BU Research Blog

16 December 2025

From Classroom to Catalyst: Impact, Inclusion and the UN SDGs in Entrepreneurship Education at Bournemouth University

BU Challenges, Business Engagement, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Fusion, HEIF, Industry collaboration, innovation, international, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, REF 2029 impact case studies, Student Engagement, Women's Academic Network Sukanya Ayatakshi

It feels like only yesterday that I was writing a research blog reflecting on social impact entrepreneurship amongst students at Bournemouth University Business School (BUBS) in the Faculty of Business and Law. A year on, this work continues to evolve, offering further evidence of how entrepreneurship education can act as a catalyst for social impact, inclusion and sustainable development.

This year’s final-year 20-credit module on the Entrepreneurship pathway, called Entrepreneurship and Business Ventures, ran yet another elevator pitch event, resulting in 22 new mentoring opportunities for students developing socially and environmentally minded business ideas. This builds on 24 mentoring opportunities created the previous year, highlighting not only the consistency of outcomes but also the growing strength of the entrepreneurial ecosystem surrounding BU.

The module has now been running for over seven years and has undergone deliberate pedagogical redesign during that time. It now operates as an in-class incubation and ideation space for social and impact entrepreneurship, rather than a traditional lecture-led module. Students are supported in developing, testing, and refining venture ideas within a structured environment that prioritises both business viability and social impact.

Central to the unit’s design is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Rather than treating the SDGs as abstract global ambitions, students are encouraged to use them as a practical framework for opportunity recognition. The SDGs help students to identify real-world problems, consider systemic impacts, and design business models that create economic, social and environmental value simultaneously. In this sense, sustainability is positioned not as an ethical add-on, but as a source of legitimacy, resilience and competitive advantage.

Across two days of live elevator pitches, final-year students presented a diverse range of ideas addressing challenges at local, national and global levels. The quality and ambition of the pitches demonstrated a notable shift in entrepreneurial mindset. While financial feasibility remained central, many students framed entrepreneurship in terms of long-term value creation, legacy and responsibility, with profit understood as a means to enable impact rather than an end in itself.

As a module-level assessment, this activity could have been delivered entirely within the classroom. However, entrepreneurship is inherently experiential and relational. Each year, the assessment is therefore designed as a live engagement exercise, with students pitching to an external panel of judges drawn from industry, policy and practice. The panel provides immediate feedback and, crucially, offers mentoring and access to professional networks. These outcomes are particularly significant in relation to inclusive entrepreneurship practice at BU. By embedding incubation, mentoring, and ecosystem engagement within a credit-bearing module, access to entrepreneurial opportunities is expanded. Students do not need prior entrepreneurial experience, social capital or financial resources to participate. Instead, all students on the pathway are given structured access to support, feedback and visibility.

Inclusive entrepreneurship is also evident in the nature of the ideas themselves. Many ventures draw directly on students’ lived experiences, cultural backgrounds and community contexts, demonstrating how diversity can be a driver of innovation. The breadth of the judging panel—including expertise in sustainability, inclusive enterprise, ethnic minority entrepreneurship and venture coaching—further reinforces inclusive role modelling and challenges narrow stereotypes of who entrepreneurs are and what they do. None of this would be possible without the entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports this work. Over seven years, that ecosystem has grown significantly, reflecting shared commitment to impact-driven and inclusive entrepreneurship. The sustained willingness of external partners to mentor students demonstrates that meaningful inclusion is built through relationships and trust, not rhetoric alone.

Reflecting on these outcomes raises an important question for higher education more broadly. If such impact—mentoring, confidence building, inclusive participation and SDG-aligned venture development—can be achieved within a single 20-credit module, what more might be possible with structured, longitudinal support for student social entrepreneurs? At Bournemouth University, this module offers a practical example of how entrepreneurship education can contribute to inclusive growth and sustainable development, aligning teaching, research and external engagement with the Global Goals.

13 December 2025

Writing policy briefs

international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

This week saw the publication of ‘Bridging Research and Policy: Practical Tips for Writing Policy Briefs‘ co-authored by Bournemouth University’s (BU) Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen as well as former BU staff Dr. Nirmal Aryal. An effective policy brief bridges the gap between research findings and policymaking, ensuring that evidence is presented succinctly and in a way that is accessible and usable for policymakers and relevant stakeholders. It is an important step in what is called knowledge mobilisation. However, many researchers find it hard to communicate the findings of their studies to relevant policymakers, whilst policymakers note that the evidence they need is not easily accessible and is often not presented in an accessible format. Producing policy briefs is one of the approaches which academics can use to get their research noticed by policymakers.

This practical paper outlines some of the trials and tribulations of producing policy briefs, based on real-world research. It offers several recommendations to help improve the writing and dissemination of policy briefs. The paper is published in an Open Access journal hence freely available to anybody across the globe with internet access.

References:

van Teijlingen, E., Balen, J., Regmi, P., Rushton, S., Simkhada, P., Aryal, N. (2025). Bridging Research and Policy: Practical Tips for Writing Policy Briefs. Journal of Health Promotion, 13(1),:89–96. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v13i1.87170

10 December 2025

Today’s Documentation Will Serve Tomorrow’s Justice

international, Public engagement efisher

Marking the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, Melanne Verveer, Former United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues said yesterday at an event in parliament: ‘today’s documentation is tomorrow’s prosecution’. This, in part at least, motivates MaGPIE’s continued mapping effort of mass graves.

The event in Westminster Palace focused on ‘Wounds Beyond War: Sexual and/or Reproductive Violence as Means of Genocide’. On invitation by Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws LT KC, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the Coalition for Genocide Response, powerful testimonies and interventions were made by Alisa Kovalenko, survivor of Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Ukraine; Rahima Mahmut, Uyghur human rights defender; Melanne Verveer, Former United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues; and Christina Lamb, Sunday Times foreign correspondent and author of ‘Our bodies, their battlefield’.

In addition to experiencing the highest number of active conflicts since 1946, across all such situations, women and girls are subjected to sexual and/or reproductive violence. Where such crimes are targeting communities, such as ethnic, religious, national or racial groups, because of their group identity, and with the specific intent to destroy the groups, sexual and/or reproductive violence may be used as a means of genocide.

The event forms part of a series of efforts organised by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union seeking to garner support for mass atrocity prevention and accountability efforts. This included a briefing to parliamentarians on mass grave evidence for criminal justice purposes by BU’s MaGPIE team. A large part of MaGPIE is dedicated to recording and documenting mass graves across the globe to give an understanding of scale of the issue.

This week also saw the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime and whilst the country is grappling with a vast array of issues, not least thousands of missing persons, it was heartening to visit the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic at their offices in Geneva. MaGPIE has a Memorandum of Understanding containing a framework of cooperation between the Independent Institution and Bournemouth University to include the provision of information and documentation and other possible areas of cooperation. The cooperation is to support the UN mechanism’s mandate to clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing persons and to provide adequate support to families of those missing. Renewing our commitment to support victims’ right to know the truth through the mapping of, and research into, mass graves is our act of solidarity in the face of continued perpetration of mass atrocities.

21 November 2025

BU academic publishes in online newspaper in Nepal

international, open access, Public engagement, Publishing, Women's Academic Network Edwin van Teijlingen

Last week the internet newspaper Online Khabar published ‘Celebrating Nepal Female Community Health Volunteers, but for how much longer?‘. This article is written by Sankalpa Bhattarai, a researcher based at Green Tara Nepal, and BU’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen about the future of Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) in Nepal. In the late 1980s the Government of Nepal introduced the FCHV programmea at a time, Nepal was one of only two countries in the world where the life expectancy for women was lower than that of men. These FCHVs were recruited locally in their own communities to help reduce infant and maternal mortality. They provided health education, immunisation, and information on family planning and hygiene, as well as offering basic first aid services and referring people in their communities to basic or advanced health services when needed.

The FCHV programme is one of the most successful parts of the country’s health system, and recognised worldwide for offering basic care in a system of harmony between local volunteers and the communites they live in, as such meaningful connections can have a profound impact on people’s well-being. There are FCHVs in most villages and the volunteer workforce comprises over fifty thousand women spread across the country. Th future of this FCHV programme is currently being discussed with four possible strategies emerging: (1) redefining FCHV roles; (2) modernization and skills upgrade; (3) establishing permanent support and incentives; and (4) formalizing their role in crisis response.

The online newspaper article is based on a paper we published last year as a Commentary in the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences [1]. Our previous research work on FCHVs included a paper in PLOS Global Public Health [2], as well as two further papers based on the Ph.D. study by Dr. Sarita Panday [3-4].

We like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Pramod Regmi, Principal Academic in International Health in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science, for connecting us to the editor of Online Khabal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

References

Bhattarai, S., & van Teijlingen, E. (2024). Nepal Needs A Two-Pronged Approach to Secure Future of Its Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs). Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 9(1), 43–48. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v9i1.68640
Panday, S., Barnes, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2024) Exploring the motivations of female community health volunteers in primary healthcare provision in rural Nepal: a qualitative study, PLOS Global Public Health Aug 1;4(8):e0003428. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0003428.
Panday, S., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2017) The contribution of female community health volunteers (FCHVs) to maternity care in Nepal: a qualitative study, BMC Health Services Research 17:623 be/vz9C
Panday, S., Bissell, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2019) Perceived barriers to accessing female community health volunteers’ services amongst ethnic minority women in Nepal: a qualitative study, PLoS ONE 14(6): e0217070 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217070

21 November 2025

Final day of the ESRC Festival of Social Science

Festival of Learning, Fusion themes, international, PG research, Public engagement, REF Subjects, Student Engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Saturday 8th November was the final day of the national Festival of Social Sciences (FoSS), which was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Many universities across the Uk organised a wide-ranging set of events. Bournemouth University (BU) organised six events, and on the last day it put up a public-engagement event around its Sonamoni research project at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) building in Poole. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children aged 6-24 months in Bangladesh, yet it rarely receives the same attention as other global health issues. The Sonamoni project, led by Bournemouth University and the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), is an interdisciplinary collaboration with the University of Southampton, the University of the West of England (UWE), the RNLI, and Design Without Borders (DWB) in Uganda.

This £1.6m project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the UK’s National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR) through its Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme. Sonamoni is in the process of developing practical, community-based solutions to reduce drowning among 6-24 months’ old children.

The FoSS event at the RNLI earlier this month was presented by BU academics John Powell and Edwin van Teijlingen with a major contribution from BU’s PhD student Md. Shafkat Hossain, whose doctoral studies focuses on the local community’s understanding of, and engagement with, the Human-Centred Design element of the Sonamoni project. Prof. van Teijlingen, from BU’s School of Health & Care, introduced the project and he highligthed the harmony between the different social science disciplines of the members of the international research team as well as the interdisciplinary nature of this collaboration. The FoSS event was prepared and supported by BU’s Yasemin Oksel Ferraris and Claire Fenton.

One of the ideas generated by the Sonamoni project, which involves local community involvement at all stages of the study, is a low cost playpen to keep young children save. John Powell MBE outlined the Human-Centred Design process and the eight potential solutions it generated. The FoSS event on the Saturday morning focused particulary on the design stages of the playpen, from concept to a model that could be tested in the field in rural Bangladesh. The colourful first batch of playpens in the photo are ready to be taken to families to be tested in the two field sites. The audience of the FoSS event was particularly interested ways the researchers in Bangladesh managed to get and keep the community involved in this very applied research.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health

17 November 2025

Portrait Concert featuring BU academic at L’Espace du Son Festival 2025, Brussels

international, Public engagement aseddon

I was recently invited to perform at the prestigious acousmatic music festival L’Espace du Son, held at the Marni Theatre, Brussels from 15–19 October 2025. Now in its 32nd year, L’Espace du Son is one of the world’s leading electroacoustic music festivals, dedicated to acousmatic works. It features a loudspeaker orchestra of 110 speakers, enabling live projection and spatialisation of music to create truly immersive listening experiences.

Soundcheck view of the speaker system

My ‘Portrait’ concert included both stereo and multichannel pieces drawn from my album Espaces Éphémères (released on label Empreintes DIGITALes), and it was a fantastic opportunity to work with a system that allowed for new spatialised interpretations of my music.

Earlier concert intro with François Bayle

The festival’s programme was outstanding, showcasing an inspiring range of works by internationally renowned composers and emerging artists in the field. It was an absolute privilege to be part of such a rich and diverse lineup.

Many thanks to Annette Vande Gorne and the team at Musiques et Recherches for the invitation and their warm welcome.

13 November 2025

LGBTQIA+ Experiences of Gambling Related Harms: Join Us for a Free One-Day Event

conferences, international, Public engagement, REF 2029 impact case studies rbush

LGBTQIA+ Experiences of Gambling-Related Harms: Conference and Think-Tank Event

Academics across the university are warmly invited to a special one-day conference exploring gambling-related harm within LGBTQIA+ communities, taking place Monday 24th November 2025 (9:30am–4.00pm) at the Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel.

Hosted by Bournemouth University’s Gambling Research Group, this free event brings together researchers, lived experience experts, support organisations, and policymakers to deepen understanding of how gambling harm affects LGBTQIA+ individuals in the UK and globally. The day features new findings from BU, powerful lived experience narratives, international insights, and a collaborative think-tank designed to co-create practical, inclusive solutions.

Highlights include:

Research presentations and the latest UK data.
Lived experience panel and Q&A.
Spotlight talks from Gordon Moody, Ara Recovery For All, Switchboard, Ygam, and more.
Global perspectives from New Zealand and the USA.
An interactive think-tank session focused on improving policy and support pathways.
Lunch and refreshments are provided.

This event forms part of a Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms-funded project led by Dr Reece Bush-Evans, and offers a unique opportunity for academic colleagues to contribute expertise, connect across disciplines, and support impactful, community-informed research.

Register for free:
Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lgbtqia-experiences-of-gambling-related-harms-tickets-1795320133849?aff=oddtdtcreator

Registration closes 5.00pm on Wednesday 19 November.

31 October 2025

BU Festival of Social Sciences invite at RNLI

international, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Student Engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday we received the postcards to advertise our Festival of Social Sciences (FoSS) ‘Sonamoni’ event which will be held in the beautiful RNLI building on West Quay Road in Poole on Saturday 8th November. This public event focusing on drowning prevention in Bangladesh is free and can be booked online, click here! The FoSS is a UK-wide festival every autumn. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to promote social science research with the general public. The FoSS comprises events ranging from exhibitions, lectures and panel debates through to performances, guided walks and workshops. We would like to thank the ESRC for its support for its support, which includes producing the postcards, and the coffee and teas to be served at the RNLI on Saturday November 8th.

The Sonamoni Project is dedicated to reducing drowning deaths among newly mobile children (under 2 years) by working closely with rural communities in Bangladesh. Using human-centred design (HCD) techniques, the project is identifying solutions, developing prototypes, and assessing their effectiveness. This exciting project is funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) using UK aid from the UK government to support the improvement of global health through high-quality research.

Sonamoni is coordinated by Bournemouth University in collaboration with our partners: the University of the West of England (Bristol), the University of Southampton, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Design Without Border (DWB) in Uganda and the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB).

29 October 2025

MaGPIE Presents at UK Parliament: From Mass Graves to Courtroom

international, Public engagement efisher

This week, members of Bournemouth University’s MaGPIE (Mass Grave Protection, Investigation and Engagement) research team were invited to the Palace of Westminster to take part in a session on “From Mass Graves to Courtroom – Preserving and Using Evidence from Mass Graves” organised by the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union, the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Law, Justice and Accountability.

The session, chaired by MP Brendan O’Hara and organised by Dr Ewelina U. Ochab from the International Bar Association, brought together leading experts on international law, international cooperation and international organisations to discuss how evidence from mass graves can be preserved, protected, and potentially used in legal proceedings addressing atrocity crimes.

Among the speakers were Professor Melanie Klinkner, Principal Investigator of MaGPIE and co-author of The Bournemouth Protocol on Mass Grave Protection and Investigation, Rt Hon Alistair Burt in his role as Commissioner for the International Commission on Missing Persons, Rupert Skilbeck, Director of REDRESS, and Dr Chantal Joubert from the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security with her intricate experience on progressing the Mutual Legal Assistance Convention.

Melanie presented MaGPIE’s research on open-source mass grave mapping and outlined how the Bournemouth Protocol provides a legally robust framework for the protection and investigation of mass graves. Her contribution emphasised the need for rigorous, rights-based approaches to evidence preservation, particularly in fragile post-conflict contexts.

Reflecting on the day, Melanie said:

“It was a privilege to represent Bournemouth University and MaGPIE in Parliament, sharing our research alongside colleagues dedicated to justice and accountability. Our work is about ensuring that mass graves are treated not just as sites of loss and suffering, but as crime scenes that require protection and investigation for truth and justice processes.”

Prior to the Parliamentary session, MaGPIE continued its engagement efforts with policymakers. Team member Emily met with aides to MP Uma Kumaran, as part of an ongoing dialogue regarding safe mass grave excavation practices in Sri Lanka. In a recent letter to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, MP Kumaran requested that the Bournemouth Protocol be translated into Tamil and Sinhalese, a move that would make its guidance more accessible to local practitioners and communities involved in post-conflict recovery and accountability efforts.

MaGPIE extends thanks to Dr Ochab, and all who attended the event, for hosting such an insightful and impactful discussion. The team looks forward to continuing its engagement with parliamentarians and policymakers to ensure these critical issues remain on the agenda.

28 October 2025

Festival of Social Science: Introducing drowning prevention in Bangladesh

Delicious links, Festival of Learning, international, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Bournemouth University is participating in the 2025 ESRC Festival of Social Science (FoSS), with a workshop about the Sonamoni project. Sonamoni is being coordinated by Bournemouth University (BU) and it is a collaboration with the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research (CIPRB) in Bangladesh as well as the University of the West of England (UWRE), Bristol, the University of Southampton, Design Without Borders (DWB) in Uganda, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Our FoSS event on drowning prevention research will be at the RNLI in Poole on the morning of Saturday 8th November. Tickets for this free event are available, to book yours, click here!

FoSS is a UK-wide festival that takes place every autumn, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It’s all about sharing social science research with the public in fun and engaging ways—through talks, workshops, exhibitions, performances and more. The festival consists of a series of events run each autumn, delivered by ESRC’s ‘festival partners’, higher education institutions spread across the UK. Events range from exhibitions, lectures and panel debates through to performances, guided walks and workshops.

The Sonamoni Project is dedicated to reducing drowning deaths among newly mobile children (under 2 years) by working closely with rural communities in Bangladesh. Using human-centred design (HCD) techniques, the project is identifying solutions, developing prototypes, and assessing their effectiveness. The project is funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) using UK aid from the UK government to support global health research. The project has Dr. Aminur Rahman (at CIPRB) as its Bangladesh lead, with BU’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen as the UK lead. It also includes a BU-registered PhD project by Md. Shafkat Hossain. The interdisciplinary team at Bournemouth University covers all three faculties through: Dr. Mavis Bengtsson, Dr. Kyungjoo Cha, Dr. Mehdi Chowdhury, Dr. Yong Hun Lim, Mr. John Powell, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

13 October 2025

Further CMWH contributions to 2026 ICM congress

conferences, international, Women's Academic Network Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations are due to BU’s Midwifery Lecturer Laura Stedman whose abstract ‘The impact of neonatal intensive care admission at term following gestational diabetes mellitus: A neglected area’ has been accepted for presentation at the 2026 ICM (International Confederation of Midwives) in Lisbon, Portugal. Also congratulations to BU’s Lead Midwife for Education, Dr. Juliet Wood. She been accepted to present a workshop at the ICM Congress under the heading ‘Supporting student midwife confidence to facilitate physiologic birth: A workshop for clinical and academic faculty‘. The latter workshop is a proper international collaboration as the team also includes colleagues from Northern Ireland, the USA, Poland and Australia.

The ICM works with midwives and midwives’ associations globally to ensure that women and gender diverse people have access to a midwife’s care before, during and after childbirth. We advocate for midwives to practise the full scope of our profession, providing education, sexual and reproductive health services and newborn care.

Congratulations to both!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

13 October 2025

Early labour research accepted for ICM 2026 congress

conferences, international, Women's Academic Network Edwin van Teijlingen

The ICM, the International Confederation of Midwives, holds its congress every three years, and the next one will be in Portugal in summer 2026. Dr. Dominique Mylod had her abstract accepted with the title ‘Supporting women in early labour: An interdisciplinary, digital approach’, whilst Prof. Vanora Hundley’s ‘Can we identify women who will need additional support in the early (latent) phase of labour?’ abstract was also accepted. Both Dr. Mylod and Prof. Hundley are based in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science.

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

13 October 2025

New PhD publication on Nepal’s migrant workers

international, open access, Publishing, student research, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to BU postgraduate student Yagya Adhikari, who has just been informed by the editor of the Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health that his paper “Parental migration for work and psychosocial problems among left-behind adolescents in Nepal” [1] has been accepted for publication. Yagya’s PhD is based in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Science. He is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen with support from Mr. Sudip Khanal, Lecturer in Biostatistics, at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Kathmandu. This is the second paper from Yagya’s PhD the first one was published at the start of his PhD studies [2]. Both papers are published in Open Access journals and therefor will be freely available to read by anyone in the world with internet access.

References:

Adhikari, Y.R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P.R., Khanal, S., Parental migration for work and psychosocial problems among left-behind adolescents in Nepal, Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health (forthcoming)
Adhikari, Y.R., Regmi, P.R., Devkota, B., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers. Journal of Health Promotion, 10(1):1–4. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v10i1.50976

10 October 2025

BU to contribute to international midwifery workshop in 2026

Awarded & submitted bids, international, Women's Academic Network Edwin van Teijlingen

This week Dr. Laura Iannuzzi, who is Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health, was informed by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) that the proposed workshop ‘Rest or arrest? A workshop to advance knowledge and skills to support women, families and teams when dealing with a slowing or pausing of labour’ has been accepted for the ICM conference in 2026. This workshop in Portugal will be run in collaboration with Laura’s international colleagues Prof. Marina Weckend and Ms. Anna Maria Rossetti.

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

24 September 2025

BU contributing to Ageing Workshop in Qatar

international Edwin van Teijlingen

The WHO (World Health Organization) Collaborating Centre for Healthy Ageing and Dementia at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar, in collaboration with the WHO, will be hosting an International Workshop on Evidence-Based Policy Development and Health System Preparedness for Future Pandemics in Ageing Populations. The event will be held this Sunday 28th September in Doha and online.

This high-level workshop, under the leadership of Prof. Hanadi Al Hamad, will bring together international experts, policymakers, healthcare leaders, and community stakeholders to share evidence, strengthen health system resilience, and co-develop actionable recommendations that support the goals of the WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030). Bournemouth University contribution is through Professor Edwin van Teijlingen from the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH). He will be facilitating an online workshop on “Identifying Priority Actions and Recommendations on Policy & Programme Implications”. To celebrate Bournemouth University’s long-term collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (a not-for-profit organisation in Qatar), GlobalBU is in the process of signing a Memorandum of Agreement with HMC.

17 September 2025

New Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMHW) paper on Nepal

international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Last week the international Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development emailed to tell that our paper ‘Exploring handwashing knowledge and practice among lactating mothers in Kathmandu’s slum communities’ [1] had been accepted for publication.

It is widely known that poor access to good quality water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) lead to high morbidity in young children. The paper reports on a cross-sectional study conducted with 127 breastfeeding mothers in two slum settlements in Nepal’s capital. It found that most had a good knowledge of WASH and appropriate washing of hands. However, the prevalence of illness among children whose mothers had only basic education was 26% higher than those whose mothers had completed secondary education. Family income and hand-washing practice were also significantly associated with child health (p < 0.01). Nearly three in four (73.2%) of children had experienced health issues, particularly diarrhoea, in the past half year.

The authors concluded that strengthening maternal hand-hygiene education programmes, particularly for lactating mothers, and improving WASH infrastructure are necessary, as well as promoting affordable hand-washing solutions in urban slums.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Reference:

Devkota, G.P., Sharma, M.K., Sherpa, S., Khanal, T.R., Devkota, B., van Teijlingen, E. (2025) Exploring handwashing knowledge and practice among lactating mothers in Kathmandu’s slum communities, Nepal, Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 15:1-10. doi: 10.2166/washdev.2025.084

12 September 2025

Nepal migrant workers returning from India

international, open access, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Nepal has been in the world news this week for the wrong reasons, with young protesters burning down the parliament, and damaging many government building in all seven provinces. Some 30 young people died in the process and and thousands of sometimes dangerous prisoners were freed. After the political and social upheaval in the country this past week, Nepalese migrant workers are beginning to return home from India to be with their families. Today (Friday 12th September) the BBC online reported under the heading ‘Worried migrants head home from India after Nepal turmoil‘.

The journalist interviewed both migrant workers and students from Nepal living in India. The piece also cited several studies on Nepalese migrant workers in India, including a Bournemouth University (BU) study with the title ‘The Health of Nepali Migrants in India: A Qualitative Study of Lifestyles and Risks‘ [1]. This publication is one of the many published papers on the health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers conducted in BU’s Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences. The lead author of this paper in theInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is Dr. Pramod Regmi, Principal Academic in International Health.

References:

Regmi PR, van Teijlingen E, Mahato P, Aryal N, Jadhav N, Simkhada P, Zahiruddin QS, Gaidhane A. (2019) The Health of Nepali Migrants in India: A Qualitative Study of Lifestyles and Risks. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 16(19):3655. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16193655.

31 August 2025

UK Turing Scheme: My student mobility programme in Nepal

international, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, student research, Women's Academic Network Edwin van Teijlingen

My name is Anjana Regmi Paudyal, and I am a PhD student in the Faculty of Health, Environment and Medical Sciences (HEMS), Bournemouth University (BU). My doctoral research focuses on modern slavery, particularly the opportunities and barriers to survivors reintegrating into their families and communities. I was honoured to take part in the Turing Scheme traineeship and other international academic activities in Nepal, which became a truly transformative experience both personally and professionally. The Turing Scheme lasted four weeks and was hosted by the Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Kathmandu.

My traineeship was arranged through Bournemouth University in partnership with MMIHS in Kathmanduand it was supported by my BU supervisors Dr. Orlanda Harvey and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. I chose this placement because MMIHS has a strong research culture and offers opportunities to collaborate with students, faculty, and NGOs working in migration and modern slavery.

From the very beginning, I felt warmly welcomed by academics and students, which helped me settle in quickly. The first week was spent getting to know the university, its values, and its research culture. I particularly enjoyed informal discussions with first- and second-year MSc students, where we shared ideas and experiences across different academic settings.

By the second week, the focus shifted towards intensive academic engagement. I participated in a research workshop on grant applications, systematic reviews, and qualitative research methods led by expert guest speakers. These sessions sharpened my skills in data analysis and literature reviews, giving me fresh insights into areas highly relevant to my own PhD. Alongside this, I began engaging with NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) working in the field of migration and modern slavery. I met with Ms. Manju Gurung, Director of POURAKHI Nepal, an organisation that supports female returnee migrants and survivors of trafficking. I also gathered policy documents and insights from Green Tara Nepal (GTN) and the Nepal Development Society (NeDS), both of which have significant experience in migration health. These connections will help to shape my upcoming PhD fieldwork.

During the third week, it was my turn to share. I presented my PhD project, and my approach, using photo elicitation, is relatively new in Nepalese research, therefore, it sparked great curiosity among students and faculty. The discussions that followed were highly rewarding, especially around ethical considerations and practical challenges. I was struck by the students’ engagement, particularly the second-year MSc cohort, who found the sessions useful for their own research journeys.

As my time in Nepal came to an end, I reflected on the differences between teaching and learning styles in the UK and Nepal. I spoke with students about the UK system, where independent study and varied assessment methods are emphasised, which was particularly valuable for those considering postgraduate studies abroad. Beyond academia, I was fortunate to experience cultural festivals within and beyond Kathmandu Valley, which deepened my appreciation of Nepal’s vibrant traditions and community spirit.

I was fortunate to witness the “Gaijatra Festival” in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Gai Jatra is a Newari Hindu festival that honours deceased loved ones by parading decorated cows or children dressed as cows through the streets. The belief is that cows guide souls to the afterlife. Celebrated around the August full moon, the festival features music, dance, humor, and satire to provide comfort to grieving families and encourage them to embrace life despite their loss.

Looking back, this traineeship not only enhanced my academic and research skills but also strengthened my confidence in working across cultures and linking theory with practice. It confirmed my motivation to pursue a global research career and taught me the importance of being open, flexible, and curious. My greatest achievement was being able to present and discuss my methodology with such an engaged audience, while also building long-term connections with NGOs and academic partners.

I would wholeheartedly recommend the Turing Scheme to other students. It is challenging but deeply rewarding, offering the chance to grow personally, academically, and professionally while contributing meaningfully to international collaborations. The environment at MMIHS was welcoming, though more structured compared to the UK. Students showed huge interest in UK teaching and assessment styles. Most academic sessions were in English, but some conversations were in Nepali, which helped me practice my language skills and build rapport.

If you get the opportunity: Say yes to goin abroad on the Turing Scheme. It challenges you, but the growth and insights are worth it. I am much more confident working with diverse groups, whether in academic or NGO settings. Presenting my PhD methodology in Nepal and receiving recognition and engagement from students and academics. Academic presentation, intercultural dialogue, trauma-informed sensitivity, networking with NGOs, and collaborative learning. Absolutely. The Turing Scheme was transformative for both my personal and professional development.

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