Tagged / student experience

Launch of the BU Undergraduate Research Assistantship programme

I am delighted to announce today the launch of BU’s Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) programme. Funded by the Fusion Investment Fund, this programme will offer paid employment opportunities for approximately 40 BU undergraduate students to work in clusters, centres and institutes, under the guidance of experienced academics, in a research position that is directly related to their career path and/or academic discipline. This will enable the students to assist academic staff with their research whilst also gaining valuable research experience.

Research shows there is a direct link between student satisfaction and research-based learning, particularly when the opportunity is in their field of study[1], and that the undergraduate student experience is improved by engaging them with research early and often.[2] URAs are common in North America and are offered in a significant number of universities, for example Harvard University, Northern Illinois University, Kent State University and Cornell University.

In 2014-15 BU is offering two modes of the URA programme:

  1. semester-based programme (c. 20 part-time positions running for eight weeks in semester 2)
  2. summer programme (c. 20 full-time positions running for six weeks in June/July 2015)

There are two stages to the application process: 1) School/Faculty application stage whereby BU academic staff can apply for URA positions, and 2) student selection stage whereby School/Faculty staff recruit to the positions.

We are now accepting applications from academic staff for URA positions for the semester-based programme. The deadline for applications is 14th November 2014. All applications received will be reviewed by representatives from the University Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee, with decisions on which positions to fund announced at the start of December. There will be a second round next year for the summer programme.
Further details, including the application form, are available here: Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) programme

[1] For example: Healey and Jenkins (2011) Linking discipline-based research with teaching to benefit student learning, available from: http://www.mickhealey.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Linking-RT-Handout-Website1.doc

[2] For example: Madan, C R & Braden, D T (2013) The Benefits of Undergraduate Research: The Student’s Perspective, available from: http://dus.psu.edu/mentor/2013/05/undergraduate-research-students-perspective/

Sport Management Researcher and Students Create Impact on International Field

Last weekend, Dr Tim Breitbarth (Senior Lecturer in Sport Management) and MSc Sport Management students Lisa Kaisner, Manuel Perez Vehi, Chih-Heng Kwan and Junbeom Kim returned from their 8-day trip attending the 22nd European Association for Sport Management (EASM) Conference, EASM Masters Seminar and EASM PhD Student Seminar. Following various successes at the 21st EASM conference in Istanbul last year, the BU travel party again made strong contributions to this leading international sport management conference.

Together with 60 students from around the globe, the students worked in mixed groups on three different sport marketing cases and had to present their findings and plans in front of a critical jury over the period of 4 days before the main conference. Lisa and her team won the case competition on the Olympic legacy of the Coventry Ricoh Arena and, therefor, were invited to present at the main conference. Feedback from the students on the Masters Seminar in particular was largely positive – especially in terms of networking, making new friends, learn from one another and visiting sport venues/matches like the Rugby School and the season opening of the Leicester Tigers.

 

Invited Keynote and Conference Workshop Convener

Besides tutoring at the Masters Seminar, Dr Tim Breitbarth was invited to provide a keynote at the PhD Student Seminar titled “Book or articles? Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the form of your PhD thesis”. His contribution was very well received and awarded during the conference dinner. He also mentored three PhD researchers from Belgium, South Africa and Mexico at the Seminar and gave advise on their research.

At the main conference, Tim together with his small international team organized and convened a workshop on corporate social responsibility in and through sport. Again, the workshop was the second most popular in terms of submissions and all five sessions attracted a great audience. The academic workshop was spiced-up by inviting Nico Briskorn (Head of CSR at German professional football club VFL Wolfsburg) and Chris Grant (CEO, Sported Foundation – the London 2012 charity legacy) to contribute their expert insights into the application of CSR and sport.

 

Highly Cited Paper and Special Issue Editor

The relevance of the topic is also manifested by the fact that the paper “The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Football Business: Towards the Development of a Conceptual Model” by Tim Breitbarth and Phil Harris from 2008 published in European Sport Management Quarterly (second highest ranked sport management journal in the world) has been the journal’s most cited article over the past 3 years. Also, Tim is the lead editor of the Special Issue “Governance and CSR Management in Sport” in ‘Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society’ which will be published early/mid 2015.

In addition, Tim presented two research papers, one of which based on an awarded Bachelor dissertation by last year’s graduate David Thomas whom he supervised.

In general, despite being a rather small party at a 500+ delegates conference, the BU team created awareness for our sport programs in particular and Bournemouth in general. Travelling Masters students were somewhat lukewarm about the practical value of the main conference (e.g. as a means to find a job), but overall enjoyed the experience and talking to experts from various fields. Several visits from renown (inter-)national scholars, academics from partner universities and PhD students are already in planning for 2015.

Please contact Dr Tim Breitbarth at tbreitbarth@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

F.l.t.r.: Lisa Kaisner, Chih-Heng Kwan, Manuel Perez Vehi, Tim Breitbarth

F.l.t.r.: Nico Briskorn (VFL Wolfsburg), Christos Anagnostopoulus (Co-Convenor, University of Central Lancashire), Frank van Eekeren (Co-Convenor, Utrecht University), Tim Breitbarth (Lead-Convenor, Bournemouth University), Wojtek Kulczycki (Technische Universität München), Chris Grant (Sported Foundations), Stefan Walzel (Co-Convenor, German Sport University Cologne)

Group of Masters students at Rugby School

Students Reflect on Internationalisation Experience

In September, four sport students engaged in intensive extra-curricula internationalisation activities in order to enhance their study, professional and personal intercultural experience. This BU blog article combines their personal reflections.

Sport management and sport development students Luke Frary, John Bryson, Oliver Johnson and Stefan Ferencz significantly contributed to the Student Seminar and the main conference of the European Association for Sport Management (EASM) in Turkey from 7 to 14 September (http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2013/09/19/bu-sport-students-and-academic-succeed-at-european-association-for-sport-management-conference-in-istanbul).

 

The students’ key reflections and conclusions in short:

  • Oliver Johnson: “Upon first hearing about the opportunity to participate in the reputable European Association of Sports Management conference and Master Student Seminar in Istanbul, I was instantly attracted and impressed that my university was able to offer this to me. (…) Looking back, what I achieved over the course of the week has been astonishing, as I honestly believe that the experiences that I have gathered shall put me in a great stead for the future. I would recommend such an experience to anyone, it really is an opportunity not to be missed.”
  • Luke Frary: “Over the next few days we got to know the various individuals from all over Europe as we engaged in the Masters Student Seminar. The topics covered where not entirely different to those I had covered at Bournemouth, but through adding an international perspective, the approach becomes refreshingly different. (…) Later in the week we were divided into groups to work on a management game. I was grouped with students from Germany, Finland and Holland. Once again it was insightful to work with the addition of an international dimension. It became clear that when studying in just one country, it is easy to adopt a narrow approach to your studies.”
  • John Bryson: “I thoroughly enjoyed this international experience and the chance to stay in a foreign city and work collaboratively with people from such diverse backgrounds and cultures. This is an experience that I have gained many new skills form and will benefit me greatly going forward.”
  • Stefan Ferencz: “The main conference enabled me to learn about current issues and trends in the field of sports management, thus providing me with useful information that I will utilise in my final year. Having observed how speakers structure their presentations, I now feel more confident about speaking at the presentations required for some of my units during level H. (…) I would recommend any sports management student to attend an EASM conference as it will definitely have a positive impact on skills, knowledge and future career. Overall, I feel proud to have successfully represented Bournemouth University at an international stage.”

 

Please read about their reflections in more length below the pictures.

 

Part of the international student group during venue visit and on-site lecturing in Istanbul.

John Bryson (second from left) during team work.

Luke Frary in discussion with the NBA Europe Business Development Manager

International students mingling during coffee break. In the middle, BU students talking to retired UNICEF Partnership Director.

Stefan Ferencz (third from right) with his team, awarded for winning their case competition.

 

John Bryson

“I travelled to Istanbul along with three other Bournemouth University students to attend the European Association of Sports Management (EASM) Masters Student Seminar and EASM Conference. The seminar and conference provided me with some excellent experiences including presenting my dissertation research, working in a team with other international students in a sports management game, gaining an insight into cutting edge sports management research and issues and also making many professional and personal contacts.

With help and guidance from Dr Tim Breitbarth I was able to present my dissertation research at the corporate social responsibility workshop during the EASM Conference alongside many of the authors that I had referenced in my own work. This was a rewarding experience as I was able to make a contribution to the conference while showing off my dissertation that I had worked on throughout the previous academic year.

During the student seminar I also worked on a sports management game. I found this particularly interesting as it allowed me to work on a real life scenario to devise and implement solutions. During the management game I was required to work in a team with students from The Netherlands, Finland, Germany and Turkey. I really enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside other students from different countries and cultures and the challenge of combining many different ideas and perspectives into a successful end product. In the end our hard work paid off as we won our case competition and were able to work on the project further and present it our final solution at the main conference.

The seminar and conference also provided me with the opportunity to make many professional and personal contacts that will be very useful going forward in my career. The management game was especially useful for networking as we were devising solutions for industry professionals and it was a useful task to showcase your imagination, creativity and problem solving skills.

I thoroughly enjoyed this international experience and the chance to stay in a foreign city and work collaboratively with people from such diverse backgrounds and cultures. This is an experience that I have gained many new skills form and will benefit me greatly going forward.“

 

Luke Frary

“Upon leaving the arrivals lounge of Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport it was highly satisfying to be instantly reminded that we were visiting new territories when our non-English-speaking taxi driver some how managed to gesture that there would be a suspicious extra charge for our ‘over sized luggage.’

After a short ride we arrived with a warm welcome at the reception of our hotel (which clearly was going to exceed all expectations of accommodation at a student conference). Here we were informed that we would be separated and would be sharing rooms with students from other European Universities as a way of encouraging the ‘multicultural atmosphere’ that the conference programme alluded to. In hindsight, we were extremely naïve as we approached this with scepticism – one of the many valuable lessons we learnt during the conference.

After a short while we were escorted to the Sports campus of Mamara University for the opening of the Masters Student Seminar. Once again the scepticism set in when we heard the words ‘ice-breaker’ bellowed above the closed conversations taking place in small clusters of previously familiar friends.  We then proceeded to play a number of games that finished with holding hands and dancing around in a circle to a Turkish song. Little did we know that this song would become a regular during the conference and a very memorable part of the trip.

Over the next few days we got to know the various individuals from all over Europe as we engaged in the Masters Student Seminar. The days started with Key Note speeches on some highly engaging topics. The topics covered where not entirely different to those I had covered at Bournemouth, but through adding an international perspective, the approach becomes refreshingly different.

Later in the week we were divided into groups to work on a management game. I was grouped with students from Germany, Finland and Holland. Once again it was insightful to work with the addition of an international dimension. It became clear that when studying in just one country, it is easy to adopt a narrow approach to your studies.

In between the keynote speakers and the management game, we were able to select from a number of sports activities. For me the highlight was kayaking along the Bosphorus and mooring alongside a Turkish restaurant to sample a local snack.

The following week welcomed the main conference. There were some very interesting presentations and there were many great opportunities to generate ideas and inspirations to take into one’s own studies. In the evenings the hospitality the Turkish had arranged was phenomenal. It was great to share these moments with the large group of new friends we had made.

The conference came to its finale with a cruise around the Bosphorus in a yacht big enough to accommodate the entirety of the conference delegate list. As the   boat returned at the end of the evening and it was time to say goodbye to our new friends, it became clear how enriching the whole experience had been and how our expectations had been greatly exceeded in all areas.”

 

Stefan Ferencz

“The EASM 2013 conference in Istanbul has been a unique experience that has given me the opportunity to expand my knowledge in the field of sports management and also to create a network of sports management students from around Europe.

The adventure began with the Student Seminar held at one of the campuses of Marmara University. Presentations delivered by academics and professionals were soon followed by the Management Game. The Management Game focuses on a very engaging and challenging group activity which gave me the opportunity to work with students from different countries, to develop communication and decision making skills and to work effectively under time pressure. I feel that I have benefited from all the challenges that arose during group work, from the research required to deliver the presentation as well as from the reward of producing the best case study for the allocated subtheme.

The main conference enabled me to learn about current issues and trends in the field of sports management, thus providing me with useful information that I will utilise in my final year. Having observed how speakers structure their presentations, I now feel more confident about speaking at the presentations required for some of my units during level H. The conference has been an amazing source of information provided by well-known academics and professionals and has generated many ideas for my future dissertation. Along with great social and sporting activities organized by staff, the conference has ended in style, with a superb boat trip on the Bosporus.

I would recommend any sports management student to attend an EASM conference, as it will definitely have a positive impact on skills, knowledge and future career. Overall, I feel proud to have successfully represented Bournemouth University at an international stage and I would very much like to get involved in future EASM projects.”

 

Oliver Johnson

“Upon first hearing about the opportunity to participate in the reputable European Association of Sports Management conference and Master Student Seminar in Istanbul, I was instantly attracted and impressed that my university was able to offer this to me.  I applied in order to further my working experience, looking to participate in activities outside my comfort zone and within a foreign environment.  I believe this is crucial to any student’s development, as not only does such an activity like appealing on a CV to employers, it helps to develop key characteristics such as communication, team work and working under pressure within a foreign environment.

A factor that enabled me to participate in the conference was the backing of the Global Horizons Fund, as they seek to provide financial assistance to students, like myself, who are enthusiastic and eager to learn or participate in competitions abroad to further their education.  Organisations such as Global Horizons make such an opportunity all the more attainable, as there are often financial restrictions associated with learning abroad which often dissuade students from participating.

My week in Istanbul was split into two halves: the first half, as part of the Master Student Seminar, was based at Marmara University and the other half, in the heart of Istanbul, at the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition centre for the main conference. The structure of the Master Student Seminar was organised excellently, as there was balanced daily routine of informative, interesting speakers and leisure activities.

The main focus of the seminar was the Master Student Seminar competition, where students were randomly assigned to multi-national working groups. The aim was to put together a presentation and report on an assigned topic. I was assigned to the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility, whereby our group had to propose an idea, on behalf of a local company, in order to promote physical activity amongst the community. Initially, I did find the task challenging, as the groups were comprised of foreign students, it was occasionally difficult to communicate effectively. However, I believe that our group gelled remarkably and were able to collate a strong argument for our case. This was proven as we were selected as the winners of our topic, where we would progress to present at the main conference in front of a jury of astute professionals and conference attendees, competing against other student groups’ topics. Personally, I have very little experience in presenting in front of a large audience; therefore I initially felt the prospect of doing so very daunting. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic experience to showcase our hard work at such an esteemed event.  My group was eventually announced as winners of the overall competition, an achievement that I am extremely proud of.

Although the work involved was demanding, there was allocated time to see the sights of wonderful sights of Istanbul and to have fun. My personal highlight of the trip was kayaking up the river Bosporus and under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, a spectacular sight. As mentioned previously, the organisation of the trip was excellent, with the assistance of several Marmara University students, who would often act as tour guides always willing to recommend places for us to visit and making sure everyone was looked after.

Looking back, what I achieved over the course of the week has been astonishing as I honestly believe that the experiences that I have gathered shall put me in a great stead for the future. I would recommend such an experience to anyone, it really is an opportunity not to be missed.”

 

BU Sport Students and Academic Succeed at European Association for Sport Management Conference in Istanbul

As part of its internationalisation activities the Sports group within the School of Tourism had four students and a scholar significantly contributing at the Student Seminar and the main conference of the European Association for Sport Management (EASM) in Turkey from 7 to 14 September.

The 4.5-full-day Student Seminar saw 60 students from 13 countries working in mixed international groups along management cases. Keynotes on those topics of current special interest were given by the NBA Europe Marketing Director, a recently retired UNICEF Programme Director, Professor March Krotee from North Carolina State University and Dr Tim Breitbarth, Senior Lecturer at Bournemouth University.

BU students John Bryson, Stefan Ferencz and Oliver Johnson won their case competitions with their respective teams, and therefor had the chance to present at the 21st EASM conference. After the four winning groups’ presentations in front of a large audience, the jury decided on Oliver Johnson and his team as the overall winner of the management game. They were awarded during the conference’s closing banquet, which took place during a nightlong boot trip on the Bosporus.

Students present dissertation research to academic community

Beyond all four students’ great work as BU ambassadors during the Student Seminar, Luke Frary and John Bryson presented their dissertation research to the interested academic community, guided by Tim and Dr Andrew Adams, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management. Before his presentation, Luke had the chance to personally discuss his work on leadership over breakfast with 86-year old Professor Packianathan Chelladurai, arguably the most globally renown sport management and leadership scholar. John was asked by NBA Europe Marketing Director Naci Cansun to send his research results on the impact of CSR in professional sport and thoughts on managerial implications.

All students had to go through a very competitive application process and a good proportion of the overall trip was funded because of the students’ very strong applications to the BU Global Horizon Fund and the School of Tourism internal funding scheme. Besides their successes related to the conference, all students generally benefitted from the process of actively engaging and working with the large intercultural sports and business community.

Dr Tim Breitbarth workshop Lead Convenor at EASM conference

Despite its small presence at the world’s largest sport management conference, the BU Sports group made a big impact also due to Tim’s role as Lead Convenor of a very well-attended 1.5-day workshop on social responsibility management in professional sport, which for the first time brought most of the key researchers on the topic from North America, Australia and Europe together. In addition, experienced practitioners from Euroleague Basketball and German Society for International Cooperation were invited as keynote speakers and added to the discussion.

The workshop is part of the process which will lead to a special issue on the topic in Corporate Governance – The International Journal of Business in Society, with Tim leading a the guest editor team, which also features three colleagues from England, Germany and The Netherlands (www.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/call_for_papers.htm?id=4564).

Luke Frary with Andrés Guerrero, International Development Cooperation Expert and recently retired UNICEF Programme Director
Oliver Johnson (third from left) with his team from Finland, Germany and The Netherlands, which won the EASM 2013 Student Management Game.

Stefan Ferencz during group work

John Bryson with two of his team members from Germany and The Netherlands

Dr Tim Breitbarth, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, with Professor Birol Cotuk, Dean Marmara University School of PE and Sport and Chair of the 21st EASM Conference, Istanbul/Turkey

Benefits of research-led learning on the student experience and NSS scores

The results of the 2012 National Student Survey are due to be made public shortly and we will be able to see how BU compared to other institutions and the sector average. The NSS data is based on the opinions of final year undergraduates on a number of issues such as how the students rate the universities’ learning resources, quality of personal development support and how intellectually stimulating their courses are.

Traditionally Russell Group universities have had lower response rates but scored more highly (85% satisfaction rate compared to a sector average of 81%). Often these higher scores are attributed to these institutions having a culture of research-led learning where enquiry-based, independent learning in a world-class research environment is at the heart of the student experience. Students report finding research-led learning exciting, and they also help produce graduates who are highly sought-after by employers.

The University of Cambridge’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) enables students to work with academics on live research projects as fully participating members of the project team. UCL is increasing opportunities for undergraduate students to take an active part in research-led learning. There are a number of ways in which undergraduate students can be exposed to research including:

  • Learning about others’ research (research-informed learning)
  • Learning to do research (research skills and methods)
  • Learning in a research mode such as enquiry-based learning

There is a growing body of evidence showing that research-led learning offers significant benefits to the student experience and student development, including:

  • the motivation and development of students as a consequence of exposure to expert subject matter
  • promoting the value of enquiry and deep approaches to learning
  • helping to develop transferable skills through engagement in research tools and processes

Many universities are now taking steps to ensure that all students are taught by research-active academics throughout their studies. There are numerous benefits of being taught of research-active academics including:

  • academics are at the cutting-edge of their field
  • they teach more relevant and up-to-date material
  • they gain enthusiasm for their subject from being research-active
  • they teach from their immediate research experience
  • they offer students a unique experience

Rather than seeing teaching and research as separate activities there are huge benefits to students of combining the two to ensure that teaching and learning are research-led and research-informed. Research-led learning lies at the heart of BU’s concept of Fusion which underpins the BU2018 strategy. If you are already research-active then be creative with your teaching! Encourage students to be involved in your live research projects and use examples from your research findings and experience in your lessons and teaching materials. If you’d like to be research-active then consider joining the University’s Grants Academy which will enable you to develop the skills and knowledge required to embark on a research career.

For more ideas and examples on research-led learning see this report – Research-led learning: the heart of the Russell Group university experience