Tagged / early career resarchers

Launch your Research into a Deeptech Startup: Conception X Applications are open

Are you a PhD student, postdoc, or early-career researcher with ground-breaking research you believe could change the world? Now is your chance to turn that vision into a reality. Applications for Conception X are open, offering you a unique opportunity to join Europe’s largest community for entrepreneurial researchers.

The deadline to apply is Tuesday 16 December 2025.

What is Conception X?

Conception X is a UK-based not-for-profit that runs the largest cross-university deeptech venture programme for researchers across Europe. Its core mission is to turn more scientists and engineers into founders, accelerating breakthroughs and building new career pathways for researchers.

Since launching in 2018, Conception X has recruited eight cohorts from 80+ universities across 11 countries, and accelerated success in the deeptech ecosystem:

Research to Real-World Impact

Conception X is designed to fit around your research timeline, helping you translate cutting-edge work into real-world impact. They recognise that not all research is at the same stage, so they offer a two-track approach. This flexible model ensures you can move at a pace that works best for you and your project.

  • Move Fast: For researchers ready to quickly move toward their first investment raise.
  • Explore: For those who want to explore research commercialisation at a more measured pace.

BU Success Story: Green Hydrogen Pioneer

Earlier this year, Conception X welcomed Cohort 8, which included BU PhD researcher Shadeepa Karunarathne and his startup, OcenGen.

OcenGen is pioneering green hydrogen production by developing next-generation, low-cost electrocatalysts that can generate hydrogen directly from seawater without costly desalination. This ground-breaking BU research aligns closely with the UK’s Net Zero goals, demonstrating how fundamental science can be quickly translated into practical solutions for global energy challenges.

Find out more

What Conception X Offers

From the moment you join, Conception X provides critical support and unparalleled access:

  • Connections: You will be connected directly with industry decision-makers and investors.
  • Funding Opportunities: They help you become eligible for innovation grants, awards, and equity investment.
  • Support: Gain access to tailored coaching and networking opportunities to build your startup foundation.

For the top-performing founders, there is the chance to pitch directly to the Conception X Angel Syndicate and XTX Ventures, with the potential to receive up to £250k in investment.

A Proven Track Record

Since its launch in 2018, Conception X has championed success in the deeptech ecosystem:

  • 600+ researchers have been supported in launching deeptech startups based on their research.
  • 190+ companies have been created.
  • These companies have collectively raised £147+ million in early-stage investments and grants.

Your Next Step: Join a Discovery Session

Want to hear directly from people who have gone through the process?

Register for a Discovery Session. It is the perfect opportunity to:

  • Hear inspiring stories from Conception X alumni.
  • Learn more about the available pathways.
  • Get all your questions answered.

Please visit the Conception X website to learn more about the programme, register for a session, and apply when you are ready.

Call for Participants: British Academy SHAPE Research Careers workshop for Early Career Researchers

The British Academy is running a project on the SHAPE of research careers, specifically looking at the identity, activity, and mobility of SHAPE postdoctoral researchers, from early career to mid- and late career. We would like to invite anyone who identifies as an early-career social sciences, humanities, or arts researcher to participate in the final workshop, which will be taking place on 1 February 10am to 1pm on Zoom. As a participant in our online workshops, you would also be invited to attend the March conference, with an opportunity to help develop policy options to better support researchers and research, and to network with SHAPE researchers from across UK higher education and other sectors.

If you would be interested in sharing your experiences as an early-career SHAPE researcher in our online workshop or would like more information, please do get in touch with Eleanor Hopkins (e.hopkins@thebritishacademy.ac.uk) and Sharaiz Asin (s.asin@thebritishacademy.ac.uk).

BU researchers: We need your help!

Please help to develop BU policies and initiatives relating to research at BU by completing the  BU Vitae CEDARS survey 2023 (Culture, Employment and Development in Academic Research survey)*.

This is an important survey as it benchmarks BU against the rest of the sector. It will, therefore, help us to identify where we are excelling and where there is room for improvement.

Participating in this study will also influencepolicy. Your input will help us to understand where to focus our efforts and resources – it will give us the data to make the argument for you. (The results of the previous PIRLS and CROS surveys that CEDARS has replaced were used to develop new policies and initiatives, as well as training and development opportunities).

Please complete the CEDARS survey if you are research-active (whether on a full-time, part-time or part-time hourly paid contract). This includes researchers at all stages in your career, those who manage researchers, or are Principal Investigators, or contribute to research by providing professional services for researchers, (i.e. researcher developers, research officers or technical staff).

The survey is running from 20th March to 21st April. Your responses will be anonymous; you will not be identified or identifiable in any published results. It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete the survey. BU Vitae CEDARS survey 2023

If you have any questions regarding the survey, please email Rachel Arnold: rarnold@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Thank you, the Research Development and Support Team

*CEDARS is a national survey that explores the views and experiences of researchers and those supporting researchers across the UK. It is based on the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, which aims to create the best culture for researchers to thrive. This survey replaces the previous CROS and PIRLS surveys.

Please find more information here on the ‘Concordat to Support the Careers of Researchers’ and what BU is doing to support researchers.

Publication success BU postgraduate researchers

PG research, student research, writing

Congratulations to Bournemouth University researchers Adam Spacey, Orlanda Harvey and Chloe Casey on the acceptance of their research paper ‘Postgraduate researchers’ experiences of accessing participants via gatekeepers: ‘Wading through treacle!’’ [1]  The study is partly based on their experiences as postgraduate researchers interacting with gatekeepers which they used to design an online questionnaire for postgraduate researchers. The results of the survey highlighted that postgraduate researchers face a range of challenges when using gatekeepers to access participants for studies, and that there is a negative emotional impact arising when challenges are faced. Thematic analysis revealed six themes  (1) Access to participants; (2) Relationships; (3) Perceptions of research; (4) Context for gatekeepers; (5) Emotional impact; and (6) Mechanisms to address challenges.  This paper is forthcoming in the Journal of Further and Higher Education (published by Taylor & Francis).

 

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

 

Reference:

  1. Spacey, A., Harvey, O., Casey, C. (2020) Postgraduate researchers’ experiences of accessing participants via gatekeepers: ‘Wading through treacle!’, Journal of Further and Higher Education (accepted)

Leverhulme Research Leadership Awards – internal expression of interest

Funding opportunities

Bournemouth University invites expressions of interest from early and mid-career researchers at Bournemouth University, looking to build a research team to tackle a distinctive research problem.

The purpose of this scheme is to support talented scholars who have successfully launched a university career and are now looking to build a research team of sufficient scale to tackle a distinctive research problem. This  opportunity will allow for the development and demonstration of research leadership of a modest team, whose research has potential to significantly change the established landscape in a particular field of inquiry.

Institutions are permitted to submit only one application. Applicants should have held a university post for at least two years, but not have developed their research such that the trajectory of their contribution has not been firmly established.

More information about the scheme is available from the Leverhulme Trust. Candidates are advised to check the eligibility criteria very carefully.

Candidates who are interested in making an application to the Leverhulme Research Leadership Award are asked to first submit the following  application Leverhulme Research Leadership Awards- EOI 2018-2019 to kerrij@bournemouth.ac.uk no later than 22nd February 2019.

Procedure For applicants

Should you be interested in applying, please note that your expression of interest application will be assessed by the relevant Faculty in the first instance.

If more than one expression of interest is received, a panel will be convened for internal review and one application will be selected. Candidates can expect feedback by 11th March 2019.

The institutional candidate will have the opportunity to work with a research facilitator on their application.

The internal deadline for submitting applications via the Leverhulme Trust’s Grants Management System system will be 5 working days before the external Leverhulme deadline (10th May 2019) – this is to allow time for institutional approval of your application, a requirement by the Leverhulme Trust.

If you have further questions or queries please contact Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk) to discuss your suitability for this opportunity.

Standing up for Science media workshops- applications now open!

PG research, student research

Early career researchers- this is your chance to find out how your voice can be heard in the media!

Sense about Science will be running Standing up for Science media workshops for early career researchers to learn from scientists who have or are actively engaged with the media. You can also hear from respected science journalists who will teach you how the media works, how to respond and comment. As well as hearing what journalists want and expect of scientists. The first workshop of 2017 will be on Friday 7 April, at the University of Manchester. 

The workshop is open to early career researchers and scientists (PhD students, post-doctoral fellows or equivalent) in all sciences, engineering and medicine and is free to attend. The event will discuss science-related controversies in media reporting with practical guidance tips for working with the media.

Apply by 9am on Tuesday 21 March or click here for more information.

A year in the Life of an Early Career Researcher

Grants Academy

I joined BU as a lecturer in the Faculty of Media and Communication on 1 September 2014, three months after being awarded my PhD in Media and Cultural Studies from the University of Salford.

So, as the anniversary of my appointment approaches, I consider it timely to reflect on my first year as a full-time academic. I hope that my experience will be of interest to others starting new academic roles this year, at a similar stage in their careers.

To put my experience in context, while technically an early career researcher, I’m no spring chicken! I was a very mature PhD student (even though no-one ever guesses my real age) and joined BU with baggage in tow!

The eclectic baggage I brought with me was six years’ experience as a lecturer in higher education on a part-time basis combined with a variety of other roles including journalist, research assistant, blogger, PhD student, social entrepreneur and Chief Executive of Black British Academics.

I arrived at BU with drive, motivation and ambition intact, after four years of intense doctoral study, with my carefully prepared 5-year research plan, diligently completed after receiving my PhD award, which accompanied me to my interview at BU in June 2014.

By my own observations, the first five years post PhD is make-or-break time. With aspirations to become a professor one day, performing the yearly regime of international conferences, journal articles, books, book chapters and funding bids are necessary tasks.

My primary area of research in media and communication is centred on racial constructions and representations in media and popular culture and how race shapes and influences engagement with and use of digital technologies.  My PhD thesis is a study on the social, cultural and counterhegemonic practices of Black British bloggers.

DG-MPG-Nov2013

A the Media and Politics Group conference

Year 1 of my 5-year research plan included developing publications from my PhD thesis. In November 2013 I had presented a paper from the chapter: Alternative Voices, Alternative Spaces, Counterhegemonic Discourse in the Blogosphere at BU for the Media and Politics Group annual conference. It won the James Thomas Memorial Prize, and is the first chapter in a new book being published with Palgrave Macmillan in September, edited by four faculty colleagues, called Media, Margins and Civic Agency.

I presented another chapter of my thesis at the Cyberspace conference in the Czech Republic in November 2014, which I recently submitted for review at Information, Communication and Society: Blogging While Black, British and Female: A Critical Study on Discursive Activism.

A third chapter: Challenging the Whiteness of Britishness: Co-Creating British Social History in the Blogosphere, was presented at the ICCMTD conference in Dubai in May, and has been accepted for publication in the Online Journal of Media and Communication Technologies for a special issue in September.

My PhD thesis now exhausted publication-wise, I am currently focusing on three strands of research: race and ethnicity in media and communication, pedagogies of social justice and cultural democracy and race equality and cultural democracy. These research interests are broadly linked to three key dimensions of my role as an academic: 1) research (extending knowledge within my discipline) 2) education (teaching), and 3)professional practice.

Cultural democracy, a recurring theme in my research, is a conceptual framework developed in the US more than a decade ago, surprisingly unfamiliar and underexplored on this side of the Atlantic. However, I plan to change that by advancing understanding through research based on its application in practice. After setting up the Cultural Democracy Network in May, shortly after being awarded a small grant from the Grants Academy to develop partnerships with UK-based institutions, I was invited to deliver a guest lecture on cultural democracy to 14 journalists at Research Fortnight’s London offices.

DG at RG [2] 260515

At Research Fortnight

Two of my current research projects represent research papers based on consultancy projects completed this past year. The first is a journal article I am co-authoring with Prof Kevin Hylton called Culturally Democratic Voices: Enhancing Race Equality Through Minority Staff Experiences, which we plan to submit to Race, Ethnicity and Education.

The second is a co-authored paper with Aisha Richards called Social Justice Pedagogy and Cultural Democracy: Promoting Inclusion and Equality in Further and Higher Education. It has just been accepted for presentation at the IAFOR International Conference on Education taking place in Hawaii in January, and we hope it will be selected for publication in the Journal of Education.

I have a book chapter coming out in September being published by Verlag Springer called Race, Racism and Resistance In British Academia, which I presented at the Surviving in a White Institution symposium at Leeds University in May, organised by the Critical Race and Ethnicities Network.

Finally, I am co-editor of a book project with Dr Shirley Tate, an Associate Professor in sociology at Leeds University, which is a collection of autoethnographies called Hear Us: Women Academics of Colour: Surviving and Thriving in British Academia, which we plan to publish next Autumn. It is a project I developed for the Black Sister Network at Black British Academics.

It has been a busy and productive year as an early career researcher, and in terms of my plans for the year ahead, this will be focused on the completion of work in progress, developing a funding bid and turning my attention to new areas of research.

One of these areas is advertising, which will inform my teaching on the BA Advertising degree. I plan to examine issues around constructions and representations of race and gender in TV advertising, examining audience perceptions. The other new area of research which builds on my doctoral study is engagement with digital technologies among Black elders.

In terms of the 5-year research plan I started out with, I discarded it within the first three months! I prefer to work with a yearly plan as I have found that in practice, the research culture and environment is too fluid, dynamic and constantly changing to plan specific publications so far in advance.

However, it is still a useful exercise post PhD to prompt thinking about the areas of research to focus on and the types of research projects to undertake. I have a target for publications and funding bids I aim to complete by 2019 – just before REF2020, so forward planning helps to ensure I stay on track!

By Dr Deborah Gabriel, Lecturer in Politics, Media and Marketing Communications in the Faculty of Media and Communication.