

Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
The following is a snap-shot of funding opportunities that have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:
ESRC
New & Emerging Forms of Data – Policy Demonstrator Projects
The ESRC is pleased to invite Expressions of Interest for New and Emerging Forms of Data – Policy Demonstrator Projects under Phase 3 of the Big Data Network.
Maximum Award: £25,,000 Deadline: 14 October 2016
Royal Society of Chemistry
Researcher Mobility Grants
Researcher Mobility Grants support PhD students and early career researchers to undertake short to mid-term scientific visits to overseas or UK organisations.
Maximum Award: £7,500 Deadline: 31 October 2016
NERC
Engaging the UK public with big issues of environmental science
NERC is inviting proposals under this programme for public engagement projects costing up to £20k that must be delivered between January and end of March 2017.
Maximum Award: £220,000 Deadline: 3 November 2016
BBSRC
Brazil partnering awards
Funds can only be used for travel, subsistence and other activities, such as workshops or exchanges. They are not to fund salary costs, consumables, items of equipment or other research costs, nor to link ongoing single collaborative projects
Maximum Award: £50,000 over 4 years Deadline: 17 November 2016
China partnering awards
As above, for China.
Maximum Award: £30,000 over 4 years Deadline: 17 November 2016
European partnering awards
As above, for Europe.
Maximum Award: £20,000 over 12 – 18 months Deadline: 17 November 2016
If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.
For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here.
If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.
Congratulations to Prof. Ann Brooks in FHSS on the publication of her latest book Genealogies of Emotions, Intimacies and Desire: Theories of Changes in Emotional Regimes from Medieval Society to Late Modernity. The book has a Foreword by David Konstan (NYU) and it is published by Routledge.
A series of Fusion Investment Funds since 2013 has enabled Amanda Korstjens and Ross Hill (Department of Life & Environmental Sciences) to develop a multi-stakeholder network in Sumatra and the UK, and establish a multi-cultural learning platform which provides BU staff and students with unique access to research, professional practice and education opportunities in tropical ecology and conservation. This began with an emphasis on primates, however further Fusion Investment Funding over 2015-16 has enabled us to expand this to include the critically endangered Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), focusing on human-wildlife conflicts and mitigation, and thus broadening the scope, sphere of influence and practical applications of the network and its learning platform.
Human-elephant conflict is a major issue in northern Sumatra resulting from habitat loss and fragmentation. A key factor that decides the potential for conservation and for mitigating Human-elephant conflict is the availability of suitable habitat, and therefore it is critical to determine how elephants are responding to the degradation and rapid loss of their habitat. In order to do this, we need to have a better understanding of their home ranging, habitat use patterns and foraging strategies to understand their response to habitat change. We also need to understand the perception and values of local communities, and to identify positive means of providing support to help balance human-elephant relationships. An opportunity related to this is the potential for ecotourism development in the region. Ecotourism is a sustainable, non-invasive form of nature-based tourism that focuses primarily on educative experiences for visitors and direct economic benefit for local people. This FIF funded Staff Mobility Network project involved funding for Ross Hill, Amanda Korstjens and Susanna Curtin to visit Sumatra to establish a new collaborative network for Human-elephant conflict mitigation work, and to publicise our work via workshops and international conferences.
We made a highly successful two-week visit to Indonesia during January 2016. We held meetings with the Head of International Affairs at both Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, and University Sumatra Utara in Medan, to cement institutional relations and start the process of establishing a Memorandum of Agreement between our universities. Such was the level of support and interest from Syiah Kuala University that we also met both the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs (Dr Sofyan) and Rector (Prof Rizal), and after our visit they posted a very positive report on social media (click here).
We also visited the regional offices of HAkA (Hutan, Alam dan Lingkungan Aceh) in Langsa, in order to establish a working relationship and research plan for elephant habitat modelling and mitigation of human-elephant conflict. We met with Rudi Putra (Chief Conservationist) and Tezar Pahlevie (Regional Manager) to identify a field site and protocol for elephant tracking by GPS collar, and were invited to attend the opening ceremony of the Conservation Response Unit field site at Serbajadi, Aceh Timor. This was attended by dignitaries including the District (Aceh Timor) and/or Provincial (Aceh) Heads of Forestry, Conservation, Police, Military, Public Prosecution, and the Mayor. This event received considerable local coverage in the media (and through social media), helping to establish BU at the centre of activities and generating considerable good will. We have established this field area as the focal study site for our developing human-elephant conflict project, and our post-doctoral researcher (Gaius Wilson) is there now beginning the process of data collection.
In addition to putting in place the network and working relationships for our elephant project, we also met with our collaborators at the Sumatran Orang-utan Conservation Programme (SOCP), including Ian Singleton (Director of Conservation) and Matthew Nowak (Director of Biodiversity Monitoring) to discuss research plans for our PhD and MRes students. We also made a successful field reconnaissance visit at our Sikundur field site, travelling up the Besilang River into primary rainforest to establish the potential of extending primate research into undisturbed forest. In Medan we visited the SOCP orang-utan quarantine and rehabilitation centre (The Sanctuary), meeting with Jess McKelson, the Quarantine Director and Project Manager of the Orang-utan Haven and Wildlife Conservation Education Centre, establishing possibilities for both research and professional practice student placements.
Finally, we also visited the tourist area of Bukit Lawang to experience the role that tourism currently plays in orang-utan conservation to identify possibilities for an eco-tourism approach. We visited key sites and interviewed Zefri Chandra, Operations Manager of the only eco-lodge in the area, to gain an understanding of the difficulties and wider context of fulfilling an eco-tourism ethos in an environment where surrounding lodges and even the visiting foreign tourists do not particularly uphold or value this approach.
A second successful visit to Sumatra took place during June 2016, with a mostly educational focus, but tying in with the research and conservation practice aims of the learning platform. A previous research blog describes this international field trip (click here). Also during this visit to Sumatra, as a separate activity to the under-graduate field course, I was able to receive training from Graham Usher (SOCP) in the flying and configuration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for remote surveying of field sites at a landscape scale. This was part of the two-way knowledge exchange at the heart of the learning platform that this and previous FIF SMN awards have helped to establish.
In order to publicise our conservation research work at Sikundur, Amanda Korstjens attended the joint meeting of the International Primatological Society and the American Society of Primatologists, in Chicago, during August 21-27, 2016. She presented a poster on the LEAP project which was well received. For a brief report on the IPS-ASP conference, click here).
Please contact us if you would like to know any more information about our work in northern Sumatra, relating to primates, elephants, human-wildlife conflict or eco-tourism. Further information can be found on our LEAP project website (http://go-leap.wix.com/home).
Congratulations to colleagues on the recently funded project “Human Henge: Historic landscapes and mental health at Stonehenge”. This research led by the Restoration Trust. The project has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage Trust and Wiltshire County Council and has multiple partners and contributors including Wiltshire County Council, Richmond Fellowship, English Heritage Trust and Bournemouth University. From BU, Prof Tim Darvill (Director Centre of Archaeology, Faculty of Science & Technology) and Dr Vanessa Heaslip (Faculty of Health & Social Sciences) are engaged in this project.
The Human Henge research project is a therapeutic sensory experience of Stonehenge for two facilitated groups, each of up to 16 local people with mental health problems, plus carers, support workers, volunteers and staff. Over ten weekly three-hour sessions, one at night, each group walks the landscape, reaching through time to other humans whose traces are illuminated by accompanying pre-historians, curators and artists. Individual experiences cohere in a shared spoken epic which is augmented from session to session. The groups arrive inside the Stone Circle near the winter solstice and spring equinox; collaborating with their chosen artist, they decide what they do there.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
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
We’ve been finding out how people working in higher education learn, think and feel about and put into practice widening participation.
Exploring the idea of widening participation as a process of organisational learning aligns with the core strategy of BU’s innovative Fair Access Research project — through working and learning together we can make a difference for students, where we work, how we work, yourselves and society.
At a time of uncertainty and inequality in society and great changes in the sector, finding ways for us all to learn together in kinder and more effective ways matters.
Over the summer we have been doing some fieldwork and collecting sector-wide survey data to establish how different people in different organisations learn about widening participation.
We want to know how you, here at BU, understand, learn about and practice widening participation. We’ve designed a survey to capture your voices and experiences.
In July we had the privilege of meeting with colleagues from across the university to explore some of these issues – we want to open that invitation to more of you through this survey.
For more information about the organisational learning project, email Dr Maggie Hutchings on mhutchings@bournemouth.ac.uk
For more information about BU’s innovative Fair Access Research, email the Principal Investigators, Dr Vanessa Heaslip (vheaslip@bournemouth.ac.uk) and Dr Clive Hunt (chunt@bournemouth.ac.uk)
To complete and share the survey follow this link.
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:
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.
Mr. Jib Acharya presented at The Nutrition Society Student Conference in Chester last week. He presented from his PhD work Healthy eating among mothers in Nepal: A qualitative exploration, which is supervised by Dr. Jane Murphy, Dr. Martin Hind and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. His thesis found that mothers in Nepal misunderstand the role of healthy eating to combat nutritional problems in their children. Often their beliefs and attitudes can result in the improper feeding of young children which can lead to several complications, particularly in pre-school-aged children. There is a growing quantitative research on nutrition in Nepal but very little qualitative research. Therefore, as part of his mixed-methods study Jib explored food knowledge, beliefs and attitudes, and behaviour of mothers related to feeding preschool aged children and their perceptions of key barriers to healthier eating.
Using seven focus groups with four pharmacists, seven policy-makers, eleven health workers, five spiritual healers, seven Auxiliary Nurse midwives, seven mothers participating in a mothers’ group, and nine social workers. A thematic approach was performed for data analysis. Relevant quotes are presented. His qualitative thematic analysis revealed the following themes: poverty, education level, strong cultural beliefs, family size, household income, time and a growing preference for fast food. This particular presentation at the University of Chester highlighted the themes related to culture and societal behaviour.
Well done!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
We are incredibly fortunate to have Professor Linda McKie visiting with the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences next week. As part of her time with us she will present a lunchtime seminar on Wednesday 14th September. Please feel free to bring your lunch and hear from a fantastic speaker. Details for her seminar are outlined below.
Revitalising Spatial and Temporal Frameworks in the Analysis of Unpaid Care and Paid Work Professor Linda McKie Applied Social Sciences from Durham University
Taking place: at 1-2pm in Bournemouth House, Rm B407
From Professor Linda McKie,
As the summer of 2016 draws to a close published data has documented the persistence of the gender pay gap for all women with evidence of a deepening gap following maternity leave (Costa Dias et al., 2016). These data generated numerous analyses on segregation and discrimination in education and working life and the many ways in which unpaid care for children, family members and elders remains a dominant factor in everyday gendered inequalities. Little comment was made on women’s crucial role in reproducing generations many of whom will fund future pensions and services through their taxation. These intergenerational reciprocities are generally ignored in favour of the immediate time considerations for employers, workers and families with the need to generate profit, or income and resources for household or business survival.
In this seminar I revisit the analytical frameworks of caringscapes and carescapes. In earlier work, it was asserted that both offer analytical potential to enhance analyses of the temporal and spatial dynamics of caring and working over the lifecourse in different places. Caring, critical to human flourishing and evident in many aspects of women’s lives, is captured in caringscapes. The framework of carescapes explores the relationship between policies and services as determined by employers, the state and capital. Both frameworks are informed by feminist theorising and spatial and temporal perspectives on identifying and analysing how women perceive, engage with, and reflect on, the demands and pleasures of combining informal caring and paid work.
Following the financial crisis of 2008 we are in a long term period of austerity. In this context do these analytical frameworks stand up to further evaluation? As inequalities between regions, social classes, communities and workers deepen, can care ever be centre stage? Given the aims of the centre are to develop social and cultural research my goal is to offer frameworks and issues which colleagues are engaged with in varied ways and likely to develop.
Biography
Linda McKie is Professor of Sociology and Head of the School of Applied Social Sciences at Durham University. She graduated from Durham with a Ph.D. in sociology in 1989 and returned in 2012. In the intervening years she has held academic posts at the universities of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian, researching and teaching in the sociologies of health and illness, gender and work, and research methods and management. In 2004 she was elected to the Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) and in 2010 appointed a member of the Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF), Sub-panel 23: Sociology. From 2001 she has been an Associate Director at the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships and between 2004-2010 Senior Visiting Fellow, Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki. She has undertaken grant assessment panel work for the Academy of Finland, Greek Government, Irish Research Council and Norwegian Research Council. Peer review work has also been undertaken for various EU panels; COST, Horizon 2020 and Marie Curie. Editorial board membership has included the journals Sociology, Sociology of Health and Illness, and Work, Employment and Society.
The Faculties have requested, through the Deputy Deans of Research & Professional Practice (DDRPPs), that RKEO provide support targeted to achieve their research strategies. To aid in this, it has been agreed that, as part of the internal approvals process for bids involving external funding, the following shall become mandatory:
To implement the DDRPPs’ decision, RKEO has taken the opportunity to produce a more easy-to-use, streamlined ITB form to be used across all Faculties, with an Annexure for Quality Approval (A-QA) that is customised for each Faculty.
The ITB form and A-QAs will shortly be uploaded onto the Staff Intranet for download and use.
The RKE Bid Timeline and RKE Sample Costs documents on the same Staff Intranet page will also shortly be updated for reference.
RKEO’s Funding Development Team is available to provide pre-award support and their contact details can be found on the Research Blog. Should you have any difficulty in accessing the documents on the Staff Intranet, please request them from us and we will send you a copy.
Due to various staff movements and other exigencies of the workplace, the original team of Funding Development Officers which previously comprised 4.2 FTE to support the 4 Faculties is currently comprised of 2.4 FTE. For optimal support of your application and to aid in workload management, it is of particular importance that a completed ITB form and A-QA be lodged with RKEO at the earliest opportunity, ideally 3 weeks before the submission deadline.
“Coping with the new EU Landscape” This workshop is taking place on Thursday the 29th of September in the Octagon on Talbot Campus at 10am – 11am.
This introductory session will present, the now fairly stable, situation between the UK and the European Commission in respect of H2020; outlining the political and legal positions.
The key message is business as normal but there are many practical aspects that need to be taken into consideration. These will be explained together with strategies and tactics to optimise the bid approach; and even be advantageous in the short/medium term.
Martin Pickard, as WRG Europe Ltd, has had, along with many others, direct input at very senior level into the respective task forces and UK/Commission discussions and negotiations; enabling central insights into the requirements and opportunities to be successful. Please email Dianne Goodman at dgoodman@bournemouth.ac.uk to book in to this workshop.
Congratulations to FHSS Prof. Ann Brooks on her latest academic article in the July issue of Cultural Politics. The article ‘The Cultural Production of Consumption as Achievement’ is co-authored with Lionel Wee.
Cultural PoliticsCultural Politics (2016) 12 (2): 217-232
The Cultural Production of Consumption as Achievementdoi 10:10.1215/17432197-3592112
The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, via the Global Challenges Research Fund, invites applications for its call on Tackling global development challenges through engineering and digital technology research. The aim of this activity is to support an internationally leading programme of research, centred around engineering and digital technologies, to tackle the challenges faced by the developing world. Exemplar areas are given under each heading below, but these should not be seen as exclusive. Proposals may also span both headings: 1) Tackling global development challenges through engineering research- Sustainable infrastructure development, Engineering for disaster resilience, Engineering for humanitarian aid; 2) Tackling global development challenges through digital technology research- Access to digital services, Use of data for vital services, Secure and trusted digital infrastructures. The proposed research must be predominantly in EPSRC remit, although interdisciplinary and/or multidisciplinary proposals are welcomed.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 15/11/16.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council invites applications for its First Grant scheme. The scheme helps new academics apply for research funding at the start of their careers. Applicants must have been appointed to their first academic lecturing appointment, which involves lecturing and administration alongside research, in a UK university within the previous 36 months, or still be in the probation period of their new appointment. They must also have completed their PhD or an equivalent professional qualification within the last 10 years.
Maximum award: £100,000. Closing date: No deadline.
Innovate UK
Innovate UK invites applications for its connected and autonomous vehicles competition 2. Projects must be business led and should provide technical solutions for connected and autonomous vehicle features that provide real-world benefits to users. This includes how these vehicles will work as part of a wider transport system. The commercial benefit should clear in proposals. This competition is in 4 streams: Stream 1 will fund a large-scale challenge to develop and demonstrate a vehicle operating at SAE level 4 automation. It is expected that the fund will support a single project or 2 projects maximum of between £15 million and £30 million each. Projects should last between 18 and 30 months. Streams 2, 3 and 4 will fund feasibility studies and industrial research and development projects on connected and autonomous vehicles. Projects are expected to range in size from total costs of £250,000 to £5 million. Projects should last between 12 and 30 months.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 02/11/16.
Medical Research Council
The Medical Research Council invites applications for its Confidence in Concept scheme. This scheme aims to accelerate the transition from discovery science to the early stages of therapeutic/biomarker development by providing locally-administered, responsive and flexible funding to support preliminary translational work. The award can be used flexibly by the institution to support a number of preliminary-stage translational projects. The projects supported should aim to provide sufficient preliminary data to establish the viability of an approach –– before seeking more substantive funding
Maximum award: £1.2 million. Closing date: 15/11/16.
The Medical Research Council invites applications for its Proximity to Discovery – Industry Engagement Fund. The scheme is designed to provide flexible funding for innovative ways to enable the initial development of academic-industry collaborations. Short term people exchanges between industry and academia are seen as a key way of exchanging skills and knowledge and developing a longer term working relationship. Proximity to Discovery: Industry Engagement Fund can be used for people and knowledge exchange at the very earliest stage of a collaboration and may not necessarily be aligned to a specific project objective. Examples of potential uses include: People exchange that allow for an exchange of skills or knowledge which will enable new collaborative projects to develop; People exchanges between Technology Transfer Offices in Universities and Business Development teams in industry, where the placement will enhance the understanding of each other’s business model and allow them to better support their organisation to develop medical research collaborations with industrial partners; Other creative ways to encourage new collaborations or two-way people exchange to increase the permeability between industry and academia; Projects that would enhance academic understanding of industry or vice versa; Showcases/workshops which enabling Universities to develop relationships with potential industry partners.
Maximum award: £250,000. Closing date: 15/11/16.
Royal Academy of Engineering
The Royal Academy of Engineering, in partnership with the Leverhulme Trust, invites applications for its Senior Research Fellowships. The fellowships allow academics to concentrate on full-time research and be relieved of teaching and administrative responsibilities. The purpose of the Fellowships is to cover the salary costs of a replacement academic who will take over the awardee’s teaching and administration duties for up to one year. A support fund of up to £2,500 is also available to the awardee to cover miscellaneous research costs, such as conference attendance and public engagement activities.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 19/10/16.
Royal Society
The Royal Society invites proposals for its scientific meetings, which offer the opportunity to present an international, two day conference. The call is open to UK based researchers in any field and the discussion throughout the meeting should allow everyone, at any stage of their career, to be involved in the conversation. The award will cover administrative support, a contribution towards speaker, organiser and chair travel expenses and accommodation, logistical support, materials for the meeting, venue, facilities and catering.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 30/9/16.
The Royal Society invites proposals for its Science+ and Fast Track Discussion meetings. These meetings Bring together scientists from around the world to present and discuss new research in all areas of science. Each meeting is organised by leaders in the field, using their expertise to ensure the key topics are covered. The focus on discussion throughout the meeting allows everyone, at any stage of their scientific career, to get involved in the conversation. The programme offers a unique opportunity to present an international, two-day conference, with the chance for publication in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society following the event.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 30/09/16.
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh, in collaboration with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, invites applications for the BBSRC Enterprise Fellowships. The aim of this scheme is to increase exploitation of ideas with commercial potential from BBSRC supported research. The Enterprise Fellowships are designed to enable an individual to advance the commercialisation of existing research results or technological developments and are tenable for a period of one year within a UK HE or similar academic institution. The Fellowships enable the holder to concentrate on developing the commercial potential of their research, whilst also receiving formal training in relevant business skills.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 19/11/16.
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust and the National Institutes of Health invite applications for their Four-year PhD Studentships. This scheme offers postgraduate students collaborative PhD training at academic laboratories in the UK or Republic of Ireland and at the National Institutes of Health in the USA. Students usually spend half their time at an academic organisation in the UK/Republic of Ireland and the other half of their time at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus at Bethesda (Maryland, USA). Applicants should have a first class degree or 2:1 (or the European Economic Area equivalent), or be in their final year and predicted to get a first class degree or 2:1. Applicants must also be UK or EEA nationals.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 07/11/16.
If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact RKEO with adequate notice before the deadline. Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer.
You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here. If you are thinking of applying, why not add an expression of interest on Research Professional so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.
BU’s Fair Access Research project concentrates on the idea of learning and working together to transform higher education. We are interested in how widening participation works differently in different institutions.
With this in mind, Maggie Hutchings and Alex Wardrop have been doing some fieldwork with colleagues in the north of England.
Widening participation is emerging as emotional work. It is an emotional labour which sees personal stories intersect with and sometimes rub up against complex economic and political landscapes.
You can join us in this collective reflection and learning exercise by contributing to our survey. For more information about the organisational learning project, email Maggie on mhutchings@bournemouth.ac.uk
For more information about BU’s innovative Fair Access Research, email the Principal Investigators, Dr Vanessa Heaslip (vheaslip@bournemouth.ac.uk) and Dr Clive Hunt (chunt@bournemouth.ac.uk)
Congratulations to FHSS’s Dr. Pramod Regmi on the publication of his latest paper in the SAARC Journal of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases and HIV/AIDS under the title ‘Knowing is not enough: Migrant workers’ spouses vulnerability to HIV’ [1]. The paper was specifically highlighted in the editorial of the journal’s latest edition.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Reference
We have written in many previous BU blogs about progress of our THET-funded project in southern Nepal (e.g. here AND here ). Today’s blog reflects on the use on BU’s unique FUSION approach in our project ‘Mental Health Training for Maternity Care Providers in Nepal‘.
Our BU-led project brings highly experienced health professionals, such as midwives, health visitors or mental health nurses, to Nepal to work as volunteer trainers. The training is aimed at community-based maternity care practitioners and addresses key mental health issues relevant to pregnancy and for new mothers and offers the required communication skills. These health professionals will bring their experience as health care providers as well as trainers in the field of mental health and maternity care/midwifery, mental ill-health prevention and health promotion. They volunteer for two to three weeks at a time to design and deliver training in southern Nepal.
The Centre for Midwifery & Maternal Health (CMMPH) collaborates in this project with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), the Department of Health, and Physical & Population Education at Nepal’s oldest university Tribhuvan University’s (TU). The project is supported in the field by a local charity called Green Tara Nepal. Our project is part of the Health Partnership such as Nepal. HPS itself is funded by the UK Department for International Development and managed by THET (Tropical and Health Education Trust).
Our maternal mental health project is a good example of BU’s FUSION approach as it combines EDUCATION (through the training of Auxiliary Nurse-Midwives in Nepal) by UK volunteers (representing PRACTICE) through an intervention which is properly evaluated (representing RESEARCH) is a perfect example of BU’s FUSION in action. Moreover, the project will be partly evaluated by FHSS’s Preeti Mahato as part of her PhD thesis research. This PhD project is supervised by Dr. Catherine Angell (CEL & CMMPH), BU Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada (based at LJMU) and CMMPH’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.BU’s focus on the FUSION of research, education and professional practice is a unique variant of the way UK universities (and many abroad) blend academic teaching, research and scholarship. FUSION is a key concept derived from BU’s strategic Vision & Values).
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
BBSRC and the MRC, under the Global Challenges Research Fund, invite expressions of interest for their call for Networks in Vector Borne Disease (VBD) Research. This call forms part of BBSRC’s and MRC’s activities under the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) (see related links) and therefore requires Networks to address VBD challenges primarily relevant to the health or prosperity of Low and Middle Income Countries on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) DAC List. The funders aim to support multidisciplinary Networks which foster collaboration, facilitate wider cross-disciplinary integrative participation (including environmental and social science research) and build capability which together will contribute to and underpin the development of novel strategies to control VBD of plants, animals and humans. Five key research priorities have been identified: Development of new control strategies for VBD in particular non-chemical vector control methods such as genetic control; Increased understanding of fundamental vector biology and vector ecology; Understanding what is driving the emergence and expansion of VBDs; Increased understanding of vector pathogen interactions; Improved diagnostics, surveillance and forecasting.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: Expressions of interest 4pm, 03/11/16.
British Academy
British Academy, in collaboration with the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the National Council for the State Funding Agencies (CONFAP) and the State Funding Agencies (FAPs) in Brazil, and the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society in UK, under the Newton fund programme, invites applications for its Fellowship and Young Investigator awards. In the State of São Paulo, the call is open for UK visiting researchers to visit research groups in São Paulo. FAPESP will also offer an opportunity for young investigators from the UK to start a research career in a university or research institution in the State of São Paulo through its Young Investigator Awards. The UK Academies will also offer Newton International Fellowships and Newton Advanced Fellowships to the Brazilian research community, covering the fields of natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and medical (including clinical and patient-orientated research) sciences. Mobility grants will also be offered to the Brazilian research community, covering the fields of natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and engineering.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 12pm (Brazil time), 24/10/16.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
EPSRC, on behalf of the RCUK Energy Programme (RCUKEP), invites applications for the DoE NEUP programme. In particular the RCUKEP will support the UK component of proposals including US/UK collaboration in the following specific areas: Radioisotope Retention in Graphite and Graphitic Materials; Materials Ageing and Degradation; Reactor Safety Technologies; Materials Recovery; Advanced Waste forms; Advanced Fuels ; Used Nuclear fuel disposition: Disposal; Nuclear Energy Advanced modelling and simulation.UK applicants wishing to engage in this programme should liaise directly with their US partners. Appicants must submit an expression of interest (pre-applications), which shoulbe be submitted by the US partners to the DoE.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: Pre-aplications 14/09/16.
Medical Research Council
MRC and the ESRC invite applications for their Skills Development Fellowships, which enable early-career researchers to develop new skills in a priority area as well as researchers at all career stages willing to transform their career. The scheme currently invites proposals that focus on any of the following priority areas within a UK and/or global health context: Quantitative Skills – covering mathematics, statistics, computation and informatics applicable to any biomedical or health related data sources, from molecular to population level. These skills can be applied across the full range of the MRC’s remit, for example, cell biology, physiology, epidemiology, population and public health, and health psychology; Skills at the social science interface – with a focus on areas of health economics and/or mixed methods research.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 14/06/17.
Natural Environment Research Council
NERC invites application for its Follow-on Fund Pathfinder awards, which enable researchers to develop projects that will realise the commercial potential of NERC-funded research via a combination of complementary technical and commercial engagement work programmes. Pathfinder awards are designed to fill knowledge gaps via activities such as market assessment and competitor analysis, intellectual property searches, engaging with potential commercial collaborators and end-users, and ‘milestone 1’ technical work where the technical feasibility of the whole project depends on it. The fund is open to researchers with current or past NERC funding. Proposals for Follow-on support must build on the outputs of recent or previous NERC-funded research activity.
Maximum award: £20,000 (80% fEC). Closing date: 4pm, 27/09/16.
The Royal Society
Royal Society, in collaboration with the EPSRC and Rolls-Royce, invites applications for its Industry Fellowships. The Fellowships are for academic scientists who want to work on a collaborative project with industry and for scientists in industry who want to work on a collaborative project with an academic organisation. The scheme aims to enhance knowledge transfer in science and technology between those in industry and those in academia in the UK.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 29/09/16.
Royal Society and the National Natural Science Foundation of China invite applications for the cost-share programme of their International Exchanges scheme. This scheme is for scientists in the UK who want to stimulate new collaborations with leading scientists overseas through either a one-off visit or bilateral travel. The scheme covers all areas of the life and physical sciences, including engineering, but excluding clinical medicine.
Maximum award: £12,000. Closing date: 10/10/16.
Royal Society and the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) invite applications for the cost-share programme of their International Exchanges scheme. This scheme is for scientists in the UK who want to stimulate new collaborations with leading scientists overseas through either a one-off visit or bilateral travel. The scheme covers all areas of the life and physical sciences, including engineering, but excluding clinical medicine.
Maximum award: £12,000. Closing date: 10/10/16.
If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact RKEO with adequate notice before the deadline. Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer.
You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here. If you are thinking of applying, why not add an expression of interest on Research Professional so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.