Category / Vitae

Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group – Call for Members (Academics, PGRs and ECRs)

BU research, BU2025, Doctoral College, ECR Network, Featured, Guidance, PG research, Research Concordat, research staff, Research Training, student research, Training, Vitae

Looking for your input…

Do you want to contribute to a University Steering Group?

Last month, approval was provided by the University’s Research Degree Committee for a brand new Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group to provide direction to postgraduate researcher development at BU, and I am recruiting members.

There will be 2 meetings per academic year and ad-hoc if required. Some of the main responsibilities include:

  • Develop and enhance the strategic direction, nature, quality, development and delivery of the University’s provision of researcher development for postgraduate research students (PGRs) which reflect the needs of all PGRs.
  • Guide centrally and faculty provided researcher development provisions promoting complimentary support of both increasing the personalisation of support for PGRs.
  • Evaluate University-wide PGR researcher development provisions, to ensure all programme content is maintained at a high standard and aligns with the university strategic priorities under BU2025.
  • Promote the benefits of facilitation of researcher development to staff and the benefits of engaging with researcher development to PGRs.
  • Enhance the overall PGR student experience at BU.

See the full Terms of Reference for details on the Steering Group if you are interested in becoming a member.

Please submit your Expression of Interest, including a half-page as to why you are interested, the knowledge, skills and experience you can bring to the group, via email to Natalie at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk by midday, Friday 1 November.

Membership available:
– PGR Student Champion: 1 per Faculty (open to all PGRs)
– Academic Champion: 1 per Faculty (ideally an active PGR supervisor)
– Early Career Researcher: 1 representative

Expressions of Interest will be assessed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Steering Group, we look forward to receiving them.

Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group – Call for Members (Academics, PGRs and ECRs)

BU research, BU2025, Doctoral College, Featured, PG research, Research Concordat, research staff, Research Training, Student Engagement, Vitae

Do you want to contribute to a University Steering Group?

Last month, approval was provided by the University’s Research Degree Committee for a brand new Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group to provide direction to postgraduate researcher development at BU, and I am recruiting members.

There will be 2 meetings per academic year and ad-hoc if required. Some of the main responsibilities include:

  • Develop and enhance the strategic direction, nature, quality, development and delivery of the University’s provision of researcher development for postgraduate research students (PGRs) which reflect the needs of all PGRs.
  • Guide centrally and faculty provided researcher development provisions promoting complimentary support of both increasing the personalisation of support for PGRs.
  • Evaluate University-wide PGR researcher development provisions, to ensure all programme content is maintained at a high standard and aligns with the university strategic priorities under BU2025.
  • Promote the benefits of facilitation of researcher development to staff and the benefits of engaging with researcher development to PGRs.
  • Enhance the overall PGR student experience at BU.

See the full Terms of Reference for details on the Steering Group if you are interested in becoming a member.

Please submit your Expression of Interest, including a half-page as to why you are interested, the knowledge, skills and experience you can bring to the group, via email to Natalie at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk by midday, Friday 1 November.

Membership available:
– PGR Student Champion: 1 per Faculty (open to all PGRs)
– Academic Champion: 1 per Faculty (ideally an active PGR supervisor)
– Early Career Researcher: 1 representative

Expressions of Interest will be assessed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Steering Group, we look forward to receiving them.

Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group – Call for Members (Academics, PGRs and ECRs)

BU research, BU2025, Doctoral College, Featured, PG research, Research Concordat, Vitae

Do you want to contribute to a University Steering Group?

Last month, approval was provided by the University’s Research Degree Committee for a brand new Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group to provide direction to postgraduate researcher development at BU, and I am recruiting members.

There will be 2 meetings per academic year and ad-hoc if required. Some of the main responsibilities include:

  • Develop and enhance the strategic direction, nature, quality, development and delivery of the University’s provision of researcher development for postgraduate research students (PGRs) which reflect the needs of all PGRs.
  • Guide centrally and faculty provided researcher development provisions promoting complimentary support of both increasing the personalisation of support for PGRs.
  • Evaluate University-wide PGR researcher development provisions, to ensure all programme content is maintained at a high standard and aligns with the university strategic priorities under BU2025.
  • Promote the benefits of facilitation of researcher development to staff and the benefits of engaging with researcher development to PGRs.
  • Enhance the overall PGR student experience at BU.

See the full Terms of Reference for details on the Steering Group if you are interested in becoming a member.

Please submit your Expression of Interest, including a half-page as to why you are interested, the knowledge, skills and experience you can bring to the group, via email to Natalie at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk by midday, Friday 1 November.

Membership available:
– PGR Student Champion: 1 per Faculty (open to all PGRs)
– Academic Champion: 1 per Faculty (ideally an active PGR supervisor)
– Early Career Researcher: 1 representative

Expressions of Interest will be assessed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Steering Group, we look forward to receiving them.

 

 

Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group – Call for Members (Academic, PGRs and ECR)

BU research, BU2025, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Doctoral College, ECR Network, Featured, PG research, Research Concordat, Research Training, Vitae

Last month, approval was provided by the University’s Research Degree Committee for a brand new Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group to provide direction to postgraduate researcher development at BU, and I am recruiting members.

There will be 2 meetings per academic year and ad-hoc if required. Some of the main responsibilities include:

  • Develop and enhance the strategic direction, nature, quality, development and delivery of the University’s provision of researcher development for postgraduate research students (PGRs) which reflect the needs of all PGRs.
  • Guide centrally and faculty provided researcher development provisions promoting complimentary support of both increasing the personalisation of support for PGRs.
  • Evaluate University-wide PGR researcher development provisions, to ensure all programme content is maintained at a high standard and aligns with the university strategic priorities under BU2025.
  • Promote the benefits of facilitation of researcher development to staff and the benefits of engaging with researcher development to PGRs.
  • Enhance the overall PGR student experience at BU.

See the full Terms of Reference for details on the Steering Group if you are interested in becoming a member.

Please submit your Expression of Interest, including a half-page as to why you are interested, the knowledge, skills and experience you can bring to the group, via email to Natalie at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk by midday, Friday 1 November.

Membership available:
– PGR Student Champion: 1 per Faculty (open to all PGRs)
– Academic Champion: 1 per Faculty (ideally an active PGR supervisor)
– Early Career Researcher: 1 representative

Expressions of Interest will be assessed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Steering Group, we look forward to receiving them.

 

BU articles on academic writing & publishing

Centre for Excellence in Learning, Featured academics, Guidance, open access, Publishing, REF Subjects, Research communication, Training, Uncategorized, Vitae, writing

Last Friday ResearchGate informed us that ‘Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference’ [1] published by three Bournemouth University (BU) scholars (Prof. Vanora Hundley, Dr. Bibha Sinkhada and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and a BU Visiting Professor (Prof. Padam Simkhada) had reached 2,500 reads. This paper is one of a series of articles BU academics have published on several aspects of academic writing and scientific publishing.  The range of publications includes issue such as: predatory publishers, authors earning from copyright; finding the best title for your paper, and issues of authorship [2-13].  These are great resources for budding academic writers, especially as nearly are Open Access publications and hence freely available across the world.

Other useful BU resources include the work by Dr. Kip Jones, such as his blogs on Organising & Writing a PhD thesis or his advice on Writing Blogs.   Another great BU resource is the online publication by Dr. Miguel Moital, who wrote the e-book Writing Dissertations & Theses: What you should know but no one tells you, where he shares valuable practical information about the process of writing academic work, notably dissertations. The book starts with explaining the six criteria, expressed in the form of 6 ‘C’s, required to produce high quality dissertations: Confined, Corroborated, Critical, Coherent, Concise and Captivating. The e-book then goes on to share a range of ‘tips and tools’ which contribute to fulfilling the 6 Cs. 

Moreover, it is also worth pointing out that there are some great web resources on writing and publishing produced by BU Library staff, for example on plagiarism;  academic writing; or how to cite references.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwife

References

  1. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, BD. (2013) Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference, Kathmandu Univ Med J 11(3): 262-65. http://www.kumj.com.np/issue/43/262-265.pdf
  2. van Teijlingen, E, Hundley, V. (2002) Getting your paper to the right journal: a case study of an academic paper, J Advanced Nurs 37(6): 506-11.
  3. Pitchforth, E, Porter M, Teijlingen van E, Keenan Forrest, K. (2005) Writing up & presenting qualitative research in family planning & reproductive health care, J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 31(2): 132-135.
  4. Kretschmer, M., Hardwick, P. (2007) Authors’ earnings from copyright and non-copyright sources: A survey of 25,000 British and German writers, Bournemouth: Bournemouth University,  Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management.
  5. van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada, PP, Rizyal A (2012) Submitting a paper to an academic peer-reviewed journal, where to start? (Guest Editorial) Health Renaissance 10(1): 1-4.
  6. van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada. PP, Simkhada, B, Ireland J. (2012) The long & winding road to publication, Nepal J Epidemiol 2(4): 213-215 http://nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/7093/6388
  7. Hundley, V, van Teijlingen, E, Simkhada, P (2013) Academic authorship: who, why and in what order? Health Renaissance 11(2):98-101 www.healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Download/vol-11-2/Page_99_101_Editorial.pdf
  8. Simkhada P, van Teijlingen E, Hundley V. (2013) Writing an academic paper for publication, Health Renaissance 11(1):1-5. www.healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Pp_1_5_Guest_Editorial.pdf
  9. van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2014) Finding the right title for your article: Advice for academic authors, Nepal J Epidemiol 4(1): 344-347.
  10. van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., Bick, D. (2014) Who should be an author on your academic paper? Midwifery 30: 385-386.
  11. Hall, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E. (2015) The journal editor: friend or foe? Women & Birth 28(2): e26-e29.
  12. Sathian, B., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Roy, B, Banerjee, I. (2016) Grant writing for innovative medical research: Time to rethink. Med Sci 4(3):332-33.
  13. Pradhan, AK, van Teijlingen, ER. (2017) Predatory publishing: a great concern for authors, Med Sci 5(4): 43.

Changes to the Researcher Development Programme on Brightspace

Doctoral College, PG research, Training, Vitae

Information for Postgraduate Research Students & Supervisors

The Researcher Development Programme (RDP) Brightspace unit has been refreshed. This should make accessing resources and workshops quicker and easier. So what’s changed?

  • Content is no longer divided by Vitae RDF domains, instead all workshops are merged into one area and all online content has been merged into a separate area.
  • Some workshops have been combined in one content area, for example milestone preparation, research philosophy, research designs and research methods.
  • ‘Additional resources’ information will continue to be added to workshop contents to supplement workshop learning – so check these out.
  • These changes have been reflected in the quick links on the homepage.

The feedback form remains live. It is always valuable to hear your thoughts and views on all aspects of the RDP to ensure its meeting your needs.

The new RDP brochure is currently in design and will be available (in print and PDF) from early September; the new design will reflect these Brightspace updates. Workshop dates and times will also be released in early September and ready to book.

Although RDP workshops have finished for this academic year, you still have access to all online content including the 18 research skills masters programme online modules, the new Video Arts e-learning and videos and much more online content.

If you have any questions regarding your researcher development or the resources available to you, please contact me on pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Best wishes, Natalie.

CROS and PIRLS close this week. Don’t miss out!

BU research, Research communication, Research news, Vitae

Time is running out….

These important surveys close this week, on Friday, 31st May.

If you have already received your invite and not yet responded, please do so now. This week’s reminder, with all the details needed to access the survey, was sent to all individuals invited to reply on 28th May. The reply rate for both surveys is under 30% (at 28/5/19) – it is time to make your opinions count!

Although, you may wish to be helpful, please do not share this access email with others – this is so we can ensure that the reply rate is accurate.

If you have not received your invitation to complete these surveys  and you fall in one or both of the categories below (based on the census date of 22/4/19), please contact Emily Cieciura (Research Development & Support) via researchdev@bournemouth.ac.uk to receive your personal invitation.

Thank you to everyone who has already replied.

More information:

Every two years Vitae runs the Careers in Research Online Survey and the Principal Investigators and Research Leaders Survey. Once again, BU will be participating in these important national surveys.

ThCareers in Research Online Survey CROS logoe Careers in Research Online Survey (CROS) gathers the anonymous views of research staff in UK higher education institutions about their experiences, career aspirations and career development opportunities. At BU, those categorised by HR data as research staff will receive an invitation to complete this survey.

Principal-Investigators-and-Research-Leaders-Survey-PIRLS-logoThe Principal Investigators and Research Leaders Survey (PIRLS) gathers anonymous views and experiences from principal investigators in relation to their role as managers and leaders of researchers and research groups. Based on data from RED (BU’s Research & Enterprise Database), and HR records, relevant BU academics will be invited to participate.

Both surveys are beneficial to BU:

  • Together they inform our policy and practice in researchers’ employment, management and career development
  • Provide knowledge of the views and experiences of research leaders across topics, including leadership, management and recognition
  • The surveys allow us to measure our progress over time and confidential comparisons with groups of institutions or national results
  • Provides evidence to support our institutional submissions, such as for the European HR Excellence in Research Award (we have recently retained this award following the recent six year review), implementation of the Concordat and Athena SWAN
  • They provide insight into the research environment element of the Research Excellence Framework

If you have any queries about either survey, please contact Emily Cieciura (Research Development & Support) via researchdev@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

BU successful in retaining EC HR Excellence in Research Award!

BU research, Featured, Research news, Vitae

 

Good news – BU has been successful in retaining the European Commission HR Excellence in Research Award  and is now one of 97 Vitae UK member institutions in the UK who hold this award. In this current round of assessments, BU is one of four universities who have retained their award following the 6 year review. We offer our congratulations to all the other universities who have retained their award during this round.

The Award demonstrates BU’s commitment to aligning process and practice to the UK Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and, therefore, improving the working conditions and career development for research staff. In turn, this will improve the quantity, quality and impact of research for the benefit of UK society and the economy. The six year review required BU to highlight the key achievements and progress we have made since we first secured this Award in January 2013 and the reviews in 2015 and 2017. The submission also outlined the focus of our strategy, success measures and next steps for the next two years, with much of this pertinent and aligned to BU2025 plans.

Key achievements made at BU since 2017, in support of this agenda include:

You can read our progress review and future action plan (2019-2020) in full on BU’s web pages dedicated to the Research Concordat.

In 2018, the Concordat was reviewed, and we eagerly await the outcome of this review and the subsequent sector consultation.

Read the full announcement on the Vitae website.

Please note that not all links in this post can be accessed outside Bournemouth University. 

Free workshop for postgraduate researchers (creative thinking and problem solving)

BU research, Doctoral College, Featured, PG research, Research communication, Research Training, Training, Vitae

Creative Thinking and Problem Solving

Facilitated by Dr Margaret Collins (Training for Universities)

Date: Monday 28 January              Date: Thursday 28 March

Time: 13:30 – 16:30                        Time: 13:30 – 16:30

Register Here                                    Register Here

Significant keys to success in research include being able to ask the right question, to interpret the data, to see new patterns, to make links between the not-so-obvious associations. These are skills that are developed to provide new and creative answers to your research challenges.

During this workshop we will develop your ability to ask questions, to think outside the box, to see things differently and generate a wider range of possibilities.

We will use a range of techniques including group discussion, group activities and targeted exercises to develop your creative thinking and problem solving skills.

Do come ready to work on your own research ideas, problems or challenges and be prepared to develop some surprising possibilities.

As a result of this workshop participants will

  • Know the first step to solving a problem is to ask the right question
  • Be able to use a range of techniques for stimulating creative processes
  • Understand how learning styles and behaviour influence creative activity
  • Have techniques to generate ideas and select solutions
  • Access resources for creative thinking, problem solving and decision making

This workshop is part of the wider Doctoral College: Researcher Development Programme.

Vitae Researcher Development International Conference 2018

Doctoral College, Knowledge Exchange, Research Training, RKE development framework, Vitae

On 17 – 18 September 2018 Natalie Stewart (Doctoral College Research Skills and Development Officer), Thomas Stroud (Doctoral College Resources Administrator) and Emily Cieciura (RKEO Research Knowledge and Exchange Development Framework Facilitator) attended the Vitae Researcher Development International Conference, the largest global event dedicated to researcher development.

With around 400 delegates in attendance, the conference explored the latest policy development, future development in the sector and explored the opportunities and challenges of researcher development.

With an emphasis on how to meet the future development needs of researchers for a wide range of careers in and beyond academia, we came back more informed, connected and motivated to ensure Bournemouth University Postgraduate Research Students and Research Staff are provided with comprehensive, targeted and flexible researcher development programmes.

Three Minute Thesis UK Final

The UK National 3MT® Final was hosted at the conference gala dinner where six finalists from across the UK competed to win the coveted £3k grant to spend on a public engagement activity and a place on the Taylor & Francis Journal Editor Mentoring Programme. This year’s judge’s winner was Owen James, University of Edinburgh, with the winning presentation entitled ‘Human myelin in a dish’ and the people’s choice award went to Jamie Khoo with the emotive presentation ‘But is she pretty? How women respond to beauty ideals’. The 3MT® event is definitely a highlight of the conference; hopefully we can get BU PGRs represented in the coming years. Look out for the internal 3MT® event coming up this year. You can watch all of the semi-finalist 2018 presentations on the Vitae Website here.

Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme

The RDP is complementary to postgraduate research degrees here at BU and offers PGRs flexibility to develop their academic, professional and personal skills as and when required. It supports PGRs in gaining the skills needed to complete their research degree whilst also building on transferable skills for employment, whether in academia or beyond, in an increasingly competitive jobs market.

Offering over 150 on-campus workshops, e-learning, an interactive webinar series, and a range of additional online resources, and various events the RDP mirrors the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) which enables PGRs to tailor their individual developmental journey.

The RDP is open to all PGRs and, access to view the provisions offered on Brightspace is provided to PGR supervisors.

If you have any questions on the RDP please contact the Research Skills and Development Officers Natalie and Clare (pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk).

 

RKEO Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework

The RKEDF offers a range of opportunities for academics at all career stages to develop their skills, knowledge and capabilities in relation to research and knowledge exchange.

Attending the Vitae conference enables us to share in the best practice across the UK and globally, providing the impetus to embrace innovative researcher development approaches. In the last twelve months, for example, BU has launched a new Early Career Researcher Network, including its Brightspace community, seen successful cohorts for the Writing Academy, Research Council Development Scheme, piloted a new career-based pathway, with dedicated developmental support for ECRs, Mid-Career and Professorial researchers, benefited from inspirational external speakers, and hosted over 150 events ranging from funder briefings to STEAMLabs. Following discussion of your development requirements with your line manager and consideration of how the RKEDF can support these needs, the RKEDF is open to all BU academic staff, including those on fixed and PTHP contracts.

The RKEDF also references the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF).

If you have any questions about the RKEDF, please contact Emily Cieciura, RKEDF Facilitator (RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk).

 

Early Career Researcher Network Launch on 12th September – Book Now!

Research Training, RKE development framework, Training, Vitae

On Wednesday 12th September, BU will be launching its new network specifically for our Early Career Researchers (ECRs).

This initiative underlines the support that is being made available to ECRs as part of the Vitae Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

During the day, attendees will have the opportunity to shape the future of the network and contribute to the activities that will take place during the year. Specifically, in the morning, the network’s academic leads (Ann Hemingway and Sam Goodman) will facilitate participative and exploratory sessions to make sure that the ECR Network works for you, the BU ECRs.

After a networking lunch, ECRs in receipt of Acorn Fund awards will present an overview of their research. This will be followed by a ‘showcase’ opportunity for other ECRs to promote and discuss their research with attendees.

By the end of the day, it is excepted that you will:

  • have been able to meet with ECRs from all faculties at BU
  • had the opportunity to share your research interests with others
  • been able to voice your opinions on the development of the ERC Network at BU

The morning sessions are open to ECRs and the lunch and afternoon open to all BU academic staff but especially ECRs.

To book your place, please email RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk, stating if you wish to attend the morning, the afternoon or both, along with any dietary requirements.

 

Vitae RDF Planner Phase Out – Important Information for PGRs

Vitae

RDF Planner Phase Out

The Research Development Framework (RDF) Planner is now being phased out and will no longer be available from October 2018. We therefore kindly request that invited or existing PGR users start exporting any information onto an alternative platform or format by 5th October 2018.

If you wish to continue to use the Planner after our account closes you should take up an individual subscription at £24 per annum. To do this:

  • go to your profile page (profile logo at bottom of home page)
  • click on ‘my Subscription’ in header area
  • click on ‘change’ button. You will be given the option to pay by credit card to move to an individual subscription – all information previously entered will be available in the new subscription

If you don’t wish to continue using the Planner but want to retain your information you should download your information into whichever format you choose:

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Research Skills and Development Officers at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk.