.ac.uk