BU Research Blog

Category / Student Engagement

October 6, 2016

14:Live with Dinusha Mendis

BU research, Events, Research communication, Student Engagement hjones

14:Live is back on Thursday 20 October, at 14:00-15:00! Join Dr Dinusha Mendis on the 5th Floor of the Student Centre, for an exciting talk around her research.

What’s it about you ask? Going for Gold! 3D Scanning and 3D Printing of Jewellery and Implications for Intellectual Property Law.

Have you ever seen 3D printing and 3D scanning happen in reality? By allowing physical objects to be replicated, 3D printing is increasing in popularity. However, this can raise questions about intellectual property (IP) laws.

Unfortunately, there can be implications to modifying and replicating someone else’s existing design or Computer Aided Design (CAD) file. Does it infringe the IP rights of the creator? How much ‘modification’ is needed to create a new and non-infringing product? Are we about to see a new wave of file sharing in 3D designs? While the technology has significant potential to expand into various sectors, including jewellery, it raises many issues in relation to ownership and authorship. Can IP law deal with this growing technology or will we see a new wave of piracy and counterfeiting which will be hard to control?

All staff and students are welcome to attend so come down and join us for what is going to be an exciting and engaging session, over lots of free snacks and drinks! So pop it in your calendars and we can’t wait to see you.

If you have any questions about 14:Live or other student engagements events, then send over an email to Hannah Jones.

October 3, 2016

CIPPM’s AHRC-funded Project Copyrightuser.org publishes Episode II of the Award-Winning ‘Game is On!’ Film

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured academics, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Knowledge Transfer, Post-award, REF Subjects, Research communication, Research news, Research themes, Student Engagement cippm

Copyrightuser.org – is a collaboration between the Law Department’s Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) at Bournemouth University (BU) and CREATe, University of Glasgow, has produced Episode II of the ‘Game is On!’ Series.

The project led by the Principal Investigator for Bournemouth University, Dr. Dinusha Mendis, Associate Professor in Law and Co-Director of CIPPM was initially funded by BU’s Fusion Investment Fund in 2012. Since 2013 the project has been successful in securing AHRC funding under the leadership of Dr. Mendis and in November 2015, won the AHRC Innovation in Film Award.

Game is On! by Copyrightuser.org is a s a series of short animated films that puts copyright and creativity under the magnifying glass of Sherlock Holmes, providing a unique, research-led and open access resource for school-aged learners and other creative users of copyright. Drawing inspiration from well-known copyright and public domain work, as well as recent copyright litigation, these films provide a springboard for exploring key principles and ideas underpinning copyright law, creativity, and the limits of lawful appropriation and reuse.

Episode I of the ‘Game is On!’ Series titled The Adventure of the Girl with the Light Blue Hair won the AHRC Innovation in Film Award in November 2015 and was shortlisted for a BUFVC Learning on Screen Award in April 2016 and has been recently used by Into Film to develop the educational resource ‘Exploring copyright for clubs’.

The accompanying Case Files – an important feature of the ‘Game is On!’ series – for Episode I was authored by CIPPM’s Co-Director, Dr. Dinusha Mendis and CIPPM PhD Candidate, Ms. Hayleigh Bosher.

Episode II titled The Adventure of the Six Detectives is also accompanied by a number of Case Files, authored by CREATe researchers Megan Rae Blakely and Andrea Wallace and offer points of discussion around many of the most pressing copyright questions and concerns faced by screenwriters: http://copyrightuser.org/the-game-is-on/episode-2/

The short films are written, directed and produced by Professor Ronan Deazley (Queen’s University Belfast) and CREATe producer Bartolomeo Meletti (currently seconded to the British Film Institute) with Art Direction / Design by Marco Bagni, illustrations by Davide Bonazzi and music by SFX:Sarco.

September 23, 2016

Fusion CCCP award into autism comes to a close

BU research, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Public engagement, Student Engagement, student research ngregory

Polly, Sarah, Jastine and Irma at the end of project dinner

A year ago, Dr Helen Bolderston and I began our Fusion CCCP award, examining visual and social processes in autism and borderline personality disorder. We quickly appointed two part-time RAs who were current MSc students on the Developmental and Clinical Neuropsychology programme. Due to their excellent skill sets, obtained during the undergraduate degrees at BU and whilst working as voluntary and summer RAs, Sarah Wellaway and Jastine Antolin were the obvious candidates. We were assisted by Level 5 Psychology undergraduates Pollyanna Sapsford, together with Irma Konovalova who joined us in the summer.

The first part of this project required us to write scripts for and film 32 short movies. More than twenty BU students were our actors and we had a couple of fun evenings in a dark and wet November filming these scenes in Poole House and the old Retreat (amidst the noise of angle grinders whirring as work on the new Fusion Building was underway!) It turned out that Polly was a superb Director, so I happily let her take charge of the filming, and what a great job she made of it!

Given autism was the topic of Sarah’s MSc dissertation, she took the lead in organising the administrative side of the project which involved recruiting volunteers with autism from the local area. We made some fantastic connections with local organisations including Dorset Adult Asperger’s Support Group, Autism Wessex and the Cambian Wing College, with Sarah playing a huge role in making that happen. Together with our connections with the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge and with Research Autism, we managed to recruit thirty participants with the condition (many of whom also took part in Sarah’s MSc experiment) and we are happy to report that almost all of them said they would love to come back and take part in future studies.

Polly and Irma’s final year dissertations are closely related to the Fusion project and will build on the insights they gained whilst working on this research over the last year.

Sarah, Jastine and I in a very hot and humid Barcelona!

The BPS Cognitive Section Conference: presenting our co-created and co-produced work

The autism branch of the study is almost complete and we hope to have the BPD side of the project wrapped up early in 2017. We presented our preliminary findings at the Festival of Learning this year and at the British Psychological Society Cognitive Section Annual Conference in Barcelona earlier this month. The Fusion award allowed not only me as presenter to attend the conference, but also Sarah and Jastine. It was a great way to end their time on the project as their contracts came to an end.

If anyone is in doubt about the benefits of involving students in their research, and in applying for Fusion funding, I can do no better than to let the students speak for themselves:

“My personal experience of being an RA for this project was invaluable. I have learnt a wealth of information and had first-hand experience in the organisation of a research project from beginning to end. The skills that I have acquired and developed during this time have been innumerable and I have also been given the opportunity to pass such skills to research apprentices. As part of this project I was also lucky enough to be able to attend the annual Cognitive Psychology Conference in Barcelona, which was not only an amazing experience but I also gained excellent tips from many professionals on delivering presentations as well as furthering my knowledge within fields that I had yet to learn about. And did I mention it was in BARCELONA!!” Sarah Wellaway

“It has been a huge privilege to be an RA and be part of a very motivated multidisciplinary team. This experience has expanded my knowledge and has provided me various research skills. It has also provided me opportunity to attend and take part in disseminating our research findings in a BPS conference abroad as well as exchanging ideas with academics who were experts in other psychological sub-fields. Overall, this experience has enabled me to attain personal and professional development, as it has increased my self-confidence and have provided me a set of abilities that will make me more employable in the future”. Jastine Antolin.

From my perspective as PI and an early career researcher, the last year has been incredible. We built a fantastic multidisciplinary team of academics, clinicians and students; we engaged external stakeholders like our participants with autism and the local support groups; we inspired a bunch of students by giving them invaluable experiences and skills for their future careers and on top of all that, conducted some cutting edge research in collaboration with one of the leading autism research centres in the world. It was hard work, but there is no doubt: it was certainly worth it!

Nicola Gregory, Lecturer in Psychology

September 23, 2016

Student Engagement Toolkit

BU research, Events, Impact, Student Engagement, student research hjones

If you’re looking to engage more students with your research, then the Student Engagement Toolkit is the easiest way to demonstrate how to do this. This presents the different methods available to you to communicate your research across the student community, including how to take part in the assortment of events taking place across BU, such as 14: Live. As well as this, it provides information on how to engage students in a online context by pushing through news and press releases through our various external and internal comms. Have a go at encouraging students to take part in our Undergraduate orientated events taking place, such as SURE or BCUR which BU is hosting in April 2017. Why is student engagement with research so important? Well, it’s a great opportunity to broaden your research audience and even inspire undergraduate students to partake in their own research route. Many academics have successfully taken part in student engagement activities, including Dr Sean Beer, Dr Anna Feigenbaum and Dr James Gavin, in the past. Take a look at their thoughts surrounding events/activities they’ve taken part in.

Take a closer look at the Student Engagement Toolkit here.

Want to get involved or have some ideas of your own? Send in your idea for a 14: Live session or any other ideas you may have to the Student Engagement Coordinator

September 19, 2016

Prestigious undergraduate research conference comes to Bournemouth

BU research, Research communication, Student Engagement, student research Rachel Bowen

Next spring, Bournemouth University (BU) will be welcoming undergraduates from all over the country to present their research as part of the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR). The prestigious annual conference is a chance to celebrate the valuable contribution of research from undergraduate students across a vast array of disciplines and subject areas.

Undergraduates from all disciplines will be invited to submit papers, posters, workshops and performances as part of the conference. Abstracts will be peer-reviewed and those accepted will be invited to attend the conference, which is taking place in Bournemouth 25 – 26 April 2017.

Professor Gail Thomas, Head of BU’s Centre for Excellence of Learning says, “BCUR is an excellent opportunity to highlight the research successes of undergraduates from all over the country. It gives undergraduates their first taste of an academic conference, as well as giving them the opportunity to develop their communication and presentation skills. It’s also a great place to network with other researchers.”

“Undergraduates will be invited to present research from any aspect of their course,” continues Professor Thomas, “Many will have had the chance to carry out independent research, whether for a dissertation, an assessment, working with an external company or working with a researcher on a particular topic. If you’re unsure about whether your work fits, it’s best to talk to your tutor first to find out how you can get involved in BCUR.”

Professor John Fletcher, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at BU comments, “We are delighted to be hosting the next British Conference of Undergraduate Research and look forward to welcoming undergraduates from all over the country to showcase their research.”

“Research is a key driver of economic growth and makes a difference to all aspects of society, so we are keen to celebrate the successes of our next generation of researchers. Here at BU we really encourage our undergraduates to get involved in research throughout their studies. Our unique fusion of education, research and professional practice is at the heart of the BU experience, so we hope to see plenty of our students representing BU at BCUR next year.”

The deadline for submitting abstracts is 10 December. Abstract submission will open in early October.

For more information about the conference, visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/bcur17.

September 14, 2016

Student Engagement Opportunity

BU research, Impact, Research communication, Student Engagement hjones

Call for academics! Do you want to engage more students with your research? Then 14:Live is an excellent opportunity to interact with more students, in a relaxed setting and get them involved with what you do. Previous talks including Dr Dan Jackson and Dr Lauren Kita have proved successful and beneficial for both academics and students alike. The talks occur once a month, taking place on the 5th floor of the student centre and we’re looking for academics to lead a session after Christmas. This a great way to get students engaged in your research!

Interested? Get in touch if you’d like to take part and contact Hannah Jones/61214

September 13, 2016

‘Students who bounce back’: Photo exhibition

BU research, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Events, Public engagement, Research communication, Research news, Student Engagement Jacqueline Priego

From 12 September, the Centre for Excellence in Learning (CEL) is holding a photo exhibition in Poole House, next to the Cash Office. This exhibition is part of the ‘Students who bounce back’ project, a study funded by Bournemouth University’s Fair Access Agreement Management Group. The study is being conducted by researchers at CEL, in co-production with student carers*.

The photographs displayed in the exhibition were taken by student carers as part of a photodiary exercise. Some of them also came to the University this week to formally launch the exhibition.

‘Students who bounce back’ has the following objectives:

To explore the life experience of student carers at BU and the impact of caring in their learning experiences.
To determine, in co-production with students, the main motivations and expectations of their university experience, and their contact with the different support mechanisms in place at BU.
To contribute with empirical data to the development of the concept of psychosocial scaffoldings as enablers of resilience (or the ability to ‘bounce back’).
To contribute to wider debates and developments about the learning experience of student carers in the Higher Education sector.

The exhibition will be on display for six weeks. For more information about the project, email Jacqueline Priego.

*A carer is defined as anyone who cares, unpaid, for a family member who, due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction, cannot cope without their support.

Featured Image Credit: Gareth Williams (CC BY 2.0)

August 30, 2016

Building Roman Britain: Project update

BU research, data management, Fusion, HEIF, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Student Engagement dpitman

The Building Roman Britain project is investigating the source of stone and ceramic materials (e.g. bricks, tiles, flues, etc.) from key sites in Roman Britain. Using Roman Bath and Fishbourne Roman Palace as our main sites, we have been using x-ray floresence (XRF) to profile these materials and to look for patterns in their production, distribution and use. Funded by HEIF 5+1, the current phase of work will soon be concluded, although it is hoped to carry on with our partners over the coming year, producing joint publications as well as museum displays and interactives.

Analysing a quarry near Bath

We have now completed over 2400 analyses, a full GIS plan of the Fishbourne ‘92 excavations, and numerous visits to both Bath and Fishbourne to undertake in situ analysis, using a portable XRF device. The team was ably assisted in this work by the appointment of an URA, Dominique Druce, who is now planning her dissertation around a related pXRF study.

In early April the team presented a paper at the Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) conference in Oslo that focused on the analysis of ceramic building material and presented some interesting interim results. The paper was well received and the methods and approaches outlined stimulated some very useful discussion.

With an ever increasing mass of data it was decided to begin processing and interpreting the data alongside some lab-based analysis, with the aim of identifying the most promising areas on which to focus our final investigations. However, we still found time to visit Fishbourne and examine some of the in-situ mosaics. Meanwhile, the preliminary examination of data drove a renewed focus on exploring quarry sites in the Bath area and we have since returned to the quarries at Brown’s Folly near Bath to conduct intensive, quarry-face analyses.

As an offshoot from the project, Derek Pitman (the project’s RA) took the pXRF kit to the Purbeck School’s science fair along with members of BU’s STEM outreach team, where he was able to show how scientific methods help archaeologists understand ancient materials. Continuing with the public understanding of science theme, we are now working with our partners at Bath and Fishbourne Museums to develop new, innovative display methods for our results that will include the use of video and digital media to communicate project results and STEM to a wider audience.

While the summer of 2016 sees our HEIF 5+1 funding coming to an end, the Building Roman Britain team will carry on into 2017 in order to help bring the HEIF phase of the project to publication and to build the next phase of further investigations into Roman building materials. This includes our project’s inclusion in a multi-million pound bid to the HLF for redisplay work at Roman Bath Museum as part of their Archway Project. For further details, see our research project page.

August 30, 2016

2 Nuffield students gaining hands-on research experience at BU

BU research, PG research, Public engagement, Student Engagement, student research, Training inessel

Group pic Nuffield During the last 4 weeks, Sophie and Rose (left and middle in the picture), two AS level students, have spent their summer holidays gaining hands-on laboratory research experience at BU during their Nuffield Research Placement. Together with Dr Simon Dyall and PGR Isabell Nessel (right in the picture), they have worked on a research project which is investigating ways to increase the intake of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in preterm infants. Rose and Sophie have been helping to develop and validate a method to measure the fatty acid content of preterm formula milks by using gas chromatography (see picture).

“As for the internship, I enjoyed it a lot. It was nice getting out of the classroom and working on something that had the potential to help people. I learnt a lot of new skills that’ll help me when I’m writing my application for university as it will show that I already have experience in a laboratory as well as give me a head start to any laboratory work I do in my degree. It’s shown that things often don’t go as smoothly as planned and you have to do a lot of problem solving and repeating along the way, but it’s also made clear to me that I do want to head in the direction of research in the future.” – Sophie

“This is the first year BU has offered Nuffield Research Placements and Sophie and Rose have been excellent students. The Placements give students the opportunity to get hands-on experience of working in a research environment, meet new people and learn new skills, and importantly help them decide if a degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subject is right for them. It has been a pleasure to host Sophie and Rose this year, and they have been of great help to our work.” – Simon GC Nuffield

“For me it was an excellent opportunity to develop my mentoring skills, get the chance to inspire younger students for a career in research, and getting some extra helping hands for my project. The girls were eager to learn and motivated for the lab work and I wish them all the best for their studies. Overall, it was a nice experience which I would recommend to other PGRs and their supervisors.” – Isabell

Many thanks to Sophie and Rose for their help and to the Nuffield Foundation for the organisation of the placements!

The Nuffield Foundation offers Nuffield research placement for motivated students during the summer holidays to discover what a career in STEM might look like. If you would wish to find more about the program or think of offering a placement yourself next year please click here.

If you would like to learn more about our research, please feel free to contact me at inessel@bournemouth.ac.uk

Isabell

Category / Student Engagement

14:Live with Dinusha Mendis

CIPPM’s AHRC-funded Project Copyrightuser.org publishes Episode II of the Award-Winning ‘Game is On!’ Film

Fusion CCCP award into autism comes to a close

Student Engagement Toolkit

Prestigious undergraduate research conference comes to Bournemouth

Student Engagement Opportunity

Building Roman Britain: Project update

2 Nuffield students gaining hands-on research experience at BU

Other services

Don’t miss a post!

Recent posts

Search by Category

Research Information Network

UKRI

Category / Student Engagement

Featured Image Credit: Gareth Williams (CC BY 2.0)

Other services

Don’t miss a post!

Recent posts

Search by Category

Search by popular post topics