Tagged / Turkey

Dr Mark Readman at the Creative Industries Workshop in Istanbul

Funding opportunities

Earlier this month I took part in a ‘Creative Industries Workshop’ in Istanbul. This was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Istanbul Development Agency. About 40 of us had won funding to attend – a mixture of UK and Turkish ‘experts’ (academics and industry representatives) – and we were tasked with addressing the challenges faced by Turkey’s creative industries.

The key issue presented to us was how to maximise the potential for growth, diversification and resilience in Turkey by identifying the specific affordances of the creative industries. There is clear ambition in Turkey to “increase the value added of goods and services produced in the country” and the UK is seen as a model for such growth.

The thematic areas which we addressed were: Ecosystem – the structures of finance, networking, collaboration, services, and actors which facilitate growth; Demand – the sensitivity to awareness, ‘customer needs’, and particularly the ways in which other sectors (such as tourism) might complement and stimulate this; Design and value added – the emphasis on digital transformation trends which might ‘intensify user experience’ through improving the quality of life; Data and knowledge – how the creative industries are defined, the relationship between data and policy, and possible research which might produce new models.

The workshop was a very stimulating fusion of different perspectives, and each group presented ‘solutions’ to the funding bodies which drew on our experience and understandings of successful policies and practices. Some of us, however, of a more critical mind set (and I won my funding on the basis of promising to provide this) had further questions that we wanted to pursue, for example: the need to avoid a kind of ‘colonial approach’, dispensing ‘wisdom’ from the UK; the problematic relationship between the creative industries and the craft industries – ways of achieving complementarity without collapsing key differences; the notional affordances of ‘ecosystems’ – some of us suggested that ‘true creativity’ prospered despite, rather than because of ‘ecosystems’; and, ultimately, the nature of this thing called the ‘creative industries’, which is often presented as an ‘ontological category’, but which tends to be a strategic category – some transparency about this seems to be required.

There will be a further call from the AHRC intended to nurture some of the collaborations that were made possible in the workshop, and the challenge will be to maintain this critical stance whilst working together to stimulate worthwhile projects (and we saw some excellent examples of existing initiatives). As we face life post-Brexit, Turkey is likely to be a significant partner, given its position, between Europe and Asia.

Mark Readman, FMC

ERASMUS 2017: Promoting autonomy for people with dementia using ICT applications

The end of 2017 brought about the start of the second successful ERASMUS funded project for Dr Ben Hicks (psychology lecturer and member of ADRC) and Professor Wen Tang (Head of Creative Technology Department). Working alongside European partners from Slovenia (Alzheimer’s Slovenia), Greece (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), Spain (Alzheimer’s Castellon and the University of Valencia) and Turkey (Alzheimer’s Turkey), the two year project aims to develop an e-platform that raises awareness and promotes the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance the autonomy of people with dementia and their care partners.

The first meeting was held in Castellon, Spain, at the Universitat Jaume 1 on the 18-19th December 2017 and was attended by Ben and Natalia Adamczewska (ADRC). Over the course of two days, the proposed research plan and outcomes of the project were discussed in more detail and tasks were assigned to each of the European partners. This included establishing an Advisory Group of people with dementia, care partners and practitioners to inform the development of the project as well as conducting a review of best practice within this field.

Although it is only early days, there was a real buzz around the meeting, as the partners discussed the project and the potential beneficial impact it could have for people living with dementia across Europe. The second meeting for the project team is planned for April/May 2018.

If you would like further information on the research please contact Ben on bhicks@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Newton Fund – Funding Update

Funding opportunities, international

There are a number of calls now open through the Newton Fund. In each case, please refer to the call website for full details including eligibility requirements and thematic priorities:

Newton Institutional Links aims to build UK-partner country research and innovation collaborations centred on shared research and innovation challenges which have direct relevance to social welfare and economic development. Grants awarded are between £50,000 – £300,000. For this round, applications are accepted for collaborations between the UK, Egypt, Thailand and Turkey. The call for Turkey will open on 17/07/17. The deadline for submissions is 19th September 2017, 16:00 UK time.

There is a separate call, Institutional Links Grants for the UK and Russia. In this case, the funding is up to £300,000 with a maximum of £150,000 requested on the UK side and £150,000 requested on the Russian side. The deadline for submissions is 19th September 2017, 16:00 UK time.

Researcher Links Travel Grants provide financial support for early-career researchers to undertake an international research placement to strengthen links for future collaboration, build research capacity in developing economies, and enhance the researcher’s career opportunities. The researcher  will spend 1-6 months abroad depending on the country, which is one of the Philippines, Indonesia and South Africa. Travel may only be between the UK and partner country, but can be in either direction. The deadline for submissions is 19th September 2017, 16:00 UK time.

Newton Researcher Links Workshops bring together early-career researchers from the UK and a partner country to make international connections that can improve the quality of their research. Workshops can be proposed between the UK, China and the Philippines. There is also a separate call for workshops between the UK and Russia. The deadline for submissions is 19th September 2017, 16:00 UK time.

Funding is available to support attendance at the UAE Science Symposium on Clean and Renewable Energy (30 October – 1 November 2017). The deadline for receiving applications is 19 August 2017.

PhD Placements and Supervisor Mobility Grants China-UK: The UK-China joint Research and Innovation Partnership Fund (known in the UK as the Newton Fund) PhD placement programme is delivered by the British Council China and the China Scholarship Council on behalf of the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and China’s Ministry of Education. This programme is a sponsorship opportunity for UK and Chinese PhD students and their supervisors to spend a period of study of three to 12 months (for PhD students) and up to three months (for supervisors) at higher education institutions in China or the UK. The application process closes at 12:00 (UK time) on 20th September 2017.

On behalf of the Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy, UK and the Ministry of Science and Technology, India, British Council- India, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) India are pleased to invite applications for funding to support short-term PhD placements between UK and Indian institutions. The deadline for receipt of applications is 21 August 2017, 16:00 UK time.

Research Environment Links (REL) Grants aim to support international collaboration through training programmes, the exchange of knowledge and best practice, the development and implementation of pilot activities in the areas relevant to the Newton capacity building strands. The partnerships are led by institutions in Vietnam in conjunction with an expert counterpart organisation in the UK.  The grant can be £50,000 to £140,000. The deadline is 21 July 2017, 16:00 UK time.

The British Council in Germany is looking for UK-based researchers to deliver interactive, engaging and hands-on science workshops in English on the topic of Seas and Oceans. Ideally the funder is looking for UK-based science researchers, engineers,  Ph.D. students and STEM Ambassadors with a science background and a track record of outreach work with schools. The deadline for submitting proposals is 30 September 2017. The workshops will take place between spring 2017 and autumn 2017.

The British Council is providing funding to attend a number of selected workshops. Various deadlines apply.

If you are planning to apply to any of these schemes, please contact your Research Facilitator for help and support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Newton Fund latest calls

Funding opportunities, international

The British Council have announced that the latest calls available under the Newton Fund are now open or forthcoming:

 

6 September 2017 12pm BST NEW! MALAYSIA – UK-Malaysia Urban Innovation Challenge (Innovate UK)
APPLICATIONS ON A ROLLING BASIS TURKEY – Fellowships for UK Researchers (British Academy, Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society)
Forthcoming FORTHCOMING: CHINA – UK-China Joint Research and Innovation Partnership Fund PhD Placement Programme (British Council)
Forthcoming FORTHCOMING: INDIA – Bio-technological solutions for reducing industrial waste (BBSRC, EPSRC)
Forthcoming FORTHCOMING: CHINA – UK-China Agri-Tech (BBSRC)
Forthcoming FORTHCOMING: INDIA – Ganga Delta – Bay of Bengal Interactions (NERC)
Forthcoming FORTHCOMING: INDONESIA – Wallacea understanding biodiversity and evolutionary responses to environmental change (NERC)
Forthcoming FORTHCOMING: SOUTH EAST ASIA – Increasing resilience to hydrometeorological hazards (NERC)

<\br>

If you are interested in applying to any of these calls then please contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer, in the first instance.

Newton Fund International Calls Update

Funding opportunities, international

newton fundThe following Newton calls are currently open. If you are thinking of applying, please contact Emily Cieciura, REKO’s Research Facilitator: EU and International, as soon as possible, so that we can support you.

 

DEADLINE TIME DETAILS OF CALL
1 June 2016  DEADLINE SOON! MALAYSIA- UK-Malaysia Joint Health Research Call in Non-Communicable Diseases
20 June 2016 4pm GMT CHINA- Developing financial systems to support sustainable growth in China
27 June 2016 4pm GMT MULTI- COUNTRY- Newton Institutional Links
27 June 2016 4pm GMT MULTI-COUNTRY- Travel Grants – Newton Researcher Links
27 June 2016 4pm GMT MULTI-COUNTRY- Workshop Grants – Newton Researcher Links
27 June 2016 4pm GMT MULTI-COUNTRY Trilateral workshop grants – Newton Researcher Links
30 June 2016 SOUTH AFRICA- NRF Fellowships for Early Career Researchers from the UK
14 July 2016 4pm GMT NEW OPPORTUNITY! INDONESIA- UK-Indonesia Joint Health Research Call on Infectious Diseases
20 September 2016 12pm GMT NEW OPPORTUNITY! CHINA- UK-China PhD Placement Programme
22 September 2016 12pm GMT NEW OPPORTUNITY! TURKEY- Agri-food innovation in Turkey