Category Archives: Health Sciences

UnLTD Social Enterprise Awards – Small Funds Avaliable to Students & Staff

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Staffordshire University have recieved a small allocation of money from the HEFCE supported UnLTD Social Enterprise awards scheme which has been matched with HEIF (Higher Education Innovation Funding) which is managed by Enterprise and Commercial Development. This small awards scheme aims to facilitate students or staff in trying new ideas that have or create social value, this can be an idea about starting a social enterprise venture, to supporting social enterprises that are already in existence.The awards start at up to £500 and dependent on your idea there may be additonal money you can access. Applcations will be accepted up until the 31st July 2014. In terms of the application process, there is a short application form to fill in, you will be required to keep reciepts and meet with us to ensure you are on track.

If you have an idea, or know of someone that does, if they are a student or a member of staff and they have an idea or a venture that they would like to discuss please contact Peter Twilley on 01782 294968 to find out more or email Peter at P.L.Twilley@staffs.ac.uk

 

 

24 steps to a successful start up

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We recently attended the PraxisUnico conference where Bill Aulet from MIT gave a presentation on “The coming crisis in entrepreneurship education and what to do about it”.

Entrepreneurship is exploding globally and many people believe that this is something that cannot be taught and those that are successful are born with the skills for it. Bill however does not agree this is the case. He believes some of the greatest entrepreneurs – Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates – have one thing in common: they made great products.

He also stated that the single condition needed to be successful is a paying customer. The customer should be involved from the very beginning so you know who they are and what they require. By not carrying out market research and selecting the market segment you will be most successful in you are likely to fail.

For more detail on the 24 steps to a successful start-up you can sign up for the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Toolbox at http://detoolbox.com/ or purchase the book http://disciplinedentrepreneurship.com/

The 24 steps game plan is below

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Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professorships

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The objective of these awards is to enable distinguished academics based overseas to spend between three and twelve months at a UK university, in order to enhance the skills of academic staff or students within the host institution. Any field of research is eligible.

Visiting Professors may also wish to use the opportunity to further their own academic interests.

Criteria for selection are:

  • the academic standing and achievements of the professor in terms of research and teaching
  • the ability of the host institution to benefit from the imported skills and expertise

Applications must be made by a member of academic staff, based in a UK university or other higher education institution, who will be responsible for coordinating the visit. Priority is given to new or recent collaborative ventures.

A maintenance grant up to a level commensurate with the salary of a professor in the relevant field at the receiving institution may be requested. Economy travel costs to and from the UK and research costs will also be met.

For further information go to: http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/funding/VP/VP.cfm

 

New call for Agri-food-themed KTPs announced

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The Technology Strategy Board, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Invest Northern Ireland, the Scottish Funding Council and the Welsh Government, are to invest jointly up to £2.3m to establish Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) to improve the competitiveness, resilience and responsiveness of the agri-food supply chain.

The aim of this initiative is to give businesses access to the UK knowledge base so that they can develop innovative solutions to global challenges facing the agri-food sector.

Its scope spans primary production, including aquaculture, through to retail. This competition will provide new opportunities for open innovation and knowledge exchange across supply chains and sectors. It will help companies to mitigate commercial risk and improve business performance – and to achieve growth as a result.

Project proposals should address at least one of three high-level challenges:

• innovating to benefit consumer health, wellbeing and choice

• improving productivity, resource efficiency and resilience in the supply chain

• assuring safety and security across the supply chain.

Examples of potential project areas include: application of genetic and breeding approaches to crops and livestock; food safety, authenticity and traceability; improved methods to control yield/productivity loss or product quality; improving nutritional quality through better products or ingredients; modern manufacturing methods; technologies, approaches or services which support the sustained modification of consumer or employee behaviours; use of data (e.g. generation and interpretation of  large data sets relevant to the agri-food supply chain).

The call opens today (19th June) and will close on 11th Feb 2015.

For further information, read the full competition briefing on the TSB’s ‘innovateuk’ website here, or contact Dominic Collins in Enterprise & Commercial Development: Tel: 01785 353404, email: d.collins@staffs.ac.uk

Be a Part of European Funding: November 20th

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Be a Part of European Funding

The External Projects team’s annual UK Research Office (UKRO) event is on Thursday November 20th, LT114/116 Ashley Building, Stoke. This is our opportunity to hear the latest EU research funding news from our Brussels based UKRO representative Blazej Thomas.

9:00-10:30 –SME involvement- how researchers can work with businesses and other non-academic sectors under the different Horizon 2020 programmes

10:30-12:00 –Marie Sklodowska Curie funding. An overview of the fund, what we can do with it and the level of detail required for an application

12:00-16:30 – Information and Networking session for Businesses and University Staff Businesses interested in getting involved with European funded projects are invited to come to the University to find out how the programmes work and talk to academics about how they can collaborate on projects. The University has lead and partnered on many European projects. It is a great way for businesses to develop their European networks and to get funding to develop a new idea to improve your business. This event is free and includes lunch.

12:00-16:30 –One to One Sessions Book a one to one session with our European specialist to get inside knowledge on developing your European Project. Get individual advice on which conferences to attend to meet people, which EU policies you should be focusing on, how to find partners, how to develop your bid and more.

To book your place email externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk saying which sessions you wish to attend.

Wellcome Trust: Sustaining Health awards

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The Wellcome Trust Strategic Plan includes a specific challenge in the area of ‘connecting environment, nutrition and health’ – seeking deeper insights into the issues at stake and develop strategies to mitigate the risks to human health.  This embraces the research themes of

  • behaviour change
  • global nutrition
  • health impacts of climate change
  • ecological public health

Public health is seriously threatened by a lack of access to nutritious food, clean water and sanitation, by poor air quality, and by environmental (including climate) change. These interlinked dangers are developing in parallel with dietary choices and lifestyles that are contributing to an unprecedented burden of obesity and chronic diseases.

This call aims to stimulate the formation of creative partnerships that bring together the diversity of competences required to tackle these complex problems and inform the global response through multidisciplinary research.

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Innovations/Awards/Sustaining-Health/index.htm

Closing date for initial outline: July 25th 2014

Rights, Equality and Citizenship in Europe

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The European Commission has launched a new funding scheme around rights, equality and citizenship. This blog gives an overview of the scheme. Individual calls will be launched over the coming months.

Funding Body: Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme

Overview:

Specific objectives are to:-

  • Promote non-discrimination
  • Combat racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance
  • Promote rights of persons with disabilities
  • Promote equality between women and men and gender mainstreaming
  • Prevent violence against children, young people, women and other groups at risk
  • Promote the rights of the child
  • Ensure the highest quality of data protection
  • Promote the rights deriving from Union citizenship
  • Enforce consumer rights

Support is available for training, awareness raising, networking and transnational cooperation.

Activities to be funded include:-

  • Training activities (staff exchanges, workshops, development of training modules etc.)
  • Mutual learning, cooperation activities, exchanges of good practices, peer reviews, development of ICT tools etc.
  • Awareness-raising activities, dissemination, conferences etc.
  • Support to main actors/key stakeholders

Budget: It may not be the same for all strands but many of them look like they will offer to fund 80% of project costs.

Deadlines: Separate calls are planned under each of the Programme objectives, the majority are planned for the second half of 2014, although some are set for the second quarter of the year.

Further Information: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/grants1/programmes-2014-2020/rec/index_en.htm

You can see a breakdown of upcoming calls on the International Unit website: http://www.international.ac.uk/newsletters/european-funding-bulletin-june/summaries-of-2014-work-programmes.aspx

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Scaling up improvement programme

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The Health Foundation invites applications for its scaling up improvement programme. This seeks to support projects that aim to improve health care delivery and/or the way people manage their own health care.

Projects need to show how ideas, interventions and approaches that have been tested and shown to improve care at a small scale can be delivered at a larger scale.

The Health Foundation is looking to fund projects at a care pathway, health board, clinical network, organisational level or regional and national levels.

Applications from primary, secondary and tertiary care are welcomed, or across boundaries such as health and social care including mental health, learning disabilities, care homes, maternity and children’s services as well as home care. Applications can come from any health or health and social care provider organisation in the UK where services are free at the point of delivery.

Teams’ proposed improvement project must demonstrate how they intend to impact on an identified problem. Interventions must have been already tested in the same setting, been shown to improve care and be ready to be implemented at a larger scale.

The programme is eligible to organisations from the UK, but not to individuals or sole traders. Organisations are expected to work in partnership and applicants must demonstrate that a relevant, influential organisation can assist in order to increase the likelihood of a wider impact.

£3 million available for up to seven teams

Projects are expected to last for up to two years. (If a private company or profit making organisation is part of the partnership, only 15 per cent of funding will be allocated).

Deadline for first stage of the application process is 12 noon, Monday 16 June 2014.

For further information go to http://www.health.org.uk/areas-of-work/programmes/scaling-up-improvement/

International Exchange with China

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This fund is for scientists who want to stimulate new collaborations with leading scientists in China through either a one-off visit or bilateral travel. Similar schemes are also available for Taiwan and Ireland.

Funding Body: Royal Society

Scheme: International Exchanges Scheme- China cost-share programme

Overview: This stimulates new collaborations within the natural sciences between scientists in the UK and China.

The UK applicant must apply to the Royal Society and the Chinese applicant must apply to NSFC. Both applicants must have completed a PhD or have extensive experience at an equivalent level. They must hold a permanent or fixed term contract in an eligible organisation in their respective countries. The participation of junior scientists is encouraged.

Budget: The Royal Society provides up to £12,000 for the UK team’s airfare to China and the Chinese team’s subsistence whilst in the UK. Up to £2,000 of this amount may be spent on research expenses and consumables. An additional £12,000 equivalent is available from NSFC to the Chinese team’s airfare to the UK and the UK team’s subsistence whilst in China.

Deadlines: 21 October 2014 (this call repeats annually)

Further Information: https://royalsociety.org/grants/schemes/international-exchanges/

 

Royal Society priorities include

  • Promoting science and its benefits
  • Recognising excellence in science
  • Supporting outstanding science
  • Providing scientific advice for policy
  • Fostering international and global cooperation
  • Education and public engagement

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Have your say on Future and Emerging Technologies!

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Consultation closes: 15/06/2014
The Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) programme launches a public consultation to identify promising and potentially game-changing directions for future research in any technological domain.

€2,7 billion will be invested in Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) under the new research programme Horizon 2020#H2020 (2014-2020). This represents a nearly threefold increase in budget compared to the previous research programme, FP7. FET actions are part of the Excellent science pillar of Horizon 2020.

The objective of FET is to foster radical new technologies by exploring novel and high-risk ideas building on scientific foundations. By providing flexible support to goal-oriented and interdisciplinary collaborative research, and by adopting innovative research practices, FET research seizes the opportunities that will deliver long-term benefit for our society and economy.

The aim of the public consultation is to identify promising and potentially game-changing directions for future research in any technological domain.

Vice-President of the European Commission @NeelieKroesEU, responsible for the Digital Agenda, said: “From protecting the environment to curing disease – the choices and investments we make today will make a difference to the jobs and lives we enjoy tomorrow. Researchers and entrepreneurs, innovators, creators or interested bystanders – whoever you are, I hope you will take this opportunity to take part in determining Europe’s future“.

The consultation is organised as a series of discussions, in which contributors can suggest ideas for a new FET Proactive initiative or discuss the 9 research topics identified in the previous consultation to determine whether they are still relevant today.

The ideas collected via the public consultation will contribute to future FET work programmes, notably the next one (2016-17). This participative process has already been used to draft the current work programme (2014-15).

Participate now in the consultation