Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
If you would like to apply to any strands of the FIF please make sure you submit your application by the deadline which is 2pm on Monday 1 July. No exceptions will be made to this deadline.
For all the updated strand policy documents, Fund FAQ’s and information about applying, please visit the FIF intranet pages.
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
Okay so it’s not exactly free….you will have to do something for it but what if I told you that you will be hailed within BU, and who knows, maybe the world, as a researcher/support staff member extraordinaire! Your peers will bow down in the corridors in your honour, you will be met with applause when you enter the atrium.*
I know what you’re thinking….’This sounds brilliant! Where can I find out more?’ Just point your mouse here, my friend, and all will be revealed.
*This may not actually happen.
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
Not only does the Fusion Investment Fund provide opportunities for academic staff at BU, there are also options for professional services staff:
Staff can apply to Erasmus which is most appropriate for enabling academic and professional staff based at higher education institutions (HEIs) to spend a period of training or teaching between 5 working days and 6 weeks in a European HEI or enterprise. Under training mobility, the purpose is to allow the staff members to acquire knowledge or skills relevant for their current job and their professional development and to help create cooperation between organisations. There are also opportunities to invite staff from enterprises to Bournemouth University to give presentations and provide teaching. Professional staff can undertake training at a European educational institution.
Another option is to apply to the standard element of the Staff Mobility and Networking (SMN) strand. Non-academic staff must be able to demonstrate through their application how their travel will benefit the academic process within BU and particular focus should be placed on the creation of sustainable collaborative networks of academics or professionals linked to specific outputs or partnership developments.
For more information please read the relevant policy documents and information available on the FIF intranet pages.
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
Couldn’t get to the drop-in session on Talbot yesterday? Don’t panic! We’re holding another one today at Lansdowne.
Do you have questions about a potential bid for Fusion funding? Don’t know which strand to apply to? Not sure if your idea is eligible? Need more information about Erasmus? Come along to our drop-in session TODAY to get your questions answeredand to find out more about the Fusion Investment Fund (FIF):
TODAY 1-2pm, EB702, EBC, Lansdowne Campus
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines and we’ll be there along with Moritz Ehlen, BU’s International Mobility Officer, who can provide specific guidance with regards to Erasmus.
There are some fantastic opportunities available under the 3 strands of the FIF and we’re looking forward to receiving lots of really good quality applications in time for the deadline of 1 July. We look forward to seeing you later!
More information about the different strands of the Fund on the Staff Intranet pages.
Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
I thought that might get your attention! The latest call of the FIF (or the ‘Fusion Investment Fund’ for those of you who haven’t yet added this acronym to your vocabulary) is open for 2 more weeks so if you haven’t applied yet or haven’t seen my previous blog posts, let me give you the highlights:
So basically you could be given a pile of cash to enable you to do what you love! Pursue that dream of undertaking world-leading research or travel across the pond to work collaboratively with experts in your field. Become a hero and take your rightful place on that pedestal that your peers and students will put you on.*
Sound good? Find out more.
*BU cannot guarantee this.
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
Do you have questions about a potential bid for Fusion funding? Don’t know which strand to apply to? Not sure if your idea is eligible? Come along to our drop-in session TODAY to get your questions answered and to find out more about the Fusion Investment Fund (FIF) on:
TODAY 12-1pm in P411, Poole House, Talbot Campus
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines and we’ll be there along with members of the strand committees and Moritz Ehlen, BU’s International Mobility Officer, who can provide guidance with regards to Erasmus.
There are some fantastic opportunities available under the 3 strands of the FIF and we’re looking forward to receiving lots of really good quality applications in time for the deadline of 1 July. We look forward to seeing you later!
More information about the different strands of the Fund on the Staff Intranet pages.
Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
Did you know that under the FIF you can invite an academic or professional to BU in respect to the development of projects or to provide training which is linked to any aspect of Fusion?
2 elements of the Fusion Investment Fund provide support for inward mobility:
The Standard element of the Staff Mobility and Networking (SMN) strand supports UK or overseas travel and subsistence in pursuit of any aspect of Fusion – research, education, and/or professional practice – with no minimum or maximum duration. Awards made will be between £1k and £10k. Particular focus should be placed on the creation of sustainable collaborative networks of academics or professionals linked to specific outputs or partnership developments.
The Erasmus element of the Staff Mobility and Networking (SMN) strand provides opportunities to invite staff from enterprises to Bournemouth University to give presentations and provide teaching.
For more information please read the relevant policy documents and information available on the FIF intranet pages.
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
If you haven’t already sent in your application, don’t panic! There’s still time. With three funding strands available for staff there are a wealth of opportunities for both academic and professional support staff to take advantage of:
We are holding two drop-in sessions for anyone who has questions or requires more information about the Fund on:
Monday 17 June, 12-1pm in P411, Poole House, Talbot Campus
Tuesday 18 June 1-2pm in EB705, EBC, Lansdowne Campus
Joining Samantha and myself will be members of the strand committees and Moritz Ehlen, BU’s International Mobility Officer, who can provide guidance with regards to Erasmus .
For all the updated strand policy documents, Fund FAQ’s and information about applying, please visit the FIF intranet pages.
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
The Staff Mobility and Networking strand (SMN) may seem like your normal, everyday standard strand but look carefully and you’ll see it’s a strand with a difference. It has 3 elements meaning even more opportunities for you! Not only is there a Standard element but there are also Erasmus Staff Mobility and Santander elements too!
The standard scheme is most appropriate for supporting staff UK or overseas travel and subsistence in pursuit of any aspect of Fusion – research, education, and/or professional practice – with no minimum or maximum duration and also includes inward mobility. Awards made will be between £1k and £10k.
The Erasmus Staff Mobility part of the strand is most appropriate for enabling academic and professional staff based at higher education institutions (HEIs) to spend a period of training or teaching between 5 working days and 6 weeks in a European HEI or enterprise. There are also opportunities to invite staff from enterprises to Bournemouth University to give presentations and provide teaching.
Please be aware that this scheme differs quite significantly from the other FIF strands. More information is on the Erasmus intranet page.
Santander, through Santander Universities, works to encourage the international exchange of students and lecturers with respect to the development of projects linked to research, education or professional practice. Support will be available in the form of subsistence and travel costs for staff. Five awards of £5k will be made.
Has this whetted your appetite? Are you hungry for more? Then go, go, go to the FIF intranet pages.
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
I know, it’s unbelievable! BU is actually paying staff to take a period of study leave. Amazing!
The Study Leave strand (SL) now has three sub-strands: Academic Study Leave, Internal Secondments and Industrial Staff Placements.
Read more about some of the projects we’ve previously funded under this strand:
Need to know more? Your wish is my command! Go now to the FIF intranet pages.
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
We humans love nothing more than to co-create and co-produce so it seems rather appropriate, don’t you think, that we have a strand of the Fusion Investment Fund dedicated to just that!
The Co-Creation and Co-Production strand (CCCP) is most appropriate for activities with specific emphasis on research and / or professional practice of between 6 and 12 months duration. Awards made will be between £2k and £75k. Previously funded projects include the re-launch of The Rock community newspaper and the creation of the Poole and Purbeck community consortium to establish a fusion platform based on regional natural and heritage assets to service students across BU.
Read about some of the projects we’ve funded under this strand:
Rick Fisher – CCCP funded project: An educational game for nursing student engagement in caring for people with dementia
Jan Wiener, Mariela Gaete-Reyes – CCCP funded project: Decreasing spatial disorientation: towards dementia-friendly environments
Want to know more? Of course you do! Follow this link to the FIF intranet pages.
The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all initial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor is delighted to invite you to apply for this round of the Fusion Investment Fund. It provides fantastic opportunities for you to grow as a researcher, an educator and practitioner and there are a range of options for you to choose from, depending on your needs. Three funding strands are available for staff at BU:
Co-Creation and Co-production strand (CCCP)
Study Leave strand (SL) – There are three elements of this: Academic Study Leave, Internal Secondments and Industrial Staff Placements.
Staff Mobility and Networking strand (SMN) – There are also three elements to this strand: Standard, Erasmus, Santander
Successful bids will need to have benefits to the student experience at the core and be able to demonstrate how this will occur, so hitting the Education point in the BU Fusion triangle is important. For all the updated strand and policy documents, Fund FAQs and information about applying, please visit the FIF intranet pages.
The Fusion Investement Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and is administered by Natalie Baines. Please direct all intial enquiries to Natalie Baines.
At the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) we think it is important to review our activities on a regular basis, to document our achievements and to outline our plans for the future. We have decided that the best way to do this is to prepare an Annual Report. It was completed some months ago and now we would like to share it more widely with our colleagues in the University. It can be found on our microsite at http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru/news/ we hope it is of interest.
The support and collaborations we offer are available to staff within the University, and to staff in the NHS. In the next year we will be particularly trying to develop new collaborations between University and health service staff that will lead to high quality grant applications.
If you would like further information please contact Louise Ward (wardl@bournemouth.ac.uk Tel: 01202 961939)
Application deadlines for the Fusion Investment Fund have been confirmed as 1 July and 1 December. The next call for applications will soon be launched. It provides fantastic opportunities for you to grow as a researcher, an educator and practitioner and there are many options for you to choose from, depending on your needs. Please keep checking the blog for details.
Early in January I received the good news that my application to the Fusion Investment Fund SMN strand was successful. What a great way to start the New Year!
The main aim of my FIF SMN project is to consolidate newly developed partnerships with European and non-European researchers and stakeholders. Planned activities include visits to colleagues who were involved in the development of the research proposal “Living with Extreme Events at the Coast” (LEEC), submitted to the EU FP7 call on Environment (Challenge 6.4 Protecting citizens from environmental hazards). LEEC successfully passed stage 1 and we are now waiting for the outcome of stage 2, so keep your fingers crossed.
As my FIF SMN proposal builds from LEEC, I decided to call it “Living with Extreme Events at the Coast Grant Development” (LEEC GraDe). Not very creative, but it reflects well the main objective, which is to explore opportunities for collaborative research in topics related to LEEC. LEEC aims to better understand how extreme storms and climate change in coastal areas will affect flood risk and impact on society, infrastructure, economic activities and the natural environment throughout the 21th century.
Besides, the development of collaborative research proposals, I will also be exploring opportunities for enhancing students’ experience, e.g. through work placements. By the time I submitted the FIF SMN proposal, I had just taken the role of ApSci’s Academic Lead for Placements. In this role, one of my objectives is to increase the offer of research-based placements to our students. So I thought my networking visits would be a great opportunity to discuss with colleagues from organisations in Europe and abroad whether they are interested in offering to our students a research-based working experience. Many researchers systematically plan their fieldwork campaigns or dedicate larger proportion of their time to research in the summer, so a work placement can be mutually beneficial.
I so much believe in the benefits of this arrangement that I am offering two placements this summer to undergrad ApSci students. If you are interested in doing the same, please contact me.
LEEC partners are from 13 organisations spread across eight countries (Estonia, Spain, France, Belgium, Denmark, UK, Mexico and Vietnam). The FIF SMN award will allow me to visit some of these organisations and engage in other networking opportunities. I will be very busy networking throughout 2013! Hopefully the effort will result in the submission of more collaborative research proposals and a number of arrangements made to enrich students’ experiences through placements or exchanges.
The first of my planned activities was to attend the 12th International Coastal Symposium (ICS) in Plymouth (http://ics2013.org/) earlier this month. This is the largest international conference focused on coastal research with over 500 participants, so a great venue to disseminate research results, to keep updated with research progress worldwide and to network! I was invited to be the convener of the Coastal Evolution and Geomorphology session, so worked very hard evaluating abstracts and full papers before the conference! I also presented a paper on the Coastal Management session, entitled “Is managed realignment a sustainable long-term coastal management approach?” You can find a copy of the paper on BRIAN.
ICS offered the opportunity to meet many ‘old’ friends and make new contacts worldwide, including from countries I had none before, such as Trinidad & Tobago and South Africa. I have already exchanged email with a few of the new (and old) contacts and there are very exciting prospects for future collaboration. I have discussed the preparation of a joint paper with a colleague from the University of Rostock (Germany), explored ways to collaborate with practitioners from a government agency in Trinidad & Tobago and I am already working on a proposal with colleagues from South Africa. The most immediate result from networking during ICS was the invitation to visit five different organisations in Mexico, which is planned to happen in June.
Networking is also about maximising the opportunities and I will be doing exactly that next month in Brazil. I was invited to give a keynote talk in the National Symposium of Coastal Vulnerability. As the hosts are taking me to Brazil, I will extend my stay and visit two universities using SMN funds. The plan is to start building a joint research proposal to submit to the Science without borders programme (funding source from Brazil) with the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco and discuss exchange of postgraduate students and other opportunities with the Universidade do Vale do Itai.
Please watch this space for upcoming news!
Luciana Slomp Esteves (Lecturer in Physical Geography, ApSci)
These schemes provide strong financial support for a Research Fellow in your department for a period of 12 – 24 months on any research topic.
The Research Fellow must come from another European Country or International Base worldwide. It is joint application with you and the fellowship candidate – so they must be identified. (If the fellow is already in the UK they must have been working here for less than 1 year in the last 3.)
Deadline for application is August 2013 – but the forms are relatively easy & straight forward – although moderately time consuming. Fellowships will start in early 2014 but this start date could be extended to early 2015.
Intra-European Fellowships (IEF) Deadline Mid August 2013
International Incoming Fellowships (IIF) Deadline Mid August 2013
Note: For people already at the University there is a similar outgoing international Fellowship scheme to enable research periods in other , non European, Labs and Research Centres.
These fellowships are prestigious and highly sought after, especially as they pay very well. There is a difference in emphasis between the two schemes but the overriding criteria is candidate, and host, excellence with respect to the justification of the project rationale. This is all derived from the candidates cv and thus please discuss initially with Martin Pickard who can advise on suitability and fit.
These fellowships are an excellent, and often overlooked, way to expand and compliment a research team. Initial advice is imperative as, again, project structure and rationale with respect to the candidate are very important in determining success and need to be argued and justified around the actual science and project.
Requirements.
One University (Host) and one applicant, of any nationality, other than from than the UK. (candidates may already be in the UK but must have spent less than 12 months of the past 36 in the UK)
The higher the quality of the cv, rated against age and experience, the more likelihood of funding success. Each prospective fellow can only apply for one fellowship but any host can have as many fellows as they want applying to work with the same PI.
The Grant
Typical project period – Minimum 12 months — Maximum 24 months
Fellow income: In excess of 80,000 Euro per year.
University Income: Minimum of 18,000 Euro per year.
If you have a research Fellow in Mind (or can find one through networking or your colleague links) the application will not take a lot of time – but a clearly defined and specific approach is required. Guidance notes will be available as well as direct one to one support from our proposal writing specialist Dr. Martin Pickard.
To assist further we have also arranged a series of 2 morning information sessions. The next one and last one is due to be held on the Tuesday 16th of April 2013 – Lansdowne Campus
Information Session 1 – 09:00am – 10:00am
A Brief Introduction to the Marie Curie Fellowship Schemes – for those of general interest.
In addition to the general European topic specific calls under the cooperation programme there are a number of explicit opportunities arising through other schemes – some of which are far more easily accessible and have the advantage of being open to literally any research idea/topic. Several of these arise through the People programme under the Marie Curie calls and this 40 minute plus Q&A information session seeks to highlight some of these opportunities and identify their pro’s and cons so that a clear strategy can be developed to avoid missing these significant, and relatively easy, opportunities.
Information Session 2 – 10:15am – 12:15pm
How to Approach and Structure your Marie Curie Fellowship Application – for those possibly intending to submit a bid.
The structure of any bid (partner interactions, methodology synergy etc.) is critical to the success of an application and forward planning is a key element of winning proposals.
If you are thinking of applying this August this session will illustrate the basic approach requirements for success and show how to structure and present your research application in the correct form of “Brusselese”. A brief, 2 hour, guide to the Marie Curie application process.
Please note: If you are already intending to submit a bid this August then Session 1 will provide very little additional information. Also Grants Academy members who have already attended our Grants Academy 2 Day Bid Writing Workshop will not need to attend Session 1 as this has already been covered in your workshop so we would recommend you book into and attend Session 2 only.
If these are a potential interest to you – don’t miss this exceptional opportunity. Please book in ASAP via Staff Development Booking Link to reserve your space as we anticipate these sessions will be very popular.
Archaeologists from the School of Applied Sciences have been awarded a Staff Mobility grant from the Fusion Investment Fund as part of the SMN Strand Santander Scholarships to develop a link with the Department of Archaeology at St Petersburg State University in Russia.
The aim of this proposal is to establish a collaborative, international project between BU and St Petersburg State University based on shared interests in the area of archaeology, with specific reference to osteoarchaeology. Building upon previous contacts established with Russian colleagues, the project that emerges from this proposal will aim to link students (from both SPSU and BU) and research-active staff (again from both institutions) in such a way that will allow student placements to be developed and funding identified and applied for that will support research and student participation.
Research into how people have used and treated domestic and wild animals over time has been one that the School of Applied Sciences has been pioneering for many years and will form the basis for this collaboration. This includes how people regarded animals within a cultural context as well as how human impact has affected animal populations (e.g. the decimation of the beaver population within NW Russia in the late medieval period). This project will bring together issues of biodiversity and environmental change within a study of how past societies have viewed certain animals within their culture.
The proposal is to use this summer as the opportunity to develop a specific project with our Russian colleagues, designing it and its methodology, identifying funding sources, and agreeing to collaborate in such a way as to involve students in the project.
The resulting project will deliver a clear contribution to Fusion by linking research, student placements, and teaching and learning for both undergraduates and post graduates within the School of Applied Sciences.
For further information please contact either Dr Mark Maltby (mmaltby@bmth.ac.uk)or Professor Mark Brisbane (mbrisbane@bmth.ac.uk).
I am delighted to have been awarded funding from the Santander Staff Mobility and Networking strand of the Fusion Investment Fund. The aim of my proposal is to develop networks and collaborative work with colleagues working in dementia related areas in Overseas Santander Partner Universities in Colombia and Chile.
Dementia is becoming a problem of public health in Latin America. Research shows that the prevalence of this condition in Latin American countries is similar to developed countries. However, there is a higher incidence of dementia in fairly young individuals aged from 65-69 years old, which can be a consequence of the link between low educational level and lower cognitive reserve (Nitrini, et.al., 2009). Diagnosis rates in developing countries are lower than in developed countries making access to treatment, care and support more difficult for people with dementia (Alzheimer’s Disease International).
In spite of this, social research in dementia and education in dementia care are still scarce in Latin America. This proposal seeks to contribute in filling this gap through achieving two objectives. The first is to test the ‘Living well with dementia’ course, created and delivered by BUDI in Universidad del Rosario in Colombia with the view of exporting it to other parts of Latin America in the future. The second objective is to develop a collaborative research grant proposal that takes the shape of a comparative study about social/cultural constructions of dementia in the UK and Chile and how such constructions influence public policy and practice relating to dementia and services for people living with dementia and their families.
BU and specifically BUDI’s work in dementia will be disseminated internationally bringing possibilities for sustainable academic collaboration with top universities of Colombia and Chile.
Dr Mariela Gaete Reyes (HSC/BUDI)
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