BU Research Blog

January 18, 2016

New year resolutions from the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team (KEIT) !

Festival of Learning, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Research communication, Research news, student research jcodling

….”Please can you keep me up to date with what’s happening in the area of knowledge exchange, impact, student research and research communications, and public engagement”….

The Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team (KEIT) within the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office will be working hard to make sure this new year resolution is well and truly kept !

To keep you up to date with what we are up to and how we are working ‘to bag a bargain’ read on to find out more. (Your diary or calendar is an essential item when reading this blog post to make sure you don’t miss out on key dates and deadlines.)

Interdisciplinary Research Week kicks off next week with a variety of events running from 25 until 29 January. It’s not too late to book your place onto many of the sessions.

These include the next inaugural lecture on 25th January in the EBC. This gives newly appointed professors the opportunity to share an insight into their field of work, research interests and achievements to date. Professor Lee Miles of BU’s Disaster Management Centre will be speaking on entrepreneurial resilience and disaster management.

“What will Marty McFly need in 25 years?” will take place on 26th and 27^th January. We we are looking to prompt great debate in order to generate potential ideas for future projects as part of this sandpit event involving local businesses and BU staff and students. This will be facilitated by RKEO staff.

This year’s Bournemouth Research Chronicle is progressing well and will be published in the spring. It features a host of fascinating examples of interdisciplinary research from across the university. A publication not to be missed !

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships celebrated 40 years in 2015 and this national scheme continues to thrive as a great way to develop and engage business and university partnerships. The third cohort of training (at BU) started at the end of 2015 and will continue in 2016 with a number of academics across the university involved. To find out more about KTPs at BU contact Rachel Clarke.

Make sure you don’t run out of time as the call for proposals for the Festival of Learning are now open with a January 31^st deadline. Click on this link to find out how to find out how to submit your proposal. A great opportunity to showcase your research to the public.

Love is in the air with the 14^th and 29^th February being key dates for those cupids out there ! If romance is in the air make sure you have the next Cafe Sci in your calendar – Tuesday 2nd February. Martin Graff will be speaking on the function of nonverbal behaviour in Human Courtship.

We’ve been working hard, reviewing the case studies submitted to the light touch impact review and have been meeting with UoA leaders and impact champions to go over feedback. There are some very promising cases under development and we are looking forward to sharing these in the future.

The area of student engagement moves into its third year having been established as part of the KEIT’s remit in 2014. Events to support this area of research include the research photo competition. Voting is now open ! Don’t miss out on your say. Click here to view all the entries on the research website and cast your vote or check out the Facebook page. All of the entries will be displayed in the Atrium Art Gallery during February and an awards ceremony will be held on the 4^th February to announce the winners of the competition.

We received an overwhelming response to the Undergraduate Research Assistantship Programme (URA). Busy with recruitment there are a total of 46 vacancies across 36 projects to be filled. The first student induction has already taken place with many students starting on the programme this week. The next round of URA funding applications is due to open in February 2016 for summer research assistants.

If you want any further information on this blog post please feel free to contact a member of KEIT.

Look out for our next blog post published in February !

January 12, 2016

2016 Geovation Challenge – ‘How can we better manage water in Britain, sustainably?’

Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Research news jcodling

Competition offering cash prizes for the most innovative ideas that can be turned into a commercial success. The 2016 Geovation Challenge question is ‘How can we better manage water in Britain, sustainably?’

Funding body:                      Ordnance Survey
Maximum value:                  £ 20,000
Application deadline:          27/01/2016
Location:                               United Kingdom

Background

The Geovation Challenge was initiated, funded and managed by Ordnance Survey. Its current collaborators include Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Environment Agency, OCG, Springwise and United Utilities.

Objectives of Fund

The GeoVation Challenge aims to encourage open collaboration in addressing communities’ needs where geography is a key enabler. Open innovation, data, tools and information can be combined to create new ventures which generate social and environmental value.

The current GeoVation Challenge is focused on tackling the global issues around water. The Geovation Challenge question is ‘How can we improve water use in Britain sustainably?

Value Notes

The Programme is divided into two parts:

Part one (phases one to three over a period of six months) provides a total of £10,000 in funding.
Part two (for those who successfully deliver a prototype at the end of this and move on to phase four which is another six months on the Programme) provides an additional £10,000 in funding.

Funding will be given during each of the phases to progress the idea to the next level.

Those who are successful at phase four will receive help in seeking extra funding so that they have more than one source of investment and can move toward product launch.

Match Funding Restrictions

Match funding is not a specified requirement.

Who Can Apply

The Challenge is open to UK based organisations and residents over 18 years of age. This includes community groups, entrepreneurs, developers, innovators and local authorities.

Those who join the Programme will be expected to spend a minimum of 20 hours per week working on their project and attending core workshops at the Geovation Hub in London.

Restrictions

The following cannot enter the competition:

Members of the civil service.
Individuals involved in the administration of the GeoVation Awards Programme.

Eligible Expenditure

This year’s GeoVation Challenge is focused on tackling the global issues around water.

Ideas must help address the GeoVation Challenge question: ‘How can we better manage water in Britain, sustainably?’

The Geovation Water Challenge is focusing on five themes:

Too little water.
Too much water.
Poor water quality.
Ageing infrastructure.
Water use behaviour.

How To Apply

Deadline(s):

The deadine for submission is 27 January 2016.

Frequency: Biannual

Link to guidelines: https://geovation.uk/challenge/#challenge

Useful Links

GeoVation
http://www.geovation.org.uk/

Geovation Challenge 2015: Water
https://geovation.uk/challenge/#difference

Useful Contacts

GeoVation
Ordnance Survey
Urban Innovation Centre
1 Sekforde Street
Clerkenwell Green
London
EC1R 0BE

E-Mail: challenge@geovation.uk

If you are interested please contact the funding development team within RKEO.

December 18, 2015

10 predictions for 2016

innovation, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Research news jcodling

Nesta is an innovation charity with a mission to help people and organisations bring great ideas to life and have just published their list of the trends, social movements and technological breakthroughs they believe will impact lives over the next year.

This is the fifth annual prediction series published by Nesta , on the trends, social movements and technology breakthroughs set to impact our lives in the year ahead.

In 2016 cyber security will become a household concern, healthcare professionals will prescribe video games and small food producers will take on the supermarkets armed with better tech and valuable data. Check out this year’s list and find out what has been learnt from half a decade of Nesta predictions.

December 9, 2015

Smart 2015/2016 – R&D funding available

Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team jcodling

A grant scheme which offers funding to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in R&D projects in the strategically important areas of science, engineering and technology.

The scheme supports SMEs carrying out R&D which offers potentially significant rewards and that could stimulate UK economic growth.

Three types of grant are available:

Proof of market
Proof of concept
Development of prototype.

Any UK SME undertaking research and development may apply; applications are accepted on a rolling basis for assessment by independent experts.

This call is currently open closing on 21 January 2016.

For more information click here.

Contact a member of the funding development team if you have any questions .

December 8, 2015

Cross-platform production in digital media – up to £4m available

Business Engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team jcodling

Innovate UK is to invest up to £4 million in collaborative R&D projects that stimulate innovation in the UK’s creative industries.

This competition aims to support projects that address convergence in digital media technologies. It covers film, television, online video, animation and video games, and includes pre- production, production and post- production processes, particularly for visual effects technologies.

Projects must be collaborative and led by a business. We expect to fund mainly industrial research projects. Small businesses could receive up to 70% of their eligible project costs, medium- sized businesses 60% and large businesses 50%.

We expect projects to range in size from total costs of £300,000 to £750,000, although we may consider projects outside this range.

The call is currently open , with registration closing on 23 December 2015 . The deadline for expressions of interest is at noon on 6 January 2016.

For more information on this call click here.

Contact a member of the funding development team if you have any questions .

December 8, 2015

Game Changing Technologies for the Energy Sector – Information Webinar

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team jcodling

The Knowledge Transfer Network is organising a webinar to promote a new Innovate UK competition that will open in 2016.

Innovate UK is allocating up to £1.5m for their “Energy Game Changer” competition. The funding will be allocated to feasibility studies led by SMEs who can provide disruptive solutions to long established challenges which currently cost the energy sector hundreds of millions of pounds per year.

Amongst the high level challenges where radical multi-disciplinary solutions are sought are:

improving condition monitoring, inspection, handling, characterisation and repair of energy assets
minimising the risk and cost of operating in remote and hazardous environments
generating and handling ‘big data’ to optimise performance, efficiency, safety and security
getting individuals and communities excited and engaged in energy reducing the consumers energy bills

To encourage radical change and new ideas, the competition is specifically looking for solutions from innovative SMEs whose main business is divorced from the energy sector and can look at the challenges from new perspectives. Such organisations may be engaged in activities such as; ICT, digital, design, electronics, sensors, modelling, virtual reality, gaming, robotics, UAVs, forensics, manufacturing, inspection and advanced materials.

We also welcome technology transfer ideas from other sectors such as; defence, automotive, medical, space and creative industries.

Innovate UK is looking to fund around 20 feasibility studies of between £50-100k in size and 6-12 month duration.

The information webinar will give you the opportunity to:

understand the background to the competition
hear about the specific challenges and competition scope in more detail
hear about the competitions eligibility criteria, application process, funding and timescales
ask online questions
network online
Further physical events are scheduled for 2016.

For more information and to register click here.

December 7, 2015

Key insights for the 2035 robot revolution: New report

innovation, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team jcodling

A “robot revolution” will transform the global economy over the next 20 years, cutting the costs of doing business but exacerbating social inequality, as machines take over everything, according to a new study by investment bank Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“We are facing a paradigm shift which will change the way we live and work,” the authors say. “The pace of disruptive technological innovation has gone from linear to parabolic in recent years. Penetration of robots and artificial intelligence has hit every industry sector, and has become an integral part of our daily lives.”

The report outlines the opportunities for investors in robotics and artificial intelligence and cites recent research including Oxford University research that finds the coming revolution could leave up to 35% of all workers in the UK, and 47% of those in the US, at risk of being displaced by technology.

Read the full report here.

Want to keep up with news, events and funding in this area? Why not join the Knowledge Transfer Network – Robotics and Autonomous Systems – you can select how you wish to receive information via your inbox and/or social media.

December 2, 2015

Winner announced – “Entrepreneur of the year award”

Business Engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team jcodling

Last Thursday the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) had a different audience to entertain as over 700 guests from the local business community flocked to attend the annual Dorset Business Awards hosted by the Dorset Chamber of Commerce (DCCI).

Bournemouth University once again sponsored the “Entrepreneur of the Year’’ Award with the shortlisted finalists and BU staff members Jayne Codling (RKEO) and Linda Ladle (Careers and Employability) in attendance. This award attracts one of the highest number of entries out of the eleven categories with the judging process starting much earlier in the year . Mark Painter, Centre for Entrepreneurship Manager, who led BU’s panel of judges commented, “Competition gets tougher and tougher each year with a diverse range of applications from businesses across the region”. The finalists this year represented the digital, engineering and marine sectors.

This award category showcases entrepreneurs who have realised their vision through innovation and excellent management skills. All finalists needed to have demonstrated outstanding achievement, innovative business concept, growth and good management skills. CEO Phil Whitehurst, from Poole-based marine electronic brand Actisense was the overall winner, impressing the judges with his record of sustained growth and his continued passion and ambitions for further innovation. (Actisense also picked up the Dorset Export Award.)

Adam Greenwood founded IA Digital now Greenwood Campbell with Ian Campbell in 2009 and Calvin Samways who founded Sea-NC Engineering in 2005 were the other finalists shortlisted in this award.

Ex-BU student Georgina Hurcombe MD from Bournemouth based production company LoveLove Films also had reason to celebrate having won the “Business Engagement With Education Award”.

November 25, 2015

China – UK Research and Innovation Bridges Competition

Funding opportunities, Global engagement, innovation, international, Knowledge Exchange Emily Cieciura

Innovate UK, RCUK and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) for the People’s Republic of China are to invest up to £16 million in collaborative research and development projects that propose new commercial solutions to critical cha china uk llenges impacting the socio-economic growth and development of China in relation to energy, healthcare, urbanisation and agri-food.The UK investment has been made possible through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills-managed Newton Fund.

The aim of the competition is to bring together companies (small to medium-sized companies and/or larger businesses), research organisations, academics and other collaborators from China and the UK for the joint research and development of new solutions to key socio-economic challenges, in the form of innovative products, processes or services. The principal market a project must consider is China. Projects must be collaborative, involving both UK and Chinese participants, with both a UK lead partner and a Chinese lead partner. On the UK side, projects can be led by either a business or a research organisation. The lead partner should be able to demonstrate a clear route to commercialisation of the proposed product(s) or service(s), and should have a primary focus on the translation of research and/or knowledge.

To read more about this initiative, please go to announcement. To take part, you must register by 23 March 2016, 12:00. The final closing date is 30 March 2016, 12:00.If you are considering applying for this competition, please contact Emily Cieciura, Research Facilitator: EU & International.

November 24, 2015

Institute of Global Health Innovation – Student Challenges Competition 2015

Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, student research jcodling

The vision at Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) is to support the identification, development and widespread diffusion of healthcare innovation and in doing so to sustainably reduce global health inequalities across the globe.

The Student Challenges Competition offers students a key opportunity to showcase their research idea and to win prize money of up to £5,000 to develop this further. Runners-up prizes will also be awarded.

This year, it is also compulsory for all applications to be accompanied by a 2-3 minute promotional video illustrating the project idea and how it works.

As part of the Audience Choice Award, £500 is up for grabs to shortlisted candidates for those who produce the best video. The winners will be announced at the Dragon’s Den event with the rest of the prizes.

The competition is open to all UG & PG students based in the UK and can be on any aspect of global health innovation.

For more information click here.

November 23, 2015

Europe Update

BU research, EU, Funding opportunities, Global engagement, Info Days, innovation, international, Research news Emily Cieciura

Through BU’s subscription to UKRO, we have been advised of the following items, which are pertinent to researchers at BU:

Calls

As previously advised, the European Union launched a call for proposals making €38.7 million of EU funding available under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) through grants to improve the interoperability and interconnectivity of the European digital service ecosystem.

Are you thinking of applying to COST? Then reviewing the annual review or attending one of their events might help you in developing your proposal.

Further to the recent post about the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC) calls for 2016, if you are thinking of applying, you will find the Framework of Guidance invaluable reading

If you wish to apply for call within the Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing call, please also refer to the FAQs published this month

Info Days and Other Participation

This week, 23-29 November, is European Robotics Week. Events are taking place in Bristol so there may still be time to book and attend.

There are a number of information and networking events relating to ICT in the Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2016-2017 are taking place in Brussels over the coming weeks. Go to The Digital Agenda for Europe to find out more. Specific events include:

Research e-Infrastructures
H2020 ICT-15 Big Data PPP Lighthouse Projects
Smart Cyber-Physical Systems, Digital Automation, Smart Anything Everywhere, ICT Innovation for Manufacturing SMEs Initiatives, and Photonics Laser-based Production
Responsible Research and Innovation – Social Sciences and Humanities (RRI-SSH) approach in the ICT-related parts of the Work Programmes 2016-2017 of Horizon 2020.
Smart Wearables
Big Data
Smart System Integration
Internet Of Things Large Scale Pilots

Net Futures 2016 will take place on 20 – 21 April 2016 in Brussels. The website is not yet live – please watch out for future announcements but you can check out the 2015 programme to see if this event might be one for you to attend.

Registration for EuroDIG 2016 will open on 1/12/15. The European Dialogue on Internet Governance is an open platform for informal and inclusive discussions on public policy issues related to Internet Governance across Europe and integrates issues from national Internet Governance platforms in Europe as well as contributing to the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

The Netherlands will hold the presidency of the Eu from 1/1/16 for the first half of 2016. As part of this, a Knowledge and innovation Calendar has been launched. There are far to many to list here, so take a look for opportunities for you to participate and network with potential EU and global partners.

Consultations, UKRO Papers and Other News

UKRO has prepared a Reflection Paper on the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) to assist subscribers with their exploration of opportunities for financing research and innovation through the new instrument. You will need to register on the UKRO Portal or contact Emily Cieciura to access this item.

Did you take part in FP7? Then you might like to read the Evaluation Report, Commitment and Coherence: Ex‐Post‐Evaluation of the 7th EU Framework Programme (2007‐2013)

The European Union has signed Implementing Arrangements with Mexico and South Africa. Read more in this separate blog post

The Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) intends to set-up an Open Science Policy Platform to develop open science policy through a structured discussion with the main stakeholders.

Please note that there are other news items on the UKRO portal. To make full use of BU’s subscription to this service, why not register now?

November 18, 2015

Team BU shortlisted for Sports Technology Awards

innovation cfarrance

Well done to Team BU who has been shortlisted for Sport England Sports Technology Hackathon Awards 2016.

The team developed a location based game app called ‘Nudge’ and incorporated social gamification strategies to encourage sustained physical activity adherence. We also sought strategies to help those who are already active in this age group encourage their inactive peers to participate.

The winning team will be announced at the Sports Technology Awards in April 2016 and awarded a bursary of £10,000 to help them build the app.

Well done Team BU and good luck for next April!

November 13, 2015

BioStars – Business Plan Competition

Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, student research jcodling

BioStars, a biotech business plan competition aimed at enabling the bio-entrepreneurs of tomorrow to turn their scientific ideas into commercial products!

BioStars is open to postgraduates, MBA, professionals, with a scientific background and an eye for business, who can participate as individuals or in teams. Participants can apply with already a project in mind (Open stream section) or can collaborate with our partners on outlined high impact projects (Structured stream section). After the Kick-off meeting on the 14th of November, there will be two workshops with senior mentors (among our partners: Astra Zeneca, OBN, Stevenage BioScience Catalyst, Imperial Innovations, ISIS Innovation, CrowdCube, to mention some).

The final prize for the winners are 30,000£+ funding, facilitated lab & office spaces, 4D mentoring, waiving CrowdCube legal and administrative fees, as well as free admission to the BioTrinity 2016 conference.

More details about the programme can be found at: http://www.oxfordbiotech.org/biostars-about/

Key dates:
14th November 2015 – Kick-start workshop (Said Business School, Oxford-Eventbrite tickets)
29th November 2015 – Application deadline
7th December 2015 – Notification of Finalists
12th December 2015 – Mentoring Workshop I
16th January 2016 – Mentoring Workshop II
19th March 2016: Grand Finale

The applications are open until the 29th of November!

For any question don’t hesitate to get in touch with Vinton Cheng (OB Biostars Project Manager) -vinton.cheng@oxfordbiotech.org!

November 12, 2015

TetraGrip: A functional electrical stimulation (FES) device for restoring hand and arm functions in people with spinal cord injuries

BU research, Featured academics, innovation, PG research, Research communication, Research news djohn

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

Speaker: Lalitha Venugopalan

Lalitha is a Bournemouth University Creative Technology postgraduate student researching for a PhD in Biomedical Engineering based at the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.

Title: TetraGrip: A functional electrical stimulation (FES) device for restoring hand and arm functions in people with spinal cord injuries

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 18^th November 2015

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

Abstract:

TetraGrip is a four channel upper limb FES device for restoring the hand and arm functions on people with C5-C7 tetraplegia. This device uses an inertial measurement sensor (IMU) for detecting the shoulder elevation/depression. The signal from the IMU is used for controlling the functions of the stimulator and for adjusting the grasp strength.

The stimulator is programmed to operate in the following modes: exercise, key grip and palmar grasp. Key grip mode (fig 1) is used to grasp smaller objects like a pen or a fork, whereas the palmar grasp (fig 2) is used to grasp larger objects like a glass. The exercise mode is used to strengthen the forearm muscles.

The system will be clinically tried on ten able bodied volunteers to evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility. If the results from this study are found to be satisfactory, then the device will be clinically tried on tetraplegic volunteers for answering the following questions:

Is possible for a person with tetraplegia to generate the desired input signal to control the operation of the device?
Does the system improve the hand and arm functions of the user?
Is the system easy to use for people with tetraplegia?

We hope to see you there.

November 10, 2015

BU featured by Kidney Research Charity

innovation, Research news phartley

Bournemouth’s biomedical research features in this season’s Kidney Research UK ‘Update’ magazine (page 13). We share this issue with Lauren Laverne (sort of)!

KRUK is one of Britain’s leading kidney research charities and has awarded us an Innovation Award to identify genes that underpin the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in diabetes. The innovative part of the research is that it uses the fruit fly Drosophila – a novel tool in the research armoury that has helped us understand the genetic basis of human development and behaviour as well as cardiovascular disease. Research at Bournemouth will use unique genetic tools to establish how insulin signalling maintains the expression of evolutionarily conserved genes that regulate kidney function in both flies and humans. This simple model organism has enormous power to help us identify new pathways of clinical significance to CKD – a condition that affects and kills thousands of people every year in the UK.

If you are keen to learn more about the research – email me at phartley@bournemouth.ac.uk

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.

October 28, 2015

EU funding call now open!

Business Engagement, EU, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange jcodling

EU funding opportunity – are you working with SMEs?

Open call to SMEs and new entrants for industrial experiments Digital Agenda for Europe. The call is now open (28 October 2015) and the closing date is 3 December 2015. This call aims to initiate new business and innovation opportunities between SMEs and new entrants, major cyber physical system-platform providers, and competence centres. The maximum European Commission contribution for industrial experiments per applicant is €150,000. The funding rate is 70 per cent. The maximum duration of industrial experiment is 18 months.

For more information: https://www.eurocps.org/innovators-projects/open-calls/

October 17, 2015

ESRC Social Sciences at BU

BU research, Fusion, Global engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Research communication, Research news Edwin van Teijlingen

Get some of these interesting presentations in your diary now ‘Enhancing social life through global social research’:The social sciences at BU. For details click here!

Three sessions:

Part 1. Young people and development

Part 2. Ethnographies of religion & cultures

Part 3. Social science research in diverse communities

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Category / innovation