Category / Postgraduate Research

World Wellbeing Week 2023 – Free PGR activities

This week is the international awareness event World Wellbeing Week!

To celebrate, the Doctoral College has teamed up with SportBU to deliver some fun and relaxed FREE activities for PGRs including:

  • Yogalates – yoga and Pilates combined! Increase your flexibility, reduce stiffness and increase muscle strength!
  • Badminton – come along and have a hit, no experience necessary.
  • Spinning – get your heart pumping in this high-energy indoor cycling workout.
  • SportBU inductions – have a tour of SportBU facilities and find out how you can get involved in sports at BU.

These activities are a great opportunity to unwind and look after your mental, physical, and social wellbeing!

See Brightspace for more information and to BOOK YOUR PLACE

Spaces are limited so please only book if you plan on attending.

You are not limited to just one activity, book on as many as you like!

Faith and Reflection

This is the perfect week to check out what Faith & Reflection has to offer, including free vegan soup and soul care on Mondays, and free cookies and drinks Wednesdays for international students!

Open Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, their gorgeous space on the first floor of Talbot House is open to anyone who would value a space to come and simply be.

Any questions, please get in touch doctoralcollege@bournemouth.ac.uk

Arabella [Doctoral College Marketing & Events Coordinator].

 

World Wellbeing Week 2023 – next week!

Next week is the international awareness event World Wellbeing Week!

To celebrate, the Doctoral College has teamed up with SportBU to deliver some fun and relaxed FREE activities for PGRs including:

  • Yogalates – yoga and Pilates combined! Increase your flexibility, reduce stiffness and increase muscle strength!
  • Badminton – come along and have a hit, no experience necessary.
  • Spinning – get your heart pumping in this high-energy indoor cycling workout.
  • SportBU inductions – have a tour of SportBU facilities and find out how you can get involved in sports at BU.

These activities are a great opportunity to unwind and look after your mental, physical, and social wellbeing!

See Brightspace for more information and to BOOK YOUR PLACE

Spaces are limited so please only book if you plan on attending.

You are not limited to just one activity, book on as many as you like!

Faith and Reflection

This is the perfect week to check out what Faith & Reflection has to offer, including free vegan soup and soul care on Mondays, and free cookies and drinks Wednesdays for international students!

Open Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, their gorgeous space on the first floor of Talbot House is open to anyone who would value a space to come and simply be.

Any questions, please get in touch doctoralcollege@bournemouth.ac.uk

Arabella [Doctoral College Marketing & Events Coordinator].

World Wellbeing Week – 1 week to go!

1 week to go till the international awareness event World Wellbeing Week! 

Commencing June 26, to celebrate the Doctoral College has teamed up with SportBU to deliver some fun and relaxed FREE activities for PGRs including:

  • Yogalates – yoga and Pilates combined! Increase your flexibility, reduce stiffness and increase muscle strength!
  • Badminton – come along and have a hit, no experience necessary.
  • Spinning – get your heart pumping in this high-energy indoor cycling workout.
  • SportBU inductions – have a tour of SportBU facilities and find out how you can get involved in sports at BU.

These activities are a great opportunity to unwind and look after your mental, physical, and social wellbeing!

See Brightspace for more information and to BOOK YOUR PLACE

Spaces are limited so please only book if you plan on attending.

You are not limited to just one activity, book on as many as you like!

Faith and Reflection

This is the perfect week to check out what Faith & Reflection has to offer, including free vegan soup and soul care on Mondays, and free cookies and drinks Wednesdays for international students!

Open Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, their gorgeous space on the first floor of Talbot House is open to anyone who would value a space to come and simply be.

Any questions, please get in touch doctoralcollege@bournemouth.ac.uk

Arabella [Doctoral College Marketing & Events Coordinator].

 

World Wellbeing Week 2023 – Free PGR activities

The international awareness event World Wellbeing Week is approaching! Commencing June 26, to celebrate the Doctoral College has teamed up with SportBU to deliver some fun and relaxed FREE activities for PGRs including:

  • Yogalates – yoga and Pilates combined! Increase your flexibility, reduce stiffness and increase muscle strength!
  • Badminton – come along and have a hit, no experience necessary.
  • Spinning – get your heart pumping in this high-energy indoor cycling workout.
  • SportBU inductions – have a tour of SportBU facilities and find out how you can get involved in sports at BU.

These activities are a great opportunity to unwind and look after your mental, physical, and social wellbeing!

See Brightspace for more information and to BOOK YOUR PLACE

Spaces are limited so please only book if you plan on attending.

You are not limited to just one activity, book on as many as you like!

Faith and Reflection

This is the perfect week to check out what Faith & Reflection has to offer, including free vegan soup and soul care on Mondays, and free cookies and drinks Wednesdays for international students!

Open Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, their gorgeous space on the first floor of Talbot House is open to anyone who would value a space to come and simply be.

Any questions, please get in touch doctoralcollege@bournemouth.ac.uk

Arabella [Doctoral College Marketing & Events Coordinator].

June Monthly Update for (PGR) Researcher Development, Culture and Community

Desk set up with plant, light, note pad, mouse, keyboard and computer screen.

Check out the June e-newsletter.

All ‘monthly update for researcher development, culture and community’ e-newsletters are available in a dedicated content area on the Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme Brightspace unit.

If you have any questions about the e-newsletter or would like to feature content, please contact Natalie [Doctoral College Programme Manager].

Research Ethics Panel Meetings in August

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

Research Ethics

There are no central Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in June and July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by a full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as high risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research governance, research ethics & integrity website.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff and PGR ‘high risk’ projects are reviewed by one of the central REPs and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) will normally be invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to the availability of Supervisor and assigned Ethics Champions.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the governance, research ethics & integrity website.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

First FHSS PGR Student Conference

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

On 6th June the Faculty hosted the first FHSS PGR Student Conference.  The half-day Conference opened with a Keynote presentation in which Professor Edwin van Teijlingen shared his considerable experience of supporting PhD students and highlighting important considerations for students as they progress with their doctoral studies.  Edwin challenged students to not always agree with their supervisors.

The Conference also showcased some of the innovative PGR research happening in the Faculty, with presentations from Cathy Beresford, John Tarrant, Chloe Casey, Peter Philips, Preetee Gokhale, Amanda Hensman-Crook, Paula Shepherd, Christine Vincent and Naomi Purdie.

Cathy Beresford

The Conference was organised by PGR students Tanya Andrewes, Cathy Beresford, Hina Tariq and Helen Allen, with minimal support from the FHSS Doctoral School.  It is hoped that this Conference will become an annual event organised by students with the 2024 Conference being bigger and better than 2023 … the challenge is set.

Massive congratulations to all involve in planning the Conference, to the presenters and to those present who challenged the speakers with interesting questions.

Doctoral College Postgraduate Research Summer Social – Tomorrow


Tickets on sale! Sunshine forecast for tomorrow! 

We are pleased to host a summer social for the Postgraduate Research community at the delightful Branksome Dene Room, right on the beach near Branksome Chine. We’ve booked this unique location for the exclusive use of PGRs and Supervisors for the afternoon to unwind and catch up with your fellow researchers and academics.


Access to the Venue

Access and toilet facilities are suitable for wheelchair users. Please indicate any special access needs when you register.

Getting there

Walking: Bournemouth Pier to Branksome Dene Room, Pinewood Road is a pleasant 25 minute walk along the promenade (map)

Bus: Bournemouth to Sandbanks/Swanage No 50, bus stop at the top of Pinewood Road (bus route map)

Driving: There is limited public car parking on site, 8am to 10pm £2.50 per hour, £15 for 6 hours (car park information). Parking is also available at Branksome Chine, and free on road parking in the area – a 5 minute walk to Branksome Dene Room along the promenade.

Food and Drink

As a sustainable alternative, we are pleased to offer a delicious vegetarian and vegan lunch menu including a halloumi wrap, falafel flatbread, fries, teas, coffees and mocktails! You are also welcome to bring your own refreshments to enjoy.

Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements or related allergies when you register and we will do our best to cater for these.

Other

A Health and Safety Risk assessment will be undertaken by BU staff. The venue has a patio area, also used by members of the public, with access to the beach which we will use in anticipation of good weather.

Patio games will be available.

BOOK HERE – tickets sold via Eventbrite

Best wishes,

The Doctoral College 

Research Ethics Panel Meetings in August

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

Research Ethics

There are no central Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in June and July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by a full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as high risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research governance, research ethics & integrity website.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff and PGR ‘high risk’ projects are reviewed by one of the central REPs and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) will normally be invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to the availability of Supervisor and assigned Ethics Champions.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the governance, research ethics & integrity website.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

 

PGR Supervisory Lunchbites | Chairing Vivas: The role of the Chair

This session is focused on expanding individuals’ knowledge on the processes and responsibilities involved in chairing research degree viva voce examinations. This discussion will be led by Professor Carol Clark, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences.

Staff attending this session will:

  • have gained additional knowledge of the role of viva voce examiners
  • have gained additional knowledge of the role of the viva voce Chair
  • be aware of the relevant sections of the Code of Practice for Research Degrees Staff attending this session will be able to:

Date: Thursday 1 June 2023

Time: 12:00 – 13:00

To book a place on this session please complete the booking form.

Further details and future sessions can also be found on the Supervisory Development Lunchbite Sessions staff intranet page.

How would you rate your PGRs’ experience at BU? – 1 week to go


Deadline approaching to have your say

We have launched the Bournemouth University Postgraduate Research Experience Survey for Supervisors.


The Advance HE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) has just closed and 40% of our PGRs provided feedback on their experiences at Bournemouth University.

This year, we are running a parallel survey for supervisors which asks a similar range of questions to PRES to also give supervisors a voice, and to provide balance and/or support to the issues raised by the PGRs.

The survey covers topics including PGR supervision; resources/research culture; progress/assessment; responsibilities; support for PGRs; research skills/personal development; and opportunities/overall experience.

Your experiences will be combined with those of other PGR supervisors to help us to understand the overall picture more clearly from the supervisors’ perspective, and the combined views of PGR supervisors will be considered alongside the views of the PGRs being reported in the PRES. The responses will be analysed and reported as appropriate.

Participation is optional but we would very much appreciate your feedback to help us further review and improve the support available for our PGRs.

 

To complete the survey, which closes at 5pm on Wednesday 31 May 2023, please click on the following link: https://bournemouth.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/pres-sup-2023.

Your involvement will be to complete this short anonymous online. The online survey will take approximately 6 minutes to complete.

If you have any questions, please contact Doctoral College.

 

With kind regards,

The Doctoral College

How would you rate your PGRs experience at BU?

The Advance HE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) has just closed and 40% of our PGRs provided feedback on their experiences at Bournemouth University.

This year, we are running a parallel survey for supervisors which asks a similar range of questions to PRES to also give supervisors a voice, and to provide balance and/or support to the issues raised by the PGRs.

The survey covers topics including PGR supervision; resources/research culture; progress/assessment; responsibilities; support for PGRs; research skills/personal development; and opportunities/overall experience.

Your experiences will be combined with those of other PGR supervisors to help us to understand the overall picture more clearly from the supervisors’ perspective, and the combined views of PGR supervisors will be considered alongside the views of the PGRs being reported in the PRES. The responses will be analysed and reported as appropriate.

Participation is optional but we would very much appreciate your feedback to help us further review and improve the support available for our PGRs.

 

To complete the survey, which closes at 5pm on Wednesday 31 May 2023, please click on the following link: https://bournemouth.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/pres-sup-2023.

Your involvement will be to complete this short anonymous online. The online survey will take approximately 6 minutes to complete.

If you have any questions, please contact Doctoral College.

Bournemouth University PRES for Supervisors 2023


Have your say

We are launching the Bournemouth University Postgraduate Research Experience Survey for Supervisors.


You will be aware of the Advance HE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) which has recently be open for our PGRs to provide feedback on their experiences at Bournemouth University.

This year, we are also launching the Bournemouth University Postgraduate Research Experience Survey for Supervisors. This asks you, in your role as a research degree supervisor, a similar range of questions to PRES to also give you a voice, and to provide balance and/or support to the issues raised by the PGRs.

The survey covers topics including PGR supervision; resources/research culture; progress/assessment; responsibilities; support for PGRs; research skills/personal development; and opportunities/overall experience.

Your experiences will be combined with those of other PGR supervisors to help us to understand the overall picture more clearly from the supervisors’ perspective, and the combined views of PGR supervisors will be considered alongside the views of the PGRs being reported in the PRES. The responses will be analysed and reported as appropriate.

Participation is optional but we would very much appreciate your feedback to help us further review and improve the support available for our PGRs.

To complete the survey, please click on the link emailed to you from the Doctoral College.

Your involvement will be to complete this short anonymous online. The online survey will take approximately 6 minutes to complete.

With kind regards,

The Doctoral College

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2023 – Closing today


Still time to have your say

Final call for PGRs to complete this year’s Advance HE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) which closes today!


Don’t miss the chance to tell us about your experience at Bournemouth University by taking part in the Advance HE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey which closes on Monday 15 May 2023. We are keen to make sure our PGRs have the best possible experience while studying at Bournemouth University. To do this, we need to know what you think works well and what as a University we could do better.

Upon completing the survey, PGRs will be entered into a free prize draw where you can win one of four prizes of a £50 Love2shop gift voucherTerms and conditions apply.

In addition and as a thank you for taking part, we will be making a £1 donation for every survey completed to the student mental health wellbeing charity, Student Minds.

How do I take part?

PGRs received an email from the University on Monday 17 April 2023 containing a unique link which allows you to access and complete the survey. If you can’t find this email, contact PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk and we’ll help you to get access.

What will I be asked?

The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete. Your response is confidential and any reporting will be entirely anonymous. The survey is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGR at BU. It will ask you to share your views on supervision, resources, research culture, community, progress and assessment, responsibilities, support, research skills, profession development, opportunities, and overall experience.

Why should I take part?

Your feedback is important. The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey is the only national survey of PGRs and so is the only way for us to compare how we are doing with other institutions and to make changes that will improve your experience in the future.

More information

If you would like to know more about the survey, please visit: PRES 2023

We hope you take the opportunity to get involved this year and help us make improvements to your experience.

 

Best wishes,

The Doctoral College

BU PhD student receives OpenBright grant

I am thrilled to announce that I have been awarded a grant from OpenBright to take part in a short summer course on “Data Science: Network Science” at Utrecht University, located in the Netherlands. OpenBright award grants to support women in computing to develop their research projects.
As a PhD student, I am currently working on a research project titled “Smart Transportation Networks for Smart Cities,” under the supervision of Dr. Wei Koong Chai. The research is match-funded by Bournemouth Christchurch Poole (BCP) Council.   Through the course, I am excited to further enhance my knowledge and skills in network science, which is crucial to my research work.
I am thankful for the support and recognition from OpenBright, which provides me with the opportunity to learn from some of the most renowned researchers and scholars in this field. This grant not only benefits me but also fosters the advancement of women in computing, promoting gender equity and diversity in science.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my supervisor Dr. Wei Koong Chai, for his invaluable guidance and support throughout my PhD journey.
Author: Assemgul Kozhabek, 3rd year PhD student, SciTech, Computing and Informatics department

Applying for a PhD – Online Webinar

Applying for a PhD – Online Webinar

Are you thinking of starting a PhD?

Wish to encourage some current BU students to continue their academic journey with us?

If so, why not come along to this online webinar!

Understand the benefits of doing a PhD at BU and the process of applying including our application deadlines. Current PhD students will also give their real life views.

Hear directly from Doctoral College colleagues including the Head of Doctoral College, Programme Manager and Admissions Team, and from CareersBU.

Date: Tuesday 23rd May
Time: 9:30 to 10:30am (Online)
Sign up on MyCareerHub to receive the link book.

 

May Update for (PGR) Researcher Development, Culture and Community

Desk set up with plant, light, note pad, mouse, keyboard and computer screen.

Check out the May e-newsletter.

All ‘monthly update for researcher development, culture and community’ e-newsletters are available in a dedicated content area on the Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme Brightspace unit.

If you have any questions about the e-newsletter or would like to feature content, please contact Natalie [Doctoral College Programme Manager].