Tagged / mres

Funded MRes Studentships starting September 2024

Please join us online to find out more about this opportunity – (see flyer INSIGHT SWCC flyer version 1).

The NIHR INSIGHT programme for South West Central Collaboration (SWCC) provides an opportunity for new graduates in nursing, midwifery, AHP, pharmacy, health scientists, public health,  social care and chiropractic to engage in a research programme.

This will be through funded master’s in research (MRes)programmes at either UWE-Bristol or BU.

 

Studying for M.Res. in CMWH

international, PG research, Student Engagement, student research

Now accepting research students in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

A Master’s by Research (M.Res.) is a great introduction to the research process, enabling the student to explore a specific area under the supervision of experienced researchers. It contains little or no formal taught component. This type of study gives you the chance to explore a research topic over a shorter time than a more in-depth Ph.D.  M.Res. students can undertake a one year full-time or two years part-time Master’s degree.  For more details see here.

CMWH is currently accepting MRes (and PhD) applications in the following areas:

Early / latent phase labour (Prof. Vanora Hundley)

Infant feeding (Asso. Prof. Catherine Angell)

Pain management, pain education, musculoskeletal and pelvic pain,  pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, women’s health (Prof. Carol Clark)

Women’s health in a changing global climate (Dr. Becky Neall)

Drowning prevention in  low-and-middle-income countries (Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen)

Cardiometabolic health during pre-conception and pregnancy (Dr. Sumanto Haldar)

Exercise and pregnancy (Dr. Malika Felton)

Chronic musculoskeletal pain, lifestyle factors, human metabolism, and the use of data science in the pain field (Dr. Omer Elma)

Women’s alcohol consumption and nutritional status (Dr. Chloe Casey)

Nutrition in women’s health (including LGBT+ populations) (Dr. Sarah Hillier)

Asian Elephant Acoustic Monitoring

Wild Sumatran Elephant recorded on BU trail camera. Project by BU PhD student Helen Slater (Pippa Gillingham & Amanda Korstjens), in collaboration with Invisible Flock.

Elephants live in complex societies with a rich array of social interactions and a sophisticated communication system that includes extensive use of audible and infra sounds. Eavesdropping on their long and short-range vocal communication may be a way to help us monitor wellbeing for captive elephants, understand population sizes of wild elephants and even help us monitor the movements of wild elephants approaching human settlements and fields. Our multi-disciplinary team is interested in developing the tools and methods for passive acoustic monitoring of elephants for a range of applications as part of a new collaboration including researchers, technologists, conservationists and artists.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, independent, MRes student to join us to study acoustic communication and behaviour of captive Asian elephants, Elephas maximus. The aim of this one-year research project is to identify whether passive acoustic monitoring can play a role in monitoring captive elephant wellbeing and activity. The project involves studying behaviour and vocalisations of the Asian elephant herd at Whipsnade zoo, Zoological Society London. Preferred course start April 2021 – other options can be discussed.

Project page: https://go-leap.wixsite.com/home/elephantacoustics

We are also happy to discuss a longer-term project at the level of a self-funded MPhil or PhD.

Supervisors

Amanda Korstjens, akorstjens @ bournemouth.ac.uk

Kathy Hodder, khodder @ bournemouth.ac.uk

Lewis Rowden, at ZSL

Alasdair Davies, Arribada at ZSL

Full research team:

Victoria Pratt and Ben Eaton from Invisible Flock

Tom Davis, Bournemouth University

MRes course at Bournemouth University

Doing an MRes degree at Bournemouth University allows you to focus on research, which you write up as a thesis, without completing coursework, although you will also have the benefit of a small number of mandatory skills workshops.

At the start of the project, you will discuss your development goals and requirements with your supervisory team, and we will provide you with relevant training opportunities. This project offers the opportunity to learn skills in animal behaviour data collection and analyses with experts in the field. You will also have the opportunity to learn more about developing low-cost acoustic devices, collecting and analysing sound recordings, and can join in public engagement activities.

You will become a member of the Bournemouth University Postgraduate Researcher group (PhD, MPhil and MRes students), where you fall under the support from our doctoral college. At the university you are part of the Life and Environmental Sciences Department where we have an inclusive welcoming team of scientists working on a wide breadth of research in biological and ecological subjects (LES).

Start Date: April 2021 (preferably)

Contact: please contact Amanda Korstjens if you have any questions about this opportunity. akorstjens @ bournemouth.ac.uk (without the spaces)

Some further information on the work we do:

Elephant research at Bournemouth University: https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/research-action/sumatran-elephant-conservation ZSL Research: https://www.zsl.org/science/research

Arribada Initiative: https://arribada.org/

Invisible Flock: Inaudible Science-art collaboration: https://invisibleflock.com/portfolio/inaudible/

You will become a member of the LEAP research group, you can find completed MRes and PhD theses of the LEAP team here: https://go-leap.wixsite.com/home/publications

Details on the MRes scheme and links to how to Apply can be found here:

https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/study/courses/master-research-faculty-science-technology-1

Application page link (please check the general course information pages first).

Funding:

We will provide equipment.

We cannot fund accommodation, fees or stipend.

We will support and train you in preparing external funding bids.

Sumatran Elephant by @AHKorstjens

Sumatran Elephant by @AHKorstjens

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BU and Precision Acoustics work together on high-impact NDT software programme

Awarded & submitted bids, Business Engagement, Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

Aircraft engines

It is estimated that some 30% of airline engines worldwide are analysed using PA’s current-generation technologies to detect fan blade defects

A team from the Faculty of Science and Technology, led Professor Siamak Noroozi and Dr Richard Gunstone, have successfully obtained a Grant Offer Letter (GOL) for a high-impact KTP working with Precision Acoustics Limited (Dorset).

In this blog post we discuss some of the background to this KTP, and objectives.

Precision Acoustics (PA) manufactures acoustic measurement products for the medical and Non Destructive Testing (NDT) industries and is well established as a major supplier of equipment for the (MHz) ultrasound markets world-wide. PA has a close working relationship with the National Physical Laboratory, London, and academic establishments across the UK to further R&D.

The company’s core products are acoustics measuring devices. The company already has a significant share of the world market in this area, and is now embarking on innovative industrial NDT systems working on a number of precursor projects including with Rolls Royce. The longer term objective can only be achieved if PA introduces a software capability able to devise, maintain and develop a development process that has the expected attributes of resilience, performance and integrity, supporting product deployment. This is the principal focus for the KTP, capitalising on the capability in systems design, software, and assurance within BU.

The diagnostic systems work at PA are being developed and used in numerous applications, including malaria detection. It is estimated that some 30% of commercial airliners globally use the technologies developed by PAL for analysing defects in engine fan blades, for example. Due to the inherent nature of NDT systems and the potential application areas, these application areas are likely to have societal relevance and high-impact.

A great deal of effort has been spent in designing the project to be flexible and comprehensive. This has been made possible by the capable contribution of Norman Stock, the Faculty Business Relations Officer. He has worked closely with the academic staff and also the company to present a suitable proposal to Innovate UK, who are part-funding the collaboration.

In terms of project design, the KTP incorporates the new “KTP laydown” of an integrated MRes opportunity for the Associate, combined with expectations of research activity leading to co-authored papers. This provides a route for knowledge transfer of expertise from the university to the company, in a way that delivers advantages for all stakeholders.

We look forward to providing further reports on our collaboration with PA as time progresses.

In terms of advice for others considering KTP funding, Richard highlights a few relevant points:

“Engage early with the Business Relations Officer for your Faculty. Make sure deadlines are adhered to, including submission windows with Innovate UK. Finally, clarify the project plan as early as possible, including what is achievable in the project timescale – scoping is key”