Category / PG research

This part of the blog features news and information for postgraduate research students and supervisors

Call for abstracts | The 13th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference

PG research, student research

The 13th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference 2021 will take place on Wednesday 1 December, 09:30 – 16:00 and the call for abstracts is now open.

The conference is a great opportunity for postgraduate researchers to showcase and promote their research to the BU community whether they have just started or are approaching the end of their journey at BU.

Attending the conference is a great opportunity to engage and network with the postgraduate research community and find out more about the exciting and fascinating research that is happening across BU.

For our 13th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference we will be hosting oral presentations via Zoom, showcasing research posters virtually on the website and the research and Faculty blogs and will have an on campus hub during the conference in the Fusion Building.

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Introducing the “Doctoral College Outstanding Contribution Awards”!

PG research

 

Recognising the contributions to postgraduate research by our PGR students, academics and professional staff

The Doctoral College are excited to announce the launch of our “Doctoral College Outstanding Contribution Awards”! 

These awards recognise the outstanding contributions to postgraduate research degrees at BU by any PGR, academic or professional staff member. They can be nominated throughout the year by any member of the postgraduate research degree community to anyone that they feel is exceptional, has exceeded expectations, and has had a positive impact on postgraduate research degrees at BU.

Eligibility

You can nominate anyone involved in postgraduate research at Bournemouth University to receive an award certificate. There is no award criteria, as long as the submission falls within the guidelines, whoever you’ve selected will receive a Doctoral College “Outstanding Contribution Award”!

How to nominate

We’ve made it really easy for you to nominate someone for a Doctoral College “Outstanding Contribution Award” – it’s just a short online nomination form!

BU Matched Funded Studentship Competition 2022 – Update

PG research

The funding call for the BU Matched Funded Studentship Competition 2022 will be announced shortly.

Currently, approximately one third of our postgraduate researchers are supported by BU studentships and BU is committed to continuing this support. This year’s competition will include opportunities for a limited number of matched funded PhD and MRes studentships.

While the details of the process are being finalised, it is time to:

  • consider potential research projects which align to the Strategic Investment Areas as identified in BU2025, or that have been identified as strategically important by Faculties
  • approach potential external match-funders to discuss financing and project interests
  • convene an interdisciplinary supervisory team which must include at least one MCR or ECR.

External match-funders would be expected to contribute approximately £26,000 – £27,000 for a three-year PhD towards the stipend and research & development costs, with BU providing 50% of the stipend and full fee waiver. The allocation of funding will be overseen by the Studentship Funding Panel.

Full details will be published on the staff intranet, with notification on the Research Blog and via email.

PGR Member Required – University Research Ethics Committee

PG research, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy

A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a new PGR member of the Research Ethics Committee (REC).

REC is responsible on behalf of Senate to promote best ethical practice in relation to research and research-related activities. Additionally, REC is responsible for the over-arching university-wide research ethics policies and procedures. REC considers ethical issues related to research and research-related activities brought to its attention by the Research Ethics Panels, researchers and the wider university community. REC is also responsible for constructing and maintaining the Research Ethics Code of Practice which informs local practices and procedures across the University, you can also view the REC Terms of Reference.

We are looking for someone to bring the student voice to this committee. The member must have a substantive understanding of research ethics, a keen interest and able to feed into the conversation of the committee. The committee meets 3 times per year of which it is expected that all members are present.

Next meeting dates: Wednesday 10 November, 2 March & 6 July; 2 pm – 3.30 pm and currently online.

If this is something you would like to be part of please email Natalie Stewart at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk a short (~100 words) expression of interest (EoI) by Friday 15 October. If I receive more than 1 EoI we will go to a student vote where your EoI will be shared.

If you have any further questions about the committee please contact Sarah Bell or Suzy Wignall at researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Visiting Postgraduate Researchers – Academic Mentor Roles and Responsibilities

PG research

Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) visiting other Higher Education Institutions to undertake specific research as part of their research degree is a well-established practice across the sector. This is of benefit not only to the individual PGR, who is able to extend their research experience under the supervision of subject experts outside their own institution and undertake additional professional and personal development, but also helps to establish and enhance the academic links between Bournemouth University and other institutions which may lead to further collaborative research opportunities.

 

“Having a Visiting Postgraduate Researcher (VPGR) at Bournemouth University helped to further contribute to our Departments growing expertise base and cemented the Department and Faculty of Science and Technology as an internationally recognised and attractive place to study. The Visiting Postgraduate Researcher’s presence also enriched the Faculty’s current PGR community through the sharing of approaches and perspectives and helped to forge closer links between BU and colleagues from the VPGRs home institution”.

                                                              Academic, Faculty of Science and Technology

 

 All VPGRs will be allocated an individual mentor, within their specific subject discipline who will act as the key contact during their visit, encouraging the PGR to achieve their full potential, and to complete their research project within the allotted timescale. Following enrolment, the academic mentor should:

  • Play a key role in inducting the VPGR into the Faculty, including providing introductions to relevant staff and students in the department and informing the VPGRs of activities in which they might to wish to participate in (e.g. Departmental Seminar Series, Research Development Programme etc)
  • Have regular contact with the VPGR, at least on a monthly basis and record attendance on ResearchPAD. For VPGRs on a Student Route visa, academic mentors must ensure that engagement is recorded on ResearchPAD every 59 days to compile with Home Office regulations
  • Agree upon a clear set of aims and objectives for the VPGR for the period of their stay
  • Ensure that VPGRs are aware of BU regulations, specifically 8A Code of Practice for Research Degrees
  • Ensure VPGRs have completed all Bournemouth University Health and Safety Requirements.

Although the primary source of academic support will be the academic mentor, the Doctoral College and Faculty Postgraduate Research administrators are also there to support the VPGR throughout their time at BU. The Doctoral College is committed to inspiring and mentoring the postgraduate community at BU, including VPGRs, through its role in PGR Student Experience. In addition, the Doctoral College has the central role of overseeing the development, implementation and quality assurance of BU research degrees, including the provision for VPGRs. The Faculty Postgraduate Research Administrators are also an important source of administrative advice and support and will be a key contact throughout the VPGR period of study.

For further information on this scheme, please visit our page on the staff intranet. If you have a had an enquiry from a potential Visiting PGR, you can signpost them to the application page on our website.

If you have any further questions about the VPGR scheme please contact PGRadmissions@bournemouth.ac.uk for new applications or the relevant faculty postgraduate research administration team for current VPGRs:

BUBS PGR Admin: bubsresearch@bournemouth.ac.uk

FHSS PGR Admin: fhssresearch@bournemouth.ac.uk

SciTech PGR Admin: scitechresearch@bournemouth.ac.uk

FMC PGR Admin: FMCresearch@bournemouth.ac.uk

Postgraduate Research Department Reps

PG research

 

 

 

The application and election process for new PGR Department Reps for 2021-22 will start later this month. If you are a PGR and would like to find out more about being a PGR Rep why not speak to your current department rep.

Details on the application and election process will be circulated later this month, in the meantime you may wish to have a read through the information flyer.

Launched | Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme

PG research, Student Engagement, Training


I am delighted to share with you all that sessions as part of the 2021-22 Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme for Postgraduate Researchers are now available to book.

PGRs can book onto sessions via the Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme on Brightspace. All sessions between October-December are delivered online.

If you are a PGR or PGR Supervisor and unable to access the Researcher Development Programme on Brightspace, please let us know and we will get you added.

Email Natalie and Debbie at: pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk.

 

Postgraduate Researchers and Supervisors | Monthly Update for Researcher Development

PG research, student research, Training

Postgraduate researchers and supervisors, hopefully you have seen your monthly update for researcher development e-newsletter sent earlier this week. If you have missed it, please check your junk email or you can view it within the Researcher Development Programme on Brightspace.

The start of the month is a great time to reflect on your upcoming postgraduate researcher development needs and explore what is being delivered this month as part of the Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme and what is available via your Faculty or Department. Remember some sessions only run once per year, so don’t miss out.

Please also subscribe to your Brightspace announcement notifications for updates when they are posted.

If you have any questions about the Researcher Development Programme, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Natalie (Research Skills & Development Officer)
pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk 

Postgraduate Researchers and Supervisors | Monthly Update for Researcher Development

PG research, Training

Postgraduate researchers and supervisors, hopefully you have seen your monthly update for researcher development e-newsletter sent last week. If you have missed it, please check your junk email or you can view it within the Researcher Development Programme on Brightspace.

The start of the month is a great time to reflect on your upcoming postgraduate researcher development needs and explore what is being delivered this month as part of the Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme and what is available via your Faculty or Department. Remember some sessions only run once per year, so don’t miss out.

Please also subscribe to your Brightspace announcement notifications for updates when they are posted.

If you have any questions about the Researcher Development Programme, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Natalie (Research Skills & Development Officer)
pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk 

Benefits of depositing your data

Funding opportunities, open access, PG research, Publishing

Depositing your data is a key activity when a research project is concluded. Key benefits to doing so are:

Long-term preservation

When archiving/ depositing your data, you are taking the first step in maintaining your data for the long-term. Data repositories will store and preserve your research data securely and that means you do not have to think about the prospect of losing your data in the foreseeable future. Repository staff are then responsible for the curation, discoverability, and accessibility of your data.

Get published, get cited

Depositing your data does not replace the process of publishing a research article. It enhances it. In fact, funders increasingly require data publication when they are providing a grant, and journals are aligning themselves with this process by asking the data to be published alongside with your article.

Citations are important to demonstrate impact and depositing your data can have a positive impact to your research profile through citations of your research data when re-used by other researchers. Sharing your data can also lead to further collaborations.

An image that describes 4 benefits of depositing research data. The benefits are, one) Improve your research profile two) better research impact three) tackling the reproduceability crisis and four) Meet funder and journal requirements

Image 1: Benefits of depositing research data

Enable further research

Datasets can complement other research efforts and generate new results when examined in new contexts. Moreover, when depositing your data, you are enabling the research community to benefit from your data, ensuring research efforts of your peers are directed into new areas. Finally, sharing your data transparently contributes to tackling the wider re-produceability crisis, whereby publishing your data you are allowing other researchers to test and verify the validity of your results.

 Where to deposit

Ideally, when your research project has been finalised, you will deposit your data to a repository that is related to your discipline.  You can identify suitable services using the Registry of Research Data Repositories (re3data). Note that there are charges associated with some repositories.

Alternatively, you can deposit your data with BU’s own data repository (BORDaR). There is no charge, and a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) will be generated which you can pass on to publishers to link any outputs to the original data.

It is helpful to consider where to deposit your data at the start of a research project, and to plan for any resources needed to prepare your data for publication. To this end, a Data Management Plan (DMP) should be completed at the start of every research project.

Further guidance can be found in the Library’s Research Data Management guide. If you have any specific questions, you can also email us at: bordar@bournemouth.ac.uk.

New obstetrics publication by PhD student Sulochana Dhakal Rai

international, PG research, Publishing, student research, writing

Congratulations to Mrs. Sulochana Dhakal Rai on the publication today of her PhD article ‘Classification of Caesarean Section: A Scoping Review of the Robson classification‘ in the Nepal Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology [1].  Sulochana’s PhD project in the Centre of Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) is supervised by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Juliet Wood and Prof. Edwin van  Teijlingen at BU and she is supported in Nepal by Prof. Ganesh Dangal [Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Kathmandu Model Hospital] and senior obstetrician Dr. Keshar Bahadur Dhakal [Karnali Province Hospital, Nepal].  Sulochana has already published two earlier papers from her PhD thesis research [2-3].

 

 

References:

  1. Rai SD, van Teijlingen E, Regmi P, Wood J, Dangal G, Dhakal KB. (2021) Classification of Caesarean Section: A Scoping Review of the Robson classification. Nep J Obstet Gynecol. 16(32):2-9.
  2. Dhakal-Rai, S., Regmi, PR, van Teijlingen, E, Wood, J., Dangal G, Dhakal, KB. (2018) Rising Rate of Caesarean Section in Urban Nepal, Journal of Nepal Health Research Council 16(41): 479-80.
  3. Dhakal Rai, S., Poobalan, A., Jan, R., Bogren, M., Wood, J., Dangal, G., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Dhakal, K.B., Badar, S.J., Shahid, F. (2019) Caesarean Section rates in South Asian cities: Can midwifery help stem the rise? Journal of Asian Midwives, 6(2):4–22.

Participants wanted for Self-awareness research project

PG research

Participants wanted for Self-awareness research project

In addition to our snapshots of friends and family, holidays and special events, some of us also take pictures of things just because they caught our interest. We were thinking about something else, when suddenly – as if with a tap on the shoulder – our attention was drawn to the sight of two children playing in a park, an old house, or a bicycle lying by the side of the road. But we don’t know those children, or the people who lived in that house – and that’s not our bicycle.

This project explores the possibility that, when our attention is attracted to images and scenes with which we have no logical or personal connection, it may be because we intuitively recognised the scene (or the elements within it) as an symbolic description of the way we see the world – or perhaps as an allegorical self-portrait of the person we have become.

This project will encourage participants to reflect on the possible significance of their apparently ‘random’ snapshots – and to consider them as potentially valuable sources of personal insight.

Over the course of (approximately) two months, participants will be asked to:

  1. Meet three times (online) for approximately one hour each time (twice with the researcher and the other participants – and once one-on-one with the researcher)
  2. Take photographs of scenes to which your attention is intuitively attracted
  3. Describe and discuss your thoughts and reactions to the things you have photographed

Full anonymity is guaranteed.

The following are regrettably excluded from participation:

  • Those under 18 years of age
  • Undergraduates

If you are interested in taking part in this project, please contact Rutherford@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Research staff ‘virtual writing workshop’ 29 June 13.30-16.30pm

PG research, Publishing, writing

This is a reminder about our ‘Virtual Writing Workshop’ on 29 June 13.30 – 16.30pm. We will have 2 blocks of writing (just over an hour each and then a break in the middle to get a coffee and chat to other researchers if you wish). If you can’t make 13.30 you can join a bit later – no worries.

This is for anyone (PhD student, academic, full time researcher) who wants to/needs to write and would like to do that in the company of colleagues from across the university.

Please come prepared with something you are working on. We recommend turning off email notifications and anything else that could distract to help us get the most out of the time – but your decision – it’s your time!

Please click this Zoom link to join us.

Kind regards, BU Research Staff Association

Doctoral College Newsletter | June 2021

PG research, student research

The Doctoral College Newsletter provides termly information and updates to all those involved with postgraduate research at BU. The latest edition is now available to download here. Click on the web-links provided to learn more about the news, events and opportunities that may interest you.

If you would like to make a contribution to future newsletters, please contact the Doctoral College.

Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme – Annual Review

PG research, Training

The Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme concludes for this academic year and what a year it has been!

In 2020-21 the Researcher Development Programme delivered 107 online sessions across 54 different topic areas and have received fantastic feedback throughout. Thank you to all our facilitators and of course PGRs who engaged and were ready to learn and share.

Thank you to everyone who submitted feedback on the RDP. Every piece is reviewed to directly enhance the quality, nature and direction of the programme. You can view a snapshot of the annual feedback below. If you have any questions about the Researcher Development Programme please do not hesitate to get in touch:

Natalie Stewart
Research Skills & Development Officer
nstewart@bournemouth.ac.uk