Tagged / Research Capacity Transformation scheme

Research reflections 2022: the year in numbers

BU research, Featured, Research communication

2022 has been another great year for research and knowledge exchange at BU. From receiving our excellent REF 2021 results to securing prestigious external funding and supporting new research activity, there’s a lot to celebrate.

Across the coming days, we’ll be featuring stories and reflections from across the BU community, sharing some of their highlights from across the year.

To get us started, here are just some of the numbers that make up the year in research at BU…

We received 171 new awards, representing over £7.5 million in research income

94% of BU research was found to be internationally-recognised or above, with 19% world-leading in quality (REF 2021)

95.7% of our research was found to be delivering considerable impact or above. Nearly one third of our impact case studies achieved an outstanding (4*) impact score. (REF 2021)

We held 20 public engagement events (as part of our regular events series) – attended by 1,231 people

16 positions were funded in 3 new research clusters through the Research Capacity Transformation Scheme (RCaTs)

36 new academic members of staff joined BU

2 new research centres were established – the Centre for Sustainable Business Transformations and the Computing and Informatics Research Centre

27 articles were written by BU academics for The Conversation, which had over 987,000 reads across the world

We’d love to hear from you – please share your reflections, successes and stories from across 2022 in the comments or by emailing research@bournemouth.ac.uk

Research Capacity Transformation Scheme: investing in the research teams of the future

BU research, Doctoral College, Featured, Industry collaboration, PG research, Postgraduate Research, Research news, research staff

Three new BU research clusters have received funding to appoint teams of postgraduate researchers (PGRs) and postdoctoral research fellows (PDRFs) for the next three years, as part of our Research Capacity Transformation Scheme (RCaTS).

Postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers are critical to a high-performing research environment, providing research capacity which enables the production of research outputs, research impact, and an increase in bidding.

Funding has been made available to appoint three clusters of PGRs and PDRFs, supported by experienced BU academic teams and external industry partners, to undertake pioneering interdisciplinary research intended to have a transformative impact on society.

This comprises a number of match-funded studentships for PGRs and three-year fellowship awards for PhD graduates and early-stage researchers.

The researchers will also receive training, development and mentorship from high-performing members of BU’s Professoriate, supporting their career progression.

The funding has been awarded through an open, competitive process to the below research clusters:

  • Resolving the extinction crisis: sustainable and technological solutions for biodiversity and society(Led by Professor Rob Britton) – Awarded funding for 4 match-funded PGRs and 4 PDRFs
  • The Centre for Applied Creative Technologies PLUS – Transforming Healthcare and its Training with Digital Technologies (Led by Professor Jian Chang) – Awarded funding for 2 match-funded PGRs and 2 PDRFs
  • The Future of Hybrid Spaces: Developing Interdisciplinary Research Capacity and Building Critical Mass to Pioneer an Emerging Discipline on Human Interactions and Behaviours in Hybrid Physical-Virtual Spaces (Led by Professor Wen Tang) – Awarded funding for 2 match-funded PGRs and 2 PDRFs

 Dr Rebecca Edwards, Senior Research Development and Support Manager in RDS, said: “We’re investing in the research teams of the future through this scheme, building capacity to undertake cutting-edge research and secure external funding.

“Providing funding for clusters of researchers over the next three years, as opposed to individual appointments, means that we can develop sustainable and high-performing teams in these important areas of research.”

Fiona Knight, Head of BU’s Doctoral College, added: “For our postgraduate researchers, being part of such dynamic teams will provide an exciting opportunity to develop their research skills and launch their academic careers.”

You can find out more about the positions and apply on the jobs section of the BU website