Category / innovation

This week – Konfer – an innovation and collaboration platform

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

Join Us for an online Konfer Training Session!

We invite you to an online training session on 20 March 2025, featuring Anna Dent-Davies and Shivaun Meehan from the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB). They will introduce Konfer, a powerful platform for navigating the UK innovation ecosystem.

For those unfamiliar, Konfer connects users with resources and potential collaborators perfectly aligned with their research or innovation projects.

During this 1.5-hour interactive online session, Anna and Shivaun will guide you through making the most of Konfer, focusing on:

· Effectively searching the platform.

· Drafting high-quality collaboration calls by addressing four key questions.

You’ll also have the chance to discuss your specific research projects or areas of interest and even begin drafting your own collaboration call during the session.

Ahead of the session, we kindly ask attendees to:

· Sign up to Konfer.

· Come prepared with an innovation challenge or collaboration opportunity in mind.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore how Konfer can support your research and innovation goals – to book your place, please visit this link.

BU-Lush Cosmetics Ltd collaboration to Develop Renewable Zero Carbon Emissions Energy Technology

Awarded & submitted bids, conferences, Industry collaboration, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, REF Subjects, Student Engagement, student research

This is a landmark collaborative initiative between BU’s NanoCorr, Energy and Modelling (NCEM) Research Group led by Professor Zulfiqar Khan and team members including Dr Adil Saeed, Dr Mayank Anand and Aerk Dimri and Lush Cosmetics Ltd a major stakeholder in the conurbation. “Born in Poole, Lush offers a range of quirky and unique handmade bathing and cosmetic products with signature ‘Lush’ scents. The brand boasts an extremely ethical promise to consumers with all products being cruelty free, vegetarian and ethically sourced.” [Source]. “Lush Limited is a British cosmetics retailer which is headquartered in Poole, England. It was founded in 1995 by trichologist Mark Constantine, his wife Mo Constantine and five other founders.” [Source].

 

“We laid the foundation for capitalising on tidal energy sources and providing clean energy solutions for local and regional domestic and commercial applications through Community Interest Company (CIC) / Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), Poole Tidal Energy Partnership (PTEP), more than a decade ago, said Professor Zulfiqar Khan, one of the founding directors of PTEP.

This work led to UK based energy company collaboration in BU’s energy research: capture, conversion and storage through full funding of two PhDs, two Post Docs, one PhD in-kind support, industrial labs resources and funding patent applications, a three quarter of a million pound sterling research portfolio led by Professor Zulfiqar Khan. This has yielded in commercial patents in the US and GB, covering novel nano fluids, energy systems (capture, conversion and storage).

“This recent collaboration with LUSH is a testament of our full commitments to UNSDGs, UK and EU clean energy directives, initiatives which has led to emergence of BU as a global leader in Clean Energy Systems,” Professor Zulfiqar Khan added.

Dr Saeed said, “we provide opportunities for our UG/PGT courses to benefits from our research collaborations to enhance students learning and teaching experience through research informed educational provisions.” Dr Saeed, the Programme Leader of Mechanical Engineering course, said, we currently have three final year projects in energy systems which have been inspired and are linked to BU-LUSH collaborative project.

LUSH Creative Technologist Jim Woodward said, “We look forward to starting this journey with Professor Khan, his colleagues and students at Bournemouth University, researching the potential tidal energy in our beautiful Poole Harbour. We welcome the newly appointed PGR and wish him good luck in this exciting PhD project with us. What a force – Lush a local Poole company working with a fantastic local University.”

Research seminar and tech showcase 12.02.25: ICONIC (Intergenerational Co-design Of Novel technologies In Coastal communities) project

Fusion, innovation, PG research, Research themes

The Ageing and Dementia Research Centre are welcoming colleagues from Plymouth University to talk about the ICONIC project (see more details below) and showcase some of the technologies they have created.

 The team are interested in talking to any BU colleagues who work on co-design/digital health or immersive technologies and AI so please do come along (and let Michelle mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk know if would like to give a short presentation about your research).

 12th February 2025

11-1pm (presentations will be first and then tech showcase)

P222, Poole House, Talbot Campus

ICONIC Project

The ICONIC (Intergenerational Co-design Of Novel technologies In Coastal communities) project is exploring how co-design of novel technologies can support digital inclusion in Cornwall and Devon. The project recruited 99 participants to join intergenerational co-design workshops to create technologies that support access to environment, heritage, and community resources. The technologies include a social game, immersive heritage and underwater experiences, and a voice AI system accessed via a telephone call. The research team will be sharing their insights from the co-design process for each technology and discuss the effects of participation on digital inclusion.

  • Dr Rory Baxter is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Technology, University of Plymouth, working on the EPSRC funded Intergenerational Codesign Of Novel technologies In Coastal communities (ICONIC) project to address digital exclusion in Cornwall and Devon. The project involves the intergenerational co-design of technologies for supporting access to heritage, environment, and community resources. His previous work includes the ESRC funded GOALD and ERDF funded EPIC projects, which focused on digital health innovation co-design and evaluation to support healthy ageing. Prior to that he completed an EPSRC funded iCASE PhD, exploring human navigation and search behaviour, during which Rory developed VR-based experimental tasks using Unity, which were adapted for online platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Dr Oksana Hagen earned a BSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from NCTU (Taiwan), MSc in Computer Vision and Robotics through the Erasmus Mundus ViBOT program, and a PhD in Computing at the University of Plymouth. After a brief period in industry, Oksana joined Aldebaran AI Lab (France) under a Marie Curie Fellowship to focus on research in machine learning. She subsequently contributed to social robotics research for AgeIn project at the University of Plymouth. Currently, she is part of the ICONIC project, developing VoiceAI and underwater telepresence applications through co-design. Her research interests include machine learning, robotics and HCI.
  • Dr Marius Varga’s expertise sits at the intersection of game technology and user experience, with a focus on serious games and immersive experiences. Currently, a Research Fellow part of the ICONIC project, using a co-design approach, Marius leads the development of a multiplayer Social Game focused on seagrass conservation and for Extended Reality (XR), he is developing an immersive heritage experience in partnership with National Trust. Marius is also involved in digital health projects such part of Bridging project – focused on using XR training with autistic employees and employers and Glider project – addressing challenges in frailty through robotics, play and immersive technology.
  • Dr Linan Zhang holds an MA in East Asian Studies (Japanese) and an MSc in International Development from the University of Edinburgh. She later earned a PhD with Transtechnology Research at the University of Plymouth, where she developed a philosophical framework to ease the paradigm conflicts in knowledge sharing, drawing inspiration from an international health collaboration, a global health crisis, and the development discourse. She is currently an Associate Lecturer for i-DAT, a Research Fellow in Orbital Science, and the Media and Admin officer for the ICONIC Project at the University of Plymouth. Additionally, she serves as an Associate Editor for Leonardo Review.

Three tips for completing your Innovation Fund HEIF application

HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

The guidance for the Innovation Funding Call for the HEIF drew your attention to ethics, here are three tips if you haven’t considered it yet: there are a few things you will need to check before you submit:

  1. Work through the university’s ethics checklist. This is an important part of your application, and if you needed a formal ethics review, this should have already been completed. If you submit your application without a good understanding of the ethical implications of your project, the Panel will score your project lower, so it may make the difference between your project being recognised as excellent and fundable, or not. Double check that you are ok to submit by checking the checklist: How to apply for a formal ethics review | Bournemouth University
  2. Complete the e-module on research ethics. To help you understand the ethical implications of your project, you can complete the e-module on research ethics if you haven’t already:
    Research ethics training opportunities | Bournemouth University. Even if you feel you have a good understanding of ethics in your research, you may find that if you are working with methods/populations/approaches that are cross-disciplinary (or outside of your usual field) that there are ethical angles you may not be aware of. This has been the case with some previous HEIF applications, so don’t discount it. If you don’t know where to go to get guidance, look across the BU faculties for expertise, including the PEIR (Public Engagement in Research) academics, or other specialists in the field you are working with. If you have contacted someone for advice, let us know in your application. It will show that you are taking the research ethics of your project seriously, and we will see the result of this in your project proposal.
  3. Make sure you give yourself time to do the Research Commercialisation Checklist. It is a requirement of the funding call that you do this, and if as a result you need to contact the Research Commercialisation Manager (Lesley Hutchins) you will urgently need to make time to schedule a conversation. Let us know in your application if you have contacted Lesley, so that we can see you understand the issues and requirements surrounding your commercialisation project – it will mean that the Innovation Funding Panel will be able to see the viability of your project within BU’s legal and process requirements, which will result in a better score for appropriate projects.

    Although the Innovation Fund is for knowledge exchange projects – which means you are working with non-HEI external partners, for example industry/businesses, charities, NGOs etc – your knowledge exchange activity is grounded in your research and must meet the universities ethical requirements to be successful. Please do not submit purely research projects without suitable knowledge exchange partners.

    Good luck with submitting your application tomorrow, please do get in contact if you have any questions. Dr Wendelin Morrison – Knowledge Exchange Manager wsmorrison@bournemouth.ac.uk

KTP Development Session, 20th November 2024: Telling a Compelling Story!

Business Engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Training

KTP Development Session with KTA, Stephen Woodhouse

 

Wednesday 20th November, 1.00pm to 2.00pm, BG315 (Bournemouth Gateway Building)

Telling a compelling story: Developing a coherent and convincing KTP application

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ktp-development-sessions-tickets-1040509119787

 

Developing a Coherent and Compelling Project Narrative

KTP application is not just a series of checkboxes; it’s a story. When crafting your narrative, consider the following key elements:

 

**The Problem Statement**: Clearly articulate the problem the business partner is facing. Avoid jargon or overly technical language; instead, focus on describing the issue in terms of its impact on the company’s operations, market position, or growth potential. Describe why the problem matters and how its resolution will create value.

 

**The Academic Solution**: This section should highlight your research expertise and how it aligns with the project’s needs. Provide examples of relevant past work, studies, or methodologies that showcase your department’s strengths. Be specific about how your knowledge will be applied to the problem. Remember, specificity and clarity here reinforce credibility and the potential for impactful results.

 

**Innovative Methodologies**: Describe the approach you’ll take to solve the problem. A strong application demonstrates not only that the academic team has the expertise but also that they have a clear, actionable plan. This might involve specifying experimental techniques, data collection strategies, or proprietary methods developed in your lab. Explain how these approaches differ from, or improve upon, traditional solutions.

 

Telling a compelling story is part of our series of developmental sessions for academics and businesses wishing to further their understanding of KTPs will be taking place monthly Moving between Talbot and Lansdowne Campus.

Sometimes organisations can see an opportunity for growth, something that will supercharge their business, but they don’t quite know where or how to start. That’s when a Knowledge Transfer Partnership could help.

Imagine having a specialist graduate, post-graduate or PhD student working closely with an expert academic, focused solely on bringing your idea to life. And having the UK Government fund a large proportion of that work. Often heralded as the World’s best kept secret, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) turn 50 this year. That makes them the UK government’s longest running and most successful innovation funding programme, investing £50m each year in R&D projects across a full range of sectors and business sizes. And companies that participate in a KTP programme are shown to grow at an exponential rate.

As part of ongoing work to grow our KTP numbers and to coincide with their milestone birthday, we are hosting a series of developmental sessions for staff (and businesses) to debunk myths, provide insights, and forge connections. These will take place once a month between October 2024 and May 2025 on Wednesday afternoons.

With 1 – 1 bookable sessions afterwards with faculty Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Managers and KTA, Stephen Woodhouse:

Rachel Clarke (BUBS): rclarke@bournemouth.ac.uk

Finn Morgan (SciTech): fmorgan@bournemouth.ac.uk

Matt Desmier (FMC): mdesmier@bournemouth.ac.uk

Mary-Ann Robertson (HSS): mrobertson@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

DNS staff share their virtual reality research at AHSN Wessex

innovation

on behalf of Professor Debbie Holley

I am delighted to report that Dr Michele Board, Dr Heidi Singleton and I were invited to share our virtual reality research as part of the Wessex Academic Health Science Network webinar on 16.03.2023. Dr Board presented her work on ‘walk through dementia’, which brings the reality of lived experiences places the viewer in the shoes of the person with dementia. More information about this projects and the collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Society are available from the ADRC website.

Dr Singleton and I presented on our work on the mental health 360 video scenarios we created for student nurse education which have been embedded within the curriculum.

Evaluated via Focus group discussions (n=6 students) and an online survey (n=33 thus far); with 94% of nursing students reporting that the videos were extremely or very useful for their learning.  

“It flags up potential extra considerations in practice that you wouldn’t anticipate with just the theoretical teaching. You can better visualise.” (Student Nurse 31) 

“It made me feel confident in how to interact with an individual who may be having a mental health breakdown.” (Student Nurse 15) 

“It showed me that you can take time and check the correct information and repeat steps when assessing and treating a patient.” (Student Nurse 8) 

The learning resources mean that students can link theory to practice and can repeat the activity at any point during their course and from any location.

Thanks to the wider team Ursula Rolfe, John Moran, Emma Collins and our former colleague Jasmine Snowden,

 

BU Hosted the National KTP Practitioner Conference 2024! Matt Desmier

Business Engagement, conferences, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are an extremely useful tool for any forward-thinking institution or team of academics wanting to apply their research in real world settings.

The UK Government’s longest established business support and research funding allocation, they’re a tried and tested vehicle that consistently demonstrate how Universities can have a measurable impact on the world around them.

Earlier this summer, Bournemouth University was selected as the honourable host of the 2024 KTP Practitioners Conference, the annual gathering of knowledge exchange professionals from across the country. This was a coup for BU and an excellent opportunity to cement our place in the canon of proactive institutions embracing the potential of KTPs.

Over the course of one and a half days, Fusion Building welcomed 200 delegates, representing 79 universities alongside guests from Innovate UK Business Growth and Innovate UK Business Connect, some interested businesses and a smattering of academics too.

The convened audience enjoyed three high profile keynote talks, updates from both the KTP funders and the National Forum, as well as twelve workshops designed to equip those present with the skills they need to grow and manage their KTP portfolio.

Assisted by Bournemouth’s wonderful micro climate, the whole event was a resounding success. Much was learnt, many connections were made and the bar was set extremely high for Manchester Metropolitan University, who’re hosting the event next year.

WEDNESDAY 26th – DISCUSS, COLLABORATE & CONTEMPLATE  TO INNOVATE

Fusion, HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

NEED SOME TIME & SPACE TO

DISCUSS, COLLABORATE & CONTEMPLATE  TO INNOVATE? 

THE INNOVATION COMMON ROOM

is at Fusion again THIS WEEK – SAME TIME, SAME SPACE

Wednesday 26th June, 12.30 – 3.30, FG04

A RELAXED PLACE FOR RESEARCHERS TO

MEET, DISCUSS & MENTOR

over tea, coffee and biscuits

Academics can invite their Post-Graduate Students

This is the final Innovation Common Room for this academic year.

THE INNOVATION COMMON ROOM

will return in September for the 2024-25 year

Research Knowledge Exchange Culture: Making it Happen

Contact the BU Knowledge Exchange Manager, if you need to know more

wmorrison@bournemouth.ac.uk

Student numbers in the next decade

BU Challenges, Fusion, Fusion themes, innovation, international

In contrast to recent student numbers intake across the country FT has published an article stating that, undergraduate numbers will see a rise in England in the next decade. [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved].

Total numbers have a direct relation to several factors including but not limited to overseas students, and both financial and planning challenges faced by international students. Various geographical regions for example South and Southeast Asia are conventionally more leaning towards traditional degrees for example engineering and medicine. Particular interest in these degrees is stemmed by primary and secondary education systems, national skill gaps and more widely societal impacts. Despite, a brief decline in the numbers of international students a pattern in terms of various disciplines varies according to available data. In order to attract and sustain international student numbers core engineering and medical/ medicine degrees will remain significant centripetal force.

FT also reported that, this year universities will make a loss on each domestic student unless there is a change in fees policy [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved]. In addition, a more diverse repositioning in terms of educational provisions is needed, such as strategic priorities for engineering & technology degrees, innovation in delivery models and methods of gradually but completely decoupling from textbooks taught system to a more flexible intuitive, research informed and practice-based education in partnership with industry which is fit for solving real world impact bearing problems. In turn safeguarding graduates’ future, placing their learning experience at the heart of education-research interface to guarantee higher levels of employability and job satisfaction.

HEIs are also facing a challenge in terms of financial sustainability as reported, the sector is struggling to recruit the higher-paying foreign students it relies on to subsidise lossmaking domestic places [FT 07 April 24]. A two-pronged approach would be needed to address these challenges. Firstly, repositioning in terms of facilities and resources to introduce, apply and integrate more state-of-the-art modelling and simulation techniques for practice, practical and experimental elements of teaching in engineering and technology degrees and initiating a phased transition from dependency on conventional hardware tools e.g. expensive machines to realise releasing economies of scale. Secondly, more robust, simpler and well understood parallels and transitioning pathways between HEIs and primary to higher secondary education are needed.

FT added that, “At the same time, government spending on skills will be 23 per cent below 2009—10 levels, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank.” [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved]. Collaborating closely with industrial partners and stakeholders’ skills gaps can be strategically prioritised for medium to long term needs, and educational provisions would need reshaping to integrate with research portfolio, UNSDGs, socio-economic, environmental impacts and relevant REF Unit of Assessment (UoA).

FT reported that, “The apprenticeship levy introduced in 2017 has also failed to deliver the expected boost to training, according to London Economics.” [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved]. This is an important pathway for filling the skill shortages and also bridging the gap between theory and practice. A steady rise in flexible learning engineering degree students’ numbers, have been observed. These students are industry professionals who join these degrees at L5/6 level for a BEng/MEng flexible learning program. In addition to academic benefits these professionals achieve academic benchmark qualifications for professional registrations with professional institutions. This is one of the best available models to address skill shortages with a flexible high-quality delivery and academic provisions underpinned by research.

A stronger and broader engineering sector in collaboration with industry partners and professional institutions to develop futuristic engineering degrees to contribute to economic growth and its sustainability with an upward trajectory to address real concerns that, “tackling (of) the UK’s entrenched skills shortages and low economic productivity.” [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved] is important.

Telescopic Electrochemical Cell (TEC) for Non-Destructive Corrosion Testing of Coated Substrate. Patent number GB2018/053368

FT also mentioned in its latest article that, “Policymakers should also remove the cap on FE college places in order to “level up” education, (Lord Jo Johnson), added, providing more opportunities.” [APRIL 7 2024. Looming rise in student numbers sparks calls for skills reform in England. Peter Foster and Anna Gross. © The Financial Times Limited 2013. All Rights Reserved]. This can be looked into within the context of above-mentioned points in terms of establishing more defined parallels between HEIs and from primary to higher secondary education. A rethink to consider schools’ post code model for HEIs entry will help in levelling up.

Keywords: education, numbers, overseas students, engineering, skills, industry, professions.

 

Zulfiqar A Khan

Professor of Design, Engineering & Computing

NanoCorr, Energy & Modelling Research Group Lead

Email: zkhan@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

HE policy update no 8 25th March 2024

innovation, international, Knowledge Exchange, NHS, Research assessment

Some more optimistic takes on what might be in the party manifestos for HE: the sort of commitments being asked for seem somewhat optimistic: later in this update I look at some detailed proposals on maintenance finance, a call to scrap the REF (which might have more take-up in the manifestos), the KEF via a HE- BCI survey (might someone suggest scrapping the KEP?), apprenticeship results are out and numbers on international education.  Amongst all that I also look at a speech from Susan Lapworth.

Manifesto for HE

You’ve seen the UUK one, here is the one from MillionPlus. (Policy update from February: The UUK manifesto sets out a wish list for the sector.  It all looks very expensive and so while ambitious, unlikely to be replicated in anyone’s actual manifesto.  We can expect to see more of these over the next few months. Research Professional have the story here.)

Scrap REF and save money

Iain Mansfield says that Labour should ‘scrap REF and save half a billion’, Research Professional reports.  Not because there is any problem with a metric for research: just a strong feeling that it shouldn’t include a metric for environment and culture. RP add: Speaking at Research Professional News live last week, Labour’s shadow science minister, Chi Onwurah, said she was “concerned about some of the bureaucracy associated with the REF” and stopped short of committing to retaining it in its current form. I don’t think that means stopping the culture and environment part, but it is hard to know.  These debates will run for a while.

HE-BCI review

The HE-BCI survey is used in the Knowledge Exchange Framework.  Just how much difference the KEF makes to anything and how interested anyone except the sector really is in it, is still, for me, an open question that I have asked since KEF was just a glint in Jo Johnson’s eye (the third leg of the HE stool etc…).  Of course if they started using KEF to allocate HEIF it would matter a lot more, but the KEF data doesn’t really lend itself to that.  As a reminder, it uses a different comparison group (clusters) to everything else, three of its “perspectives” are self-assessed and all it tells you is whether engagement with the perspective is deemed to be low, medium or high.  In a highly technical presentation format.

But as the (only real) metrics behind the (incomprehensible) KEF wheels (just take a look here and see what you learn), HE-BCI data does have some influence.  And HESA did a survey on some bits of it which closed in January.  There will be another consultation at some point.

The regulator speaks

It is always interesting to hear or read a speech by the head of the OfS, so here is one.

After a friendly introduction telling the Association of Colleges what good work their members do, it is straight in on quality:

  • Although, of course, not every college higher education student is in that position, the college sector should collectively be very proud that so many who are get the guidance and support they need in further education settings.
  • But, sadly, we know that in too many parts of the system, students’ interests are not always being well-served
  • …[Students] have serious questions about:
    • the amount of teaching they receive,
    • the frequency and usefulness of feedback provided to them, and
    • the level of support, both academic and pastoral, they can access.

Talking about the ongoing quality assessments, there are some changes coming:

  • Updating some of the language we use. So we might talk more about assessments or compliance assessments, rather than investigations.
  • We think there’s scope for additional training for assessment teams, for example, focusing on welfare to ensure staff are appropriately supported during visits and the wider process.
  • And we know the sector would like us to publish more information about how institutions are selected for assessment and how the process unfolds from there

A defensive approach to the big effort on freedom of speech?  You decide

  • Defining more clearly and coherently the student interest will also support another area where our regulation is developing: freedom of speech and academic freedom.
  • As that work has progressed, we have sometimes been told, including by some students, that students do not consider this a priority. But we know that the National Student Survey found that one in seven students in England felt unable to freely express their views.
  • … the collective act of debate and dissection of ideas, old and new, is what allows us to be confident that what and how students are learning represents the best knowledge we currently have. If students don’t recognise this, we need to understand why. Is it an artefact of who speaks loudest in our current systems? Or that cost-of-living worries and the associated challenges have reduced the scope for considering these broader issues? Or that students today have a fundamentally different conception of what freedom of speech and academic freedom ought to entail?

And some new areas of focus:

  • For example, although access to accommodation appears in our Equality of Opportunity Risk Register, we’ve been cautious about stepping into that arena in regulatory terms. But it is clear that students are increasingly concerned about the cost, quality and uneven availability of accommodation for their studies. It’s the most frequently mentioned issue in discussions with students in my visits to institutions.
  • Likewise, while we’ve taken steps to encourage stronger working links between those we regulate and the organisations that provide health services to students, particularly to support their mental health, we’re not the regulator of those services, and much of the most critical care can’t be provided by universities and colleges directly…. we are open to the view that, as a regulator framed and formed in relation to the interests of students, it may fall to us to take action, or to seek to better co-ordinate the activity of others, or to just talk about them because they matter to students.

And there is a new strategy consultation coming for the OfS.

Apprenticeships

Achievements rate update: a update published by the DfE. The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, Robert Halfon has written an open letter to the apprenticeship sector celebrating the latest achievement rates and setting out some developments.

While the government are very keen to encourage more apprenticeships, there is a stern approach to providers here: not dissimilar to the rhetoric on HE, there will be student number controls linked to quality as defined by outcomes.  While “training not being as good as hoped” is a factor in the list above, as is “poor organisation” of the programme, that is in the context of all the other reasons linked to employers and jobs.  However, the government can’t do much about those, and is not in the business of discouraging employers from participating.  But this will put more pressure on providers who are already finding apprenticeships bureaucratic and hard and expensive to deliver.

It’s not putting them off just yet, though.  This update from the OfS on the second wave of funding for apprenticeships highlights how many providers are really going for it.  Degree apprenticeships funding competition: Funding allocated to wave 2 projects (officeforstudents.org.uk)

Anyway, the ideas for future development in the Minister’s letter are:

  • Apprenticeship Standards. IfATE will be looking closely at apprenticeship standards that are not producing good outcomes for employers or the economy – especially where they are underused or too many learners are dropping out without completing – and speed up action to either improve them or remove them where it is clear the apprenticeship standard is not working.
  • Quality of Training. We know that the quality of training is a major factor in whether apprentices complete. Through the apprenticeship accountability framework, we have assessed provider performance against a range of measures to give an overall picture of their quality of delivery. ….. In future performance assessments, we will not hesitate to robustly challenge providers showing insufficient improvement. We will deploy appropriate support, where providers demonstrate a capacity to improve in a timely manner, and we will continue to consider factors outside of providers’ control, where these can be evidenced. However, we will also use contractual measures including potential limitations on growth, stopping delivery of standards with low apprenticeship achievement rates and removal from the market where this is necessary to protect apprentices and employers and ensure they have access to high quality training. Concurrently we will also seek to enrich the market by making it easier to enter for providers that can deliver to our priorities – for example to increase participation from SMEs and young people.
  • Employer improvement. We now want to give employers better access to information and data to help manage their own apprenticeship programme and benchmark against others to help drive up improvements across the programme. We will test options for the information we could use to support this and work with Top 100 employers to identify how to make the information available. This will be in addition to the support offered to employers through resources, best practice sharing, and events to support self-improvement.
  • End-Point Assessment. We continually review the assessment process for apprenticeships to make sure it is proportionate, supports achievement and is fit for the future. Working with IfATE, the providers engaged with the Expert Provider pilot and the FE Funding Simplification pilot, we will identify further options to improve the assessment model, making it more efficient for the whole sector…
  • Expert Provider Pilot and SME engagement. … As a result of the pilot we are developing a new, simple one step approval for SMEs engaging with apprenticeships for the first time. This new flexibility is being developed with colleges and training providers and will be available later this year. …

Student finance

Oh dear, another negative story about student debt that will discourage potential applicants (and as always, their parents).  This time it is the BBC who revealed that the UK’s highest student debt was £231k.  Quite how they managed to rack up that much is unclear: by doing lots of courses, it seems (although surely there are limits on that – apparently there are exceptions to those rules).  The highest level of interest accumulated was around £54,050.  The student interviewed is a doctor: the length of medical programmes means that, along with vets and dentists, doctors tend to accumulate the highest student loans.

The Sutton Trust have published a report on reforming student maintenance ahead of the general election.

There are suggestions about how to address the challenges.

  • The analysis covers three potential systems, all of which would increase the amount of maintenance students would have available to them day to day, rising from the current level of £9,978 to £11,400. This is the level that recent Sutton Trust research has found is the median spending on essentials for students living away from home outside of London for 9 months of the year,… This would also set maintenance support at a similar level to what they would receive if paid the National Living Wage while studying, a method the Diamond Review in Wales used to set maintenance levels.

Scenarios include

  • Scenario 1 – Increasing overall maintenance levels, with equal loans for all students and maintenance grants making up the difference.
  • Scenario 2 – Increasing overall maintenance levels, with variable loans and with maintenance grants focused on the poorest students.
  • Scenario 3 – Increasing overall maintenance levels by means-tested loans only.

The value of international education

The government has issued 2021 data on UK revenue from education related exports and transnational education activity.

David Kernohan from Wonkhe has some analysis, always worth checking out for the nuances, including:

  • 2021 was a long time ago
  • It’s also notable that all these figures are based on exports only – there is no adjustment at all for costs incurred in delivering a service overseas.
  • pathway provider income (programmes that help to prepare overseas students for study at a UK university) is estimated based on a survey of six large providers (CEG, INTO, Kaplan, Navitas, Oxford International, Study Group) conducted by one of the participants (Kaplan)

Research Professional also has an article.