BU Research Blog

We have had a wealth of interest from the BU community submitting ideas for their Festival of Learning 2015 events and would like to encourage as many of you as possible to send us your proposals before the deadline this Friday. We have been releasing a number of “What could you do” themed blog posts to inspire you to think of some creative and innovative ways of engaging the public with your research which you can take a look at here.

To find out more about the Festival of Learning and for guidance on how to submit your proposal, take a look at the help pages on the research blog.

If you experience any issues accessing the proposal form please contact Naomi Kay on 61342 or email nkay@bournemouth.ac.uk

26 November 2014

Public engagement opportunities for PGRS

PG research Naomi Kay

Public engagement is a brilliant way to enhance your skills as an academic, and also to get a new perspective on your research. A good public engagement event should encourage a two way dialog and the goal should be mutual benefit. As the Public Engagement Officer here at BU my role is to support you in delivering your research to the public and ensuring you get something out of it as well! Here are a few upcoming opportunities (with a variety of audiences!) that may interest you. To find out more about any of these opportunities, or to find out more about public engagement in general please do get in touch.

Festival of Learning

The Festival of Learning is running from the 11^th-17^th July and the deadline for proposals is 12 noon on the 19^th December. The festival is open to anyone to submit events, including academics, professional services and students (both undergraduate and postgraduate). Previous events have involved everything from short lectures to whole days spent out on an archaeological dig. To find out more about the festival and about how you can apply click here.

Festival of Learning on Tour

We run on tour events throughout the year however the majority take place over the summer. We’re next going out on tour between the 11^th-13^th December to be part of the Bournemouth Christmas Market. A good activity would be something interactive that’s quick for the public to engage with, on average each engagement last 5 minutes, but gives them a snapshot of your research. We’re still looking for people to join our on tour team for December’s events. This can be a great opportunity to trial an idea with us for as and you can come along for as little as half a day or the whole thing. Email me to find out more.

Explora Science Seeking Volunteers

Explora Science are a charity looking to set up a Science and Discovery Centre in Poole. In order to trial run the centre they are setting up a pop up shop in Poole in February, in which they will put on a number of interactive activities. They need volunteers to help encourage visitors to explore exhibits further. For example, prompting them to push the right button and explaining why things work the way they do. The event is running for two weeks (9^th-20^th) and they need volunteers who can do a minimum of 3 days in that period. In exchange for volunteering they will cover travel expenses, and also provide you with valuable science communication training. Find out more about Explora Science on their website or email me to find out more about the opportunity.

Famelab

Famelab is an international competition aimed at finding the best new voices in science and engineering in which contestants have just three minutes to pitch a scientific concept. The Bristol heat is taking place 10^th December at 7pm. Click here to find out the details and let us know if you’re competing and we can help with your travel expenses.

Café Scientifique

Café Scientifique happens monthly in Boscombe and involves giving a short presentation and then having a discussion with the audience. Take a look at the website for an idea of past events and email if you’d like to run a session.

Public Lectures – University of the Third Age (U3A)

The U3A are interested in a public lecture day at the University. This is likely to take place in April and will involve several speakers throughout the day – possibly around a theme. Let us know if you’d like to be involved or wish to engage with this over 50’s age group.

25 November 2014

Want to share your research with the public? Festival of Learning On Tour – Bournemouth Christmas Market

Many of you have been involved in BU’s summer public engagement road show that’s been to places near and far, including our own town centre, Christchurch Food Festival, and further afield to Bestival, and Glastonbury. This year we’re taking our Festival of Learning stand to the Christmas Market for some festive fun!

From the 11^th – 13^th December you’ll find the public engagement team down in the Triangle supporting a range of our academic staff as they deliver activities for the public to enjoy. So far we have activities planned looking at DNA, microscopic organisms, fitness activities in the home, as well as some quick and easy psychological tests. We’d like to support as many of you as possible to share your research with the public so if you’re interested in being involved get in touch!

We’ll be running the stand 11.30am – 8pm each day and can support activities that want to run for all of that time, or if you just want to spend a few hours with us. It can be a great opportunity to trial your plans for the Festival of Learning in July and see how the public react to your research.

We’re open to ideas for activities from academics, PGRs and students. Anything interactive and eye-catching is a bonus – and don’t worry it doesn’t have to be Christmas themed! (We do of course support the wearing of Christmas jumpers, Santa hats and Reindeer antlers if that’s your style!)

If you’re interested in engaging students with your research then we are also running a series of “Science Stands” in Poole House Atrium on the 4th and 9th December. Please get in touch with Sam Squelch our Student Engagement Coordinator for further details on how to be involved.

12 November 2014

Festival of Learning 2015 – What could you do?

Awarded & submitted bids, Public engagement cippm

The deadline for proposals is just four short weeks away so if you want to be part of the fantastic Festival of Learning in 2015 then make sure you get your thinking cap on soon!

Remember you can find out more about what the Festival of Learning is and how to submit your proposal by looking at our help pages here.

To inspire you I’ve collected together a couple of some interesting events I’ve seen recently,

Science Ceilidh

For those of you not familiar with the concept of a Ceilidh, it’s a type of Scottish folk dancing. This band have found a way to combine their passion for music with their love of science to provide an innovative way of telling the public about concepts such as the circulatory system and cancer through the medium of dance. Take a look at a video of their work here.

DEADinburgh

Another event from the creative geniuses up in Scotland, DEADinburgh is an event in which the last remaining uninfected population of Edinburgh hear from scientists about topics such as Zombie Psychology, epidemic control, ethics of slaughtering the undead, before voting on whether or not to cull the Zombies as the epidemic is spreading through the streets or search for a cure in order to save the city. Costumes are involved. As awesome as this sounds just in a fictional sense, it also draws parallels to the real issues we face with epidemics such as HIV and Ebola making it a truly thought provoking and vital event that encourages participants to question “what it meas to be human”.

These events both show unique ways of communicating research to the public using music and theater. If this is something you’d like to explore feel free to get in touch.

You can also find the public engagement team at the Retreat this Monday as we’ll attending the R&KEO coffee morning from 9.30-10.30am. We’ll be there to offer advice, support and even just a second opinion on what can make your Festival of Learning proposal successful.

29 October 2014

Event – 3D Printing: A Selection of Stakeholder Perspectives

Friday 7th November 2014, Executive Business Centre

There has been much written on the latest developments relating to additive manufacturing or 3D printing as it is more commonly known. The recent rise of low-cost consumer 3D printers have also made the headlines and raised interesting and complex questions.

However, there is limited literature and debate on the implications of 3D printing surrounding intellectual property law, economics, policy, society and technology.

To understand these various implications, this event, co-sponsored by the ESRC and UKIPO and hosted by Dr. Dinusha Mendis Co-Director CIPPM, will bring together industry experts, social scientists, policy makers, lawyers, economists and manufacturers of 3D printing and as such will go beyond the developments in 3D printing in order to understand the implications for various stakeholders.
It will take place on Friday 7th November, 2014 at Bournemouth University’s Executive Business Centre, 89 Holdenhurst Road, BH8 8EB (close to the main railway station).

The event will also provide the platform for a discussion and peer-review of the UKIPO Commissioned Report on the Intellectual Property Implications of 3D printing carried out by researchers at Bournemouth University and Econolyst.

This multi-disciplinary event will be complemented by an exhibition of 3D printing facilities provided by Bournemouth University together with one of the world’s largest 3D printing open-source companies, Ultimaker (Winner of Best Consumer Product and Best Consumer Software at the 2014 3D Print Show Global Awards).

The event is free to attend, although spaces are limited and registration is required. Those with a research interest in 3D printing are welcome to engage in debate on the challenges and opportunities facing this latest emerging technology.

For further information about the event and programme, please visit the CIPPM website. For queries, please contact BU Events (buevents[at]bournemouth.ac.uk) or Dr. Dinusha Mendis (dmendis[at]bournemouth.ac.uk)

21 October 2014

Festival Fever – Inspiration for your Festival of Learning 2015 event!

Festival of Learning gibsonh

Stuck for event ideas for the Festival of learning in 2015!?

Well don’t worry! In this blog post Festival Fever will take over and show you events which have worked well in the past and possibly a few stand-out ideas you may wish to build upon for this year.

Let us take you through a countdown of ‘Hit’ topics and stand out events of last year’s festival as well as eye catching events at the British Science Festival and stand out events you could run in the future!

Hits at last year’s Festival of Learning

5. Marketing and business skills

Have you thought of creating a business event which focuses on marketing? Well if last year’s attendance at this event is anything to go by you will attract a very strong turnout. This event was fully booked last year and is a safe bet to draw in business professionals and members of the public alike! If you can use group discussions in your event this will also enhance the experience for individuals who are attending.

4. Gaming, computers and coding

These topics proved highly popular throughout the festival. Key examples of this success were ‘Is gaming the new reading?’ and ‘Hour of code.’ It really does seem that computers are becoming vital organs in modern life; this means the potential to interest large numbers will always be there when choosing an event of this genre.

3. Everyday professional skills

Teamwork,time management, or the magic of mailbox management. Is there an event you could run that would tap into helping people develop these skills? If you have a clever way to engage the audience in a workshop that can enrich their professional development your event will be in high demand as well as an interesting way to give back to the community.

2. Health and fitness

Health related topics have shown to be popular both in the past at the festival, but also at other UK science festivals. Fitness is something that is at the forefront of many of our minds and if you’ve got an interesting take on this you’ll be sure to get the public onside.

1. Topics involving real-world current issues

Tying your event into current issues can help inspire debate in panel sessions, as well as draw in big audiences. They are also more likely to be picked up for press coverage and could help to boost your event numbers even further.

Eye catching events at the British Science Festival

As you may have seen in an earlier series of blog posts, we recently attended the British Science Festival to get some inspiration on what to include in our own Festival of Learning. You can read the full post of hot events from the festival here, but these were two of our favorites:

-The Huxley debate (As seen at the British Science Festival)

A debate which puts the spotlight on the security flaws of companies such as Facebook and Google can really entice a large number of people, “why is this?” you may ask, the reason is that the companies Facebook and Google touch the lives of the majority of us. This in the media spotlight with recent scandals SnapChat and Icloud storage!

-Your Astonishing Liver/ Health related topics

A further hit from the British Science Festival was ‘Your Astonishing Liver’ this proved to have a very strong turnout, with an audience of varying demographics. The clear strength of all health related topics is their ability to create very strong debates with the audience. In “Your astonishing liver” the panel facilitated a health debate around the right for non-registered organ donors to receive donated organs through the use of electronic voting. By using the response pads and looking at the results on a screen this is an engaging way of illustrating the discussion and capturing data from your event.

Other ideas to set your event apart from the crowd

Take your event offsite to a unique venue – what about approaching the aquarium to find out if you could run your event there?

Run your activity as part of the Festival of Learning On Tour so people get a taster for it in advance?

In more general terms, what can really add to the experience for the general public are events that are uniquely wacky and involve free samples as well as hands on activity. By having a strong blend of these ideas in your event, you can really stand out from the crowd and get your event noticed.

For help and support in developing your event email Naomi Kay, Public Engagement Officer in R&KEO.

14 October 2014

Communicate 2014, will you grasp this opportunity?

Funding opportunities ssquelch

This November 4^th and 5^th, get down to At-Bristol, located in Bristol city which will play host to this year’s eagerly anticipated Communicate 2014. Communicate is the UK’s leading conference for environmental communicators, bringing together over 150 delegates each year to debate and share the latest challenges and emerging best practice for engaging people with the natural world.

Communicate can boast of bringing together over 80 organisations, including NGO’s, local and national government, media, academia, visitor attractions and green businesses, providing participants with an excellent opportunity to engage with practitioners. This is an opportunity that cannot be missed as these organisations represent Communicate annually and since 2003, more than 800 delegates from over 300 organisations have attended the conference. The conference is highly stimulating and thought provoking and it is a great opportunity to meet people involved across a wide variety of sectors.

There is funding available for NERC funded PhD students and early career researchers thanks to the support from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Bursaries will be awarded through a competitive application process. Applications for the second round of bursaries must be received by 9am on Monday 20^th October. Click here to start your application. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity.

Click here to see the latest line-up of some of Britain’s most effective speakers that will be there to make this experience one you will never forget.

29 July 2014

Fife Science Festival 2015 – Call for event proposals now open!

Public engagement eloring

Fife Science Festival 2015 – Friday 13th March – Sunday 22nd March 2015

The Fife Science Festival transforms the Kingdom of Fife over 10 days, with events to celebrate engineering, technology and science.

Why not get involved and organise a workshop, presentation or drop in activity at the festival?

The team welcome ideas and event applications from all organisations and all individuals, therefore if you would like to get involved and submit a proposal/application then please use the event application form which can be found here OR contact the festival team on fifesciencefestival@dundeesciencecentre.org.uk

You can also find more information here on the application guidelines.

DEADLINE: Friday 26th September 2014

If you would like to find out further information then please do not hesitate to contact:

Laura Wilkie,

Festival and Community Engagement Manager, Dundee Science Centre,

laura.wilkie@dundeesciencecentre.org.uk

01382 868608

15 July 2014

WordCamp comes to BU

Naomi Kay

This weekend BU has been playing host to a fantastic group of the nation’s best and brightest WordPress Developers for the 7^th annual WordCamp UK event. The event is a chance for the community of WordPress developers to come together, share ideas and experiences, and provide each other with support and advice. Over 100 people attended the event, coming both from the local conurbation, and from further afield – in particular one gentleman had come all the way from Spain!

Arriving Saturday morning I had the basics of WordPress down, having previously developed a free website for a local community event that consists of a few different pages and a blog feed. Talks have been submitted to the running order by the attendees of the conference in advance, giving people a selection of topics to pick and choose from depending on their interests. Sessions have been hugely varied, for example: “A beginners guide to web accessibility”, “Learning to sell your services as a web designer”, “Designing with data”, and “How not to launch a startup”. One of the most helpful sessions from my perspective as a novice WordPress user was a series of 5 minute lightening talks on topics such as the importance of password security (to find out how long it would take a hacker to crack your password head to How big is your haystack?), how to set up a developer event, and a poetic recital of how to problem solve your website issues.

As well as attending the talks I’ve also benefitted from one of one tuition from other attendees on how I can develop sites offline and what plugins I could add to sites to make them more interesting and useful for the end user, all for no extra cost. Overall this has been a fantastic insight into the power of WordPress and how I can use it to support my own projects and events at a minimal cost. Considering tickets were just £10, I think there has been fantastic value in the weekend’s activities and I would recommend to anyone with an interest in WordPress (professionally or privately) to consider attending future WordCamps around the country.

6 June 2014

3 more sleeps until the Festival of Learning!

Well Professor Puzzles might be taking a tea break but the rest of in the Festival of Learning team are working our socks off as we get ready to kick off on Monday. A massive thank you to all the academics and other members of staff involved as well!

We have a few more exciting events for you to have a look through this morning:

Get your hands on a PhD at BU

Time: 13.00 – 15.00

Location: Talbot Campus

BU is committed to its postgraduate research students (PGR) and has invested in its Graduate School as a focus for the co-creation of knowledge & doctoral training and providing 100s of funded doctoral studentships since 2006 and going forward to 2018.

Join members of the Graduate School team and our postgraduate researchers to find out about some of the unique and original postgraduate research currently being undertaken at BU and how it impacts our everyday life. Discover what postgraduate research entails, including the day in the life of a PGR at BU, what opportunities are available and how you can get involved.

Energy scarcity and the role of renewable technologies

Date: Friday 13 June

Time: 18:00 – 20:00

Location: Lansdowne Campus

This event will provide a platform for debating issues of uncertainty in the energy supply market such as recent price hikes, its scarcity, future risks, security and their wider influences on our local and regional socio-economic landscape.

Being an ambassador for Bournemouth

Time: 18:00 – 21:00

Location: Lansdowne Campus

What are you proud of and would want to share about Bournemouth? This participative event will discuss how you can contribute to improving the experience of visitors through becoming an ‘Ambassador for Bournemouth’. Existing Bournemouth Ambassadors who would like to share their experiences are also welcome.

This event is also suitable for host families and Bournemouth residents.

Four writers walk into a pub: An imaginary meeting

Time: 18:00 – 20:00

Location: Talbot Campus

Over the centuries, Dorset has been home to popular writers who, at first glance, had very little in common. This event imagines what might have happened if they had ever all met in a Bournemouth pub.

The spirit of 2014

Time: 18:00 – 19:30

Location: Talbot Campus

Ken Loach’s powerful documentary, The ‘Spirit of ’45′, called for the older generation to talk to teenagers about the post-war welfare legacy, the importance of the NHS, workers’ rights and an equal society. The Spirit of 13 project used short films to make this inter-generational dialogue happen. This workshop will share the outcomes and ask what is the spirit of 2014?

4 June 2014

Festival events – what can we tempt you with today?

Here are a handful of Festival Events you can come along to next week – to find the full list of events head to the website, or look out for programmes around campus. See something that might interest a friend or family member? Spread the word!

As usual, just click on the links to be taken to the website to find out more and book your place

Star Wars planets: Lessons in planetary geology

Saturday 14 June

11am – 12pm, Executive Business Centre (EB306)

Consider yourself a Star Wars fan? Come along to this fascinating event that teaches you planetary geology for the world of Star Wars:

What would it be like to live on Tatooine with two suns? Or on the ice world of Hoth, or molten Mustafar? This event will focus on a selection of ‘Star Wars’ planets. You’ll explore their geology and learn about our own planet along the way.

Run by Matthew Bennett

Have we made banking good?

Thursday 12 June

12pm – 2pm, Executive Business Centre (EB708)

Since the global financial crisis and ensuing credit crunch, there has been substantial EU and UK sector re-regulation. This panel discussion looks at whether the result is a safer banking system, focused on serving the public good.

Run by Andy Mullineux

Bug grub!

Monday 9 June

11am – 12pm, Poole House (PG73)

A good way to spend an early lunch hour perhaps? Come along to this event and challenge your dietary perceptions

Supply of conventional protein such as meat and fish is under strain as the world supports a growing population. In order to feed the world we must be open to alternative forms of food – including bugs! Challenge your cultural palate and gastronomic sensibilities by consuming unconventional foods, which are likely to form a large proportion of the food chain in the future.

Run by Andy Boer

What does a forensic scientist really do?

Tuesday 10 June

10am – 4pm, Kimmeridge House (KG03)

One to send on to any teenagers in the family:

This event features a range of illustrated talks and practical exercises for years 10, 11, 12 and 13 students interested in forensic science. It will introduce students to a range of investigative forensic skills using observation, physical and chemical tests.

Run by David Osselton

‘Technophiles’, ‘technophobes’ and ‘technodopers’: Sport & its technology.

Tuesday 10 June

4pm – 5pm, Poole House, (Stevenson Lecture Theatre)

If you missed Bryce’s fantastic talk last year on Prosthetics technology then make sure you don’t miss out again this time!

Be it a ball thrown or a wheelchair raced, this talk highlights the role that technology plays in sport. You’ll learn its colourful history and join the debate on the many controversies that have occurred in sport. We’ll discuss how maximising the performance of technology can be the fine difference between success or failure for an athlete.

Run by Bryce Dyer

3 June 2014

Just one week until the Festival of Learning

Public engagement eloring

In just one week the Festival of Learning will be kicking off for the second time. In case you haven’t chosen what you want to come along to, here are a handful of the events coming up. Click on the event titles to be taken to the Eventbrite page to book. For the full range of activities happening on and off campus next week head to www.bournemouth.ac.uk/fol

Don’t eat poo and die, eat poo and live: An investigation of things we eat and things we don’t eat

Thursday 12 June, 7pm-9pm, Talbot Campus

Easily one of the highlights of last years Festival, this event is back by popular demand! The illustrated lecture will investigate things people eat in different cultures and circumstances around the world. It will challenge you to look at what you choose to consume and what you don’t. You can taste some commonly eaten and some less commonly eaten foods… if you dare!

Run by Sean Bear

Too hot to trot: Our obsession with the chilli pepper and other extreme tastes

Monday 9 June, 7pm-9pm, Talbot Campus

Another one from Sean, this interactive lecture will investigate why we love to eat things that cause us pain. As well as challenging you to look more closely at why you consume the food and drink you do this discussion will involve tastings for the bravest of you out there! This is fun for all the family so why not bring the kids along and encourage them to learn something new about their dinner.

Run by Sean Bear

Eat chocolate and bond!

Monday 9 June, 12pm-1pm, Talbot Campus

Sticking with the food and psychology themes, this could be an interesting way to spend your lunch hour. We all use food to communicate, perhaps without even thinking about what we’re doing. We give chocolates to apologise and eat birthday cake to say sorry. This event will look at how and why we do this and examine other examples of how we use food to share meanings and communicate.

Run by Andy Boer

Extinction! The future of the human race

Friday 13 June, 11am-12pm, Lansdowne Campus

This talk will explore the concept of Mass Extinction within the geological record, from dinosaurs to giant mammals! You’ll learn about events that could occur in the future and the impact they would have on our planet and society.

Run by Matthew Bennett

Public relations and news: a PR literacy workshop and presentation

Wednesday 11 June, 4pm-6pm, Lansdowne Campus

The event is particularly suited to A-level Politics or Media Studies students interested in exploring questions around construction of the news, agenda setting and power. The interactive presentation explores the impact of public relations activity on the news.

Run by David McQueen

7 March 2014

Simon Singh – The Simpsons and their mathematical secrets! Wednesday 12th March…

Bournemouth Skeptics in the Pub will be welcoming Dr Simon Singh (Journalist, Author & TV producer) to the stage to give his talk on ‘The Simpsons and their mathematical secrets’. The event will take place at The Brunswick Hotel in Charminster on Wednesday 12th March at 7.30pm. Everyone is welcome to attend this event, and you are able to buy tuickets online (£2-3) via their website.

The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets

Simon Singh author of Fermat’s Last Theorem and Big Bang, talks about his latest book, which explores mathematical themes hidden in The Simpsons. Everyone knows that The Simpsons is the most successful show in television history, but very few people realise that its team of mathematically gifted writers have used the show to explore everything from calculus to geometry, from pi to game theory, and from infinitesimals to infinity. Singh will also discuss how writers of Futurama have similarly made it their missions to smuggle deep mathematical ideas into the series.

Simon will also discuss the libel action brought against him by the British Chiropractic Association and the subsequent reform to English libel law. Chiropractors very welcome.

Find out more about what Bournemouth Skeptics in the Pub is here.

20 November 2012

Celebrating Public Engagement at BU with Prof. Alice Roberts! Thursday 6th December, 4pm – REGISTER NOW!

When: Thursday 6th December, 3.30-6pm

Where: Kimmeridge House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University

This exciting event is a chance to celebrate public engagement at Bournemouth University. Come along between 3.30pm and 6pm to experience our interactive exhibition, showcasing some excellent examples of public engagement.

Between 4-5pm you will have an exclusive opportunity to hear from Alice Roberts, Professor of Public Engagement in Science for the University of Birmingham, about the importance of public engagement. Following Alice’s talk there will be a chance to hear from BU academics about their experiences with public engagement and further explore our interactive exhibition with a glass of wine in hand.

Agenda:

3.30pm: Opportunity to explore our interactive exhibition space

4.00pm: Alice Roberts talks on the importance of Public Engagement

4.30pm: BU academics share their experiences of engagement

5.00pm: Enjoy drinks and further opportunity to explore our interactive exhibition

6.00pm: Close

To register for this free event, please click on this link.

30 August 2012

Seen But Seldom Heard, Tonight at 7:30