Quarterly GuildHE Research Meeting – January

Wrexham also has high quality facilities for land-based learning at its campus in Northop, Flintshire, while elsewhere in the county the Advanced Composite Training and Development Centre at Airbus is the result of a groundbreaking partnership between Wrexham University, Airbus, Deeside College and the Welsh Government. At St Asaph the university has OpTIC Glyndŵr, a leading centre for research and development in cutting-edge opto-electronics and ultra-high-precision optics technology.

From creating high precision timing systems for sub-atomic particle accelerators to tackling cyber-bullying and from developing the potential of biorefineries to improving lifestyle for health, the university’s research continues to demonstrate impact and significance both nationally and internationally.

The University’s expertise and research spans a wide range of disciplines organised within two University Institutes:

• Arts, Science and Technology

Subject areas include: Biology and Environment, Business and Management, Chemistry, Computing, Creative Industries and Engineering and Applied Physics

• Health, Medical Sciences and Society

Subject areas include: Applied Social Sciences, Education, Early Childhood and Family Studies, Health Sciences and Psychology.

Research Lead: Professor Diane Cox

Diane is the Director of Research & Head of the Graduate School for the University. As Director of Research, Diane is responsible for the strategic development of research across the University; as Head of the Graduate School, Diane is responsible for the effective and efficient operation of the Graduate School, and the quality of the postgraduate student experience. Diane has worked at the University of Cumbria (formerly St. Martin’s College) since 2000. She has previously held a number of academic posts; Senior Lecturer, Reader, Principal Lecturer and Research Coordinator. She gained a personal chair in 2011, and is a Professor of Occupational Therapy. Diane currently has four PhD students who are Occupational Therapists. She has published numerous papers. Prior to working in Higher Education, Diane worked for 15 years in the NHS, and is a member of a number of national committees about research. She collaborates with other Universities, NHS and Social sector about research and practice. She is and has been a member of a number of National Consultancy and Reference groups.

The University of Worcester is committed to producing high quality research with impact across all its subject areas and expect and support our academic staff to engage in research and knowledge transfer. At the same time, the institution wishes to develop and enhance areas of national and international excellence through its  Research Centres and Groups.

The University has a strong focus on applied research, reflecting the professional and practice-based strengths of several of its academic Institutes and Research Centres; research which, through its application, will have significant impacts on the practice of teachers, health professionals, coaches, managers and artists.

Each of the University of Worcester’s six academic departments includes active researchers who are experts in their field:

• Institute of Education
• Institute of Health and Society
• Institute of Humanities and Creative Arts
• Institute of Science and the Environment
• Institute of Sport and Exercise Science
• Worcester Business School

Research addresses economic growth and social mobility through sector-specific agendas in education, health, physical activity, sport, tourism, communication and the creative arts.

The university’s approach is based upon the principles of smart specialisation, bringing together subject knowledge, specialist research and sector priorities to create greater social and economic impact.

Particular strengths of our research, and designed to support health and wealth generation, are the:

• provision and evaluation of evidence to inform sector-based policy, practice and innovation
• development of applications and products to support behaviour change

The university’s strong values base, developed since its origins in 1838, underpins everything it does and its spirit of innovation and exploration is an important driver for its research activity.

Research areas covered by the University include:

• Transformational education and STEM education
• Physical activity, health and rehabilitation
• Health-related technologies
• Sport sciences and human performance
• Sound and performance-related technologies
• Creative writing, linguistics and science communication
• Business and enterprise (small and micro business, social enterprise and third sector)
• Social cohesion and community development
• Speech & language therapy including dysphagia and Parkinson’s disease
• Modern journalism and social media
• Creative arts and its broader meaning to health and wealth generation

The University of St Mark & St John undertakes translational research across these areas as well as knowledge transfer, consultancies and private sector collaborations and partnerships.

Contact the Research and Innovation Office on research@marjon.ac.uk

Value and Impact

St Mary’s has an established culture of research and scholarship, concentrated in hubs of excellence within research centres and at discipline level in Academic Schools.

Research at St Mary’s is valued, encouraged and supported; undertaking research and scholarship is an integral part of academic life here.

Many of our academics have extensive networks and professional groups nationally and overseas, which offer opportunities for collaborative working, joint grant applications and access to a wide range of resources and expertise. We welcome visiting scholars from around the world as part of our research community.

Research Areas

• Business and Law
• Education and Teaching
• Humanities, Theology and Ethics
• Media and Creative Arts
• Social and Behavioural Science
• Sport, Health and Science

Research Degrees

St Mary’s has a vibrant and rapidly growing community of postgraduate research students who benefit greatly from the high levels of individual attention provided by our dedicated supervisors. Our research students have an active programme of specialist (discipline-based) and generic training and development which culminates in an annual research conference at St Mary’s.

Further Information

If you are interested in finding out more about research at St Mary’s, we hope you will find the information on our webpages useful. If you need any further information, please contact the Research Office:

Tel: 020 8240 4164
Email: research@stmarys.ac.uk

Research at Southampton Solent is applicable to the public and private sectors including the maritime industry, voluntary services, sport, health, education, the creative industries and society. It seeks to contribute to the many different debates and issues that we are facing within a knowledge-based economy and fast changing global environment. Our research and enterprise activities inform change and have visible impact, in local, national and international arenas.

Research clusters and groups

We are keen to encourage colleagues to work collaboratively, perhaps to accelerate development or to address emerging challenges. The diversity of our research clusters and groups underpins a rich array of research at Southampton Solent University. Our activities lead to important developments in key sectors, and our researchers are keen to build relationships with businesses and the community.

Postgraduate research studies

We value our postgraduate research students and enable them to develop the wide range of skills needed to succeed in their individual studies and enhance their career prospects. With research as the basis of the doctoral education, our students develop the technical and intellectual abilities needed to work at the forefront of knowledge. We offer discipline-focused training, collaboration on live projects with industry partners, and the fostering of student-led initiatives. We are fully committed to supporting our doctoral students in their personal and professional development.

Research@Central concerns itself with the ways in which theatre is made, analysed and documented across a range of contexts and environments.

Professor Maria Delgado, Director of Research, introduces Research@Central:

As a constituent College of the University of London, Central supports a dynamic research community of staff and postgraduate research students (PGRS). We have recognised expertise in the areas of acting and actor-training; applied and social theatre; directing, directors, scenography and design; and cultural histories of performance. Crucially, much of this research operates at the intersection with industry and is realised with partners from a range of sectors, including theatres, film bodies, local authorities, NGOs, charities, cultural festivals, and the museum sector. For example, internationally acclaimed, cross art form company, Fevered Sleep are an associate artist at Central – their work combining a commitment to research and innovative artistic practice. REF2014 recognised 39% of our research as 4* and 31% at 3*, highlighting the strengths of a culture that operates at the interface of the university and conservatoire sectors. To find out more about what we’re doing, who we’re working with and how our research makes a difference, look on our projects page.

Some thirty members of teaching staff are research active and there is an MPhil/PhD community numbering almost thirty, in addition to the 230 students undertaking one of a range of taught Masters programmes preparing postgraduates for higher research. Central also hosts Visiting Associate Students who join our active postgraduate community for a period of up to six months, postdoctoral researchers and Visiting Research Fellows.

Central runs two seminar series, Theatre Workings — outward-facing events bringing together renowned practitioners and eminent academics — and the more methodology-driven ‘Practices and Processes’, as well as a range of practice-led events and productions. Central Interviews offer a platform for practitioners and industry professionals to share their own research processes and findings. Recordings of these events are held in the Central archive.

For further details, see: https://www.cssd.ac.uk/research

Research Lead: Professor Maria Delgado, maria.delgado@cssd.ac.uk

The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) is the oldest agricultural college (1845) in the English-speaking world, but also the newest, gaining university title in 2013; until 2000 it was outside the public sector. The RAU was founded with the express aim of delivering what is now termed translational research in a period of rapid scientific and technological developments. It is one of the smallest universities in the UK but has doubled in size during this REF period from ~600 students in 2007 to over 1100 in 2013. Increased size and natural turnover has enabled growth in academic staff during the latter part of this period, allowing realisation of the strategic plan to recruit research active staff to increase research capacity. Growth and level of research activity needs to be set within this transition. Historically the focus has been on teaching but research is also core to the mission, growth and development of the university.

With access to over 50 academic and research staff, University farms and research facilities, the Royal Agricultural University carries out an active programme of UK and international research. We are experienced in providing the right expertise and skills, including working in association with other national and international academic and research centres.

The RAU has a strategy of employing research active staff who can engage with stakeholders to identify research needs and exchange knowledge. They exploit funding opportunities and deliver research outputs to the widest audience through publications, conference presentations, organised conferences and seminars hosted on campus, and visits to stakeholder groups in their own locations. Our Annual Report documents a wide range of such dissemination activities.

Research Groups:

Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Rural Economy

The Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Rural Economy research group is based mainly in the School of Agriculture and Food but may involve staff from other Schools; its rationale is to promote higher yield and quality food within sustainable agricultural production and social systems.

Research is carried out on our own farms at Harnhill and Coates (LINK to farms pages) and on neighbouring farms as appropriate.

The Rural Innovation Centre (RIC), visited at its inception by Prince Charles in Nov 2013, is a £1.2M investment on Harnhill Farm (235ha purchased in 2009 for £2.4M) primarily for practical research, demonstration and knowledge exchange. The Rural Innovation Centre at Harnhill provides on-farm facilities for research projects.

Equine Research Group

The Equine Research Group based in in the newly established School of Equine Management and Science.

Fossehill Farm is an ideal location for equine research. It has a bespoke research barn which can be configured as separate loose boxes or as a communal American Barn facility. This enables efficient comparisons to be drawn between various management systems whilst controlling for environmental variation.

There is a horse walker for standardised exercise regimens often utilised in feeding trails. For medium to maximal exercise testing a 1km long bark chipping track is usable in all weather conditions.

The most recent addition is a 60 x 30 M outdoor arena featuring a Martin Collins Ecotrack. This facility is well set up for gait analysis due to the recent purchase of a high speed camera and Quintic video analysis suite. Moreover, the outdoor arena is the perfect setting for behavioural experiments featuring the ‘Tolmans Maze’ for example. Due to the high fencing and flat surrounding terrain distal cues can be minimised.

There are also laboratories on campus for DNA, dissections and analytical work.A research impact case study on Horse Nutrition is attached.

Ravensbourne’s practice-based research also supports investigation into the industrial and cultural contexts, and impacts and value of emerging technologies. We are particularly interested in the aesthetics and uses of technologies which have relevance to the Creative Industries. We are committed to improving the affordances of emerging technologies, and particularly foreground knowledge exchange between industry and the Academy.

Researchers at Ravensbourne are likely to draw from ethnography, creative methods, action research, textual analysis, and production and audience studies. We are as likely to work with large organisations (Barclays, Marks and Spencer, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the BBC) as with Small to Medium-sized Enterprises who may be more associated with newer economic structures and production ecologies. We are also involved in policy-making and standard-setting.

Our researchers specialize in media production and technology (including stereoscopic 3-D and Broadcast Engineering), emerging design practices such as 3D printing, wearable futures, and learning and teaching (use of mobile platforms). We are particularly interested in exploring the blending of design with technology, and in inter-disciplinary working.

We are becoming known for our international conferences which draw researchers and industry together to explore emerging fields. We have hosted large events in Wearable Futures, Transmedia, and we host Mozilla’s annual ‘MozFest’. Our annual conference in 3-D film and television was the first large-scale event in the UK to foreground stereoscopy. The conference is now jointly hosted with the i3DS Society at the British Film Institute.

For further information:

https://www.ravensbourne.ac.uk/

Plymouth College of Art’s (PCA) philosophy for research is grounded in the institution’s distinctive mission and purpose as a specialist provider of education in art, craft, design and media. It reflects PCA’s beliefs in the value of creative practice and the centrality of the principle of thinking through making. It also reflects a commitment to promote innovation, intellectual curiosity, entrepreneurship and creativity, adding value to the cultural, social and economic life of Plymouth and the South West region, and contributing positively to broader national and international cultural and economic agendas.

PCA strongly encourage and support links between research and pedagogy and between research and professional practice, and thinking through making radiates through all communities of practice – fine artists, makers, designers  and creative media producers. It denotes the fundamental importance of the practitioner’s relationship to, and understanding of, materials, media, tools and processes, be it (for example) film-making, glass-blowing, curatorial research, or performance art. 

PCA maintain a strong focus on professional studio and workshop regimes of knowledge and action, underpinned with an entrepreneurial/critical-curatorial approach to contexts of practice that are increasingly structured around portfolio career/SME settings.

There are strong historical threads embedded in this stance that can be traced back to the institution’s roots as the Plymouth Drawing School, established in 1856 as part of the then nation-wide wave of art, design and industry teaching institutions set-up in the wake of the 1851 Great Exhibition. However, contemporary investment in thinking through making emphatically does not signify a simplistic concentration solely on embodied technical skill.

PCA views creative making as essentially a research site, or laboratory, for the deep exploration of determinate ideas and feelings – a project that is radically open to the future and which embraces an ‘expanded’ field of creative practices.  

The ethos of a specialist academic culture underpins Norwich University of the Art‘s strategy for research, which focuses on generating new forms of creative practice informed by critical and cultural perspectives. NUA works with Universities, museums, galleries, and creative and cultural industries throughout the world, seeking to explore new ways in which art, design and media practice, interpretation and curation contribute to contemporary culture, society and public well-being.

Research produced by NUA staff, students and collaborators interrogates the contexts in which art, design and media are produced, understood, used, exchanged and sustained, setting out to challenge conventions, provide new insights and develop original applications. Their outcomes provide audiences with access to creative disciplines, innovative practices and cultural heritage. In developing the University’s research, staff and students have been publicly recognised for their work in the UK, Europe, the US, South America, North Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia.

NUA’s portfolio of activities comprises the following Research Themes:

Cultural and Political Narratives
NUA research into cultural and political narratives questions the interpretation and representation of contested creative and material practices, focusing on the cultural and political networks in which art, design and media are produced, valued and consumed. Through contemporary and historical approaches engaging both practice and criticism, work developed in this area pioneers understandings of the complex circumstances underlying creative and cultural practices and forms of communication. From curating major exhibitions for international museums, to developing new forms of literary criticism and representation and preparing major scholarly contributions, research in this area has engaged diverse audiences in Europe, Australia, the Middle East and US.

Digital and Physical Interactions
NUA research into digital and physical interactions investigates attitudes and approaches to the understanding of complex phenomena underpinning human cognition, behavior and experience. Through cross-disciplinary research engaging expertise in the physical sciences, work developed in this area expands knowledge and awareness of human processes such as vision, memory, navigation and reproduction. From producing city-wide navigable digital interventions, to investigating eye movement and reading, and creating audio-visual installations to explore attitudes towards birth, memory and medical imaging, research in this area has been installed, exhibited, performed and distributed through galleries, clinical research centres and public events in the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, North and South America.

Objects and Environments
NUA’s emerging research into objects and environments examines and develops insights into ways in which objects and environments are imagined, constructed and sustained. Through creative and theoretical practice, work developed in this area advances knowledge of human and cultural activities in areas such as design, architecture, pedagogy, museum and project learning, and textiles. Staff – in particular early career staff – and student research projects have been constructed in unique contexts, embedded in cultural organisations: from examining environmental frameworks for museum learning and live projects, to exploring cultural and historical attitudes to design.

Newman University is developing a strong research culture and offers opportunities for research at postgraduate level. We offer a range of intellectually challenging taught postgraduate courses leading to the award of MRes, MA or MSc. Our research students study towards the award of EdD, MPhil or PhD, full or part-time, in a supportive research environment tailored to their needs.

The growing research culture at Newman University was recognised through the Research Excellence Framework Exercise (REF) 2014. The REF results indicated that all research outputs from the University were of national or international standards in terms of originality, significance and rigour, with some outputs being classified as world-leading. These results indicated that research groups and individuals across our six submitted Units (Education, Sport, Theology, English, History and Psychology) are engaged in research at the highest levels.

Newman’s postgraduate research students work towards EdD, MPhil or PhD degrees that are awarded by the Liverpool Hope University. Our members of staff have the expertise to provide supervision towards doctorate level qualifications (PhD and EdD) in a number of subject areas. Normally, the research proposal is negotiated by the candidate with a member of the research supervisory team. Research students receive a level of support not commonly available in larger and less community-based institutions.

We would be pleased to welcome postgraduate applications in the following subject areas:

• Education and Professional Studies
• English
• History
• Physical Education and Sports Studies
• Psychology and Counselling
• Theology

About Newman University

Located at Bartley Green, south of the Birmingham City Centre, Newman University was awarded University Title in February 2013.

Newman has a long and proud tradition of providing high quality, formative education in a values-driven environment

We are an institution with a distinctive name and by nature, something of which we are also very proud. Based on our motto ‘ex umbris in veritatem’ (‘out of the shadows into truth’), and as an essential part of our mission of service, which is rooted in a sense of vocation for our staff and students, Newman is not just about education and the creation of knowledge, but also about the provision of solutions.

Peter has oversight for research development for both staff and research students. A Professor since 2003, Peter is also currently Director of CREST and has been a member of regional and national research bodies including the HERDA Research Special Interest Group, the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) and the Association of University Research and Industry Links (AURIL). He was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy in 2004 and was elected a Fellow of the English Association in 2005.

In terms of his personal research, Peter has edited or written over twenty books on diverse subjects ranging from contemporary British culture to post-colonial theory. Peter’s early published works includePost-Colonial Theory and English Literature, Paul Scott’s Raj Quartet, The Twentieth Century in Poetry, and Modernism: the New Critical Idiom. More recent publications include Contemporary Novelists: British Fiction Since 1970 for Palgrave Macmillan, Texts: Contemporary Cultural Texts and Critical Approachesfor Edinburgh University Press, The Routledge Dictionary of Literary Terms, and books on Modernism and the Post-Colonial and Aesthetics and Ethics in Twenty-First Century British Novels for Continuum. He is currently researching and publishing on Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes and contemporary British fiction.

Leeds Trinity is a teaching-led, research-informed university, committed to empowering individuals and engagement with communities. Our scholarships and research learning informs our teaching and likewise, our teaching influences the research we undertake.

Leeds Trinity has a rapidly growing research reputation in a number of specific areas of expertise with commitment to an actively forward-thinking programme that innovates the links between teaching and research across the full range of courses.

The postgraduate programmes are enriched by the latest and most advanced research to deliver an exceptional student experience with the support of our knowledgeable and professional industry-led academics who bring their own research to life.

The RAE (2008) results recognised this cutting-edge and established research reputation. Our History research area was judged world-leading and English, Theology and Religious Studies as internationally excellent.

The university is home to the Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies. Established in 1994, the LCVS offers full-time and part-time funded PhD Studentships in a supportive environment.

Leeds Arts University has been delivering art and design education from its initial foundation as Leeds School of Art in 1846. Since the 1960s it has delivered higher education commencing with the award of Diploma in Art and Design and evolving into Degree provision during the following decades. In 2012 it transferred into the HE Sector. The University’s culture and character from inception to the present day are indelibly etched with innovation, success, determination and inclusion.

The University currently delivers postgraduate, undergraduate and further education. The University is a teaching led institution where research including practice-based research is encouraged and supported. Through research,members of staff acquire subject specific expertise, maintain currency with their subject and connect with other academics; all of which feeds into the work with students. At Leeds Arts University research ‘clusters’ run across programme areas to promote critical friendship, collaboration and innovation and support specialist practice, pedagogy and related forms of academic enquiry. In June 2017 the University was awarded the European Commission HR Excellence in Research Award.

Hartpury University is one of the UK’s leading land-based and sports educational establishments. Our stunning specialist campus covers more than 360 hectares and is located near to both Gloucester and Cheltenham.

Hartpury is an Associate Faculty of the University of the West of England (UWE) and has been working in partnership with UWE since 1997. It is currently working towards ‘Taught Degree Awarding Powers’ with the aim of awarding its own degrees, potentially from September 2018.

Today it has more than 1500 students working towards foundation degrees, honours degrees and postgraduate qualifications in equine, sport and animal and land studies.

Hartpury also offers A Levels and BTEC Diplomas to more than 1600 full time students, as well as professional courses in leadership and management, teaching and training, animal care, dog grooming, equine studies, land-based studies, first aid and health and safety.

Hartpury is the world’s largest equine education establishment, hosting three international equine events, and regularly wins national titles in rugby and football as well as rowing, golf, modern pentathlon and netball.

https://www.hartpury.ac.uk

Harper Adams University (HAU) is an institution that is closely related to the needs of the rural economy and industries reliant upon the rural economy, with a specific commitment to sustainable agriculture, re-establishing connections between food producers and consumers, knowledge transfer to support the rural economy and the international dimension of environmental and food chain sustainability.

HAU is uniquely placed to address the challenges raised following the publication of the UK Food Strategy 2030. We have a multi-disciplinary research and knowledge transfer environment where we can bring together different perspectives to encourage a broader view about solutions to the challenges ahead of us. We have an infrastructure base that is among the best in the UK in our subject base, and we are well positioned to capitalise on the UK Government’s recognition that the improved use of rural land is of critical importance in the future.

There is a healthy research environment at Harper Adams, producing some exciting ideas and advances for the land-based sector. Research at Harper Adams attracts around £3 million p.a. external funding from industry, Government and charities and there are about 70 PhD students. HAU has research competence across the entire agri-food chain, offering farm facilities, laboratories, glasshouses, and engineering workshops, and provides links to small and medium sized enterprises within the agri-food sector.

Our research centres and facilities include:

• Crop and Environment Research Centre
• National Centre for Precision Farming
• The Centre for Integrated Pest Management
• Soil and Water Management Centre
• Centre for Evidence Based Agriculture
• Rural Security Research Group
• Fresh Produce Research Centre
• Urban Farming Group
• Drought Mitigation Group
• Agricultural Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems
• Animal Production Science Centre
• Veterinary Sciences and Animal Well-Being Centre
• Centre for Land and Rural Business

Falmouth University has a history of more than 100 years of creative thinking and design innovation.

Established in 1902 as Falmouth School of Art, it has grown over a century to become a digital innovation hub. Today, its portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate courses represents the breadth of the Creative Industries, the fastest growing sector in the UK economy.

The University has recently experienced a period of rapid growth, its on-campus student population tripling in size since 2001 to nearly 5300 students today. These students study on two campuses in Falmouth and Penryn.

As well as the courses that are delivered on-campus in Cornwall, Falmouth also provides groundbreaking online distance learning and exciting collaborative partnerships with industry-leading bodies including the Academy of Contemporary Music and the Fashion Retail Academy in London.

Falmouth’s research programmes are built on the principle of open innovation – the idea that the grand challenges of our age can be addressed most effectively when tackled collaboratively across disciplinary boundaries. They focus on delivering impact for lives and economies through the development of new knowledge, solutions, services and products.

Falmouth University acts as an anchor institution in Cornwall, partnering with public and private sector organisations to support the county’s economic, skills and enterprise agendas. Its 2030 strategic plan is aligned with the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly LEP 2030 plan and Cornwall Council’s long term strategic vision. The creative industries are key to the Cornwall economic strategy as the sector is not only currently the third largest employer in the region but also the likely source of future high growth companies and higher value jobs

Bucks strongly encourage a collaborative approach and have a number of non-profit research centres and institutes which foster close links with industry, the public sector and charitable organisations.

Bucks has a flourishing research degree programme, with opportunities for both full-time and part-time study leading towards MPhil and PhD degrees in a wide range of subject areas.

Research is profiled in the Bucks Knowledge Archive, the online repository for Bucks’ academics’ research output.

Research is important to us at BG for its intrinsic as well as extrinsic value and our Centre for Educational Development and Research (CEDaR) supports research among staff and students across the institution.

Doctoral Study at Bishop Grosseteste

Studying for a doctoral level qualification is one of the most exciting, stimulating and challenging things you can do. BG’s innovative doctoral programmes are designed to empower you as a professional educator to conduct robust research focused on the critical analysis of evidence, pushing back the boundaries of knowledge, developing policy and professional practice, and improving the quality of education as a whole.

By undertaking doctoral level study, you will both join and contribute towards BG’s growing community of scholars and intellectual community in the heart of the cathedral and historic city of Lincoln. With degrees awarded by the University of Leicester, BG offers the opportunity to study for a full or part-time PhD or a part-time EdD. Each postgraduate route is designed to help obtain a doctoral level qualification, but each is intended to accommodate different student circumstances and preferred modes of study.