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HE Policy Update

Monday

Extremism on campus

Grant Shapps, Tory Party Chairman, has criticised Vince Cable for trying to water down proposals to ban extremist speakers from university campuses, as the coalition partners hit deadlock over planned guidance for universities. Rules are being drawn up by Downing Street demanding that universities ban all “extremist” speakers following passage of a law imposing a statutory requirement on educational institutions and other public bodies to prevent terrorism. Government row over ban on extremist speakers on university campuses (The Guardian).

Tuesday

Satellite Campuses

Theresa May, believes satellite campuses set up in London by universities in other parts of the UK have become a loophole used by people wanting to work in Britain rather than institutions offering rigorous academic courses to highly qualified students. New rules are now being introduced to require the satellite campuses to be fully integrated with the home university by offering the same courses, teaching standards and exams. Institutions that fail to comply will have their licences revoked. Satellite university campuses in London are being exploited  (The Times).

Election Hustings

The Times Higher Education ran a Higher Education Hustings with Greg Clark (Conservative Minister for universities and science), Liam Byrne (Labour shadow HE and science secretary) and Julian Huppert (Lib Dem science spokesperson). THE has published a write up of the debate here.

Wednesday

New Private Provider

A new private university is planned to open in 2017 in Hereford. The New Model Institute for Technology & Engineering (NMITE) will focus on manufacturing, defence engineering and agri-tech and will cater for up to 5,000 students. Hereford NMITE university ‘will create 500 jobs’ (BBC News).

Thursday

Part-time Students

Government proposals on accelerated and flexible degrees in response to the collapse in part-time study are set to be put forward in the coming weeks, Greg Clark suggested at the HE Hustings. Flexible study emerges as cross-party concern  (THE).

PhDs

Growth in the number of PhDs awarded in some academic disciplines has far outstripped that in others, evidence submitted to the REF shows. The percentage increase in doctoral degrees awarded in the social sciences during the REF period was 35 per cent, compared with just 18 per cent in medical and life sciences, for example. Social sciences ups the PhD pace  (THE).

Income of Higher Education Providers

HESA’s new publication ‘HE Finance Plus 2013/14’ outlines higher education institutions income and expenditure. The report can be viewed here.

Friday

Science Education

Science is being squeezed out of primary schools, with many now teaching the subject for less than two hours a week, business leaders have warned. Science ‘squeezed out of primary schools’ (BBC News).

 

Writing Academy Lunchbyte – My Publishing Experience

Publishing

On 11th March, Wednesday, we will have a Writing Academy Lunchbyte session where Prof. Matthew Bennett will talk about his personal publishing experience, his approaches to research and writing, how to develop a publication strategy and the challenges of working with colleagues and dealing with both reviewers and editors. He will talk about all type of publishing from journal articles, to books via edited compilations. Drawing on personal experience, he will also focus on how you target high impact journals.

Aims:

  • Developing a Publication Strategy
  • Dealing with Co-Editors, Reviewers & Editors
  • Targeting high impact Journal

 

Title Date Time Location
Writing Academy Lunchbyte – My Publishing Experience Wednesday 11th March 2015 13:00-14:30 TAG03, Tolpuddle Annexe

 

To book your place on this workshop please email Organisational Development

Mapping the UK research landscape: your opportunity to contribute

The Council for Science and Technology (CST) have launched a project to help them to understand the knowledge landscape in the UK. By providing information about yourself, how your research area fits within ‘the landscape of connected disciplines’ and research infrastructure in your area, you can contribute to the CST’s understanding of how the research community defines itself and the links that exist between disciplines. For more information, and to submit your views, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-knowledge-landscape-tool-launches

An investigation into the importance of set plays within the Barclays Premier League

Fusion, Publishing, student research

The interest in football goes well beyond the boundaries of it’s academic field. Such are the financial incentives and rewards in the modern game, professional football clubs now leave no stone unturned in their attempts to increase their performances on the field, win matches and increase their league position. This is the wider context for a recent submission to eBU: Online Journal, BU’s internal working paper journal designed around immediate publication and open peer review.

Based on an analysis of all 1,053 goals scored in the 2009/10 season, Jamie Osman, Andrew Callaway and Shelley Broomfield consider, ‘Just how important are set plays to teams competing in the Barclays Premier League?’.

The paper is open for wider comment and review from the BU community, and can be found here: http://ebu/index.php/ebu/article/view/36

 

Approaches to Compositional Practice: Correspondences Amongst Sounds and Organising Those Sound

PG research

Approaches to Compositional Practice: Correspondences Amongst Sounds and Organising Those SoundWe would like to invite you to the next research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

 

Speaker: Ambrose Seddon

Title: Approaches to Compositional Practice: Correspondences Amongst Sounds and Organising Those Sound

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 11 March 2015

Room: P335, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract:

Many pieces of music exhibit returning and recurring identities founded on melodic, harmonic and rhythmic patterns and formations, appearing both locally and more globally within a work. In acousmatic music making i.e. music for playback over loudspeakers only, the kinds of sound material and the possibilities of sound transformation are sufficiently different and broad that concepts of recurrence within this compositional context are valuably explored. In this talk I will present some of the ideas developed through my research and compositional practice concerning correspondences amongst the sounds within a work and organising those sounds, with a focus on my more recent acousmatic music outputs.

 

We hope to see you there.

Building a research team

Are you a researcher looking to submit a research application? If so, this could be your opportunity to start building up a research team. Not only will this reduce the cost of your bid, but it will also give you the chance to start building up a group in your research field.  

So, what do we mean by a research team? There are a number of definitions, but a key characteristic is that a research team is a group of people, working together with a commitment to achieve a common research goal. At BU, this might mean those working together on a research project, a research cluster, a centre or an institute. Teams are likely to include academics – senior, junior or both – research assistants and, where appropriate, technical or administrative staff. Individuals are likely to bring a range of skills, knowledge and experience to the team which complement one another. However, you may also wish to consider whether team members’ behavioural traits and characteristics are also complementary. You can find out more from Vitae at https://www.vitae.ac.uk/doing-research/leadership-development-for-principal-investigators-pis/building-and-managing-a-research-team

If you are considering bringing together a research team, and aren’t sure how to go about it, please contact one of the Research Facilitators in RKEO – Jennifer Roddis, Alexandra Pekalski, Emily Cieciura and Paul Lynch – and we’ll be pleased to help.

Successful FST Santander-funded networking and conference visit to Spain, February 2015

Dr Daniel Franklin (FST) recently visited colleagues from the University of Malaga in Spain, a Santander Partner University, and also attended the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography meeting in nearby Granada. This meeting had 2,500 delegates from 65 countries and used a parallel session format to present cutting-edge science from across the myriad disciplines involved in the study of aquatic systems.
During the visit Dan discussed research ideas with Dr Maria Segovia of the University of Malaga and met members of her research group. Discussion focused on the measurement of phytoplankton dynamics during large-scale ecosystem manipulations (mesocosm experiments) which are designed to test the response of the microbial food web to CO2 enrichment. Dan also discussed the possibility of student and staff research exchanges with Dr Segovia and this will form an ongoing process.
At the conference BU FST PhD students Ian Chapman and Dave Hartnell gave excellent presentations to leading lights in the fields of cyanobacteria management and phytoplankton assessment. The conference was excellent in the range of opportunities it provided to meet with and discuss research with world-leading specialists. We are now planning a submission to a high-impact factor journal which will publish proceedings from the conference. Overall, a very successful visit. Thanks to Santander for the funding.

An invitation to share my PhD research at University of Canterbury

PG research

by Samreen Ashraf – Postgraduate Researcher – Faculty of Management

After receiving funding from The Graduate School, I presented my paper at British Academy of Management Conference (BAM) held in Belfast last year.  As a result of my interaction at BAM, I was invited by the University of Canterbury to present my research to them. As a PhD student it was a great opportunity to disseminate my research. I am studying consumer multiple identities in the context of the banking industry. Although the concept of identity is studied through different academic lenses, in marketing studies, the concept has been acknowledged in relation to consumption decisions. However, in financial industry (most specifically banking) this topic is not given enough attention and there is a gap in understanding the implications of the concept especially in the context of consumer’s bank choice. My presentation was well received with constructive feedback from a range of academics with varied research backgrounds accompanied by some good networking opportunities. Not to mention the amazing Canterbury Cathedral, this was beautiful even on a freezing day.

2015 Call for Participation. Being Human-A festival of the humanities

Funding opportunities

 

Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the British Academy, Being Human is the UK’s only national festival of the humanities. It engages the public with innovative research taking place across the humanities and in collaboration with other disciplines. Demonstrating the role the humanities play in our everyday lives, Being Human aims to make humanities research accessible to the public.

Funding has been made available for universities and Independent Research Organisations to bid for support to stage events during the festival week. The festival runs from 12-22 November 2015. It is anticipated that  each award will be a maximum of £2000. Funding up to £5000 may be considered for proposals of exceptional quality or where institutions will coordinate more than one event. The deadline for applications is 17/04/15. Further details can be found here

 

 

Student-midwife-run postnatal clinic: FUSION example

Fusion, PG research, Publishing

FHSS staff and students published their latest article ‘Would a student midwife run postnatal clinic make a valuable addition to midwifery education in the UK? — A systematic review’ now out on line in Nurse Education Today 35 : 480-486.   The paper is written by Wendy Marsh, Dana M. Colbourne, Susan Way & Vanora Hundley.

We are pleased to inform you that the final version of your article with full bibliographic details is now available online.  The publishers are providing the following personal article link, which will provide free access to this article, and is valid for 50 days, until April 17, 2015:  http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1QcG5xHa50bEa

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Cake Sale for Alzheimer’s Society

Sarah and I will be hosting a bake sale in the Talbot Campus Atrium on Thursday 5th March, from 1-3pm, in aid of our 54km trek along the Isle of Wight coastal path this May Bank Holiday weekend. We’re taking on this test of endurance to support the valuable work of Alzheimer’s Society, and to help to make a difference for people living with dementia.

We would like to raise £295 each and we’ve been challenged to reach 50% of our fundraising target by 23rd March 2015. In order to achieve this goal, we would like to invite you to indulge your sweet tooth in aid of a good cause, and join us in the Atrium this Thursday afternoon for cakes and treats!

We’ll have a wide variety of cakes, biscuits, chocolates, and other treats available, along with vegan-friendly, gluten-free, and sugar-free options. If you would like to donate some baked goods for our stall, please contact us at snoone@bournemouth.ac.uk or lreynolds@bournemouth.ac.uk to make arrangements.

We’re not putting any prices on our cakes. We want people to donate however much they would like to (loose change also welcomed!). Alternatively, if you would like to donate to our fundraising efforts online, please visit our JustGiving team page at http://www.justgiving.com/teams/IOW2015-BUDI

To give you an idea of what your generosity could mean for people with dementia:

  • £5 could pay for one person to attend a half hour session at a monthly Dementia Café, providing information and support for people with dementia and their carers.
  • £20 could pay for 100 copies of Understanding and respecting the person with dementia – one of the Society’s most requested factsheets
  • £50 could fund a PhD researcher for one day to continue vital research into understanding the causes of dementia, how it can be treated and, ultimately, to find a cure.
  • £100 could pay for 4 weekly visits by an experienced Dementia Support Worker to someone affected by dementia offering them one-on-one support to help them feel less alone and to identify the services that could help them.
  • £120 could pay to run Talking Point for one day – the Society’s 24/7 online community for all people affected by dementia.

We have already received some very generous donations following our last blog post, and we would like to thank you for your support so far. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

ESRC-DFID Education and development: Raising learning outcomes in education systems programme – 2015 pre-call announcement

Funding opportunities

 

ESRC and DFID  will be inviting applications to a second call under the Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems programme in March 2015. The aim is to provide policymakers and practitioners with concrete ideas on how to improve learning, and understanding of how these will translate to their specific contexts and institutions.

The 2015 call will focus on the theme of ‘challenging contexts’ – where education systems face particular challenges, what enables or inhibits the raising of learning outcomes. An overview of the thematic focus and scope of call two, and eligibility and application requirements, are set out in the documents below. This pre-call announcement is being made to enable interested researchers to begin discussions with potential research partners and research users in advance of the formal call for proposals.

The deadline for proposals will be in May 2015 and further information can be found here.