Tagged / social sciences

BU presents at first National Midwifery Conference in Nepal

 

Lesley Milne, senior lecturer in Midwifery at Bournemouth University, presented this weekend at the First National Midwifery Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal.  She is part of a team studying why women in Nepal don’t use health services when giving birth in areas where such facilities are available.    After her presentation Lesley (picture first right) was awarded a certificate and token in true Nepali style.

Lesley is currently in Nepal for fieldwork as part of the first International Fellowship for Midwives worth £20,000.  Her study uses a mixed-methods approach which comprises observation and interviews with staff.  The Fellowship has been awarded by the charity Wellbeing of Women, in association with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), for research into maternity services and women’s health from an international perspective.

The team consists of Prof. Vanora Hundley, Professor in Midwifery, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Professor of Reproductive Health Research at BU, and BU Visiting Faculty Dr. Padam Simkhada based at ScHARR, the University of Sheffield

A second paper with BU input was presented by Joy Kemp Global who is the RCM’s Professional Advisor (Global Midwifery Twinning Project).  The presentation ‘A Feasibility Study of Professional Midwives in Nepal’ is based on a paper recently accepted for publication by the international journal Midwifery.  This health policy planning paper is led by Swedish midwife Malin Bogren and in collaboration with Prof. Marie Berg (The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

 

Professors Edwin van Teijlingen & Vanora Hundley

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health , HSC.

I’ll bet you it’s a baby!

 

 

The new royal baby has been born.  Good news for Kate and William and also for the betting shops.  Apparently a large number of people bet on a girl being born on the estimated due date July 13th, and the punters seem to believe the gender would be female.  As a consequence, a large amount of money was made by UK betting shops.   The next bet is, of course, on his name.  Some websites seem to suggest the bookmakers favoured the name James, such as a website in the Netherlands (http://wereldnieuws.blog.nl/politiek/2013/07/19/britse-baby-kan-nu-ieder-moment-komen).  A Canadian website suggested a few days before the birth that “James or George were the favourites” for a boy (http://o.canada.com/2013/07/17/escape-from-royal-baby-media-circus-leads-to-londons-betting-shops/.  On the webpages of one of the UK’s larger betting shops today’s  (22nd July) top 13 boys’ names were: George, James, Alexander, Louis, Arthur, Henry, Phillip, Albert, Spencer, David, Thomas, Richard & Edward.

 

Betting on aspects of the royal birth and baby is a way of being involved in the same way that betting on your football team to win its first away-game of the season is part of being a supporter for some.  Luckily, there are many more options to waste your money, punters can also put money on the colour of his hair, baby’s first word, and if you want to wait a little longer for your money:  the name of his first love, age of first nightclub visit photograph, first official visit overseas, whether the prince will ever compete in the Olympics, and the university where he will study.

 

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

School of Health & Social Care

Bournemouth University, UK

 

 

 

 

 

‘Off the Campus and Into the Community: Teaching for Social Justice

Speaker: Dr Susan Hyatt, Visiting Fellow, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University, Associate Professor of Anthropology, IU School of Liberal Arts, Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis 

 Monday, 17th June 2013

12:00– 13:30

R303  Royal London House

 

Abstract:

Over the past 20 years, institutions of higher learning in the US, both public and private, have increasingly emphasized the value of civic engagement and community outreach as integral parts of their educational missions. In my teaching of applied anthropology, I have embraced this pedagogical turn as a way to involve students in community-based issues and to promote critical thinking. In this talk, I offer several brief examples where I have taken students out off the campus and into the community to engage in collaborative research projects. And, I have also offered students opportunities to participate in courses taught in somewhat unconventional community settings, including prisons and a residential treatment facility for women overcoming addiction. I argue that through such courses, we do not teach our students about social justice; rather, we allow students to experience for themselves the inequalities that structure much of our contemporary world and to reflect deeply on the ways that social action connects theory with practice.

 

 

Publish empirical or experimental data early whilst letting theory mature?

My colleagues and I have written several papers to help budding researchers about the process of writing and publishing academic papers (Hundley, & van Teijlingen 2002; van Teijlingen 2004; Pitchforth et al. 2005; van Teijlingen et al. 2012; Simkhada et al. 2013). For all researchers – students and staff alike publishing research findings is important as new insights will add to the existing knowledge base, advance the academic discipline and, in the case of applied research, perhaps improve something in the lives of others such as, well-being, the economy or the environment. Apart from this general/altruistic drive to add to knowledge, the advice academics give our postgraduate students is: to get your study published as soon as possible. The two main reasons for publishing early are: (a) getting into print to potentially help your careers; and (b) staking once claim as an authority in the field and/or publishing your findings before someone else does.
As always there are exceptions to the rule. As academics we agree that trying to get into print early is a good personal strategy for an early researcher or a postgraduate student especially for those working with empirical or experimental data. However, occasionally it is better to wait and give the underlying idea in the paper time to develop and mature. The kind of paper that often improves with time is one based on theory. Let me share a personal example: a theoretical paper from my PhD (awarded by the University of Aberdeen in 1994). This paper started life as a theory chapter in my PhD thesis (van Teijlingen 1994). This chapter on models of maternity care was not the strongest part of my thesis and it took me another decade of fine-tuning to get it into a state worth publishing. The paper ‘A Critical Analysis of the Medical Model as used in the Study of Pregnancy and Childbirth’ was finally published in Sociological Research Online, the original online-only Sociology journal in the world (van Teijlingen 2005). The wait was worthwhile as the paper is today (May 2013), eight year after publication, the seventh ‘most viewed articles during the past eight weeks’ in the journal (see: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/stats/top20.html).
In conclusion, it is generally sound advice to new researchers and postgraduate students to publish early. Occasionally though, waiting and giving your paper time to improve through discussion with colleagues, presenting the ideas at conferences and on blogs may lead to a better final product.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health
School of Health & Social Care

References
Hundley, V., van Teijlingen E. (2002) How to decide where to send an article for publication? Nursing Standard 16(36): 21.
van Teijlingen (1994) A social or medical comparison of childbirth? : comparing the arguments in Grampian (Scotland) and the Netherlands (PhD thesis), Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen. Available online in the British Library (search for: uk.bl.ethos.387237 ).
Teijlingen van, E. (2004) Why I can’t get any academic writing done, Medical Sociology News 30 (3): 62-6.
van Teijlingen, E. (2005) A Critical Analysis of the Medical Model as used in the Study of Pregnancy and Childbirth, Sociological Research Online 10(2) Freely available online at: www.socresonline.org.uk/10/2/teijlingen.html.
Pitchforth, E., Porter, M., Teijlingen van, E.R., Forrest Keenan, K. (2005) Writing up and presenting qualitative research in family planning and reproductive health care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 31 (2): 132-135.
Teijlingen van, E., Simkhada. P.P., Simkhada, B., Ireland, J. (2012) The long and winding road to publication, Nepal Journal Epidemiology 2(4): 213-215. http://nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/7093
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2013) Writing an academic paper for publication, Health Renaissance 11 (1): 1-5. www.healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Pp_1_5_Guest_Editorial.pdf

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) Annual Report

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)

http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru/ 

Notes from ESRC ARMA WORKSHOP 2012 on challenges and opportunities for the social sciences in the current economic climate

BU’s Teresa Coffin and Eva Papadopoulou (Research and Knowledge Exchange Operations) attended a training day hosted by the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) aimed at discussing the challenges and opportunities for the social sciences in the current climate. The focus of the event included presentations from the main Department Heads who outlined their internal workings, grant application framework and advice for successful applications. They also discussed their amended research agenda, funding opportunities, various partnerships and current strategic priorities. Notes from the day can be found here:

ARMA Notes

HEA Call for expressions of interest: teaching research methods in the Social Sciences

HEA have launched a call for expressions of interest in working with the HEA Social Sciences cluster on their strategic project – teaching research methods in the Social Sciences projects. Project strands include:

1.      Developing STEM skills in qualitative research methods teaching and learning
2.      Assessment for learning in research methods
3.      Teaching research methods within HE programmes in FE settings
4.      Making the most of open educational resources (OER) in research methods teaching and learning
5.      Research methods and knowledge exchange

For further details and to submit an expression of interest: http://mail.heacademy.ac.uk/12ZA-ZWSN-6DLHZU-DXEGR-0/c.aspx

FP7 Social Sciences & Humanities ‘Global Europe 2050’ Report Published

Research Professional gave a great summary of the FP7 Social Sciences and Humanities ”Global Europe 2050′  foresight report. This report is the output of an EC expert group; it presents and qualifies three scenarios that identify the main pathways Europe could follow over the next few decades:

1. The ‘Nobody Cares’ scenario, where Europe is in a ‘muddling through’ process;

2. ‘Europe under threat’, where Europe is faced by an economic decline and protectionist reactions; and

3. The ‘European Renaissance’ where the EU continues to enlarge and become stronger with more efficient innovation systems.

Any bets on which way we go…?!

FP7 Social Science application top tips

If you are thinking about applying for a Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) related call under FP7 and missed the info day, fear not I have some useful tips from the day to share with you. The European Commission SSH Unit representative said that proposals should:

  • include a range of partners from different countries and show added value for each of these
  • use both qualitative and quantitative methods
  • look at projects funded on the website between 2007-10
  • not replicate previously funded projects
  • pay attention to dissemination plans (give specific info on the journals, conferences, etc)
  • demonstrate interaction between the different Work Packages
  • support Policy.

There were several other presentations on the day which you can access using via UKRO the links below:

Social Sciences and Security in Horizon 2020

Horizon 2020 will replace FP7 and is currently under development. Several stakeholder groups have been meeting with EC officials to help influence and shape the Programme.

Feedback is available on UKRO from the informal Security Theme meeting and also the Societal Challenges Theme meeting. I really urge you to read these if you have an interest in either of these areas!

Some EU funding calls released – from water to social dialogue!

MEDIA 2007 The Sales Agent Scheme 2012: One of the objectives of the programme is to encourage and support the wider transnational distribution of recent European films by providing funds to distributors, based upon their performance on the market, for further reinvestment in new non-national European films.  The scheme also aims to encourage the development of links between the production and distribution sectors thus improving the market share of European films and the competitiveness of European companies. Deadline 18.06.12

 

Europe for Citizens: The European Commission, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Agency (EACEA), has launched a call for proposals (deadline 01.06.12) under the Europe for Citizens Programme. The Programme has five priorities and all projects are required to address at least one of these priorities:

  • the future of the EU and its basic values;
  • active European Citizenship: civic participation and democracy in Europe;
  • inter-cultural dialogue;
  • people’s wellbeing in Europe: employment, social cohesion and sustainable development; and
  • impact of EU policies on societies.

 

Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue: The European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, has launched a call for proposals to promote industrial relations and social dialogue. This call is aimed at measures and initiatives designed to facilitate the adaptation of social dialogue to changes in employment and work-related challenges such as:

  • addressing the modernisation of the labour market;
  • quality of work;
  • anticipation, preparation and management of change and restructuring;
  • flexicurity;
  • skills;
  • mobility and migration;
  • youth employment;
  • contributions to health and safety;
  • reconciliation of work and family life;
  • gender equality;
  • anti-discrimination;
  • active ageing;
  • active inclusion; and
  • decent work.

Please note that there is a second deadline set to 4 September 2012 for actions commencing no earlier than 4 November 2012 and no later than 21 December 2012.

 

EDULINK II: EDULINK, the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) – European Union (EU) Co-operation Programme in Higher Education, has launched a call for proposals. Proposals will have to address one of the following two priority areas: Energy access and efficiency; or  Agriculture and food security. The specific objectives are to increase the capacity of ACP HEIs at two levels: Management /Administration and Academic. Proposals will aim at supporting HEIs in ACP States to create new and upgrade existing curricula and teaching methods, reinforce links between teaching, modern technologies, lifelong learning and research, as well as strengthening their management and administration capacity. Deadline 30.07.12

 

Sustainable Industry Low Carbon scheme (SILC): The European Commission, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, has launched a call for proposals regarding the Sustainable Industry Low Carbon scheme (SILC).The objective of this call is to support actions that will enable energy-intensive manufacturing and process industries covered by the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) to cope with the challenges of a low carbon economy and to maintain their competitiveness.
More specifically it seeks to identify and select sector-specific or cross-sectoral industrial projects that will develop and deploy cost-efficient technological or non-technological innovation measures, or a combination of both, for improving the GHG (greenhouse gas) emission performance of installations under the EU ETS. Deadline 25.06.12

 

Support of the European Innovation Partnership on Water: The Commission intends to award a contract to establish a secretariat for the EIP on Water. The secretariat will support the European Commission with the establishment and operational phase of the EIP on water. The activities will vary in nature, and will include secretarial tasks, contact with stakeholders at various levels, support in the development of a strategic implementation plan, co-ordination of the (outcomes of) innovation sites and development of a Web-based market place for water innovations. Deadline 23.05.12

 

ERA-NET Bioenergy Joint Call: The sixth Joint Call for Research and Development Proposals of the ERA-NET Bioenergy is now open in the areas of biogas and energy crops.The call topics are:

  • Innovative biogas production. Focal points include e.g. pre-treatment technologies, unexploited substrates, measurement/control, upgrading, management of digestate; and
  • Sustainable biomass for energy purposes. Focal points include e.g. optimisation of existing and new crops by way of plant breeding or cultivation techniques, breeding and cultivation for cascading uses, harvesting/storage technologies.

Please note that calls for proposals run by ERA-Net projects have their own funding rules and reimbursement rates. Applicants should check the call documentation for further details.

 

FP7 JTI Clean Sky Call for Proposals: Via the Calls for Proposal, Clean Sky aims to incorporate Partners to address very specific tasks which fit into the overall technical Work Programme and time schedule. Due to the nature of these tasks, the Call is not set up using a set of themes, but it is conceived as a collection of very detailed Topics which can be viewed on the Participant Portal webpage. Deadline is 10th July.

Want to see the calls for proposals for FP7 Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities to be launched in July? Then read on!

I’ve managed to obtain a draft version of the FP7  Socio-Economic Sciences and Humanities Work Programme which features the calls for proposals to be released in 2012. This is just a draft and therefore subject to change but it gives you a great idea as to what the European Commission are looking to fund. The Work Programme is a tedious read so I’ve summarised the info on funding in there for you; the aim of the call etc. I have bookmarked the document so you can jump straight to the call that interests you from the front page.

As this document is highly confidential I have placed it on our I drive; it is strictly forbidden to circulate this outside of BU! I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Draft Work Programmes for 2012-13

There are also the drafts for Environment, Health, ICT and Food, Agriculture, NMP, Fisheries & Biotechnology and others  in there too which I’ve blogged about previously. The final official version of the Work Programmes aren’t released until July 2012 so this gives you a fantastic head start to preparing a submission.

Social sciences & humanities taking on the EC for funding in Horizon 2020 today

Europe’s social scientists and humanities researchers are combining forces to push for more funding in Horizon 2020 through the European Alliance for the Social Sciences and Humanities, which will have its first general assembly today and tomorrow in Brussels. The European Commission has proposed that social science and humanities research would be funded as part of five other funding pots for grand challenges, which include climate change, health and ICT but the alliance members want the establishment of a sixth pot called Understanding Europe for social sciences and humanities research.

I will report on the Assembly when info becomes available.

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) Consultancy Service

What is the Consultancy Service?

BUCRU has developed a consultancy service aimed at organisations that have an interest in health and wellbeing. Members of the team have many years experience of providing consultation services to the NHS, public bodies, charities and businesses. In addition to research projects we can also advise on audit projects, clinical evaluations, service evaluations and other areas where the collection and analysis of good quality data is important.

How can it help?

The service is flexible and tailored to the client’s requirements. Typically an initial meeting will involve finding out about the client’s needs and discussing the ways in which we can help. Our involvement could range from a single meeting to discuss a particular issue, through to conducting a project on behalf of the client.

Some examples are:

¨                  Advising on or conducting clinical trials, surveys, epidemiological studies, pilot and feasibility studies

¨                  Study design

¨                  Advice on sample size

¨                  Questionnaire design and validation

¨                  Outcome measures

¨                  Data collection and management

¨                  Statistical analysis and interpretation

¨                  Qualitative and mixed methods approaches

¨                  Design and evaluation of complex interventions such as found in medicine, psychology, nursing, physiotherapy and so on.

¨                  Managing and running studies

¨                  Advice on ethics and governance approval processes.

¨                  Involving patients and the public in research

¨                  Troubleshooting

How do I find out more?

For further information about, and access to, our consultancy service please contact:

Louise Ward (administrator):

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit

R505 Royal London House

Christchurch Road

Bournemouth BH1 3LT

BUCRU@bournemouth.ac.uk

Tel: 01202 961939

http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru/

Research within the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU)

In previous blogs we have described how BUCRU can help in developing grant applications. In this blog we describe some of the funded projects we are involved in.

BUCRU led research

Fatigue management in multiple sclerosis (MS):  We have just completed a multi-centre randomised trial of a cognitive behavioural approach to fatigue management in people with multiple sclerosis1. This project was funded by the MS Society (http://www.mssociety.org.uk).

Improving activity and wellbeing in people with MS: We are just starting a MS Society funded pilot study to look at the Nintendo Wii home gaming system as a method of helping people with MS increase their activity levels and wellbeing.

Systematic review of psychological interventions for people with MS: A small grant to update our existing Cochrane review2

BUCRU collaborative projects

IDvIP: A National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) (http://www.ccf.nihr.ac.uk/RfPB/Pages/home.aspx) funded project. This is a multi-centre trial comparing 2 methods of pain relief for women in labour; diamorphine and pethidine3. The Chief Investigator is a Consultant in one of the local hospitals and a member of the Bournemouth University Visiting Faculty. BUCRU staff were involved in the design of the study, applying for the grant, data management, statistical analysis and interpretation, and advice on project management.*

WEIGHTED: A small grant from the College of Emergency Medicine held by a local Consultant/ member of the Visiting Faculty. This study is about to start and aims to develop a robust method of estimating the weight of patients attending a hospital emergency department. Many patients require a weight dependent dose of potentially life saving medication, but are too ill to be actually weighed.  BUCRU were involved in designing the study and securing funding, and will be involved in ongoing advice on project and data management, statistical analysis and interpretation.

PEARLS: A large multi-centre trial of training maternity staff in assessing and repairing tears to the perineum acquired during labour and delievery4. This project is funded by the Health Foundation (http://www.health.org.uk) and run under the auspices of the Royal College of Midwives. BUCRU has been involved in data management, statistical analysis and interpretation.

PREVIEW: A pilot randomised trial comparing two methods of looking after tears to the perineum. The Chief Investigator is based in Birmingham, and the study is funded by the NIHR RfPB funding scheme. This study has recently started, and BUCRU was involved in the design of the study and the funding application. Further involvement will be in advising on project management, data management and statistical analysis.

Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship: (http://www.nihrtcc.nhs.uk). Award held by BU and won by a radiographer based at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic. The project involves tracking and measuring spinal motion. The research may have important implications in diagnosing people with chronic lower back pain. BUCRU were involved in the study design and funding application, and 2 members of staff are supervisors for her PhD.

Contact us:

In the first instance please contact

Louise Ward (administrator):

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit

R505 Royal London House

Christchurch Road

Bournemouth BH1 3LT

BUCRU@bournemouth.ac.uk

Tel: 01202 961939

 http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru/

1 Thomas, P.W., Thomas, S., Kersten, P., Jones, R., Nock, A., Slingsby, V., et al., 2010. Multi-centre parallel arm randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a group-based cognitive behavioural appoach to managing fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis. BMC Neurology, 10:43

2 Thomas, P.W., Thomas, S., Hillier, C., Galvin, K., and Baker, R. (2006). Psychological interventions for multiple sclerosis. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Vol. Issue 1, pp. Issue 1. Art. No.: CD004431. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004431.pub2): John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

3 Wee, M.Y.K., Tuckey, J.P., Thomas, P., Burnard, S. 2011. The IDvIP Trial: A two-centre randomized double-blind controlled trial comparing intramuscular diamorphine and intramuscular pethidine for labour analgesia. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 11: 51

4 Bick, D.E., Kettle, C., MacDonald, S., Thomas, P.W., Hill, R.K., Ismail, K.. 2010. PErineal Assessment and Repair Longitudinal Study (PEARLS): protocol for a matched pair cluster trial. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 10:10.

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) Events and Services

BUCRU incorporates the Dorset Office of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service – South West (RDS-SW). This means that in addition to the support outlined in previous blogs, we can also provide access to the following:

RDS Grant application workshop.

This workshop is going to be held at Bournemouth University on the 29th February 2012 (http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/grant_workshop.htm). Although the official deadline for applying has recently passed, it is worth contacting us to see if there are any remaining places. The workshop will also be held in other locations in the South-West region in the near future.

This is a one-day workshop for researchers who are developing proposals with the intention of applying for a grant. The workshop does not provide detailed training in research methodology; rather it more generally covers the full range of issues inherent in developing a successful grant application. It will be of relevance to researchers applying to any of the major health research funders, but particularly the NIHR funding schemes.

Researchers will need to send in advance the latest draft of their research proposal. As a minimum they should have a plan for a project but, ideally, a worked up proposal, perhaps even one that has been previously rejected. All proposals will receive detailed written feedback from the RDS team.

Topics include

  • The application as a marketing document, selling the topic, selling the method, and selling the team;
  • The balanced team;
  • Clarity of description and explanation;
  • Feasibility issues;
  • Identifying and avoiding potential pitfalls

 

RDS Residential Research Retreat

The Residential Research Retreat (http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/rrr_home.htm) provides an opportunity for research teams to develop high quality health related 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.

This Research Retreat is open to health professionals and academics working within the South West. Applications to attend the Retreat should be submitted by a team of three people with varied skills. Applications are reviewed competitively and places awarded to the most promising team proposals. The deadline for the next Research Retreat has passed, but it is anticipated that applications will be invited again later in the year.  

At the retreat participants are supported by a range of experts while developing their research proposal. They work intensively on their proposal, while learning how to maximise its chances for successfully securing a grant.

In addition, the Residential Research Retreat helps participants develop the key skills needed to conduct research in a clinical setting as well as nurturing presentation skills and giving them the confidence to tackle research problems. 

 

RDS Scientific Committee

The RDS Scientific Committee (http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/scientific_committee.htm) provides an excellent opportunity for researchers in the south-west to obtain a critical review of a proposed grant application before it is sent to a funding body. The Committee brings the benefit of seeing the proposal with “fresh eyes”, replicating as far as possible the way the real funding committee will consider the application. Committee members include senior research consultants who have considerable experience of obtaining research funding, resulting in comprehensive comments and advice fed back.

Committee meetings take place approximately 9 times per year. To submit a study for review at the meeting, study paperwork must be provided to the Committee via BUCRU two weeks prior to the meeting date, and preferably a couple of months before the intended funding deadline.

 

Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education (CoPMRE) Annual Symposium

In addition to events aimed at supporting the development of grant applications we also host an event geared towards dissemination. The CoPMRE Annual Symposium will be held on the 11th September 2012 at the Bournemouth University Talbot Campus. These successful annual conferences have been running for the past nine years and have featured themes such as ‘Professionalism and Collaboration’, ’Research Innovation’ and ‘Interprofessional Learning’. This year’s theme will be on using ‘Social media techniques in healthcare research and education’.  The conference is open to all healthcare professionals and academics.  More information will be posted on our website in due course and you will be able to register online nearer the time.  For further information on the symposium please contact Audrey Dixon, Conference Manager (adixon@bournemouth.ac.uk ).

Contact us: For further information about, and access to, the Grant applications workshop, the Residential Research Retreat and the Scientific Committee please contact:

Louise Ward (administrator):

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit

R505 Royal London House

Christchurch Road

Bournemouth BH1 3LT

BUCRU@bournemouth.ac.uk

Tel: 01202 961939

http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru/