Category / Research news

UKRO Visit – Slides now available

EU, Events, Funding opportunities, innovation, international, Post-award, Research news, Research Training, RKE development framework

UKRO logoRKEO were pleased to welcome UK Research Office’s BU account manager, Maribel Glogowski for our annual subscriber visit, on Tuesday 25th October. Maribel is based in Brussels, along with the rest of the UKRO team, so is BU’s perfect partner for keeping us up to date with funding developments in the EU.

UKRO is the European office of the UK Research Councils. It delivers a subscription-based advisory service for research organisations (in the main UK HEIs) and provides National Contact Point services on behalf of the UK Government. UKRO’s mission is to maximise UK engagement in EU-funded research, innovation and higher education activities. As a BU member of staff, you can sign up to receive email alerts direct to your inbox.

Maribel covered the following topics:

  • Updates on project management including post-referendum statements
  • Creative Europe
  • Erasmus+
  • Accessing the Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges

All the slides from the day are available in the MyBU Community for the Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework. Please select the International Pathway to access these slides – more resources are being added over the coming months.  All staff have been pre-enrolled into this community.

If you have any questions about this event or are considering applying to EU funding schemes, please contact Emily Cieciura (RKEO, Research Facilitator: EU & International)

 

RUFUS STONE to screen at historic Shelley Theatre, in Boscombe, as part of ESRC Festival of Social Science

BU research, Events, Featured academics, Research news

RUFUS STONE gay short biopic to screen at historic Shelley Theatre in Boscombe 

rufus-stone

A gala 5th Anniversary Screening and Reception for the award-winning research based biopic, RUFUS STONE will be held at the historic Shelley Theatre in Boscombe (Bournemouth) on 7 November from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. The screening is free but registration is necessary as seating is limited.

BREAKING NEWS! Lin Blakley, who played Abigail in RUFUS STONE and is known for her work as Pam Coker on EastEnders, will be attending the gala.

The film is the story of Rufus, an ‘out’ older gay man who was exiled from his village as a youth and reluctantly returns from London to sell his dead parents’ cottage, where he is forced to confront the faces of his estranged past.

RUFUS STONE, is part of wider research from ‘The Gay and Pleasant Land? Project’ that took place at Bournemouth University as part of the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme (a unique collaboration between five UK Research Councils on ageing in 21st Century Britain).

Over the past five years, RUFUS STONE has been viewed in academic, community and service provider settings throughout the U.K. Uploaded to the Internet for just over a year, the film was viewed on line by more that 12 thousand viewers in 150 countries.  It has won several film festival awards and was shortlisted for the AHRC Anniversary Prize in 2015.

The gala event is expected to attract an audience of the film’s cast and crew members, past participants in the research project, community workers and service providers, and a range of citizens, young and old,  gay and straight, with an interest in LGBT history and the contributions that the film has made to myriad diversity efforts.

“Whether you have seen the film before, or this will be the first time on a large theatre screen, you will enjoy the occasion,” says Dr Kip Jones, Exec Producer.

The screening is presented by Bournemouth University as part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Festival of Social Science – a week-long festival that celebrates some of the country’s leading social science research, giving an exciting opportunity to showcase the valuable work of the UK’s social scientists and demonstrate how their work has an impact on all our lives.

 

To find out more information about the film or the research behind it, please visit the website.

Click here to view the trailer

If you have any questions for Dr Jones, then please get in contact.

To find out more about the ESRC Festival of Social Science and all the events taking place please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/esrc-fss you can also email Joanna Pawlik or Naomi Kay to find out more.

Notes to editor

  • The 14th annual Festival of Social Science takes place from 5-12 November 2016 with more than 250 free events nationwide. Run by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Festival provides an opportunity for anyone to meet with some of the country’s leading social scientists and discover, discuss and debate the role that research plays in everyday life. With a whole range of creative and engaging events there’s something for everyone including businesses, charities, schools and government agencies. A full programme is available at esrc.ac.uk/festival. You can also join the discussion on Twitter using #esrcfestival

Influencing Public Policy Workshop

BU research, Impact, policy, Research communication, Research news

Calling all researchers! Would you like your research to influence policy?

BU’s Policy Advisor, Jane Forster, will be running a workshop this Thursday 27 October to help you to use your research to influence policy makers.

Working alongside policy makers is a useful tool to get your research recognised and used by professionals in your relevant field, which can then have an impact on society.

Influencing policy is a great way of raising the profile of the research, this can also help benefit society and help raise the profile for the academic behind the research. This also creates room for new partnerships and future collaborations, for both the research and the academic.

Research is a useful tool to influence policy, as this provides evidence based change or amendment to legislation. This is a powerful way of developing research impact. As this can be a complex process, Jane Forster will explain the process of influencing policy and how your research can influence policy makers.

The workshop will run from 09:30-11:30 on Lansdowne Campus. You can find out more information here or you can complete the booking form here.

 

BU 9th Postgraduate Conference 2017 – Call for Abstracts

BU research, PG research, Research news

pg-conference-2017The BU Postgraduate Annual Conference, Wednesday 8 March 2017  showcases the best of BU’s postgraduate research. It provides a unique opportunity for Postgraduate researchers and Masters’ students to present their work.

Call for Abstracts is open from 24 October 2016 Closes: midnight, 24 November 2016

Abstracts are invited for oral, poster and photography presentations from Postgraduate Research and Taught students at any stage of their degree. Please download and complete the Abstract Form with reference to the guidance notes for Oral, Poster and Photography presentations. Visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/pg-conference for further information.

Please note, the number of oral presentations is limited and therefore the selection process is competitive – abstracts will be shortlisted by a Faculty academic panel and you will be advised if your abstract has been successful 2 weeks after the deadline date.

BU Researcher Dr Firend Al Rasch has released a book: Asian Case Studies- Lessons from Malaysian Industries

BU research, Research communication, Research news

BU’s Dr Firend Al Rasch has recently published a book around his research into Asian industry and their significance to the world of trade and commerce. The book ‘Lessons from Malaysian Industries’ is one of a series of Asian case studies and explains how these industries can stay relevant among other key players in the Asian market.

This section of the series explores Malaysia which is relatively small in comparison to its other Asian-Pacific neighbours, such as India and China. In 2010, the country set a target to become a high-income nation by 2020. Dr Rasch analysed a number of Malaysian companies from a number of industries, including palm oil, electrical, electronics, business services, oil and gas etc. He discusses how Malaysia is at a disadvantage as it’s unable to compete with its larger neighbours, nor is it able to grow to the high-end market value of Singapore.

In the wake of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) the economic landscape is becoming ever more competitive and has the potential to force many businesses to become non-existent.  The study recognises how Malaysia needs to identify its strongest market niche and use this to maximise its income in order to remain relevant in the global market.

The book has used research methods that enable the reader to understand the reasoning of how Malaysian companies build their company structure and how they discuss moving forward. For example, Dr Rasch, has examined case studies such as VADS Berhad, a fully integrated Connectivity/ICT/BPO Solutions Provider which represents the issues a typical Malaysian company faces.

As well as this, the book has analysed financial data, to present the importance of financial structure. He has also looked at a breakdown of the company’s marketing strategies, to understand how they sell themselves. The methods of data collection of real companies, give the reader real-life perspective of how companies run and how the industry can survive in such a diverse and important trade region.

To get yourself a copy of the book head over to Amazon

If you’d like to ask Dr Rasch anything, then get in touch.

Postgraduate Researcher Experience Survey (PRES)

BU research, PG research, Research news

The Graduate School would like to remind all PGRs (on behalf of SUBU) that the BU/SUBU Postgraduate Researcher Experience Survey (PRES) is now open. It is an opportunity for PGRs to tell us about their experiences as a PGR student, which will help us identify areas of good practice and areas in which we could improve.  The closing date is 1 November 2016 – see link below.

PRES is an important anonymous survey which speaks out for BU PGRs only, and has been developed in consultation with BU PGR students to make it relevant to PhD, MPhil and MRes students here.

Feedback from last year’s survey helped us to, amongst other things:

  • Improve the processes for administrative support
  • Explore how to make the faculty research environment more stimulating
  • Improve communication about how to apply for funding for specialist resources

The more responses we receive, the more we can do for PGRs.  If you are a BU PGR, please help us by sparing a few moments to fill in the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BU_PGR_Student_Experience_2016

EU award for PhD student Preeti Mahato

EU, Featured, international, PG research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized

FHSS PhD student Preeti Mahato in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) has been awarded a funded place on the COST Action Training School BEYOND BIRTH COHORTS: from study design to data management.  This training school will run from 23-15 November in Spain.

eu-flagCOST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a unique platform where European researchers can jointly develop their ideas and initiatives across all scientific disciplines through trans-European networking of nationally funded research.  Preeti pal has been awarded the sum of 500 euro to cover the cost of attending the Training School and travel and accommodation costs.    Preeti’s PhD project is on maternity care provision in  Nepal. Preeti’s research focuses on the quality and equity of service available at birthing centres. In Nepal, birthing centres act as first contact point for the women seeking maternity services especially the basic obstetric care. She is supervised by Dr. Catherine Angell, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at Liverpool John Moores University).

Preeti has already published the first PhD paper ‘Birthing centres in Nepal: Recent developments, obstacles and opportunities’ in the Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM) [1], whilst another was published in the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology [2].  Furthermore, a more general health and development paper was published this year in Health Prospect [3].

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

References:

  1. Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Angell, C. (2016) Birthing centres in Nepal: Recent developments, obstacles and opportunities, Journal of Asian Midwives 3(1): 17-30.
  2. Mahato, P.K., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Angell, C., Sathian, B. (2015) Birthing centre infrastructure in Nepal post 2015 earthquake. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 5(4): 518-519. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/14260/1157
  3. Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Sharma, S., Mahato, P. (2016) Sustainable Development Goals: relevance to maternal & child health in Nepal. Health Prospect 15(1):9-10. healthprospect.org/archives/15/1/3.pdf

Virtual reality based training simulator to help improve safety and durability in hip replacement, has been shortlisted for two awards.

BU research, Featured academics, Research news

A virtual reality based simulator to help improve safety and durability in hip replacement has been shortlisted for two Innovation Awards from the Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET). The Orthopaedic Simulator has been developed by research undertaken between Bournemouth University and Bournemouth and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Do not hesitate to contact Victorian Bone Joint Specialist for a consultation if you’re noticing decreases in your range of motion.

Funded by Wessex Academic Health Science Network, the simulator allows surgeons to practice on a virtual engineering-based hip model. With the growing aging population, there are 66,000 hip replacements annually performed in the UK. This simulator helps to improve surgeon’s accuracy and skill, by enabling them to practice and reduce the amount of surgeries which dislocate. The number of surgeries that dislocate currently stands at 20%. As well as being a considerable resource for trainee surgeons, the device will also enable current surgeons to improve their accuracy. This means that the simulator allows NHS surgeons to focus more on their patients. The simulator was created by Professor Venky Dubey and Dr Neil Vaughan of Bournemouth University, which looking ahead will help the NHS to reduce their training costs and will free up consultancy time.

When asked to comment on the nominations Professor Dubey said, “We are very pleased to know that our project has been shortlisted yet again for Innovation Awards by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Previously we won the IET Innovation Award in 2013 for our Epidural Project then shortlisted for Neuropathy Project in 2015. This is confirmation of world-class research conducted by our team at BU and the innovation that we bring to the projects. Before shortlisting the Awarding Body visited us to see our innovations and this is even more glorifying that they endorsed the potential of our projects. We are quite delighted that with these recognitions many companies, investors and researchers are coming forward to work/collaborate with us.”

The categories the simulator has been nominated for are Information Technology and Model-based Engineering. The finalists were selected from 28 countries for this year’s Innovation Award. This is a fantastic achievement for the team at Bournemouth University. The awards ceremony will take place on 16 November at the Brewery, London.

For more information please take a look here.

Latest Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities, Research news

money

The following is a snap-shot of funding opportunities that have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

British Academy

Tackling the UK international challenges

The purpose of each project will be to bring new research ideas and methods to bear on existing international challenges and to deliver specific policy-relevant outputs.

Maximum Award: £50000 for 1 year Deadline: 2 November 2016

Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board

Soft fruits crop sector panel funding

The objectives of the soft fruit sector strategy link are:

  • To improve productivity and cost management (resource management, climate change, soils and water, managing market volatility);
  • To prevent and manage disease (NB: in this context disease covers all crop protection).

Maximum Award: Unknown Deadline: 6 November 2016

EPSRC

Healthcare technologies challenge awards

A future call, planned for mid-late October, designed to create a cohort of the most promising future leaders in Computational, Engineering, Mathematical and Physical Sciences research who will develop new research capabilities across the EPSRC portfolio to address unmet healthcare needs.

Maximum Award: Total budget for call is £10million for 7 – 10 awards Deadline: 31 January 2017

Alzheimer’s Research UK

Dementia consortium

The Dementia Consortium will provide funding, resources and expertise to both increase the number of, and capitalise upon, new drug targets emerging from across the academic sector that hold promise of bringing patient benefit.

Maximum Award: £100000 – £250000 over 2 years Deadline: 15 November 2016

Department of Health, including NIHR

Programme grants for applied research

These support projects that aim to provide evidence to improve health outcomes in England through promotion of health, prevention of ill health and optimal disease management, with particular emphasis on conditions causing significant disease burden.

Maximum Award: Unknown Deadline: 29 November 2016

Wellcome Trust

Seed Awards in Science

Seed Awards in Science help researchers develop new ideas to make them competitive for larger awards (from us or other organisations).

Maximum Award: £100000 over 2 years Deadline: 13 March 2017

AHRC

Leadership Fellow Scheme – Standard route

The AHRC’s Leadership Fellows scheme provides time for research leaders, or potential future research leaders, to undertake focused individual research alongside collaborative activities which have the potential to generate a transformative impact on their subject area and beyond.

Maximum Award: £50000 – £250000 Deadline: Open

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact your  RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.

For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

EPSRC Science Photo Competition 2016

Research news

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council have launched its fourth  EPSRC Science Photo Competition.  Open to all EPSRC supported researchers and EPSRC supported doctoral students, the Science Photo Competition gives both researchers and students the chance to showcase their research through pictures. Previous prizes have included equipment to the value of £500. Winners will also feature in EPSRC’s Pioneer Magazine and other EPSRC publications. There have been some fantastic images of research over the last three years and some winners have recieved great national coverage for their images.

Images should feature in one of five categories:

  • Equipment and Facilities
  • Eureka and Discovery
  • Innovation
  • People and Skills
  • Weird and Wonderful

Deadline for entries is Friday 16 December 2016. Could BU have a new winner?

To read more about the competiton take a look here.

Or if you have any questions email photocomp@epsrc.ac.uk