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Project funding available to support vulnerable, marginalised and deprived communities in order to address health inequalities which exist in Dorset

Funding opportunities

Introduction

The Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Local Authorities, supported by the Public Health team, are very keen to build on the success of the 2012 Olympics in Dorset and have developed a legacy fund to provide a significant resource for investment in innovative and evidence based local projects in Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole.

Aim

The aim of the legacy fund is to create a legacy and inspire communities by investing in projects that focus on the particularly vulnerable, marginalised and deprived communities in order to address health inequalities which exist in Dorset.

Criteria

Projects will:

  • Target vulnerable people or marginalised communities
  • Tackle identified health inequalities
  • Inspire people towards a healthier lifestyle
  • Have a lasting legacy

The next round of funding is now open and closes on 30 January 2015.

For more information click here.

(BUDI were successful in round 1 with 2 projects awarded through this fund  – Bournemouth Symphony Orchestera and Dorset Fire & Rescue Service. Click here for funded awards to date project reference 36 & 43 – PDF at the bottom of the page.)

Are you working with companies in an agri-food, space or user experience arena? Then this pot of funding may be of interest to you!

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

Have you heard about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)?  Or wanted to work on one?

Introduction to KTP

KTP is a part-funded government scheme to encourage collaboration on innovative projects between academia and business.  KTP is managed by Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) and further information can be found here.

Themed Calls

Innovate UK has a number of funding priorities which they highlight through dedicated competitions throughout the year.  Currently there are 3 competitions where extra funding has been allocated for projects relating to agri-food, space and user experience.

Agri-food

The reason for this call is to improve the competitiveness, resilience and responsiveness of the agri-food supply chain – from primary production, including aquaculture, through to retail.

  • Call closes on 11th February 2015

Space

All projects must use expertise from outside the space sector.  “Upstream” projects need to be generally aligned with the National Space Technology Strategy and “downstream” projects need to link to a defined market/end product.

  • Call closes on 11th February 2015

User experience

The aim of this call is to encourage new, enhanced forms of interaction between computing systems and the people who use them.  Proposals may address technologies that contribute to these new forms such as sensing information about the user or those that improve specific type of experience, such as mobile and wearable devices.

  • Call closes on 15th April 2015

To find out more about KTP or further information on these calls, please contact Rachel Clarke, Knowledge Exchange Adviser (KTP) on 61347 or email clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk

Research Professional – all you need to know

Guidance

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. To really make the most of your Research Professional account, you should tailor it further by establishing additional alerts based on your specific area of expertise.  The Funding Development Team Officers can assist you with this, if required.

Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to ResearchProfessional. These can be downloaded here.

Quick Start Guide: Explains to users their first steps with the website, from creating an account to searching for content and setting up email alerts, all in the space of a single page.

User Guide: More detailed information covering all the key aspects of using ResearchProfessional.

Administrator Guide: A detailed description of the administrator functionality.

In addition to the above, there are a set of 2-3 minute videos online, designed to take a user through all the key features of ResearchProfessional.  To access the videos, please use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/researchprofessional 

Research Professional are running a series of online training broadcasts aimed at introducing users to the basics of creating and configuring their accounts on ResearchProfessional.  They are holding monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with ResearchProfessional.  The broadcast sessions will run for no more than 60 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions via text chat.  Each session will cover:

  • Self registration and logging in
  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Each session will run between 10.00am and 11.00am (UK) on the fourth Tuesday of each month.  You can register here for your preferred date:

27th January 2015

24th February 2015

24th March 2015

28th April 2015

29th May 2015

23rd June 2015

28th July 2015

25th August 2015

These are free and comprehensive training sessions and so this is a good opportunity to get to grips with how Research Professional can work for you.

HE Policy Update

Monday

Postgraduate Loans

The Chancellor is expected to outline plans for government funded loans to cover the cost of one-year postgraduate degrees as part of the Autumn Statement. University fees: George Osborne plans new postgraduate loans (Telegraph).

Which? Report

A new report on HE by the consumer group, Which? has called for tougher regulations to encourage higher standards and to punish failings. The report also questions the workload of students with one in four undergraduates saying they get away with doing little private study. Universities that fail should be punished, says Which? (BBC),  Students gaining good degrees with ‘little or no work’, says Which? (Telegraph).

Tuesday

Extremism on campus

New powers for the home secretary to order universities to ban extremist speakers from their campuses are to be included in a new counter-terrorism bill. This comes as the government prepares for the publication on Tuesday morning of the official inquiry into the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby last year. Theresa May announced that the legislation would also place a statutory duty on; schools, colleges, prisons and local councils to help prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Terror bill requires universities to ban extremist speakers (The Guardian), Universities could be forced to ban ‘extremists’ under new law (Times Higher Education).

Graduate Employability

A research study conducted by the IPPR on behalf of the jobs website totaljobs.com has found that Graduates and A-level students are three times more likely to be jobless a year after finishing their courses than apprentices. The report also finds that employers are increasingly struggling to fill entry-level jobs as graduates and school-leavers are often lacking key skills with one in seven firms having been unable to fill an entry-level vacancy in the past three years. One in seven jobless after graduation, says IPPR (The Times).

Wednesday

Degree Apprenticeships

The government is to unveil a range of courses allowing young people to complete a full honours degree while working, without having to pay fees. Two-thirds of the course costs of the “degree apprenticeships” will be covered by the government, up to a maximum cap which has yet to be decided. Employers will cover the rest, while also paying the apprentice a wage. The first degree apprenticeships will start in September 2015, and will be co-designed by a range of employers and universities. Degree apprenticeships to offer ‘no-fee HE’  (Times Higher Education).

Thursday

Postgraduate Loans

The government may seek to limit a new postgraduate loans system to students in; science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects as it prepares for an announcement in next week’s Autumn Statement. However, some in the sector believe that Mr Osborne is likely to express an ambition for a loans scheme rather than outline a specific system, and to state that details will be finalised only after further rounds of discussion and possibly not until after the general election in May. Postgraduate loans may be limited to students in STEM fields (Times Higher Education).

Friday 

Student Numbers

Having been constrained for so long by government quotas, the lifting of the cap on student numbers next year will offer British universities the opportunity to expand rapidly if they wish, and to compete more aggressively with other institutions for the brightest and the best – as well as for tuition fee income. This article examines arguments for and against expansion. Is bigger better for universities? (Times Higher Education).

Greg Clark- Universities Minister

An opinion piece by The Independent discusses Greg Clark’s lack of presence amid talks around tuition fees and student protests. The article compares his presence with that of his predecessor, David Willetts and suggests that Greg Clark needs to start a public dialogue about what education can realistically achieve. Amid tuition fees, strikes and protests, where is Universities Minister Greg Clark?  (The Independent).

BU at the THE Awards 2014

PG research

 

The Bournemouth University and Poole Hospital research team who developed a medical device to make epidurals safer and more effective, were celebrating being shortlisted for the THE Awards 2014 in London last night.

The project was nominated for Outstanding ICT initiative of the Year and – although pipped to the post by the Open University – being shortlisted for an award of this calibre is an incredible achievement and honour.

BU’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation Professor John Fletcher was at the ceremony. He said: “Congratulations to the NHS-BU team for being shortlisted. We were very worthy contestants.  I felt privileged and proud to share the evening with such a successful team.”

The nominated team at the awards ceremonyThe clinical project was initially proposed by the senior consultant anesthetist at Poole Hospital, Professor Mike Wee. The device was developed by Dr Neil Vaughan for his PhD, supervised by Professor Wee and Dr Venky Dubey. Dr Richard Isaacs – now at Southampton General Hospital – was also part of the research team. All four, pictured here, were at the awards ceremony, along with colleagues from across the university who have supported this innovative and important project.

Comedian Jack Dee hosted proceedings, sharing his unique and entertaining take on the Higher Education sector!

A full list of categories and winners can be viewed on the THE website. The event organisers also took over £9000 in donations for the Institute of International Education’s ‘Scholar Rescue Fund’; a charity that has led global efforts to rescue threatened scholars and students.

Congratulations to all nominees and winners and thank you to THE for such organising such a fabulous evening!

Image: (Top left clockwise) Dr Venky Dubey, Dr Neil Vaughan, Dr Richard Isaacs, Professor Mike Wee.

BU exhibits at Growth Plan Launch Events

Business Engagement

The events were organised  by Christchurch and East Dorset County Councils to enable the Dorset business community  to hear comments from public and private strategists and investors in Dorset’s economy. Run throughout the month of November a number of staff across the university attended and took part in discussions and round table events in addition to exhibiting alongside partners such as The Dorset Growth Hub and The Dorset LEP.

Guest speakers included : Anna Rosier, Managing Director of Organix  – very much a local business success story starting in Christchurch 16 years ago (now based in Bournemouth).  Gordon Page, Chair of Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership provided an update on the Dorset LEP growth deal and its progression so far.  Apart from highlighting the million pounds worth of investment that the LEP has so far secured from central government for the improvement of the Dorset economy, Mr Page also highlighted the need for strong and united partnerships across Dorset in order to secure more funding. He also emphasised the importance of partnership between both public and private sectors in Dorset as an essential element to Dorset’s economic growth and success.

Councillor Claire Bath, Portfolio Holder for Economy for Christchurch and Councillor Simon Tong, lead member for the Economy Growth Plan, also presented at the events. Both Councillors stressed the need for feedback from the Dorset business and general community, so that the long term benefits of the growth investments can be both communicated and realised.

Thank you  to Jayne Codling (R&KEO), Claire Main (School of Tourism), Mark Painter (CfE and Business School) , David Parker, Lucy Rossiter (Cyber Security), Norman Stock (SciTech) and Liam Toms (Media School) who took the opportuntity to network with a number of local businesses and highlight how Bournemouth University can support the “Going for Growth” vision.

 

Wanted ! – Researchers for Silicon South

Position: 2 full-time freelance contracts available for 3 months each

Day rate: £100 plus travel expenses

Location: Dorset

Silicon South is working on behalf of the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership to develop a strategy for boosting the digital creative economy in Dorset. Silicon South has committed to undertake a series of research and feasibility studies which together will inform a full-scale investment strategy setting out how this growth can be achieved.

Silicon South is looking for two freelance full-time researchers to assist in the development of the strategy by undertaking research and analysis on a range of projects related to the creative and digital sector. Working to the Director of Silicon South, you will undertake a combination of primary and secondary data analysis and research on a variety of topics relevant to Silicon South’s strategy.

Informal enquires about the post are welcomed. Please contact Anthony Story on 07702 103872.

Please send a CV and covering letter detailing your experience to: paul.webster@siliconsouth.org.uk

Closing date: Noon, 8 December 2014.

Click here for more information including application details.

Changing attitudes: 3 Paralympians’ perspectives on disability

Changing attitudes: 3 Paralympians’ perspectives on disability

Speakers: Kate Grey: Swimmer and Sky Sports Living for Sport Mentor/BBC sports reporter. Ben Rushgrove: Sprinter. Lucy Shuker: Tennis player

12 December 2014 13:30-14:30

Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, there has been an increasing interest in the Paralympics, which resulted in the highest level of interest so far for London 2012, the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The impact of the Paralympics and, in particular, London, suggests the games have had a positive impact and have helped improve public attitude towards disability within Britain.

At this event, three Paralympians, from the disciplines of athletics, swimming and tennis, will share their reflections on disability and reflect on the following questions:

  • Has there been a change of attitude towards disability in their disciplines?
  • Has there been a change of attitude towards disability within society as a whole?
  • What will be the impact on Rio 2016 and beyond?

To book your place please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/changing-attitudes-3-paralympians-perspectives-on-disability-tickets-14105163925

Social Media and Dementia: Raising Awareness

The use of video within social media (such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter) is providing researchers with novel ways of disseminating the findings of research. This is inspiring researchers to think outside of traditional academic approaches, and enabling research to extend to new and wide-ranging audiences. This paper focuses on the Living Well with Dementia project, which was designed to utilise video to raise awareness and challenge gaps in perceptions and understanding of dementia. The project involved filming and disseminating a video featuring people with dementia and carers talking about what it means to live well with dementia. Obtaining the views of people with dementia and carers was considered crucial in terms of portraying the real-life experiences of living with dementia, and enabling these often marginalised voices to be heard. Participants were asked ‘what is your experience of living with dementia?’ and in their responses drew upon diagnosis, treatment, lifestyle, social activities and family relationships. The finished video was disseminated through YouTube. After viewing the video, members of the public were invited to complete a short survey to establish whether watching the video challenged their understanding of dementia. This paper showcases the Living Well with Dementia video, as well as exploring the ethical and practical challenges of capturing the experiences of people with dementia on video. Preliminary results from the survey are also presented, in order to explore the role of video within social media as a method to raise awareness and challenge gaps in perceptions and understanding of dementia.

Facilitated by: Dr Michelle Heward & Dr James Palfreman-Kay

Wednesday 10th December 2014 10:00-11:00
Student Hall, Talbot House, Talbot Campus

To book your place, please e-mail Organisational Development od@bournemouth.ac.uk

Become a ‘Dementia Friend’

People with dementia get by with a little help from their friends, and anybody can become a Dementia Friend. It’s just about understanding a bit more about dementia and the small things you can do to help people with the condition. People with dementia want to carry on going about their daily lives and feeling included in their local community, but they sometimes need a helping hand to do so. Dementia Friends learn a little bit about what it’s like to live with dementia and turns that understanding into action. This could be helping someone find the right bus or being patient in a till queue if someone with dementia is taking longer to pay. Every action counts. Being a Dementia Friend isn’t about volunteering or fundraising (though you can do that too if you want). Just come along to this session to become a friend and get a simple introduction to Dementia, and how you can help.

Facilitated by: Dr Ahmed Romouzy Ali & Dr Michelle Heward

Tuesday 9th December 2014 10:00-11:00
EB303, Executive Business Centre, Lansdowne Campus

To book your place please visit: https://staffintranet.bournemouth.ac.uk/workingatbu/staffdevelopmentandengagement/staffengagement/disabilityhistorymonth2014/dementiafriendssession/

Bournemouth to Buenos Aires – Pain, Perception and Partnership Institutions

Colleagues from HSC at BU and the AECC delivered their abstract at the 15th World Congress on Pain – hosted by the International Association for the Study of Pain. The pilot study investigated perceptions of movement in the lower back in those with chronic low back pain. The findings in this small sample revealed that those with back pain were more sensitive to movement than those without back pain. Aspects of this study are being continued as part of a match funded PhD project.

The project team consist of:  Dr. Carol Clark (BU),  Dr. Neil Osborne (AECC), Dr. Sharon Docherty (BU), Dr Dave Newell (AECC), Professors Ahmed Khattab (BU), Jeff Bagust (AECC & BU) and PhD student Sara Glithro.

You can access the conference abstract here: https://brian.bournemouth.ac.uk/viewobject.html?id=186189&cid=1

You can access the journal paper here: Clark, C.J., Doherty, S, Osborne, N, Khattab, A 2014.  A pilot study to compare passive lumbar spine re-positioning error in those with chronic low back pain.  International Musculoskeletal Medicine 36 (3) 105-110

Reminder For All Consumer Researchers – December Meeting of Consumer Research @ BU

Just over a month ago we held a very successful meeting bringing together consumer researchers from a wide range of disciplines across the University.  Our ‘Hands-On Information Sharing Session’ made it clear that there was tremendous potential for cross-disciplinary research and that as a united group we could not only act as a forum for research and ideas but also to provide a platform for interaction with industry.

This is a reminder that our next meeting is going to be held on:-

Wednesday, 3rd December in CG01, Christchurch House between 3-5pm.  [Please note the change in venue.]

Anyone who is doing consumer research of any description is welcome (e.g. consumer behaviour, retail, marketing, advertising, psychology, consumer neuroscience …) and there will be coffee and mince pies to help our consumer thinking along.

At this meeting we will be begin to identify groups or clusters of researchers, to discuss potential collaborations, and discuss plans for the future.

So if you think this might be of interest, please do come along next Wednesday.  If you are unable to make this meeting but are interested in being involved please email us to let us know and we will keep you informed about future events.

Jeff Bray (Tourism; jbray@bournemouth.ac.uk)
Juliet Memery (Business School; jmemery@bournemouth.ac.uk)
Janice Denegri-Knott (Media School; JDKnott@bournemouth.ac.uk)
Siné McDougall (SciTech; smcdougall@bournemouth.ac.uk)

 

Title: Nominate your research and impact with adults learners for Adult Learners Week Awards!

Sub title: Have you made your nomination for the 2015 Adult Learners’ Week (ALW) Awards yet?

With three weeks until the closing date of 5pm 17 December 2014, there’s still time to nominate inspirational adult learners, employers, projects, and, tutors.

ALW want to hear the very best stories about adults of every background, age and stage so get in touch with RKEO and we can support your nomination!

Every year, Adult Learners’ Week discovers some fantastic stories from truly inspirational award winners who have experienced life-changing benefits from learning.

Last year they received more than 190 nominations in the South West but very few from BU.

Participating in Adult Learners’ Week is a great way to:

  • celebrate the successes of remarkable learners;
  • enhance the profile of your organisation;
  • showcase learning programmes of which you are particularly proud;
  • highlight the positive effects of learning on people’s health, confidence and future prospects; and
  • become recognised as an excellent provider of learning opportunities.

Nomination Categories:

Individuals who have made a significant difference to their lives through learning, and who would inspire others to do the same.

Tutors who are passionate and dedicated to learning, and make invaluable contributions to the lives of adult learners from all walks of life.

Projects that have made a positive difference to learners’ development and helped people change their lives for the better.

Employers that invest in outstanding staff training, and use learning to develop the skills of their workforce to improve productivity, raise morale and enhance their business performance.

 

For further information please come to the ALW nomination workshop on Monday 1st December at 2pm in P401 or contact Naomi Kay nkay@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

http://www.alw.org.uk/awards/2015

 

National Contact Point

Guidance

 

National Contact Points (NCPs) provide impartial advice regarding EU Funding within their specialist area of Horizon 2020.  The advice is free and confidential and tailored to your needs.  This is an excellent service for drawing on the experience and knowledge of someone who deals exclusively with a particular scheme or work programme.  If you are interested in testing out project ideas, checking scheme eligibility, discussing the direction of travel of a particular funding stream or just asking some questions on the practicalities of applications they are a great source of help.

Ewa Bloch

This week we would like to introduce you to Ewa Bloch, who is the NCP for Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials.  Follow the link for further details on NCPs and Horizon 2020.  

Developing ViRETS – A Virtual Reality Eye-Tracking System

PG research

We would like to invite you to the next research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre that will be delivered by Chris Ramsey.

 

Title: Developing ViRETS – A Virtual Reality Eye-Tracking System

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 3rd December 2014

Room: P335, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract:

This research project aims to develop a Virtual Reality Eye-Tracking System (VIRETS), capable of displaying naturalistic viewing conditions with high ecological validity and large field of view (FOV) in order to investigate the effects on human gaze behaviour (including head movement) and how this could be advantageous when looking at methods for visual cognition experiments. Static, lab-based eye trackers (head-mounted or desk-mounted) are accurate and easy to calibrate. However, they have traditionally made use of single screen setups with a FOV which doesn’t provide realistic viewing conditions. Furthermore, the head of a participant often has to be restricted using a chin rest and/or bite bar, or, in the case of head-mounted eye-trackers, restricted to small movements, which prohibits naturalistic head movements.

While mobile eye-trackers bring eye-tracking research to real world scenarios, allowing for naturalistic head and eye movements and allowing for naturalistic viewing conditions, the method presents a number of limitations, such as lower frequencies and the possibility of dropped frames. Although video footage can be layered with gaze behaviour to show saccadic eye-movement in real scenes, data analysis has to be carried out offline and can be time consuming: Specifically, video footage must be inspected frame by frame, labelled and described in order to analyse what objects in the scene participants attend to. Furthermore using real-world scenarios make it difficult to control all the stimuli presented, making the interpretation of cause and effect relationships difficult.

ViRETS aims to address these concerns by combining realistic and immersive VR, head-mounted eye-tracking, motion tracking and the freedom of naturalistic head movement. By these means we’ll investigate how an increased FOV affects gaze behaviour, head movements and performance specifically in the context of visual search and navigation.       

We hope to see you there.