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Book by 18/01/18 – this Thursday! Our Global Challenges STEAMLab – 7/2/18

Events, Funding opportunities, Research news, RKE development framework


Last chance to book!! Closing date for your applications this Thursday the 18th of January.

 

On Wednesday, 7th February 2018, BU’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Office will be facilitating a STEAMLab event on Global Challenges, attended by staff from the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), Oxfam, Academics from throughout the M3 universities and other organisations.

Which means…?

We’re seeking to come up with novel research that could form part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment.

So, who should attend?

We want anyone who thinks they might have something to contribute, and who is available all day on Wednesday 7th February to come along. We will also be inviting relevant external attendees to contribute to the day.  We welcome academics, NGO/business/government representatives who wish to contribute to having a positive impact through addressing the world’s global challenges.

What do I need to prepare in advance? What will the sandpit entail?

Absolutely nothing in advance. During the STEAMLab, you’ll be guided through a process which results in the development of research ideas. The process facilitates creativity, potentially leading to innovative and interdisciplinary research ideas. These ideas will be explored with other attendees, and further developed based on the feedback received.

What if I don’t have time to think about ideas in advance?

You don’t need to do this. Some inspiring speakers with a range of backgrounds will be coming along to give you ideas…

What about afterwards? Do I need to go away and do loads of work?

Well… that depends! The STEAMLab will result in some novel research ideas. Some of these may be progressed immediately; others might need more time to think about. You may find common ground with other attendees which you choose to take forward in other ways, such as writing a paper or applying for research funding.  Support will be available to progress project ideas after the day.

What if my topic area is really specific, such as health?Woman's Eye and World Globes

Your contribution will be very welcome! One of the main benefits of a STEAMlab event is to bring together individuals with a range of backgrounds and specialisms who are able to see things just that bit differently to one another.

So, is this just networking?

Definitely not! It is a facilitated session with the primary intention of developing innovative research ideas, which also enables the development of networks. It gives you the opportunity to explore research ideas which you may develop over time, together with the chance to find common ground with academics from across BU and beyond.

So, how do I book onto this event?

To take part in this exciting opportunity, all participants  should complete the Global Challenges STEAMLab Application Form and return this to RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk by Thursday, 18th January. Places are strictly limited and you will be be contacted to confirm a place place on the STEAMLab with arrangements nearer the time.  The event will be held in Bournemouth at the Executive Business Centre.

By applying, you agree to attend for the full duration of the event on 7th February (c. 9:30 – 16:30). Spaces will be confirmed on 22/1/18.

If you have any queries prior to submitting your application, please contact Ehren Milner, RKEO Research Facilitator.

Young Life Scientists’ symposium: Frontiers in Musculoskeletal Health, Ageing and Disease

BU research, Coffee Morning, conferences, Uncategorized

The past Saturday I was given the opportunity to present my pilot study titled “The influence of inspiratory muscle training on balance and functional mobility in healthy older adults” at the Young Life Scientists Symposium (YLS) held in Derby (see related poster).

 

Purpose of the pilot was to gain an understanding of the effect of 8 weeks inspiratory muscle training upon balance and functional mobility outcomes (including Five-Sit-To-Stand, Time Up and Go, Mini-Best test and others) in older adults (65 and over). The results have led to a double-blind random control trial which will be completed by the beginning of 2018.

The YLS is organised by PhD students and Post-Doc’s for other PhD students and early career researchers it aims to give the opportunity to network and discuss research matters via poster and oral communication in a positive and constructive environment.
This year symposium was focusing on three major sections: nutrition, exercises for ageing and metabolic disease in ageing. Speakers from all the UK discussed their works, and I had the chance to collect feedbacks explaining my methods and methodology.

I would like to thank Bournemouth University and my supervisors who helped me to achieve this opportunity.

Thank you for reading.
Francesco.

 

Nuffield Celebration Event at BU

Coffee Morning, Events, Festival of Learning

The Nuffield Research Placement (NRP) provides students each year with the opportunity to work alongside professional scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.
It aims to enable students to experience authentic research in a real scientific environment and is available across the UK, in universities, commercial companies, voluntary organisations and research institutions.

NRP is now celebrating its 20 years and last Wednesday at the Fusion Building, the students who took part in the placement, presented their posters.

As in the past year, also this year under the supervision Alison McConnell, James Gavin, Tom Wainwright and mine we hosted a student Holly Combes, who in a month not only collaborate in setting up research protocols but also wrote a dissertation about the Time-Up-and-Go, which was submitted to the Young Scientific Journal for publication.

Personally, I was inspired by all the fascinating research that the students have done, and I was glad to have the opportunity to give a small speech:

To my colleagues that are thinking to apply for next year placement, I will say do it. There is nothing more pleasing than help young minds, full of motivation and curiosity. You and your research will gain a lot from this experience.

Thank you for reading,

Francesco

 

 

H2020 Research Infrastructures Information Day London

EU, Funding opportunities

European Union - Horizon 2020Date and Time

Tue 14 November 2017

10:00 – 15:00 GMT

Location

Natural History Museum, London

Purpose of the event:

This event (click here to register) has been organised to inform participants of the upcoming opportunities in the Research Infrastructures (RIs) Work Programme 2018-2020. The work programme is expected to be published on the Participant Portal during October.

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/funding/reference_docs.html#h2020-work-programmes-2018-20

Topics to be covered by the Agenda:

  • An overview of the 2018-2020 Research Infrastructures Work Programme RTD and e-infrastructure calls (European Commission speaker confirmed)
  • A recent success story – how to put together a winning proposal
  • An overview of services offered by the UK Research Office
  • A presentation of the call timetable (Katie Ward, UK National Contact Point)
  • Lunch and networking

The formal close of the meeting will be 14.30 but there will be an opportunity to stay for an additional half an hour until 15.00 to ask individual questions.

The six calls which will be part of the 2018-2020 Work Programme are:

  • Development and long-term sustainability of new pan-European RIs (This includes design studies for brand new RIs and specific opportunities for projects on the ESFRI roadmap for the Preparatory Phase and Individual Support).
  • Implementing the European Open Science Cloud (Including topics on Access to commercial services through the EOSC hub, Connecting ESFRI infrastructures through Cluster projects and Support to the EOSC Governance).
  • Integrating and opening RIs of European Interest (There is a call in both 2018 and 2019 for Advanced Communities, these communities have been pre-selected and have received at least one previous grant for networking, transnational access and joint research activities.
  • European Data Infrastructure (Including topics for PRACE, Centres of Excellence on High Performance Computing (HPC) and Support to the governance of HPC).
  • Demonstrating the role of RIs in the translation of Open Science into Open Innovation (There is a call for stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs and to create a network of RI Liaison and Contact Officers).
  • Support to policy and international cooperation (There is a call for Policy and international cooperation measures for RIs).

Definition of a Research Infrastructure:

Research infrastructures are facilities, resources and services that are used by the research communities to conduct research and foster innovation in their fields. Where relevant, they may be used beyond research, e.g. for education or public services. They include: major scientific equipment (or sets of instruments); knowledge-based resources such as collections, archives or scientific data; e-infrastructures, such as data and computing systems and communication networks; and any other infrastructure of a unique nature essential to achieve excellence in research and innovation. Such infrastructures may be ‘single-sited’, ‘virtual’ or ‘distributed’.

Erasmus Staff Mobility – International Staff Training Week

EU, Fusion

Participation by Alice Brown, Research & Knowledge Exchange Office

This was my very first time on an exciting International Staff Training Week, hosted by Kristianstad University in Sweden. The 4 day training programme from 8 to 11 May 2017 was divided into Groups reflecting the professional service areas of: (A) Student Services, (B) Library, (C) Information Technology, (D) Finance and (E) Research & Innovation. The Week was attended by 40 participants from Universities all over Europe (Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Turkey), of which three, besides for myself, were from the UK (Durham, Staffordshire).

On the first day, the Host via their International Office’s staff introduced themselves to the cohort, including the history of Kristianstad as formerly a military town with the University grounds and buildings being infantry premises. The Host was a young University, initially offering nursing and teaching courses, but has now expanded to offer many more, such as agriculture, food sciences and engineering.

It has this year become the most popular University for school-leavers in Sweden. After this introduction, the Host’s Vice-Chancellor welcomed us. We were given brief introductions of all participants, elements of Swedish culture such as a fikka (coffee/tea break with snacks, usually delectable Scandinavian pastries), a campus tour and then a tour of the town.

On the second and third days, we split into our Groups. I was in Group E – the Research & Innovation Group, which had 9 participants, of which 3 officers were from the Host and the others were from Universities in Germany, Romania, Portugal, Turkey and the UK (Durham). We all gave presentations about our Universities and engaged in intensive workshops about the issues, challenges and possible solutions to engage students and academics in research/innovation.

We were taken on excursions to visit the Kristianstad Krinova Incubator Science Park and two knowledge exchange business projects – an innovative Swedish fusion food restaurant, Sotnosen’s and a sustainable aquaculture farm, Gardsfisk. We attended a one hour crash course in Swedish and emerged feeling we could say the common niceties like “hej” (hello) and “tak” (thank you).

The Host invited the cohort to a welcome lunch at Metropol, their campus food hall on the first day and a finger-food lunch prepared by their international students on the second day. At this lunch, I discovered my new-found Swedish favourite – the smogastarte and a traditional sweet – the Spettekaka. We were all taken out by the Host to a smorgasboard dinner at Aptit, a restaurant in town that second evening when we had sparkling conversations about Swedish arts and culture.

On the fourth day, we gathered back as a cohort and had a wrap-up session on what each Group had learned and what we would take back to our respective Universities. We exchanged contacts and raised ideas of possible future collaborations. I had a great experience meeting new people working in similar professional service areas and engaging in Swedish culture and history.

I will be taking back a few practice ideas that will continue to feed into Bournemouth University’s internationalisation and innovative partnerships journey.

 

 

 

*Spaces available – MSCA 2 day Bid Writing Retreat – 18th and 19th of April

EU, Events, RKE development framework, Training

Places are still available for the two-day bid writing retreat on 18th and 19th April – book in now!

 

As the European Commission celebrates the support of over 100,000 researchers through Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, RKEO are pleased to confirm our arrangements for supporting this high profile call in 2017.

Support

  • There will be a two-day bid writing retreat on 18th and 19th April and, subject to demand, this will be repeated on 4th and 5th July, with bookings now open
  • Materials are already available on the MyBU Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework Community and will be extended as more materials are made available for the 2017 call
  • External bid writing support, where appropriate
  • Timeline

    As this is a highly popular call, RKEO need to carefully manage the flow of work within RKEO but also for all your colleagues, who work together, to ensure that each application is approved and submitted correctly.

    The call will open on 11/04/17, when further information will be posted on this blog.

    Please ensure that the Intention to Bid is submitted to RKEO by 30/06/17. You can, of course, let us know earlier than this date that you intend to apply, so that we can provide you, and your potential fellow, with as much support as possible, right up to the closing date of 14/09/17. It is expected that early drafts will be sent to RKEO at the beginning of August, allowing time for all those involved to manage their workloads.

    Communication

    Once we know that you are thinking of applying, even before submitting the Intention to Bid, we can keep you up to date with announcements from the funder and other sources of help and support.

    If you are considering applying and would like to receive updates, please contact Dianne Goodman, RKEO’s Funding Development Team Co-ordinator, so that we can register your interest and provide useful information, such as  the indicative timetable for actions prior to submission. If you are ready to submit your Intention to Bid, you can do this now, via Dianne. The allocated Funding Development Officer can then contact you.

    If you have any queries or comments about this scheme, please contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO’s Research Facilitator: EU & International

     

Last chance to book onto MRC regional visit

BU research, Events, Funding opportunities

logo_mrcEvent Date: Wednesday the 1st March 2017

Time: 13:30pm – 15:30pm

On Wednesday, 1st March 2017, the Medical Research Council (MRC) will be visiting BU between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. The presentation will provide:

  • tips on writing a good application, including such documents as ‘pathways to impact’;
  • an overview of the peer review process for all types of application
  • how to respond to your reviewer comments
  • an overview of MRC fellowship schemes

The presentation is open to the regional university network, known as the M3 group, which includes: AUB, Bournemouth, Brighton, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Southampton Solent, Surrey, Sussex and Winchester. All academics and research offices are welcome to attend.  If you are interested in applying to any of the research councils then this will be useful to you.

BU will host a pre-event networking lunch for all attendees from 12 noon. This is a great opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the research councils and how you can strengthen your applications for funding. If you would like to attend, then please book through Eventbrite.

About the MRC: The Medical Research Council improves human health through world-class medical research. They fund research across the biomedical spectrum, from fundamental lab-based science to clinical trials, and in all major disease areas. Their research has resulted in life-changing discoveries for over a hundred years. They are the largest research council with a budget expenditure of £927.8m in 2015/16.

For further information on this event please contact: RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk