BU Research Blog

29 March 2023

Cafe Scientifique – Improving Disaster Management with Social Science

Join Cafe Scientifique next Tuesday 4th April at the Black Cherry Cafe, Boscombe.

At Café Scientifique, you can explore the latest ideas in science and technology in a relaxed setting. Enjoy listening to a short talk before engaging in debate and discussion with our guest speaker and audience.

We’ll be joined by Professor Lee Miles and Martin Travers on Tuesday 4 April from 6:30 – 8:00pm.

African countries are increasingly vulnerable to disasters of all kinds and must urgently enhance their abilities and capacities to deal with these hazards. Join us to learn how social science research could help improve disaster management in Africa using innovative Single Points of Failure approaches and partnerships with local stakeholders. We’ll hear how African countries have embraced new technology and how disaster management can even take place over WhatsApp!

We will welcome two speakers; Lee Miles, Professor of Crisis and Disaster Management at Bournemouth University and Martin Travers, a highly experienced practitioner who has worked in Sierra Leone, to hear both academic and practical perspectives.

This event will be held at The Black Cherry in Boscombe, Bournemouth. Although the talk starts at 6:30pm, the café will be open early so we encourage you to arrive early for a drink and a bite to eat before the talk starts.

Book your place

23 March 2023

Online public lecture from BU academics this evening: Pioneering women at the BBC

Public engagement, Women's Academic Network Adam Morris

For more than a century, the BBC has been a fixture of British cultural life. However, few people are aware of the key role played by women in its earliest days.

The next event in our online public lecture series will showcase the pioneering women of the BBC – from female producers through to the engineers, broadcasters and managers who carried the BBC through the Second World War and beyond.

The free event will take place online from 7pm – 8.30pm on Thursday 23 March.

Dr Kate Terkanian and Dr Kate Murphy – from the Faculty of Media and Communication – will share stories uncovered by their research into women in the BBC, from the 1920s up to the 1950s.

There will also be the opportunity for audience questions.

The event takes place during Women’s History Month, which this year is celebrating ‘The Women Who Tell Our Stories’, encouraging recognition of women, past and present, who have been active in all forms of media and storytelling.

It is the third event in BU’s 2022/23 online public lecture series, which showcases our research and expertise across key areas. The first lecture series attracted more than 1,000 attendees from across the world.

Find out more and book your place

16 February 2023

SaferKids VR launch

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, Industry collaboration, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer shodge

Before the pandemic, local school children had a local facility near Wallisdown called SafeWise. SafeWise supported children learning about keeping safe and in particular road safety. However, during the pandemic this facility closed, leaving children without such an important resource. In collaboration with Colin Parnell from Centre VR, Dr Sarah Hodge (from the Department of Psychology) was awarded a bid by Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council to develop a VR simulation/game about road safety skills; SaferKids VR.

The educational simulation/game was designed and created, with an interdisciplinary team, including psychologists, and game developers and programmers. The team of game developers and programmers, consisted of two BU graduates Sam Walsh and Josh Maddocks, as well as Andrew Ham. Since graduating from his Masters degree, Sam has led the team on the SaferKids VR development.

Within SaferKids VR, there was the creation of SKIE: Safer Kids Interactive Expert (robot pictured above). SKIE supports the player in VR, navigating the friendly real-life interactive virtual world and achieving learning goals and road safety skills. In the United States, every year, thousands of people are injured as a result of someone else’s negligence. You can read this article to know what to do if you ever get into an accident.

Schools can sign up for their pupils to be involved.

For more information on the project please see the link https://centrevr.co.uk/saferkidsvr/ or contact shodge@bournemouth.ac.uk

16 February 2023

Tell us about the social, cultural & community events you’ve been involved in

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

Please tell us about your social, cultural and community events for the period 1 August 2022 – 31 July 2023

This data forms part of BU’s annual Higher Education – Business & Community Interaction survey and is used to calculate our Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) grant. It also feeds into our submission to the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) so it is really important for us to provide a full and accurate picture of all our public engagement.

Which events do I need to report?

Public lectures & talks
Performance arts (music, dance, drama etc)
Exhibitions (galleries, museums etc)
Museum education
Media engagement (TV/radio interviews, podcasts etc)

If you’re not sure if your event is eligible for inclusion, take a look at the SharePoint site which includes further details and guidance.

What data do we collect?

For the purposes of the HE-BCI survey, please record the following:

Event dates – to ensure eligibility
Whether the event or activity was free or chargeable
The number of attendees (or views/visitors)
The amount of staff time in hours needed for delivery.

All events that were part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2022, Online Public Lecture Series and Café Scientifique have been collated on your behalf centrally, so there is no need to add these.

Deadline: Friday 29 September 2023

We would encourage you to add your new data regularly throughout the year, while the details are easily recalled.

Further information

The SharePoint site provides details about what data is collected, including how to calculate attendee numbers, staff time, reporting online activities and multiple related events.

If you have any further questions about the HE-BCI return, please contact publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk.

13 February 2023

Café Sci – Tuesday 7 March 2023: Emotion and its effects on spatial memory

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

At Café Scientifique, you can explore the latest ideas in science and technology in a relaxed setting. Enjoy listening to a short talk before engaging in debate and discussion with our guest speaker and audience.

We’ll be joined by Dr Tara Zaksaite on Tuesday 7 March from 6:30 – 8:00pm

Emotion and its effects on spatial memory

Spatial memory is our ability to remember where things are, for example remembering where you put down your keys, or where you met a friend. Interestingly, our spatial memory is stronger when we have an emotional connection to a place or object.

But do we better remember things with positive associations or negative? And can we turn this around and use the power of emotions to improve our spatial memory?

Join Dr Tara Zaksaite, a cognitive psychologist and a lecturer in psychology at Bournemouth University, to discover how your spatial memory works and to ask your questions.

This event will be held at The Black Cherry in Boscombe, Bournemouth. Although the talk starts at 6:30pm, the café will be open early, so we encourage you to arrive early for a drink and a bite to eat before the talk starts.

Attendance is free but booking is required

8 February 2023

REMINDER – RKEDF Evaluation Workshops: Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 February

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Training ballen

The Public Engagement with Research Team are running two workshops this month: Evaluation of Engagement and Advanced Evaluation.

These sessions will be delivered by Dr Jamie Gallagher, one of the most experienced engagement trainers in the UK. Jamie is a dynamic and engaging trainer who makes these sessions enjoyable as well as useful.

It is recommended that both sessions are attended to gain the full benefit. The sessions will build skills from the basic principles of evaluation, through to being able to develop evaluation plans for even the most complex topics, exploring data capture, analysis and reporting. You’ll also learn how to write evaluation reports for funders or for the REF (Research Excellence Framework).

While both sessions are recommended, attending just the first session may be appropriate for your needs. It is advised against only attending the second session.

Evaluation of Engagement: Monday 20 February, 9am-12:30pm, Talbot Campus

This workshop will highlight what you need to ask yourself, and the public, to ensure you can demonstrate the success of your intervention and capture the long term impact of it.

Successful public engagement can benefit research, researchers and the public – but how do you go about demonstrating this change? This workshop will guide you through the best evaluation processes showing you when, why and crucially how to use evaluation to give you reliable and clear data. It will highlight how to demonstrate success to funders, record impact for the REF, help to improve your processes, and give you a better understanding of the people you are connecting with.

At the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

Understand the purposes, uses and limitations of evaluation
Apply event-appropriate evaluation methods in multiple scenarios
Prepare useful, answerable and relevant evaluation questions
Devise and deliver your own evaluation plan
Interpret and report evaluation data.

To book a place on this workshop please complete the booking form.

Advanced Evaluation: Tuesday 21 February 9am – 12:30pm, Talbot Campus

Taking an in-depth look at evaluation, participants will explore data capture, analysis and reporting. From surveys to focus groups, you will learn how to format powerful questions and report meaningful data. Discover how to develop evaluation plans for even the most complex topics. You will also learn how to write evaluation reports for funders or for the REF.

This workshop requires good base knowledge of evaluation, ideally from attending the previous Evaluation of engagement workshop.

To book a place on this workshop please complete the booking form.

For any queries regarding either of these sessions please contact the Public Engagement team: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk.

9 January 2023

RKEDF Evaluation Workshops: Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 February

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Training ballen

The Public Engagement with Research Team are running two workshops in February: Evaluation of Engagement and Advanced Evaluation.

These sessions will be delivered by Dr Jamie Gallagher, one of the most experienced engagement trainers in the UK. Jamie is a dynamic and engaging trainer who makes these sessions enjoyable as well as useful.

It is recommended that both sessions are attended to gain the full benefit. The sessions will build skills from the basic principles of evaluation, through to being able to develop evaluation plans for even the most complex topics, exploring data capture, analysis and reporting. You’ll also learn how to write evaluation reports for funders or for the REF (Research Excellence Framework).

While both sessions are recommended, attending just the first session may be appropriate for your needs. It is advised against only attending the second session.

Evaluation of Engagement: Monday 20 February, 9am-12:30pm, Talbot Campus

This workshop will highlight what you need to ask yourself, and the public, to ensure you can demonstrate the success of your intervention and capture the long term impact of it.

Successful public engagement can benefit research, researchers and the public – but how do you go about demonstrating this change? This workshop will guide you through the best evaluation processes showing you when, why and crucially how to use evaluation to give you reliable and clear data. It will highlight how to demonstrate success to funders, record impact for the REF, help to improve your processes, and give you a better understanding of the people you are connecting with.

At the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

Understand the purposes, uses and limitations of evaluation
Apply event-appropriate evaluation methods in multiple scenarios
Prepare useful, answerable and relevant evaluation questions
Devise and deliver your own evaluation plan
Interpret and report evaluation data.

To book a place on this workshop please complete the booking form.

Advanced Evaluation: Tuesday 21 February 9am – 12:30pm, Talbot Campus

Taking an in-depth look at evaluation, participants will explore data capture, analysis and reporting. From surveys to focus groups, you will learn how to format powerful questions and report meaningful data. Discover how to develop evaluation plans for even the most complex topics. You will also learn how to write evaluation reports for funders or for the REF.

This workshop requires good base knowledge of evaluation, ideally from attending the previous Evaluation of engagement workshop.

To book a place on this workshop please complete the booking form.

For any queries regarding either of these sessions please contact the Public Engagement team: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk.

6 January 2023

BU research mentioned in The Washington Post

international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Today The Washington Post mentioned Bournemouth University’s research into kidney disease in migrant workers from Nepal. Our research was highlighted in an article with the title ‘The world’s torrid future is etched in the crippled kidneys of Nepali workers‘ written by journalist Gerry Shih. Dr. Pramod Regmi and Dr. Nirmal Aryal, both in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, are leading on a research project on kidney health and migrant workers. The paper mentioned in The Washington Post is titled: ‘Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists’ [1]. This survey paper was published just over a year ago, in late 2021, and it was preceded by other papers on this issue [2-3].

Dr. Pramod Regmi is Senior Lecturer in International Health and, Dr. Nirmal Aryal recently returned to BU as researcher on a study into kidney disease among Nepalese migrant workers (funded by the Colt Foundation).

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References

Aryal, N., Sedhain, A., Regmi, P.R., KC, R.K.,& van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 12(12), 126–132.
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Faller, E.M,, van Teijlingen, E., Khoon, C.C., Pereira, A., Simkhada, P. (2019) Sudden cardiac death and kidney health related problems among Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 9(3): 755-758.
Simkhada, P.P., Regmi, PR., van Teijlingen, E., Aryal, N. (2017) Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health & well-being: A review of literature, Journal of Travel Medicine 24(4): 1-9.

14 December 2022

RKEDF Workshop: Advanced Evaluation – Tuesday 21 February 9am-12:30pm

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Training ballen

Meaningful data and reporting. Discover how to develop evaluation plans for even the most complex topics, exploring data capture, analysis and reporting. You will also learn how to write evaluation reports for funders or for REF.

Taking an in-depth look at evaluation, participants will explore data capture, analysis and reporting. From surveys to focus groups format powerful questions and report meaningful data.

This workshop requires good base knowledge of evaluation, ideally from attending the previous session ‘Evaluation of engagement’.

Workshop	Date	Time	Location
Advanced Evaluation	Tuesday 21 February 2023	09:00 – 12:30	Talbot Campus

To book a place on this workshop please complete the Booking Form.

For any queries regarding the content of this session, please contact Public Engagement: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk

For any other queries, please contact Organisational Development.

14 December 2022

RKEDF Workshop: Evaluation of Engagement – Monday 20 February 9am-12:30pm

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Training ballen

This workshop will take you through the simple questions to ask yourself and the public to ensure you can not only demonstrate the success of your intervention, but capture the long term impact of it.

Successful public engagement can benefit research, researchers and the public – but how do you go about demonstrating this change? This workshop will guide you through the best evaluation processes showing you When, Why and crucially How to use evaluation to give you reliable and clear data. Demonstrate success to funders; record Impact for REF; learn how to improve your processes and have a better understanding of the people you are connecting with.

At the end of the workshop you will be able to:

Understand the purposes, uses and limitations of evaluation
Apply event-appropriate evaluation methods in multiple scenarios
Prepare useful, answerable and relevant evaluation questions
Devise and deliver your own evaluation plan
Interpret and report evaluation data

Workshop	Date	Time	Location
Evaluation of Engagement	Monday, 20th February 2023	09:00 – 12:30	Talbot Campus

To book a place on this workshop please complete the Booking Form.

For queries regarding the content of this session, please contact Public Engagement: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk

For any other queries, please contact Organisational Development.

14 December 2022

Public and Patient Involvement in Research: RKEDF Workshop – Tuesday 24 January 2-3:30pm

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Training ballen

Led by Public Involvement in Education and Research (PIER), this session looks at how to meaningfully involve patients and service users in the research process.

This workshop offers an engaging introduction to the what, why and how of public involvement in research. It is co-designed and facilitated by Rachel Jury and Tim Worner, who have extensive experience of sharing their lived experience expertise in research studies, Dr Mel Hughes, Academic Lead for the BU PIER Partnership and Angela Warren, PIER involvement coordinator.

We will cover the different approaches to public involvement; the public contributor role; the benefits of public involvement and what pitfalls to avoid. The workshop will also provide an opportunity for researchers to learn about public involvement and to consider this from the perspective of experts by experience and in relation to their own research. This will be interactive with opportunities for researchers to share and discuss ideas and plans.

Intended outcomes

– Develop a knowledge and understanding of different models of public involvement
– Consider the benefits of public involvement for a research study and all those involved
– Identify best practice in designing and conducting public involvement in research

Workshop	Date	Time	Location
Public and Patient Involvement in Research	Tuesday, 24th January 2023	14:00 – 15:30	Lansdowne Campus

To book a place on this workshop please complete the Booking Form.

For queries regarding the content of this session, please contact Public Engagement: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk

For any other queries, please contact Organisational Development.

14 December 2022

Café Sci – Tuesday 7 February 2023: Challenging news negativity

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

At Café Scientifique, you can explore the latest ideas in science and technology in a relaxed setting. Enjoy listening to a short talk before engaging in debate and discussion with our guest speaker and audience.

We’ll be joined by Dr Antje Glück on Tuesday 7 February from 6:30 – 8:00pm

Challenging news negativity

Why can the news feel so overwhelmingly negative, and what can we do about it?

There’s no doubt that serious news needs to be handled appropriately, but can the widespread doom and gloom cause us to switch off?

Join Dr Antje Glück to discover why the news is biased towards negativity, and how alternative models of journalism can create better news for all of us.

This event will be held at The Black Cherry in Boscombe, Bournemouth. Although the talk starts at 6:30pm, the café will be open early, so we encourage you to arrive early for a drink and a bite to eat before the talk starts.

Attendance is free but booking is required

Should you have any questions about this event, or if you would like to get involved with a future Café Sci talk, please contact the Public Engagement Team; publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk

13 December 2022

Impact Planning with Saskia Gent – 18 January, 2023

alazar

Saskia Gent from Insights for Impact will be running an online workshop on January 18th from 13:00-15:00.

This interactive session is aimed at researchers at all stages of their careers who wish to plan for impact throughout the lifecycle of their project. Participants will learn how to build relationships and networks to inform research questions, identify impact goals and beneficiaries and develop relevant engagement activities.

By the end of the session, you will:
– know how to undertake stakeholder analysis
– be able to identify the different types of impact that may arise from your research
– be able to create a strategic plan to embed impact in your research from the start.

If you would like to attend the workshop, please email impact@bournemouth.ac.uk so that we can reserve your place. Places are limited so please register your interest as soon as possible.

9 December 2022

Science Communication Unit at UWE Bristol – Online Course: Connecting People, Creating Events

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

The Science Communication Unit at UWE Bristol is inviting applications for a part-time, online course, which will run from Monday 16 January to Friday 24 March 2023.

You will develop the practical skills and theoretical understanding needed for effective, science-based public engagement, from the team behind UWE Bristol’s highly regarded Science Communication postgraduate programmes.

Topics include;

event design
understanding audiences
project planning
presentation skills
event promotion and evaluation

The course is designed to work flexibly alongside other commitments, with assignments that can be tailored to a current role or used to explore new possibilities.The eight units are taught over ten weeks (including two private-study weeks), with approximately ten hours study time each week.

You are required to have a minimum degree level qualification (or equivalent), though this does not need to be in a science-based subject. On completion you will gain 15 Masters-level credits (UK) or 7.5 ECTS (EU).

Course fees are £750

For more course information, and to apply, please visit: https://courses.uwe.ac.uk/usskns15m/science-communication-connecting-people-creating-events or contact: science.communication@uwe.ac.uk.

If you would like to discuss your application with the BU’s Public Engagement with Research team, please contact publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk.

9 December 2022

Early career STEM communicators: The Little Event online conference 2023

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Training ballen

The Little Event is a training session for people who are new to STEM communication.

Whether you work in a science centre or museum, volunteer for a festival, are involved in university outreach, or do anything else to engage people with science, technology, engineering and maths.

The introductory sessions will focus on developing the different skills that are useful in STEM communication, and they are delivered by experienced science communicators.

The 2023 Little Event will be held online over two days and are designed to work together to be booked as a package.

The programme includes sessions on Evaluation, Managing Projects, Presenting, Science Capital, and Careers and will include plenty of networking time.

Session 1: Thursday 19 January, 3- 6:30pm

Session 2: Saturday 21 January, 9:00am – 1:15pm

BIG members: cost £50. Non-members: cost is £85 and includes BIG Membership for 1 year. Book here: https://www.big.uk.com/event-5023798

If you would like to come to the Little Event for free, BIG offers bursaries to attend which will cover your fees as well as some expenses.

Applications close on Sunday 11 December 2022. See https://www.big.uk.com/event-5030137 to apply or https://www.big.uk.com/bursary for more information.

29 November 2022

RKEDF Workshop: Public & Patient Involvement in Research – Tuesday 24 January 2-3:30pm

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Training ballen

Led by Public Involvement in Education and Research (PIER), this session looks at how to meaningfully involve patients and service users in the research process.

This workshop offers an engaging introduction to the what, why and how of public involvement in research. It is co-designed and facilitated by Rachel Jury and Tim Worner, who have extensive experience of sharing their lived experience expertise in research studies, Dr Mel Hughes, Academic Lead for the BU PIER Partnership and Angela Warren, PIER involvement coordinator.

We will cover the different approaches to public involvement; the public contributor role; the benefits of public involvement and what pitfalls to avoid. The workshop will also provide an opportunity for researchers to learn about public involvement and to consider this from the perspective of experts by experience and in relation to their own research. This will be interactive with opportunities for researchers to share and discuss ideas and plans.

Intended outcomes

– Develop a knowledge and understanding of different models of public involvement
– Consider the benefits of public involvement for a research study and all those involved
– Identify best practice in designing and conducting public involvement in research

Workshop	Date	Time	Location
Public and Patient Involvement in Research	Tuesday, 24th January 2023	14:00 – 15:30	Lansdowne Campus

To book a place on this workshop please complete the Booking Form.

For queries regarding the content of this session, please contact Public Engagement: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk

For any other queries, please contact Organisational Development.

29 November 2022

REMINDER: Online Workshop – From Public Engagement to Impact Monday 5 December 3-4pm

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

This session is aimed at researchers at all stages of their careers to find out how public engagement activity can help their research have an impact on the world.

Participants will explore the link between public engagement activity and measurable impact, reflect on their own impact goals, identify potential stakeholders and engagement activity, and learn from high-ranking impact case studies with a significant public engagement pathway.

By the end of the session, participants will have a better understanding of how impact can be developed from public engagement activity.

Workshop	Date	Time	Location
From Public Engagement To Impact	Monday, 5 December 2022	15:00 – 16:00	Online

To book a place on this workshop please complete the Booking Form.

For queries regarding the content of this session, please contact BU’s Public Engagement team: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk

For any other queries, please contact Organisational Development.

29 November 2022

Join the next meeting of the Public Engagement with Research Network: Wednesday 14 December 4-5pm

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

The next meeting of the Public Engagement with Research Network will be a bit different. Instead of our usual meetings we’re holding a social networking gathering to provide the opportunity to meet and connect with other network members.

The PER Network has so far been a great way of sharing experience and best practice with you, its members, but the real strength of a network is in how its members work together.

There is a wealth of experience, skills, and possibilities for collaboration amongst our members, but we know it’s difficult to keep up with the work happening in your own department, let alone across faculties, especially when opportunities to meet other academics are rarer than they used to be.

This will be a networking mixer, held on Wednesday 14 December, 4-5pm at Dylan’s Bar, Talbot Campus.

To join this meeting and find out about future ones, join our BU Public Engagement with Research Network. Check under ‘Meetings’ for upcoming sessions.

If you have any questions, please email the team.

Tagged / impact

Cafe Scientifique – Improving Disaster Management with Social Science

Book your place

Online public lecture from BU academics this evening: Pioneering women at the BBC

SaferKids VR launch