Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
The BU Researcher/Academic Development (BRAD) events programme will run 4th of April – 11th of April 2016.
With less than one month to go until our BRAD events programme begins – there is still time to book yourself into one or more of our exciting events through Organisational Development under the following themes.
As part of BRAD week, Dr. Andrew Derrington has been brought in to run a “Case for Support” workshop on Monday 4th of April 2016.
The workshop is designed to start you working on an extremely efficient ’recipe’ for a research project grant, such as research council standard grant, that makes it possible to produce a case for support in 2 weeks. The case for support is the central component of a grant application. All the rest of the information in the application should derive from the case for support.
If you have a fundable project in mind at the start of the workshop, you should have a rough draft of the skeleton of the case for support, in the form of 10 key sentences, by the end of the day. If you don’t have a fundable project in mind at the start of the day you will practise the skills of writing the 10 key sentences with a dummy project.
For those who are interested in booking onto this training, please follow the link here to book through Organisational Development.
Doing a PhD may appeal to midwives and other NHS health professionals, but it often involves having to make difficult choices. Undertaking a part-time PhD means studying on top of a busy clinical position, but starting full-time study involves stepping away from practice, which may lead to a loss of clinical skills and confidence. The Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) at Bournemouth University has come up with a novel solution making it easier for midwives to undertake a doctorate while still maintaining their clinical skills. This approach is highlighted in the latest publication by Dr. Susan Way and colleagues, describing a process where CMMPH collaborate with NHS partners to apply for a match-funded PhD. [1] The first partnership was with Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (PHT), with later partners expanded to cover the Isle of Wight and Southampton. Currently there are negotiations with Dorset Country Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Non NHS organisations have also showed an interest with the Anglo European Chiropractic College (AECC) our likely next collaborator.
This jointly funded clinical academic doctorate allows midwives to combine clinical practice with a research role, working across BU and their NHS Trust. The studentships runs for four years and PhD students will spend two days per week working as a midwife in clinical practice and three days per week working on their thesis. This set up facilitates the co-creation of knowledge. Anybody interested in developing a joint clinical academic PhD with us please contact Dr. Susan Way (sueway@bournemouth.ac.uk), Prof. Vanora Hundley (vhundley@bournemouth.ac.uk), or Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (evteijlingen@bournemouth.ac.uk) .
In addition to providing the individual midwives with excellent education, these studentships are designed to examine an area of clinical practice identified by the collaborating organisation where the evidence is lacking and research is needed. As a consequence the research studies will be directly relevant to practice and will have a demonstrable impact in the future. Hence BU will be able to show that its research and education have a direct benefit to the wider society. Moreover, the studentships currently benefit midwifery practice by building a critical mass of research-focus practitioners, who will translate research findings into practice and so create a culture of evidence-based practice. At BU the model has also been adopted by other professional groups such as nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy (OT).
The result is a clinical academic doctoral studentship is probably the best practical example of BU’s concept of FUSION, since it truly fuses research, education and practice.
Susan Way, Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen.
CMMPH
References:
Although the call does not formally open until 14/4/16, now is the time to start working with your potential fellow to ensure that your application is ready in good time. This is a popular scheme for applications from BU and, as it has a deadline of 14/9/16, this puts pressure on your fellow academics undertaking quality reviews at an already busy time. You may also wish to avoid writing your application in August when you are preparing for the new academic year.
To this end, RKEO are providing a two-day workshop with Dr Martin Pickard (our external bidding consultant) on 16th and 17th March 2016 for BU academics and we have now confirmed additional workshop dates on the 24th and 25th of May 2016 when the workshop will be repeated – we will, however, be gauging demand for this. This workshop will take you through all aspects of exploring the call requirements and writing your bid, plus the opportunity to discuss your developing application with academics on the same journey.
You are encouraged to attend with your potential fellow but they will need to make their own travel arrangements and cover any financial outlay.
Booking are now open for these two-day workshops. Please note that you will need to attend both days. Please send your request to attend to Dianne Goodman, RKEO Funding Development Team Co-ordinator by Friday 11th March. Please let us know if you will be bringing your potential fellow so that sufficient catering can be ordered.
In the meantime, to find out more about this call, please refer to the funding opportunity page on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal and the Work Programme for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, which gives vital information on the Horizon 2020 context for this call. If you have any questions before the workshop, please contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO Research Facilitator: EU & International.
The Research and Knowledge Exchange Office (RKEO) invite all ‘new to BU’ academics and researchers to an induction.
This event provides an overview of all the practical information staff need to begin developing their research plans at BU, using both internal and external networks; to develop and disseminate research outcomes; and maximising the available funding opportunities.
The primary aim of this event is to raise participants’ awareness of how to get started in research at BU or, for more established staff, how to take their research to the next level. The induction will also provide participants with essential, practical information and orientation in key stages and processes of research and knowledge exchange at BU
The fourth induction will be held on 5th April 2016 on the 4th floor of Melbury House. The format of the day is as follows:
9.00-9.15 – Coffee/tea and cake/fruit will be available on arrival
9.15 – RKEO academic induction (with a break at 10.45)
11.25 – Organisational Development upcoming development opportunities
11.30 – Opportunity for one to one interaction with RKEO staff
12.00 – Close
There will also be literature and information packs available.
If you would like to attend the induction then please book your place through Organisational Development here. We will directly contact those who have started at BU in the last five months.
We hope you can make it and look forward to seeing you.
Regards,
The RKEO team
The Centre for Politics and Media Research in the Faculty of Media & Communication, Bournemouth University welcomes interest from recently qualified post-doctoral researchers to come and work in the Centre as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow.
Research projects of interest are:
Specialist skills training we can offer at Bournemouth University:
Full details about the call can be found at the below link.
Initial expressions of interest should be sent to the Centre Director, Dr Darren Lilleker (dlilleker@bournemouth.ac.uk) including a summary of the proposed research project and accompanying curriculum vitae.
The planned opening of the call is April 12th 2016 with a submission deadline of 14th September 2016.
Challenges in Research
Wednesday 24th February, 12pm-2pm
Second Floor, Executive Business Centre, Lansdowne Campus
Open to all Research Staff from across the Faculties, this event will aim to enlighten you about some of the issues you might encounter as a researcher. There will be two sets of parallel sessions running for 1 hour per session covering the following topics:
The sessions will be run by legal services along with library and research staff.
Further information about the timing of particular sessions will be posted closer to the time, as well as emailed out to anyone who has already pre-registered.
To register your place please click here
The resources can be found here and include some fantastic sections on:
The Newton Fund aims to promote the economic development and welfare of either the 15 partner countries or, through working with the partner country, to address the problems of poor people around the world. It will do so through strengthening their science and innovation capacity and unlocking further funding to support poverty alleviation. It is part of the UK’s official development assistance (ODA).
The fund is managed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Fund consists of £75 million each year from 2014 for 5 years and covers three broad areas:
Find out more about the Newton Fund – how it works, funding opportutnies and its partners.
You can get involved with the Newton Fund. Hosted by the UK HE International Unit, the 2nd Newton Fund Network meeting is taking place on 3rd March 2016.
Confirmed speakers include:
You may also consider attending one of the British Council International Researcher Workshops. Early Career Researchers can apply for funding to attend.
To keep up to date with all the latest Newton Fund news, direct to your inbox, why not subcribe to their newsletter.
Although the call does not formally open until 14/4/16, now is the time to start working with your potential fellow to ensure that your application is ready in good time. This is a popular scheme for applications from BU and, as it has a deadline of 14/9/16, this puts pressure on your fellow academics undertaking quality reviews at an already busy time. You may also wish to avoid writing your application in August when you are preparing for the new academic year.
To this end, RKEO are providing two-day workshops with Dr Martin Pickard (our external bidding consultant) on 16th and 17th March 2016 for BU academics and we have now confirmed additional workshop dates on the 24th and 25th of May 2016 – however we will be gauging demand for this. These workshop will take you through all aspects of exploring the call requirements and writing your bid, plus the opportunity to discuss your developing application with academics on the same journey.
You are encouraged to attend with your potential fellow but they will need to make their own travel arrangements and cover any financial outlay.
Booking are now open for these two-day workshop. Please note that you will need to attend both days. Please send your request to attend to Dianne Goodman, RKEO Funding Development Team Co-ordinator by asap. Please let us know if you will be bringing your potential fellow.
In the meantime, to find out more about this call, please refer to the funding opportunity page on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal and the Work Programme for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, which gives vital information on the Horizon 2020 context for this call. If you have any questions before the workshop, please contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO Research Facilitator: EU & International.
Who: Interdisciplinary Research Training Session with Professor Matt Bentley, Deputy Dean for Research and Professional Practice, Faculty of Science and Technology
Where and when: Talbot Campus, Thursday, 28 January – 09:30-11:00
What: This 90 minute training session will give attendees the opportunity to find out more about interdisciplinary research including:
Here’s some more information…
Which means…?
We’re seeking to come up with novel research which addresses one of the ‘grand challenges’ – how do we realise the transformational impact of digital technologies on aspects of community life, cultural experiences, future society and the economy?
So, who should attend?
The sandpit is open to everyone, and we do mean all BU staff and PhD students. You don’t need a track record in digital research, though we’d like yo
u to consider attending if you do have. It doesn’t matter whether you have a research track record or not. We want anyone who thinks they might have something to contribute (and even those who think they don’t), and who is available all day on 26 January and during the morning of 27 January to come along.
What do I need to prepare in advance? What will the sandpit entail?
Absolutely nothing in advance. During the sandpit, you’ll be guided through a process which results in the development of research ideas. The process facilitates creativity, leading to innovative and interdisciplinary research ideas. These ideas will be explored with other attendees, and further developed based on the feedback received.
What if I don’t have time to think about ideas in advance?
You don’t need to. Some inspiring speakers with a range of backgrounds will be coming along to give you ideas…
What about afterwards? Do I need to go away and do loads of work?
Well… that depends! Tthe sandpit will result in some novel research ideas. Some of these may be progressed immediately, others might need more time to think about. You may find common ground with other attendees which you choose to take forward in other ways, such as writing a paper.
What if my topic area is really specific, such as health?
Your contribution will be very welcome! One of the main benefits of a sandpit event such as this, is to bring in individuals with a range of backgrounds and specialisms who are able to see things just that bit differently to one another.
So, is this just networking?
Definitely not, it is a facilitated session with the primary intention of developing innovative research ideas, which also enables the development of networks. It gives you the opportunity to come up with research ideas which you may develop over time, together with the chance to find common ground with academics from across BU.
So, how do I book onto this event?
To take part in this exciting opportunity, BU academic staff and PhD students should complete the Sandpit Application Form and return this to Dianne Goodman by Tuesday 12th of January – please note the deadline has been extended due to the festive break. Places are strictly limited.
By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event – full day 26th January and half day 27th January.
This event is part of BU’s Interdisciplinary Research Week.
Or, to put it another way, how do we realise the transformational impact of digital technologies on aspects of community life, cultural experiences, future society and the economy’?
On 26th and 27th January 2016, RKEO will be hosting a sandpit workshop to facilitate exploration of this topic to: 
The Research Sandpit process comprises:
To take part in this exciting opportunity, BU academic staff should complete the Sandpit Application Form and return this to Dianne Goodman by Tuesday 12th of January – please note the deadline has been extended due to the festive break. Places are strictly limited.
By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event – full day 26th January and half day 27th January.
This event is part of BU’s Interdisciplinary Research Week.
Or, to put it another way, how do we realise the transformational impact of digital technologies on aspects of community life, cultural experiences, future society and the economy’?
On 26th and 27th January 2016, RKEO will be hosting a sandpit workshop to facilitate exploration of this topic to:
The Research Sandpit process comprises:
To take part in this exciting opportunity, BU academic staff should complete the Sandpit Application Form and return this to Dianne Goodman by Tuesday 12th January – please note the deadline has been extended due to the festive break. Places are strictly limited.
By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event – full day 26th January and half day 27th January.
This event is part of BU’s Interdisciplinary Research Week.
The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences held a public engagement and impact event for postgraduate researchers and staff on Tuesday 15th December. The event was chaired by Zoë Sheppard, Impact Champion for the Faculty, and Vanora Hundley, the Deputy Dean for Research and Professional Practice, took time out of her busy schedule to attend. Genna West, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Manager, kicked off by presenting the difference between public engagement and impact before Naomi Kay, Public Engagement Officer, outlined the internal and external public engagement activities. One of the co-founders of our local Café Scientifique, Sharon Docherty, then provided an overview of the initiative as well as describing a feedback session for research participants.
Angela Warren went onto present the fantastic resource that is the Carer and Service User Partnership and how they can help in public engagement and impact activities before Clare Farrance ‘got us on our feet’ presenting her experiences of informing practitioners as well as an exciting planned photo exhibition. After these inspirational presentations, attendees had a chance to plan their own public engagement and impact events before mince pies and mulled wine were consumed! Many thanks to everyone involved and may 2016 be full of public engagement and impact!
Or, to put it another way, how do we realise the transformational impact of digital technologies on aspects of community life, cultural experiences, future society and the economy’?
On 26th and 27th January 2016, RKEO will be hosting a sandpit workshop to facilitate exploration of this topic to:
The Research Sandpit process comprises:
To take part in this exciting opportunity, BU academic staff should complete the Sandpit Application Form and return this to Dianne Goodman by Tuesday 5th January. Places are strictly limited.
By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event – full day 26th January and half day 27th January.
This event is part of BU’s Interdisciplinary Research Week.
Vitae is an organisation set up to promote career development in both postgraduate researchers and academic staff. Their Researcher Development Framework is intended to help people monitor their skills and plan their personal development. At BU we will be using this framework to format the training on offer for the postgraduate research students and academic staff.
The Vitae website is an excellent resource and the organisation regularly runs free training events for researchers, PGRs and those involved in research development. Upcoming events include Vitae Connections: Supporting Open Researchers.
The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is the professional development framework to realise the potential of researchers. The RDF is a tool for planning, promoting and supporting the personal, professional and career development of researchers in higher education. It was designed following interviews with many successful researchers across the sector and articulates the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of a successful researcher.
There is a planner available on the Vitae website to help you assess which stage you are at with your skills and a tutorial providing guidance on how to use the framework.
Top 10 tips from researchers on using the Researcher Development Framework (RDF):
1. You might choose to use the RDF for short term as well as long term development. The RDF can be used in planning for your long term career ambitions but also to make a feasible short term plan. It can be useful to imagine your long term ambitions in order to focus your career path however the reality of progressing through to the higher phases may be more difficult to plan. In the short term, making decisions about how to progress to the next phase or what sub-domains are most important for you will be easier. Try to be realistic when setting these short term goals.
2. Use the RDF to highlight your strengths and areas for development and how these might be used to benefit/influence your personal, professional and career development.
3. Use the RDF to highlight your applicable and transferable skills. This is important for career progression within or outside academia.
4. Prioritise those areas which are most relevant. You don’t have to try to develop in all the areas of the RDF at once. There may be some sub-domains/descriptors where there is less relevance in progressing through the phases for you.
5. Draw on experiences outside of work to evidence your capabilities.
6. Progression to the highest phase in a descriptor will not be applicable to everyone but being aware of the possibilities can aid personal and career development.
7. Talk to others to get their views about your strengths and capabilities. Your supervisor, manager, peers, family and friends are a great source of information to find out more about yourself. Talk to them about how they perceive your capabilities. By understanding how others view you, you will be able to make more informed choices about your future.
8. To move from one phase to the next why not explore attending courses. These courses may be run at a local level (within your University) or may only be run nationally or internationally so awareness of opportunities for training is important. Vitae also run a wide range of courses which address many aspects of personal and career development.
9. Some phases may only be reached through experience and practice however good self-awareness and professional development planning will aid the process.
10. Networking is likely to enable you to reach more experienced phases.
I recently attended the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS7) Age 17 Survey: Consultative one day conference held at UCL’s Institute of Education in London. Cohort studies are extremely valuable because data is collected over time working with the same sample of people. Longitudinal studies permit to describe the natural history of the same population and can identify risk factors for example, for optimal health, educational attainment chances and/or employment opportunities. Professor Emla Fitzsimons is the Principal Investigator of MCS,m strategically invited leaders of the ‘Activities and Daily Life’, ‘Cognitive Development’, and the ‘Socio-Emotional Development’ to harness conference delegates’ view on what are the important and key issues that society should know when examining 17 year old adolescents’ lives. The leaders provided an overview of their current strategies for capturing participants’ unique style of life. Then through a series of workshops the pros and cons of these were discussed and summarised. I don’t envy their jobs! To study the individual characteristics and the associated environmental factors in such a large sample is a huge undertaking. The attendees were from very varied inter- and multi-disciplinary backgrounds working at a wide range of organisations, including government agencies. The common objective was to create a dataset that can inform many governmental policies on a variety of topics. The process of decision making over every aspects of the 7th sweep of the MCS is extremely complex. The key aspect of longitudinal studies is comparability. Although, each sweep is unique because of the cohort is ageing, there has to be a trend of using the same methodology overtime. Studies like the MCS are facing constant funding crises because they are very expensive to run. There is an ongoing revision of time taken to collect data, finding proxy to gold standard measures and considering cutting expensive data collection methods like, FMRI scans, use of accelerometers to assess physical activity patterns and conducting physical tests. Despite all of these difficulties, data from such studies are invaluable. For example, in the 7th sweep they want to omit interviewing parents about their child’s mental health. I argued to include this data at this sweep, as most adolescents in the study are still living at home and others (like family members) are the ones most likely to identify early signs of mental health problems. Early detection is vital, especially when 1 in 10 adolescents known to develop at least one serious depressive episode in the UK by the time they are 18. Check out the MCS website if you are interested. You can also access all speakers’ slides by following the link (http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/Conference.aspx?itemid=4285&itemTitle=MCS+Consultative+Conference&sitesectionid=28&sitesectiontitle=Events). Data from the previous 6 sweeps are available for researchers to interrogate.
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