BU Research Blog

Category / HEIF

November 3, 2015

New HEIF project commences: Modelling Natural Capital in Dorset

HEIF, Knowledge Exchange, Research communication Arjan Gosal

UK government policies relating to economic growth and the environment explicitly identify the need to create ‘a green economy, in which economic growth and the health of our natural resources sustain each other, and markets, businesses and Government better reflect the value of nature’ (Defra 2011). Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Local Nature Partnerships (LNP), including those in Dorset, were specifically created to support achievement of this goal. Key challenges are the need to assess the economic value of ecosystem services and to factor them into decision making; and the need to develop integrated and multisectoral approaches to spatial development that improve synergies and reduce trade-offs, while supporting the sustainable management of natural resources.

This project is designed to overcome these challenges, through the development of a modelling toolkit that will enable the value of ecosystem services to be assessed and mapped, then linked with economic activity. While analysis of ecosystem services is now a major international research endeavour, linkage with economic activity (such as the inputs and outputs of different industrial sectors) is at a very early stage. The toolkit to be developed by this project will therefore be both innovative and timely. By piloting the toolkit using Dorset as a case study, this project will deliver a proof of concept, with potential global applicability if successful.

Funded under the Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) initiative, any questions regarding the project can be addressed to P.I. Prof. Adrian Newton or Research Assistant Arjan Gosal.

November 3, 2015

Knowledge exchange funding delivers £9.70 for every pound invested

Business Engagement, HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer, Training jcodling

New research shows that HEFCE funding for university knowledge exchange (KE) activity delivers significant and increasing return for public investment. The return on investment from £1 of Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) is currently estimated at £9.70 in benefits for the economy and society, and may deliver even higher returns in future.

These results reflect the way universities overall are gaining greater expertise in KE, using HEIF more effectively and developing stronger partnerships, particularly with businesses. The research studies demonstrate the range and breadth of KE activity, and the significant benefits it brings to the economy and society.

The research studies describe positive feedback from businesses and social and community groups working with universities, on the benefits they have received from KE activities. Businesses feel that universities have become much more willing to engage and that higher education KE delivers value for money.

If you want to find out more about how you can start to develop relationships with business or build on existing networks, why not register to attend a free training session being held at the university on Thursday 19 November. This will include internal and external speakers who share their experiences either as a business or as an academic.

For more information and to book your place click here.

Read the full article on the HEFCE website.

September 17, 2015

Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team: how have we been flying the KEIT this month?

BU research, Business Engagement, Festival of Learning, HEIF, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer Partnership, Public engagement, Research communication Genna West

While many have been enjoying the last of the great British summer, the KEIT team have been working hard to ensure that BU’s research and knowledge is informed by society for the benefit of society on a number of cross institutional projects. Read on for a selection of our achievements this month:

Communicating BU’s research

Two exciting new digital features have been launched this month. The Research Photo of the Week exhibits winning photographs from the Research Photography Competition that we held earlier this year to showcase BU research. Our research spotlight feature has also just been launched in the form of a short video interview, featuring Dr Sally Reynolds whose work has recently been published in Scientific Reports.

Other research communication successes include Colin Pritchard’s research into dementia which was featured on the front page of the Times in August and has been well cited in the local and national press. Additionally, Jane Murphy and Joanne Holmes’ research into dementia and nutrition was reported in the Mirror and subsequently in the Coventry Telegraph and Evening Gazette.

Public Engagement

After the success of the Festival of Learning back in July, we’re already moving onto our next big event of the year, the ESRC Festival of Social Science. BU has supported events as part of the Festival for the past 3 years but this year, for the first time, we are officially a partner of the Festival and as such are producing many more events for the public, business and schools. Take a look at research.bournemouth.ac.uk/events for further details of activities taking place as part of the Festival, as well as for details of all our public facing activity.

Café Scientifique continues to be successful with September’s talk coming from Dr Robin Wilson from University of Southampton who discussed how we’re monitoring our environment from space and why we should care about it. Upcoming talks will feature Marine Archaeologist, Tom Cousins (October 6) and Vanora Hundley and Edwin Van Teijlingen who will explore Fear in Childbirth (November). If you’d like to be involved and have a great idea for a debate-centric talk we’d love to hear from you – just email Naomi.

The deadline for submitting your expression of interest to run a Festival of Learning event is also fast approaching so be sure to put your name and the concept of your event in online before 25 September.

Higher Education Initiative Fund (HEIF)

13 HEIF projects came to an end this summer, with some excellent outcomes including:

The BFX festival is running for the third year after starting out as a HEIF funded project. Tickets are now available for the festival – check out the website for more information. Volunteers are also need for this event, so please email Tracey Ricketts if you are interested in helping out.
An MSc Mobile app development course launched to start in 2016, in consultation with a number of stakeholders including local mobile app agencies.
BUG continues to hit the headlines: Weed machines remove 30 tonnes from Poole Park lake – Bournemouth Echo. This year-long research project by Bournemouth University Global Environment Solutions (BUG) monitors water quality at Poole Park lake, to form part of the bid for Heritage Lottery Funding to improve Poole Park.

HEIF 5+1: The twelve new projects that secured funding in August 2015 and will run for the next 12 months are well underway. More information will be posted on the Research Blog as these evolve – so keep an eye out for updates. One of the first to go live is Building Roman Britain.

KEIT and Liam Toms within the Media & Communication Faculty are working together to co-ordinate a Creative Bournemouth event to be held at the EBC on 23 September. Professor Tim McIntyre-Bhatty will open the event and a number of speakers from the creative industries will present during the afternoon. This event will also launcha special feature on creative industires in Bournemouth published by The Drum .

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)

We currently have five live KTP within SciTech and KTP activity at BU is on the increase with KTP leads associated with every Faculty. This is a fantastic result and we are keen to further promote the specific KTP Cyber Security call and Stratified Medicine call, both of which are due to close in early 2016.

If you’re feeling inspired by our blog post and would like to get involved with some of our projects then feel free to get in touch:

Genna West – Knowledge Exchange and Impact Manager

Rachel Bowen – Research Communications Manager

Rachel Clarke – Knowledge Exchange Adviser (KTP)

Jayne Codling – Knowledge Exchange Adviser

Naomi Kay – Public Engagement Officer

Katie Breadmore – Public Engagement Event’s Organiser

Oliver Cooke – Student Engagement Coordinator

To find out more about us and what we do, take a look at our team page.

August 24, 2015

Fancy working on a project with the RNLI?

HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer jcodling

Following recent HEIF funding, this project aims to develop an alternative solution by simulating and visualising the lifeboat launching with unmanned vehicles in an immersive virtual environment. Working with staff members at the RNLI and located within The National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at Bournemouth University this role will offer an exciting opportunity to join the NCCA’s research team and be involved in the design of the next generation lifeboat launching system in order to enhance safety and efficiency.

This vacancy is advertised on BU’s website with a closing date of 20 September 2015.

August 24, 2015

Building Roman Britain – Research Assistant

HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement jcodling

The Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Sciences is about to start a new project that uses a non-destructive method to examine museum specimens in order to determine their possible source.

The project will examine the stone and ceramic (brick and tile) industries of Roman Britain using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to help identify where the quarries and tile kilns were located. This work forms the centrepiece of a knowledge exchange network with two leading museums in southern Britain (Roman Bath Museum and Fishbourne Palace Museum) who will use our results in innovative interpretations, including new displays and museum learning centres. This will ensure maximum added value to blue-sky research that will quickly feed back into public engagement with science and technology. It is funded by a recently awarded HEIF5+1 grant.

This post is currently being advertised on the university’s website.

For further information, please contact Professor Mark Brisbane- mbrisbane@bournemouth.ac.uk

The closing date for this post is Wednesday 2 September 2015.

June 23, 2015

Call now open ! Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF): money available to support your business engagement and knowledge exchange ideas

HEIF stownrow

Further to the earlier blog giving you the “heads up” on the HEIF interim call. To confirm this is now open. The information is on the research blog and more details can be found on the staff intranet.

This funding has been made available to run from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016. This is known as HEIF 5+ and will be used to fund new projects.

The proposal deadline when applications close is Friday 3 July.

For more information please use the link to the information on the staff intranet.

Please feel free to contact Jayne Codling if you have any queries, however I have produced a set of FAQS that I hope will help and save some time if you do have any questions.

June 22, 2015

We’re flying the KEIT high!

Business Engagement, Festival of Learning, Funding opportunities, HEIF, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Transfer Partnership, Public engagement Rachel

The Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team (KEIT) have had a very busy and productive month where team highlights include:

The last 14:Live of this academic year took place on 7^th May. The guest speaker was Dr Lauren Kita who talked about; Exploring the science behind the mind-body connection to empower you with ways of managing everyday stress. The talk was well attended by staff and students alike, and during the talk, Dr Lauren Kita also gave some examples to some simple techniques (such as mindfulness and breathing exercises) that can help you to better manage your stress.
Matt Northam (M&C) and our very own Research Communications Manager, Rachel Bowen, have been delivering research website training to postgrads and academics, which has had a good response and is resulting in more posts on the research website. If anyone wants 1-2-1 training on how best to use it or wants another training session set up, then drop Rachel a line.
The recent undergraduate open day had the research photo competition on display to prospective students and their parents. It’s a great and engaging way of illustrating our research and a real credit to our Student Engagement Coordinator, Sam Squelch, for coming up with something that is research based, interesting and usable by other departments.
Adrian Pinder’s research about the extinction of an iconic Indian fish has gone global with news articles in the Echo and dozens of Indian newspapers including this and this
Also just discovered that John Stewart’s research is in the Daily Mail, among others
Sarah Thomas and Peter Thomas’ MS research was in the Nursing Times and MS News Today.
HEFCE provide funding for knowledge exchange (Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF)) to support and develop a broad range of knowledge-based interactions between universities and colleges and the wider world, which result in economic and social benefit to the UK. The current round of funding is referred to as HEIF-5 and runs until 31^st July 2015. BU has a proven track record with this funding stream and our success continues. Currently there are 13 live projects funded from HEIF-5, including VFX Hub, BUDI and the Cyber Security Unit. Interim funding has been made available to run from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016. This is known as HEIF 5+1. A call has been circulated internally inviting colleagues to bid for funds to run new projects with funding starting 1 August 2015 and ending 31 July 2016. These projects will need to reflect our interim strategy sent to HEFCE.
Keep an eye out on the staff intranet, research blog and other staff communication channels for updates. For more information on HEIF and other knowledge exchange opportunities, please contact Jayne Codling Knowledge Exchange Adviser (RKEO).
KTP is on the increase at BU! We are currently in recruitment for four KTP and have a potential KTP pipeline too, which is encouraging.
We have lots of business engagement events on the horizon, the first of many was a Faculty of Management Brunch & Chat event last week at the EBC – we had an excellent business and academic turnout so thank you to all involved.
We’ve had a successful public events calendar recently with Festival of Learning On Tour events which included; soap making for kids, digging for fossils, a smoothie bike, testing hand-grip strength and a bat tack reaction board and Maritime archaeology activities. Prof. Puzzles made an appearance and weather was good for both days with high numbers of the public engaged with.
The most recent Café Scientifique was held on 2nd June, this was a successful evening with good attendance. The next event will take place on 7^th July as we welcome a talk about Cyber Security.
And if all that wasn’t enough, the organisation of our annual Festival of Learning is well underway. One week, over 150 events, what could you learn? Have a look at the Festival website for the low-down of all the events running during the week (11^th July – 17^th July). I hear we’re even having a Farmer’s Market this year!

If you’re feeling inspired by our blog post and would like to get involved with some of our projects then feel free to get in touch:

Rebecca Edwards – Knowledge Exchange and Impact Manager

Rachel Bowen – Research Communications Manager

Rachel Clarke – Knowledge Exchange Adviser (KTP)

Jayne Codling – Knowledge Exchange Adviser

Naomi Kay – Public Engagement Officer

Harry Gibson – Public Engagement Event’s Organiser

Sam Squelch – Student Engagement Coordinator

To find out more about us and what we do, take a look at our team page.

June 18, 2015

Call now open ! Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF): money available to support your business engagement and knowledge exchange ideas.

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, HEIF, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer jcodling

HEFCE provide funding for knowledge exchange (Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF)) to support and develop a broad range of knowledge-based interactions between universities and colleges and the wider world, which result in economic and social benefit to the UK. The current round of funding is referred to as HEIF-5 and runs until 31^st July 2015.

BU has a proven track record with this funding stream and our success continues. Currently there are 13 live projects funded from HEIF-5, including VFX Hub, BUDI and the Cyber Security Unit. Interim funding has been made available to run from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016. This is known as HEIF 5+1.

The call is now open. Colleagues are invited to bid for funds to run new projects with funding starting 1 August 2015 and ending 31 July 2016.

Deadlines are tight with the deadline for proposals being Friday 3 July 2015. (Timetable for the call.)

These projects will need to reflect our interim strategy sent to HEFCE:

“BU will continue to invest in innovation themes with a strong focus on network creation, with a particular focus on digital and creative industries, health and wellbeing, and regional development. The additional year of funding will enable BU to continue to develop our existing area in addition to investment to develop new innovations. This will allow BU to create innovations in areas such as e-health, whilst developing closer links with regional initiatives to enhance local development opportunities, working with the Dorset LEP and other local organisations. We will also consider the use of HEIF funds to invest in effective mechanisms for engaging with business/industry. Our core strategy of investing in sector-specific themes with a strong focus on network creation remains; what has changed in light of emerging opportunities is the nature of the themes in which we will invest and the mechanisms through which we will engage with the region.”

For more information please click here.

Make sure you read the information listed in the useful documents section including:

HEIF Institutional Strategy

HEIF FAQs

HEIF Application Form

Category / HEIF

New HEIF project commences: Modelling Natural Capital in Dorset

Knowledge exchange funding delivers £9.70 for every pound invested

Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team: how have we been flying the KEIT this month?

Fancy working on a project with the RNLI?

Building Roman Britain – Research Assistant

Call now open ! Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF): money available to support your business engagement and knowledge exchange ideas

We’re flying the KEIT high!

Call now open ! Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF): money available to support your business engagement and knowledge exchange ideas.

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