Tagged / funding

Jib Acharya awarded funded place on Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) workshop in Morocco

BU research, PG research, Research news, Training, Uncategorized


Congratulations to Health & Social Care PhD student Mr. Jib Acharya who has been offered a funded place at the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) workshop. The SUN workshop will be held in Morocco in early February 2014. The British Council and CNRST have launched a new five-year programme to encourage international research collaboration between ambitious young researchers from the UK and eighteen countries around the world. The forthcoming SUN workshop is a part of this programme. One leading team of researchers from the University of Southampton and from Morocco proposed this bilateral workshop to be held in Morocco to bring together early career researchers to discuss their research and start to build international relationships.

The selection committee wrote to Mr. Acharya: “the selection was challenging. The selection panel (UK and Moroccan coordinators and mentors), has chosen 16 applications that would contribute to and benefit from the workshop most”. The British Council and CNRST will cover the costs related to the participation to the workshop, including: travel (both international and local), visa, accommodation and meals.
Jib is delighted with his award. He commented: “It will give me a chance to build up networks with participants at this workshop. It will help to establish personal and institutional relationships.”

Jib’s PhD thesis is based on A comparative Study on Nutritional Problems in Preschool Aged Children of Kaski District of Nepal. His research applies a mixed-methods approach and he is supervised by a team of three BU supervisors: Dr. Jane Murphy, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and Dr. Martin Hind.

Friday the 13th, unlucky for some, but not for FIF applicants! Last chance to apply!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

If you would like to apply to any strands of the FIF in this round please make sure you submit your application by the deadline which is 2pm on Friday 13 December. 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. Please direct all initial enquiries to the Interim Fusion Administrator, Dianne Goodman, at Fusion Fund.

Free money! Free money! 1 week left to apply-FIF!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

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. Please direct all initial enquiries to the Interim Fusion Administrator, Dianne Goodman, at Fusion Fund.

Professional services staff can apply too….FIF-tastic!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

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 the Interim Administrator is Dianne Goodman. Please direct all initial enquiries to Fusion Fund.

FIF says ‘If you prefer to stay put, let the professionals and/or academics come to you!’

Funding opportunities, Fusion

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 the Interim Administrator is Dianne Goodman. Please direct all initial enquiries to Fusion Fund.

Are you FIF aware?!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

Because the FIF team are lovely, lovely people we’ve decided to hold some awareness sessions to give you the valuable opportunity to make your Fusion bid the very best it can possibly be. Two sessions will take place where you can discuss your application/s with the FIF Manager, Samantha Leahy-Harland, and committee members and, in addition, Dr. Martin Pickard of Grantcraft will be running a two and a half hour session giving his expert and essential Fusion bid writing advice. Martin is a specialist in writing and supporting research grant applications and tenders, as well as providing administrative and management support services for ongoing projects (additionally there will be some 1-2-1s available with Dr Martin Pickard in the afternoon of the 20th of November).

Come along to find out what makes a great application, what the committee members like to see in proposals and errors to avoid.  

  • Wednesday 13 November at 12-1pm, S203, Lansdowne – with the FIF Manager and committee members
  • Monday 18 November at 2-3pm, Casterbridge room, THS, Talbot – with the FIF Manager and committee members
  • Wednesday 20 November, at 9.30am – 12 midday in, CG04, Christchurch House, Talbot Campus – with Dr. Martin Pickard.
  • Additionally we have arranged some 1-2-1s in the afternoon between 1pm-5pm with Dr Martin Pickard to assist you specifically with your Fusion Bids.

 If you are interested in attending any of these sessions or to book a 1-2-1 appointment please contact Fusion Fund to confirm your place and your preferred session.

For all the updated strand policy documents, application form and more information please visit the FIF intranet pages.

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and the Interim Administrator is Dianne Goodman. Please direct all initial enquiries to Fusion Fund.

 

SMN could just be the strand for you!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

The Staff Mobility and Networking strand (SMN) of the FIF may seem like your normal, everyday standard strand but look carefully and you’ll see it’s a strand with a difference. It has 2 elements meaning even more opportunities for you! Not only is there a Standard element which includes Santander, but there is also an Erasmus Staff Mobility element too!

This strand provides support in the form of subsistence and travel costs and for staff to:

  • Travel within the UK or overseas with respect to development of projects linked to research, education, professional practice or any combination thereof.  Particular focus will be placed on the creation of sustainable collaborative networks of academics or professionals linked to specific outputs or partnership developments.
  • Travel within the UK or overseas for academic conferences, where one or more oral presentation is being presented and there is clear evidence of additional institutional value in terms of network creation or partnership development. 
  • Travel to at least one university from the the UK Santander Universities Network or one of the Overseas Santander Partner Universities with respect to development of projects linked to research, education, practice or any combination thereof. Please see the following for a list of participating institutions
  • Travel overseas in order to develop academic partnerships or lasting collaborative ventures around research, education and/or practice. 
  • Undertake a programme of mobility and/or networking across a series of linked trips or visits which are inter-disciplinary, especially where they are clearly linked to the BU Research Themes or involve student and staff participation. 
  • Travel in support of a Study Leave application.
  • Invite external partners to visit the University. For example, this might include inviting academics from other institutions or professionals from businesses to visit BU to develop projects and/or co-convening or facilitation of an international workshop.

 Previously funded activities under this strand:

Bournemouth-Birmingham-Brasilia: Consortium Building and Joint Work (BBB).

Dr Raian Ali, a Senior Lecturer in Computing, is the Principal Investigator of the BBB project which creates a community of interest involving the computing groups of the University of Brasilia, University of Birmingham, and Bournemouth University. The three groups are focused on Software Engineering research and this timely research project focuses on adaptive software systems, particularly, cloud and service computing. Exchange visits as part of this project have encouraged partnership development and international collaborative working. 

  Archaeology Professional Practice Forum: Bridging the Gap

The ‘Bridging the Gap’ project has been a highly successful networking and information gathering exercise, which will inform and drive actions to better prepare students for careers within archaeology, to better meet the needs of the profession and to enhance both subject-specific employability and transferable skills. An Archaeological Professional Practice Forum event was held to gather information from archaeology practitioners, employers, recent graduates and current students on the nature and extent of the skills gap between graduation and entry-level employment within archaeology. It explored ways to improve the industry-readiness of our students in order to give our new graduates a competitive edge when seeking employment, and to service the needs of the profession.  

 Please be aware that the Erasmus scheme differs quite significantly from the other FIF strands. More information is on the Erasmus intranet page  and more general information can be found on the FIF intranet pages.

 The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and the Interim Administrator is Dianne Goodman. Please direct all initial enquiries to Fusion Fund.

 

NRG Future Foresight Workshop with Sue Thomas

BU research

Dr Sue Thomas was recently appointed as a Visiting Fellow in The Media School. She was formerly Professor of New Media at De Montfort University, where she established a Transdisciplinary Common Room with an emphasis on Future Foresight.  Sue works closely with members of the university’s Narrative Research Group and we are delighted that she has agreed to host this event, which will take place on Wednesday 13 November at 2p.m in CG09.  Full details of the workshop appear below. All welcome.  You can find out more about Sue and her work at www.suethomas.net

 

How to think about the future in order to attract funding now. With examples drawn from nature and technology.

Academics are expert in the history of their discipline, but what about its future? For example, do you know how to use your expert knowledge of, say, the history of media, to predict the media landscape of 2025 or even 3025?

This session is in two parts:

1. A brief overview of my own work on nature and technology (see ‘Technobiophilia: nature and cyberspace’, Bloomsbury, 2013) and research questions arising from it. I’m interested in working with BU colleagues on developing grant applications in this area, perhaps in fields such as the future of video games, well-being, and tourism.

2. A practical workshop on the skills of Future Foresight – what it is and how to do it. The workshop is designed to stimulate ideas for ways to apply Future Foresight to your own subject area with a view to devising grant applications.

 

 

An opportunity for study leave, secondment or placement? Thank FIF for that!

Funding opportunities, Fusion

The Study Leave strand (SL) has three sub-strands: Academic Study Leave, Internal Secondments and Industrial Staff Placements.

  • Academic Study Leave This is to provide academic staff with a period of paid academic study leave, normally up to six months in duration, for the purposes of undertaking research, educational development (eg. the development of teaching programmes) or professional practice.  There must a clear benefit to both the individual and to BU and the stakeholder benefits with respect to Fusion should be clear. 
  • Internal Secondments:  In order to drive interdisciplinary research at BU a limited programme of internal secondments is available.  Secondments may last up to a maximum of six months.  A secondment application must be agreed between the host and the applicant with both parties contributing to the submission.  Cases will be judged on merit in terms of the collaborative output(s) that they will deliver which might include but are not restricted to: (1) completion of an interdisciplinary book or publication programme; (2) submission of a major research grant; (3) curriculum or pedagogic development; and (4) completion of a period of professional practice or knowledge exchange project. 
  • Industrial Staff Placements:  Staff have the opportunity to arrange their own placements with local and regional businesses/organisations for between two and six months.

 Examples of projects funded under this strand:

Engaging students in industry and updating professional practice

Associate Senior Lecturer, Sue Sudbury worked with Sequoia Films, which was commissioned by Channel 4 to develop an idea for their flagship documentary strand Cutting Edge and also to develop and produce an international feature-length documentary, Indian Spacemen, for BBC Storyville. Sue took ten BU students on broadcast production work experience while at the same time updating her professional practice.

 Understanding the co-creation of leisure behaviour in socio-natural environments

Dr Dorothy Fox, a Lecturer in the School of Tourism, undertook research practice with the aim of bringing new ways of thinking about the natural environment into the academic and public arena. This was achieved through primary research carried out in the UK; overseas travel to Australia and New Caledonia (in the South Pacific); the initiation of international networking; undertaking training and the development of new teaching materials for 2013-14.

Dr Fox said: “The process of applying for study leave and its execution has had a profound impact on my way of thinking about my role at BU. This has led to a change from a local perspective to an international one.”

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 the Interim Administrator is Dianne Goodman. Please direct all initial enquiries to Fusion Fund.

FIF says ‘Get co-creating!’

Funding opportunities, Fusion

The Co-creation and Co-Production strand supports activity that embraces as many of the following as possible:

  •  Demonstrates a clear, fundamental and innovative contribution to Fusion benefitting staff and students within BU. Benefits to students could include both direct and indirect benefits.
  • Requires pump-priming to initiate activity which will then become sustainable.
  • Delivers a series of clear, measurable and tangible outputs that deliver benefits beyond the team applying.
  • Presents new, innovative projects or initiatives that are likely to have both reach and significance within and beyond BU and where possible involve inter-disciplinary collaboration.
  • Leads to public engagement with a range of stakeholders.
  • Demonstrates good value for money in terms of return on investment and strategic priorities.

  Duration of the activities can be between 6 and 12 months. Awards made will be between £2k and £75k.

Be inspired by reading about some of the successfully funded activities under this strand:

The Poole and Purbeck Portal is an inter-school collaboration between the School of Applied Sciences, the Media School and the National Centre for Computer Animation.

http://www.pooleandpurbeckportal.co.uk/

Centre for Face Processing Disorders at BU

Dr Sarah Bate from the Psychology Research Centre was awarded funds from this strand to develop a Centre for Face Processing Disorders at BU.  Sarah’s work explored the cognitive presentation and treatment of face processing deficits in adults and children with a range of neuropsychological conditions, such as developmental or acquired prosopagnosia (face blindness), autistic spectrum disorder, and Moebius syndrome. 

More information about this project can be found here: www.prosopagnosiaresearch.org

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 the Interim Administrator is Dianne Goodman. Please direct all initial enquiries to Fusion Fund.

Thank FIF it’s open! – Round two now open to applications

Funding opportunities, Fusion, Research themes

 

 

 

The Pro-Vice Chancellor would like to invite you to apply for the current round of Fusion Investment Fund.

 Three funding strands are available for staff at BU:                                                       

Co-Creation and Co-Production strand (CCCP)

 Study Leave strand (SL)

There are three sub-strands under this strand: Academic Study Leave, Internal Secondments and Industrial Staff Placements.

 Staff Mobility and Networking strand (SMN)

This strand includes Santander and Erasmus.

 Awareness sessions will take place on the following, giving applicants the valuable opportunity to discuss their applications with the FIF Manager and committee members:

  • Wednesday 13 November 12-1pm, S203, Lansdowne
  • Monday 18 November 2-3pm, Casterbridge room, THS, Talbot
  •  In addition, Dr. Martin Pickard of Grantcraft will be running a two and a half hour session giving essential Fusion bid writing advice on Wednesday 20 November, at 9.30am in, CG04, Christchurch House, Talbot Campus. Martin is a specialist in writing and supporting research grant applications and tenders, as well as providing administrative and management support services for ongoing projects.

If you are interested in attending any of these sessions please contact Fusion Fund to confirm your place and your preferred session.For all the updated strand policy documents, application form and more information please visit the FIF intranet pages.

The Fusion Investment Fund is managed by Samantha Leahy-Harland and the Interim Administrator is Dianne Goodman. Please direct all initial enquiries to Fusion Fund.

Energy Management for existing buildings. Competition now open

BU research, Funding opportunities

The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and the Research Councils’ UK Energy Programme are to invest up to £4m in collaborative R&D to stimulate innovation in the field of energy management for existing buildings.

The aim of this competition is to advance significantly the capabilities of UK businesses so that they can capture a greater share of growing UK and global markets.

Consortia must be collaborative and led by a business. They should include at least one business that provides solutions for energy management, such as technology providers, building/facility/energy managers or engineers. The TSB are also encouraging consortia to include a potential customer for their energy management innovation and, where appropriate, researchers from relevant academic or research organisations.

This is a two-stage competition that opened for applicants on 14 October 2013. Applicants must register by noon on 20 November 2013. The deadline for expressions of interest is at noon on 27 November 2013.

A briefing event for potential applicants will be held in London on 23 October 2013. For more information and to register please click here.

The 5 things you didn’t know about Innovation Vouchers….

Funding opportunities

1.      Small to Medium size businesses can apply for funded support to buy in consultancy expertise from university academics

2.     There are currently 2 different Innovation Voucher schemes which are run separately by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and Universities South West (USW)

3.      With the USW Innovation Voucher you can receive up to 40% funded support for projects ranging from £3,000 – £10,000. (**Only organisations located in the South West can apply, excluding Cornwall)

4.      TSB Innovation Voucher offers £5000 to businesses who are looking for support in the following sector areas:

Built Environment, Energy, Water & Waste and Agrifood

Also available to all industry sectors who specifically require expertise on ‘Open Data’ or ‘Cyber Security’

5.      Applying for a voucher is easy! Both schemes require on-line applications where you will need to answer a few short questions about your idea, the impact it could have on your business and why you specifically need help from university academics.

For further information on Innovation Vouchers  please visit the TSB and University South West websites:

Technology Strategy  Board

University South West 

 

If you have any questions or would like to apply for a voucher, please contact the University’s Knowledge Exchange Officer –  Lucy Rossiter on 01202 961215.

Desperate for uninterrupted quality time on your grant application? Come to the Residential Research Retreat!

BU research

The Research Design Service South West (RDS SW) is offering a unique opportunity to researchers in health and social care across the South West of England.

The Residential Research Retreat provides an opportunity for research teams to develop high quality research proposals suitable for submission to national peer-reviewed funding schemes. The aim of the Retreat is to provide the environment and support to promote rapid progress in developing proposals over a relatively short time period. The Retreat is open to health professionals and academic partners working within the South West. 

At the Retreat you will be supported by a range of academic experts while developing your research proposal. Away from the workplace, you will work intensively on your proposal, while learning how to maximise its chances for successfully securing a grant. You will learn how to develop your idea into a viable and first class research proposal and experience research project planning at a professional level.

A delegate from this year’s Retreat said, “This has been an extremely valuable exercise and has really helped build an understanding of what is expected from NIHR funded projects. In order to ensure that new researchers are able to make feasible, rigorous, well-designed bids for funding, this week is essential.”

The Retreat will be held at the Ammerdown Conference Centre, near Bath in Somerset from 1 June to 6 June 2014 inclusive. To win a place on the Retreat, applications should be submitted by 1pm on Friday 17th January 2014.  Applications will be reviewed competitively and places awarded to the most promising team proposals. The application and further information is available at http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/rrr.htm.

Don’t forget, your local branch of the Research Design Service is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) on the 5th floor of Royal London House. Feel free to pop in and see us or send us an email.

NIHR Research Design Service Grant Applications Workshop

BU research

The Research Design Service South West (RDS SW) is running a one-day grant applications workshop on 7th November 2013 at Taunton Racecourse, Somerset.

The grant applications workshop is directed at researchers who are considering applying to peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research, and is intended to allow them to turn good applications into excellent ones.

If you are interested in attending the workshop you will need to submit an application form and the latest draft of your research proposal by 1pm on Monday 14th October 2013.

For more information and to download an application form please go to http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/gaw.htm.

Mike Baker Doctoral Programme is now open!

Funding opportunities

The Mike Baker Doctoral Programme is now open and has a deadline of 23 September 2013.

Funding is avaiable for the full costs of one PhD studentship (or 50% of the costs of two PhD studentships) to develop research and an evidence-base in higher education practice and policy, with an impact across the sector. The proposed project should be discipline-specific learning and teaching research or interdisciplinary/generic pedagogical research and should have a clear benefit to either practice or to policy on practice. Details of HEA disciplines can be found from the discipline based web pages. The supervisor should have a successful track record in the relevant area demonstrated through publications and broader dissemination efforts. Find out more about the call and how to apply on the HEA call webpage.