Category / Fusion

Free money! Free money! 1 week left to apply!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

 Okay so it’s not exactly free….you will have to do something for it but what if I told you that you will be hailed within BU, and who knows, maybe the world, as a researcher/support staff member extraordinaire! Your peers will bow down in the corridors in your honour, you will be met with applause when you enter the atrium.*

 I know what you’re thinking….’This sounds brilliant! Where can I find out more?’ Just point your mouse here, my friend, and all will be revealed.

*This may not actually happen.

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.

Fusion Investment Fund: Costing proposals

Funding opportunities, Fusion

We have had quite a few enquiries asking for help to provide costs for fusion fund applications. It is expected that applicants will calculate costs themselves. Please note that costings are not handled by RKE Ops as only external funding applications are processed by this team.  In the main, fusion applications involve travel and subsistence costs which can be calculated by staff drawing on standard guidance. In the case that an applicant is being bought out of their current post or hiring a new member of staff for a project your Director of Operations within your school should be able to provide guidance on identifying costs.  We encourage applicants to be as realistic as possible with regards to costings because any changes to approved projects, including costs during the lifecycle of the project, would need to be approve by Matthew Bennett.

 In the event of any queries please contact Natalie Baines, Fusion Investment Fund administrator.

There’s also more information about the different strands of the Fund on the Staff Intranet pages.

Thank FIF for that! Professional services staff can apply too!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

Not only does the Fusion Investment Fund provide opportunities for academic staff at BU, there are also options for professional services staff:

Staff can apply to Erasmus which is most appropriate for enabling academic and professional staff based at higher education institutions (HEIs) to spend a period of training or teaching between 5 working days and 6 weeks in a European HEI or enterprise.  Under training mobility, the purpose is to allow the staff members to acquire knowledge or skills relevant for their current job and their professional development and to help create cooperation between organisations. There are also opportunities to invite staff from enterprises to Bournemouth University to give presentations and provide teaching. Professional staff can undertake training at a European educational institution.

Another option is to apply to the standard element of the Staff Mobility and Networking (SMN) strand. Non-academic staff must be able to demonstrate through their application how their travel will benefit the academic process within BU and particular focus should be placed on the creation of sustainable collaborative networks of academics or professionals linked to specific outputs or partnership developments. 

 

For more information please read the relevant policy documents and information available on the FIF intranet pages.

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.

What the FIF’s it all about? – Another drop-in session today!

BU research, Funding opportunities, Fusion

Couldn’t get to the drop-in session on Talbot yesterday? Don’t panic! We’re holding another one today at Lansdowne.

Do you have questions about a potential bid for Fusion funding? Don’t know which strand to apply to? Not sure if your idea is eligible? Need more information about Erasmus? Come along to our drop-in session TODAY to get your questions answeredand to find out more about the Fusion Investment Fund (FIF):

    TODAY 1-2pm, EB702, EBC, Lansdowne Campus

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines and we’ll be there along with Moritz Ehlen, BU’s International Mobility Officer, who can provide specific guidance with regards to Erasmus.

There are some fantastic opportunities available under the 3 strands of the FIF and we’re looking forward to receiving lots of really good quality applications in time for the deadline of 1 July.  We look forward to seeing you later!

 

More information about the different strands of the Fund on the Staff Intranet pages.

 Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.

Want some money?

Funding opportunities, Fusion

I thought that might get your attention! The latest call of the FIF (or the ‘Fusion Investment Fund’ for those of you who haven’t yet added this acronym to your vocabulary) is open for 2 more weeks so if you haven’t applied yet or haven’t seen my previous blog posts, let me give you the highlights:

 So basically you could be given a pile of cash to enable you to do what you love! Pursue that dream of undertaking world-leading research or travel across the pond to work collaboratively with experts in your field. Become a hero and take your rightful place on that pedestal that your peers and students will put you on.*

 Sound good? Find out more.

*BU cannot guarantee this.

 The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.

What the FIF’s it all about? Find out Today!

BU research, Funding opportunities, Fusion

Do you have questions about a potential bid for Fusion funding? Don’t know which strand to apply to? Not sure if your idea is eligible? Come along to our drop-in session TODAY to get your questions answered and to find out more about the Fusion Investment Fund (FIF) on:

    TODAY 12-1pm in P411, Poole House, Talbot Campus

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines and we’ll be there along with members of the strand committees and Moritz Ehlen, BU’s International Mobility Officer, who can provide guidance with regards to Erasmus.

There are some fantastic opportunities available under the 3 strands of the FIF and we’re looking forward to receiving lots of really good quality applications in time for the deadline of 1 July.  We look forward to seeing you later!

 

More information about the different strands of the Fund on the Staff Intranet pages.

 Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.

 

Dizzy the dog attends midwives forum

Fusion

 

Left to Right: Mandy Williams - Community Midwife, Gay Rogers - Breakfast Host and Hospital Midwife and Luisa Cescutti-Butler, Senior Lecturer (Midwifery)

Every three months hospital and community midwives at Salisbury NHS Trust Hospital attend a forum dedicated to matters relating to Examination of the Newborn (EXON).  The aims of the forum are to support healthcare professional undertaking newborn examinations, sharing of experiences/case studies, interprofessional working, maintenance of competence, formulate and review internal  processes and peer support for professionals in training. Members consist of midwives, nurses, a consultant Paediatrician and Children’s physiotherapists. BU student midwives are welcome to attend when working with their community midwives and on this occasion two students were present. As unit leader for EXON at BU and one of the link lecturers at the hospital, I chair, coordinate and facilitate the forums, with venues alternating between hospital and community.  This month we met for breakfast at a colleague’s home, where midwives were greeted with the smells of freshly brewed coffee and a newly prepared home cooked frittata. Further offerings included fresh strawberries, raspberries, warm croissants, cocktail sausages and quails eggs.  

Minutes and agendas are sent out in advance. A standing item is a report from senior children’s physiotherapist Karen Robinson, whose department leads the service for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hips (DDH) in newborns.  A recent case was brought to our attention, where a baby had been examined by midwives and doctors and found to have an unstable right hip. The baby was appropriately referred for an ultrasound scan which subsequently found the right hip normal, but considered the left hip abnormal.  The Barlow’s and Ortolani manoeuvres used by both professions at the time of the examination had not detected any left hip abnormality. A robust discussion ensured as to the complexities of examining babies for DDH and the difficulties in detecting unstable hips when the manoeuvres used by all professionals were themselves unreliable. However Karen was able to reassure us by indicating that in the seven years of the Children’s Physiotherapy Department leading the DDH service, very few babies had been ‘missed’. Karen also emphasized the significance of caring for babies’ hips in general and the importance of educating parents around their baby’s ‘hip health’. The 3rd year midwifery students are currently taught theory around DDH with opportunities to practice manoeuvres on ‘Baby Hippy’. As facilitator for these sessions I realized that our midwifery curriculum had to include general baby hip health in the first year of the student’s programme. Rachael, a 3rd year student midwife, was in agreement: “the discussion around hip care for newborns was great to listen to. I agree that it would be really beneficial to have a lecture on hip care for students”. 

Left to Right: Rachael Callan - 3rd year student midwife, Carol Bremner - Community Midwife, Beccy Seaton-Harris - 1st year student midwife and Fiona White - Community Midwife

On other matters Karen highlighted a number of babies diagnosed with Erb’s Palsy following birth had recently been treated by the department. Various options were offered as to why these babies had sustained these birth injuries, resulting in the forum unanimously agreeing that education around Erb’s Palsy and Brachial Plexus Injuries would benefit all professionals involved with childbirth.  Terri Coates, an expert on Brachial Plexus Injuries and a midwife at Salisbury, agreed to arrange a study day with the national Erb’s Palsy Support Group, to be held at either Salisbury Hospital or BU for midwives and students.

There are many advantages in having a regular forum to discuss issues relating to newborn examination.  Case studies are presented and debated and education around various topics are provided at regular intervals. The forum also supports midwives from other trusts who are having difficulties with undertaking the examination in their areas. Beccy, the 1st year student midwife had the following to say: “It was very informative. It was good to see community and hospital midwives coming together as a team. I am also interested in learning more about Erb’s Palsy and attending a study day. Learning about general hip care would also be beneficial. The breakfast was lovely too”.

Dizzy

The last bark, I mean word, goes to Dizzy. He gets terribly excited when breakfast is served and runs from one midwife to another hoping for a dropped sausage or at least a titbit from a kind soul. After not having much luck, he eventually settles down and gently snores in the corner of the room. 

                                                                              

 

                                                                                        

 

 

 

Festival of Learning – Testament to a Successful Morning (Dr Simon Thompson, DEC Psychology Research Centre)

BU Challenges, Featured academics, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, Training

‘Testamentary Capacity in Dementia’ (03 June 2013 10:00h – 13:00h) – Presentation followed by in-depth plenary session about the complexities of leaving an estate to beneficiaries following a diagnosis of dementia.

‘Dementia’ is an umbrella term used to describe many types of deteriorating diseases – the most common ones are Alzhiemer’s disease, Vascular dementia, and Lewy body dementia.

Many married couples own property as ‘joint tenants’. Upon death, ownership automatically passes to the survivor. If property is owned as ‘tenants in common’, one half of the estate belonging to the deceased is dealt with by their Will. Problems arise when there is no Will, when others make a claim, or when another Will is executed.

‘Testamentary capacity’ is a person’s legal and mental ability to make a
valid Will. There are three premises: Presumption of capacity; Requirements; Proof of testamentary capacity.

It is proposed that the law should allow testators alternative means of satisfying the testamentary capacity standard such as an option to validate a testator’s capacity during their lifetime through forensic assessment measuring cognitive elements of testamentary capacity.

It does not remove the difficulty of knowing the status of person at a specific time line. However, it goes some way to describing a person during their lifetime in terms of mental ability and capacity.

Thompson, SBN (2006). Dementia and memory: a handbook for students and professionals. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Thompson, SBN (2012). Dementia. In SBN Thompson (Ed), Psychology of trauma: clinical reviews, case histories, research (pp169-202). Portsmouth: Blackwell-Harvard-Academic.

Its Fika Time

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion

 

Presentation – Birth in the UK to the 1st year Swedish Student Midwives at the Karolinska Institiute

Sue Mant (left), Helena Lindgren (Our Host representative), Sara Stride (right)

A colleague and I participated in an exchange visit to the Karolinska Institute (KI) in Sweden in May 2013 thanks to an Erasmus Mobility award. During the trip we visited several clinics and hospitals and had the opportunity to meet and talk with many Midwives, Student Midwives and Nurses working in different settings. When spending time at the KI with the Student Midwives we were able to provide an overview of Birth in the UK, where Waterbirth provision was of great interest and provoked much discussion.

During a visit to the Kista Barnmorskemottagning (a Midwife clinic) it was evident that as the Midwives are based in the clinics, they are able to provide good continuity of care. Midwives complete electronic records for every episode of care, there are no paper records or hand held notes for women to carry; in fact they are only issued with a printed copy of their blood group.

One of my objectives was to learn more regarding Group Antenatal Care provision in Sweden. A joint venture with a phd student from the KI enabled an exchange of information and a discussion of progress to date and to share ideas from a recent project regarding Group Antenatal Care in the UK.

During our many visits we were also introduced to the custom of “Fika”  –  or social time where work colleagues meet mid morning and mid afternoon for a drink and a chat. It is considered to be part of everyone’s daily routine, and is definitely a concept that might encourage staff in the UK to take regular breaks.

We also joined a social evening,  where First year Swedish Student Midwives were each presented with a Pinnard’s ready for practice.

Prefer to stay put? Let the professionals and/or academics come to you!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

Did you know that under the FIF you can invite an academic or professional to BU in respect to the development of projects or to provide training which is linked to any aspect of Fusion?

2 elements of the Fusion Investment Fund provide support for inward mobility:

The Standard element of the Staff Mobility and Networking (SMN) strand supports UK or overseas travel and subsistence in pursuit of any aspect of Fusion – research, education, and/or professional practice – with no minimum or maximum duration. Awards made will be between £1k and £10k. Particular focus should be placed on the creation of sustainable collaborative networks of academics or professionals linked to specific outputs or partnership developments. 

The Erasmus element of the Staff Mobility and Networking (SMN) strand provides opportunities to invite staff from enterprises to Bournemouth University to give presentations and provide teaching.

For more information please read the relevant policy documents and information available on the FIF intranet pages.

 

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.

Come to the Cabaret

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion

 

1st Year swedish students with Sara Stride(centre) and myself, Sue Mant (right)

1st Year swedish students with Sara Stride(centre) and myself, Sue Mant (right)

Thanks to an Erasmus mobility award myself and a colleague were able to engage in a teaching exchange with the Karolinska Institute (KI) in Sweden. For the midwifery team, this is an annual reciprocal arrangement which fosters education/practice links and ensures the continuation of a programme of support for exchanges between Bournemouth University (BU)  midwifery students and KI midwifery students. A very comprehensive itinerary allowed us to visit midwife led units, clinics, birthing units, and hospitals. We were enabled to spend time with student midwives in the classroom and with clinical teachers in practice.

This was my first visit, and a personal objective was to explore practice education. Student midwives in Sweden study midwifery for 18 months prior to qualification and this contrasts with the three year course mainly offered at home. Notably, the direct entry route to midwifery is not yet available in Sweden and even though this is an approach that KI is considering for the future, current applicants to the course have to be qualified nurses. KI student midwives move around various placements and student support mechanisms there were very similar to BU. Where things begin to differ is that there is no formally recognised mentor system. At the Sodra BB birth unit I learned from the Chef Barnmorska (Lead Midwife), that clinical teachers have often been qualified for a minimum of 5 years and though very experienced, they receive no formal preparation for their clinical teaching role. This perhaps reflects the lack of any formal ongoing post-registration development programme.  At Danderyds birth centre we met a midwife who has recently taken on a role similar to that of Practice Educator. She has adopted a progressive programme of regular meetings between clinical teaching midwives and the Institute link allowing them an opportunity to discuss individual student’s needs and achievements. Attending one meeting, we were invited to contribute to the discussion and as a cohesive group we were able to discuss strategies and share ideas. Issues arising with learners seem to bear common threads internationally

Helena Lindgren (our host representative) with Sara Stride

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Finally, if you are wondering what ‘Come to the Cabaret’ has to do with this blog…. Our visit happily coincided with end of course celebrations, a chance for the cohort to dress as characters from that very musical. I learned….. Swedish midwives know how to party!

Hurry! Only 4 weeks until the deadline for applications to the Fusion Investment Fund

Funding opportunities, Fusion

If you haven’t already sent in your application, don’t panic! There’s still time. With three funding strands available for staff there are a wealth of opportunities for both academic and professional support staff to take advantage of:                                                                            

 

We are holding two drop-in sessions for anyone who has questions or requires more information about the Fund on:

                 Monday 17 June, 12-1pm in P411, Poole House, Talbot Campus

                Tuesday 18 June 1-2pm in EB705, EBC, Lansdowne Campus

 Joining Samantha and myself will be members of the strand committees and Moritz Ehlen, BU’s International Mobility Officer, who can provide guidance with regards to Erasmus .

For all the updated strand policy documents, Fund FAQ’s and information about applying, please visit the FIF intranet pages.

 

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.

Could the SMN Strand of the Fusion Investment Fund be the one for you?

Funding opportunities, Fusion

The Staff Mobility and Networking strand (SMN) may seem like your normal, everyday standard strand but look carefully and you’ll see it’s a strand with a difference. It has 3 elements meaning even more opportunities for you! Not only is there a Standard element but there are also Erasmus Staff Mobility and Santander elements too!

The standard scheme is most appropriate for supporting staff UK or overseas travel and subsistence in pursuit of any aspect of Fusion – research, education, and/or professional practice – with no minimum or maximum duration and also includes inward mobility. Awards made will be between £1k and £10k.

The Erasmus Staff Mobility part of the strand is most appropriate for enabling academic and professional staff based at higher education institutions (HEIs) to spend a period of training or teaching between 5 working days and 6 weeks in a European HEI or enterprise. There are also opportunities to invite staff from enterprises to Bournemouth University to give presentations and provide teaching.

Please be aware that this scheme differs quite significantly from the other FIF strands. More information is on the Erasmus intranet page.

Santander, through Santander Universities, works to encourage the international exchange of students and lecturers with respect to the development of projects linked to research, education or professional practice. Support will be available in the form of subsistence and travel costs for staff. Five awards of £5k will be made.

 Has this whetted your appetite? Are you hungry for more? Then go, go, go to the FIF intranet pages.

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.

Erasmus Teaching Visit to Pisa

Fusion

Between May 11 and May 17 Howard Davis (Law Department, Business School) made a teaching visit to the Faculty of Law (Facoltà di Giurisprudenza) at the University of Pisa (Università di Pisa). The visit was paid for under the Erasmus teaching exchange scheme which complements a student exchange programme.

The teaching was based around four two hour lectures and discussion on the theme of human rights law. There were two lectures on themes related to UK law: the post coalition government changes to UK counter-terrorism law and recent changes to the right to a fair trial (including the use of closed material procedures in civil cases involving national security). The other two lectures reflected Howard Davis’ current research interests: the rights of victims of international crimes to gain an account of the truth of what happened to them or their relatives. The lectures are given in English to (mainly) Italian law students taking an English languge course. In Pisa there is an interdisciplinary language department (Centro Linguistico Interdipartimentale) which provides these courses and the lecture programme is part of one of these.

Howard Davis has done these lectures for a number of years and it is always a pleasurable and interesting experience. Pisa University is ancient and prestigious. It was founded in 1343 and jurisprudence was one of its original subjects. Gallileo (laws of physics and mathematics rather than civil or natural law!) was one of its famous pupils (the experiment on mass and acceleration, if it happened at all, involved dropping balls off the Leaning Tower). At last, however, the old building which has housed the law faculty for centuries, is in a state of collapse and the law faculty has had to be distributed at different sites around the city. This did not prevent Howad Davis’ visit from being a success and, it is hoped, an effective way of promoting the good name of Bournemouth University abroad.

An opportunity for study leave, secondment or placement? Thank FIF for that!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

I know, it’s unbelievable! BU is actually paying staff to take a period of study leave. Amazing!

The Study Leave strand (SL) now has three sub-strands: Academic Study Leave, Internal Secondments and Industrial Staff Placements.

 

  •  Academic Study Leave provides academic staff with a period of paid academic study leave normally up to 6 months in duration for the purposes of undertaking research, educational development or professional practice.  A period of Study Leave can be undertaken while at BU, but normally the expectation is that an individual would be based for part or all of the time at another academic institution either within the UK or overseas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Internal Secondments:  In order to drive interdisciplinary research at BU a limited programme of internal secondments is available.  Secondments may last up to a maximum of 6 months.

 

  •  Industrial Staff Placements:  Commencing from December 2013 only a series of short placement and internship opportunities will be available– typically 2 to 6 months – for BU staff with local and regional businesses/organisations will be advertised internally.  Staff will have the opportunity of applying for these placements with the selection panel involving a representative from the host and at least two BU Deans.  In addition to the placements that will be advertised centrally staff will still be invited to submit funding applications for industrial placements arranged through their own networks.

 

Read more about some of the projects we’ve previously funded under this strand:

Zulfiqar Khan’s blog post

Lai Xu’s blog post 

Lorraine Brown’s blog post

 

Need to know more? Your wish is my command! Go now to the FIF intranet pages.

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.

 

To co-create and co-produce – what life (and FIF) is all about!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

We humans love nothing more than to co-create and co-produce so it seems rather appropriate, don’t you think, that we have a strand of the Fusion Investment Fund dedicated to just that!

The Co-Creation and Co-Production strand (CCCP) is most appropriate for activities with specific emphasis on research and / or professional practice of between 6 and 12 months duration. Awards made will be between £2k and £75k.  Previously funded projects include the re-launch of The Rock community newspaper and the creation of the Poole and Purbeck community consortium to establish a fusion platform based on regional natural and heritage assets to service students across BU.

 Read about some of the projects we’ve funded under this strand:

Rick Fisher – CCCP funded project: An educational game for nursing student engagement in caring for people with dementia

Jan Wiener, Mariela Gaete-Reyes – CCCP funded project: Decreasing spatial disorientation: towards dementia-friendly environments

 Want to know more? Of course you do! Follow this link to the FIF intranet pages.

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.