Category / innovation

EU FIRST Project

BU research, EU, Events, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer, open access, Research assessment, Research news

A Bournemouth University team from the Faculty of Science and Technology visited University of Groningen for FIRST mid-term review. It was a very productive meeting with a lot of effective outcomes for research and knowledge exchange. Dr. Lai Xu and Dr. Paul de Vrieze are FIRST coordinators representing Bournemouth University and the team is pleased to announce that FIRST will continue to move towards a factory of the future for European Union.

If you want to know more about the project and get involved, please contact Dr. Lai Xu or Dr. Paul de Vrieze. You can also follow our social medial links on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Channel.

During the mid-term review meeting, the FIRST EU project advisor Irina Elena Tiron giving a talk on RISE projects. A useful instrument for researchers in EU (and beyond).

Applying for grants is great!

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Doctoral College, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Women's Academic Network

I recently had the opportunity to apply for a grant as principal investigator. The reason for writing this post today is to say thanks to everyone involved, including the RKEO staff, the Co-investigators (Paula Callus in particular), the partner institutions but also all colleagues who gave us suggestions, supporting and helping also if not involved (Isabella Rega and Richard Berger were some of these).

On reflection, I would have done all of it differently. More time was needed (possibly not when on Annual Leave and not night time), partners need to be in place well before the call is out, reference letters cannot be asked for last minute, etc. I made all (or almost all) the mistakes above, but I had a very clear idea about the project and I felt surrounded by enthusiastic colleagues who were happy to share their expertise with me. I now know I have still a lot to learn and I can’t wait for the next opportunity.

A good point was to take notes which will be used for next grant applications. Somehow it does not matter if we will get the funding at this first attempt, we are looking forward to improving the application and the project itself, which will require more research. Yes, applying for grants is not a boring task, there is a lot of research involved which brings new ideas and opens up opportunities, whether you get the funding or not.

I hope this post will be read as a positive gentle push to apply for grants and not only because it’s the Institution in need of more grants applications but because the process itself is incredibly enriching. I hope my colleagues enjoy their future grant applications as much as I did.

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Funding opportunity : Quantitative Imaging Tools and Methods for Cancer Response Assessment (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

BU Challenges, BU research, Funding opportunities, innovation

The Department of Health and Human Services at the National Institutes of Health has announced a funding opportunity to provide a mechanism of support to research organizations interested in clinically translating already optimized quantitative imaging software tools capable of measuring or predicting the response of cancer to clinical therapies, or in translating imaging software tools for planning and validating radiation therapy treatment strategies in clinical trials. The proposed research effort should be an extension of the research that successfully completed the tasks of developing and optimizing the chosen software tools or data collection methods intended to facilitate clinical decision making during clinical trials.

Summary : 

Call opens : 5 January 2019

Call deadline : 5 February 2019

Award available : All direct costs not exceeding $500,000 each proposed year

Project duration : 5 years

Please see this link for more information.

 

Funding opportunity – Wellcome – Innovator Awards: Digital Technologies

BU Challenges, BU research, Funding opportunities, innovation

The Innovator Awards support researchers who are transforming great ideas into digital healthcare innovations that could have a significant impact on human health. Individuals and teams from not-for-profit and commercial organisations can apply. Organisations can be of any size, based anywhere in the world.

Researchers working in any discipline and on any type of digital technology can apply. Examples of digital technologies include:

  • intelligent: artificial intelligence and machine learning
  • data driven: data analytics and informatics
  • immersive: virtual and augmented reality
  • connected: internet of things (IoT), networks and sensors.

Projects must be innovative, disruptive and address an unmet healthcare need or challenge.

Summary :

Call opens : 1 October 2018

Call closes : 3 December 2018

Available funding : between £500,000 and £1million

Project duration : up to 2 years

Please see this link for more information about this call.

 

 

Funding opportunities from Innovate UK

BU Challenges, BU research, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Industry collaboration, innovation

1. SBRI: intelligent data to transform local council service delivery

This Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition is funded by the GovTech Catalyst and is sponsored by Durham County Council and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council.

This competition looks at 2 specific data-gathering techniques in local council services:

1.‘Boots on the ground’: enabling residents to collect and report accurate data about public assets, such as potholes and street lighting, to the local council.

2.‘Eyes on the street’: using local council vehicles to collect and report data as they travel around the borough.

Summary :

Call opens : 24 September 2018

Call closes : 31 October 2018

Available funding : up to £50,000 (including VAT)

Project start date : by 7 Feb 2019

Please see this link for more information about this call.

2. Call for Carbon Capture and Utilisation Demonstration

As part of the government’s Clean Growth Strategy BEIS has allocated up to £20 million to design and construct carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) demonstration projects. This programme is designed to encourage industrial sites to capture carbon dioxide which could then be used in industrial applications, while enabling learning and development of capture technologies at an intermediate scale, so reducing costs and risks.

The overall aims of the CCU demonstration programme are:

  • to demonstrate carbon capture and utilisation at a number of key industrial sites in the UK
  • to demonstrate and accelerate cost reductions in carbon capture technology in the order of 20 to 45%, i.e. £10-20/MWh
  • to encourage a project pipeline of follow-on CCU projects that will help less mature, but more novel technology to be demonstrated at scale; and
  • to improve understanding of the cost and performance of carbon capture technology
  • to de-risk the capture technology.

The programme is in 3 phases:

  • Phase 1 focuses on initial scoping study for an engineering supplier to work on BEIS’ behalf with potential host sites, carbon dioxide users and technology suppliers to produce site-specific cost estimates for deploying CCU at UK industrial sites. Wood.Plc successfully bid for Phase 1
  • Phase 2 will fund projects to conduct design studies for constructing CCUequipment at UK host sites
  • Phase 3 will fund projects to construct and demonstrate CCU

Summary :

Call closes : 11 November 2018 (Applicants must complete the application forms on this link and submit by email to Industry.Innovation@beis.gov.uk by Sunday 11 November 2018.)

Available funding : up to £5million

Project duration : up to 24 months

Project dates : finish by 31 March 2021

Please see this link for more information about this call.

3. Open grant funding competition: round 3

Up to £20million investment will be made by Innovate UK in the best cutting-edge or disruptive ideas with a view to commercialisation.

All proposals must be business focused, and can come from any area of technology, science or engineering, including arts, design, media or creative industries.

Summary : 

Call opens : 24 September 2018

Call closes : 14 November 2018

Available funding : between £25,000 and £500,000

Project duration : Between 19 and 36 months

Project dates : start by 1 April 2019 and end by 1 April 2022

Please see this link for more information about this call.

4. UK Aerospace Research and Technology Programme: fast-track collaborative R&D EoI

UK organisations can apply for a share of up to £8 million to carry out collaborative R&D, collaborative fast-track and feasibility projects that enhance the UK’s position in civil aerospace.

To be eligible for funding you must:

  • be a UK based business, academic organisation, charity, public sector organisation or research and technology organisation (RTO)
  • plan to carry out an aerospace research or technology development project in the UK
  • address the specific requirements of the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, ‘Raising Ambition’
  • sign up to the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) framework agreement
  • work in collaboration with other organisations to develop proposals and deliver projects

To lead a project you must:

To collaborate you must be a:

  • business
  • research organisation
  • public sector organisation
  • charity

Summary : 

Call opens : 24 September 2018

Call closes : 5 December 2018

Available funding : between £425,000 to £1million

Project duration : Between 12 and 24 months

Project dates : start by August 2019 and end by August 2021

Please see this link for more information about this call.

5. IDP 15: the road to zero emission vehicles, large R&D

Up to £4million is available for UK businesses to apply for to research and develop technologies that accelerate the transition to zero emmision vehicles.

To be eligible you must:

  • be a UK based business, academic organisation, charity, public sector organisation or research and technology organisation (RTO)
  • carry out your project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
  • work in collaboration with other businesses, research organisations or third-sector organisations

To lead a project you must be a UK based business, of any size.

A separate £2 million is available for feasibility study projects and a further £16 million to support proportionality smaller collaborative R&D projects.

Summary : 

Call closes : 6 December 2018

Available funding : up to £4million

Project duration : Between 12 and 36 months

Project dates : start by June 2019 and end by June 2022

Please see this link for more information about this call.

 

Funding opportunity : Hydrogen Supply Competition

BU Challenges, BU research, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation

A £20m Hydrogen Supply Programme is now open for registration of interest with a deadline of 21 November 2018. This £20 million Hydrogen Supply programme aims to accelerate the development of low carbon bulk hydrogen supply solutions in industry, power, heat and transport. It is aimed at projects at a technology readiness level (TRL) of 4 to 7, which could result in lower capital or operating costs when compared to Steam Methane Reformer with Carbon Capture & Storage (SMR+CCS), or improve the capture rates at a comparable cost.

The deadline to submit proposals is 5 December 2018.

For more information, please see this link.

 

TENDER opportunity : Study on energy costs, taxes and the impact of government interventions on investments in the energy sector

BU Challenges, BU research, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation

The European Commission is currently advertising a tender opportunity on the ‘Study on energy costs, taxes and the impact of government interventions on investments in the energy sector’ with the following aim:

The aim is to collect information on energy generation costs, system and external costs in the energy sector, in parallel with looking at taxes related the use of energy paid to the general budget, and to build up an inventory on government interventions related to energy. The study will cover the 28 Member States of the EU, all major energy sources and beyond the energy sector the main energy consuming branches, such as industry, transport and agriculture. Beyond the EU the study aims at building a database as complete as possible for G20 countries. In order to feed in the initiatives of the Energy Union, the study will identify best practices in the EU Member States to measure subsidies to fossil fuels, and it will analyse the impact of fossil fuel subsidies on decarbonisation objectives of EU policies and investments in climate friendly energy technologies. The next energy prices and costs report and the State of the energy Union report could use the results of the study.

Please see below a summary of this funding opportunity:

Deadline for requests to participate: 24 October 2018

Available funding : EURO 2,000,000 (excluding VAT)

Duration : 18 months

Please see this link for more information on this tender opportunity.

 

 

Future electric vehicles: new Faraday battery challenge funding

BU Challenges, BU research, Business Engagement, innovation

Image from fleetcarma.com

A £25million funding competition from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund will be available to innovative businesses with projects to develop batteries for future electric vehicles.

The Faraday battery challenge is a £246 million investment to bring forward the next generation of electric vehicles. These will be powered by high-performance EV batteries that are cost-effective, lightweight, durable and safe, and can be recycled.

Funding details

This competition is to support business-led research and development to improve batteries for automotive applications.

There are 2 opportunities to apply, depending on the stage of your project, which are:

  • up to £23 million for industrial research and development
  • up to £2 million for feasibility studies

In both opportunities projects should aim to:

  • make it easier to scale up battery production and use
  • build the UK supply chain

Please see below a summary of the funding details:

Competition opens : 17 September 2018

Deadline : 12 December 2018

Lead : UK-based business OR research and technology organisation (in collaboration with other businesses, academic organisations, charities, public sector or research and technology organisations)

Available award : between £500,000 and £15million

Project duration : between 3 and 18 months

Please see this link for more information about this funding opportunity.

Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security – EPSRC funding opportunity

BU research, Funding opportunities, Industry collaboration, innovation

EPSRC intends to establish a NetworkPlus to develop and build on industry-academic relationships in Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security (TIPS), bringing together relevant parts of the TIPS community and a variety of stakeholders, including the CyberInvest members and other users, to identify the key opportunities where industry-academic collaboration is needed, build collaborations and grow the area of research and innovation for the benefit of the UK.

Involvement from a broad range of disciplines relevant to TIPS is required to include those beyond the purely technical elements, such as psychology, politics, legal and ethical studies among others. Non-academic stakeholders, including CyberInvest partners, will be essential participants. The NetworkPlus could undertake a variety of activities including workshops, events, feasibility studies, secondments and horizon scanning. Applicants are encouraged to be innovative in their approach.

Please find a summary of the call below:

Opening date : 3 September 2018

Closing date : 3 December 2018

Available funding : £1.7m

There will be a webinar on 18 October at 14:30 which will feature a presentation from EPSRC contacts and an opportunity to ask any questions. To register to participate, please complete the registration form embedded on this call page. Please note: registration for the webinar will close on 17 October 2018 at 17:00.

Please see this link for more information about this funding call.

Predictive Cyber Analytics – Funding opportunity

BU Challenges, BU research, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition welcomes proposals for novel approaches to predictive cyber security to address challenges in defence and/or security.

A total funding of £1M will be available in this Phase 1 of this competition. Around 5 to 10 proof-of-concept research projects up to 6 months of duration are expected. Further funding into future phases beyond this competition is anticipated to be available.

Details on how to apply will be included in the full competition document which will be available soon. Please sign up to alerts to keep up to date.

In the meantime, you will need to register for the new DASA Submission Service, noting you will not be able to view the competition until the full competition document is published.

Please click on this link to find out more about this competition and more on the submission process can be found here.

Queries should be sent to accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

Funding available : Developing early-stage, user-centred design

BU research, Funding opportunities, innovation, pre-award

Up to £1million is available to UK businesses to apply for early-stage, human-centred research and design projects to influence future R&D activity, with an aim to help businesses that want to explore opportunities to innovate based on customer, user and stakeholder needs and behaviours.

To be eligible to lead a project you must:

  • be a UK-registered business or RTO (non-profit research and technology organisations including catapults)
  • carry out your project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results in or from the UK

Businesses can work alone or in collaboration with project partners. If an RTO is leading the application, they must have at least one business collaborator.

Collaborative project partners can include:

  • businesses
  • universities (higher education institutions)
  • non-profit research and technology organisations (RTOs) including catapults
  • public sector research establishments (PSRE)
  • research council institutes
  • public sector organisations or charities undertaking research activity

See a summary of the funding opportunity below:

Deadline : Wednesday, 19 September 2018, 12noon

Funding available : between £10,000 and £40,000

Project dates : must start by 1 January 2019; end by 31 March 2019 and last no more than 3 months

Click this link to find out more.

Funding available : boosting SME productivity through proof of concept

BU Challenges, BU research, Funding opportunities, innovation, pre-award

The government has announced the Business Basics Programme through its Industrial Strategy which will test innovative ways of encouraging micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt existing technologies and business practices that can boost productivity.

This is the first phase of the Business Basics Fund. This strand of funding is for undertaking proof of concept (PoC) or feasibility projects with a potential of applying for further funding to scale up successful PoC or feasibility projects into full trials in the future.

Please see below a summary of this funding opportunity:

Deadline : 4 September 2018; 12noon

Funding available : £60,000

Project dates : Must start by 1 November 2018; end by 31 April 2019; can last between 3 and 6 months.

Click on this link for more information on how to apply.

 

Biomedical Catalyst 2018 round 2: late stage and primer awards

BU Challenges, BU research, Funding opportunities, innovation

Late stage

UK SMEs can apply for a share of up to £10 million to work on solving healthcare challenges in a clinical setting or a relevant late stage environment. Apply now for a late stage award in the Biomedical Catalyst. Biomedical Catalyst supports the development of innovative healthcare products, technologies and processes.

There are 4 types of funding award: feasibility, primer, early stage and late stage.

Please see below a summary of the funding call:

Project size: From £200,000 to £4million

Project duration : 12 to 36 months (must start before 1 July 2019)

Deadline : 3 October 2018, Wednesday

Primer

UK SMEs can apply for a share of up to £5 million to work alone or with others on solving healthcare challenges in a model system. Apply now for a primer award in the Biomedical Catalyst. The primer award is running alongside the late stage award. Applications welcome from any sector or discipline.

Please see below a summary of the funding call:

Project size: From £200,000 to £1.5million

Project duration : 12 to 24 months (must start before 1 April 2019)

Deadline : 3 October 2018, Wednesday

Interreg France (Channel) England has introduced new website

EU, Funding opportunities, innovation, pre-award

Good news for those interested in applying for Interreg Europe funded grants.

Interreg France (Channel) England (Interreg FCE) has introduced channelmanche.com website, updating website address to something more user-friendly. The new site incorporates a simple, modern design allowing users to easily access the information they need.

Other changes include new pages for both Micro-Projects and Regular Projects, with the application processes now clearly laid out in a step-by-step guide. Layout of the Programme’s specific objectives also has been improved and created a dedicated page for new Targeted Projects initiative.

If you have an idea for a cross-border project what fits into Interreg France (Channel) England scope, please get in touch with your contact person from RKEO Funding Development Team to discuss further steps for developing a competitive proposal. The process starts with submitting a brief outline of your idea.

Interreg Europe helps regional and local governments across Europe to develop and deliver better policy. By creating an environment and opportunities for sharing solutions, Interreg Europe aims to ensure that government investment, innovation and implementation efforts all lead to integrated and sustainable impact for people and place.

Interreg FCE has been set up to foster economic development in the south of the UK and north of France by funding innovative projects which have a sustainable cross-border benefit in the Programme’s eligible regions. Eligible area consists of the South and East Coasts of England from Cornwall to Norfolk, and the North Coast of France from Finistère to Pas-de-Calais.

Funding available: Next-generation low carbon vehicle technology

BU Challenges, BU research, Funding opportunities, innovation

Image from www.horiba-mira.com

Up to £20million funding is available from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) where upon investment will be made in technologies that support the development of low carbon propulsion technology in the UK and ancho a next-generation supply chain.

The APC is particularly looking for projects that support the UK’s long-term capabilities and supply chain in the design, build and manufacture of low-emission vehicle technologies.

Projects must help make capabilities a permanent part of the UK supply chain. They must be in the following areas:

  • alternative propulsion systems
  • electric machines and power electronics
  • energy storage and energy management
  • lightweight vehicle and powertrain structures
  • thermal propulsion systems

Projects must have a proven technology concept and demonstrate that there is a clear route to market. The primary technology application must be automotive.

Please see below for a summary of funding opportunity:

Competition Opens: 6 August 2018

Deadline for competition: 3 October 2018

Requirement : Must be led by a business working in partnership with others; must include SME; and a vehicle manufacturer/ tier 1 supplier

Funding available: £5m to £40m

Project duration: 18 to 42 months

A briefing event will be held on 16 August 2018 where further advice on applying for APC funding will be available. Please click on this link to find out more.

Come and be a part of cutting edge Spine Biomechanics Research!

BRIAN, innovation, Research communication, Research news, Student Engagement, student research

Research participants needed! 

The Centre for Biomechanics Research (located at the AECC University College, Parkwood Campus) is currently conducting a study investigating low back joint motion patterns in pain free adults. This study has National Research Ethical approval and aims to establish normal spine motion, which will support future investigations into low back pain and its possible treatments.

To collect the required data, pain free volunteers between 30 and 70 years of age are needed who are willing to have their low backs scanned with a method called ‘Quantitative Fluoroscopy’. This will take place in the AECC University College Chiropractic Clinic and takes no more than 1 hour.

Taking part in this study means that you are helping to advance science which will benefit many patients in the future. Additionally, this is an excellent opportunity for healthcare students and staff to learn more about this emerging technology.

Please contact us at cbrstudies@aecc.ac.uk if you are interested in taking part and we will send you more information about this study. We are looking for approximately 100 more volunteers, so we’d like to encourage you to spread this information to family and friends who can also be welcomed as participants.

 

Kind regards

Alan Breen (Professor of Musculoskeletal Research)
Alex Breen (Post-Doc and Technology Lead)
Emilie Claerbout (Bournemouth University Student)