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Tagged / EU funding
HE Policy Update for the w/e 17th May 2019 (a bit early)
Business Engagement, EU, Impact, Industry collaboration, innovation, international, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, policy, Public engagement, Research news, Student Engagement jforster
This week's policy update is an early (almost) mid-week treat. There will be a bumper edition next week.
The Minister defends universities
Chris Skidmore was in front of Education Committee on Wednesday at an accountability hearing. You can watch it here. In the parts we watched, he answered questions on encouraging apprenticeships, and while he agreed, he also countered by talking about placements and sandwich years as another way to support employability. He also defended "post 92s" as being world class and criticised those who leap to conclusions based on whether universities are in the Russell Group or not. And he said that teaching was important and a focus only on research (and negative press about institutions) was not helpful.
On the Augar review his advisor said it is not finalised yet and the Minister said he hasn't seen a draft. He expects there will be changes "within the financial envelope that has been set". He also says the terms of reference remain the same for the review. That's important because (set before the ONS decision on the deficit) they said:
The Review recommendations will be consistent with the Government's fiscal policies to reduce the deficit and will not place a cap on the number of students who can benefit from post-18 education. Student contributions towards the cost of their studies, including the level, terms and duration of their contribution will be considered.
Separately he has given his second speech on research, which we cover in the next section, but he also delivered a speech on 'going global' in higher education, outlining his vision for the sector. In this speech he repeated a lot from other recent speeches and announcements, but also talked about TNE (trans national education) with enthusiasm and international research collaboration. He spoke of UK students becoming truly global citizens (and he didn't say that they were citizens of nowhere). I think international student loneliness and mental health will be picked up increasingly alongside the other mental health stories. He mentioned "Step Change" and the University Mental Health Charter.
I was particularly shocked to learn, when I gave a speech at a Wonkhe conference on the 'secret lives of students' earlier this year, that over 15% of students said they felt lonely on a daily basis. And the figures were worse for international students. In fact, 20% of international students said they do not consider themselves to have any true friends at university. So, they can lack support networks and be more likely to have concerns over their mental health. That is why we are working closely with UK universities to embed the 'Step Change' programme within the sector, which calls on higher education leaders to adopt the mental health of students and staff as a strategic priority.
We remain open to exploring participation in the successor scheme to the current Erasmus+ Programme. But, as a responsible Government, we are also considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training. This includes a potential domestic alternative to the Erasmus+ Programme. The potential benefits of the UK establishing its own international mobility scheme would include the ability to have a truly global exchange programme. And I will be driving forward this work in the coming months.
Research and research funding
New Research and Innovation Strategy: The Minister gave the second of his four planned speeches on research as the "Minister for the 2.4% [GDP investment in research and innocation]". We reported last week's in our update. This week's was a little bit repetitive, if we're honest [you can read the annotated version by HE for Research Professional here], but he did launch the International Research and Innovation Strategy which was trailed last week. As with all such documents it is long on images and rhetoric (and case studies) and short on specifics.
Some fun facts:
UK Global Research and Innovation – 6 per cent of global research publications are produced by the UK.
15 per cent of the world's most highly cited articles come from the UK.
£23.7bn invested in R&I by UK businesses in 2017.
Top four in the Global Innovation Index.
Three universities ranked in the top ten globally.
Top ten in World Bank ease of doing business rankings.
There are seven themes each with a set of commitments:
A global partner: a partner for open, excellent and entrepreneurial research and innovation.
Our commitments:
One of our core objectives is to continue to collaborate with European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives. We want to explore association to EU research and innovation programmes, including Horizon Europe and Euratom Research and Training, networks and infrastructure.
The new strategic partnership approach with Africa announced by the Prime Minister in 2018 is underpinned by a coherent cross government science, technology and innovation approach. …
We are creating a long-term research and innovation infrastructure roadmap, incorporating leading UK and international facilities as a cornerstone, to develop an effective strategy for future requirements and investment priorities.
We will use our extensive diplomatic networks, led by our Science and Innovation Network teams …. to enhance international cooperation, build partnerships and deliver this strategy.
We will work with our universities, research institutes, the academic and business communities to promote and facilitate international collaboration and use their networks and influence to build new partnerships that produce excellent research and innovation.
Bringing together the best talent from around the world
We are committed to funding research talent, including:
£1.3bn to attract and retain world class talent, through UKRI's Future Leadership Fellowship and from the UK's National Academies …
A new AI skills and talent package supported by industry funding and up to £110m government investment including: up to 200 new AI Masters places at UK universities; new PhDs for 1,000 students at 16 dedicated UKRI AI Centres for Doctoral Training; up to five AI research Fellowships created in collaboration with The Alan Turing Institute.
We are ensuring our visa arrangements support international researchers, innovators, their teams and their families.
A suite of UK based Fellowships for promising global researchers….
Commitments to build research capacity in partner countries and create a global network of promising early career researchers with links to the UK, including FLAIR Fellowships for African researchers.
Our Knowledge Exchange Framework will support closer working between industry and academia promoting a culture of continuous improvement in knowledge exchange.
Regional DFID technology acceleration platforms working with Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network …
The £900m UK Research Partnership Investment Fund.
A global hub for innovation
In the UK's Industrial Strategy we have set out the goal of making the UK the most innovative country in the world by 2030.
We have established hubs of tech innovation throughout the UK that are world-leading. …
We are working towards a global digital marketplace supporting greater transparency in public procurement…
We have an extensive Catapult network …
We are extending Innovate UK's Global Expert Missions and Business Innovation programmes …
Through the UK Chairmanship of and participation in EUREKA we are working with members to develop a global framework for business-led R&D and innovation collaboration, and have committed a further £20m to support international collaboration through EUREKA
Incentives and financial support
A £20bn, 10-year Patient Capital Action Plan, including £2.5bn for British Patient Capital to drive £7.5 bn of investment into innovative high-growth potential SMEs.
The upper limits on the Enterprise Investment Schemes and Venture Capital Trust investment reliefs were doubled from April 2018 for knowledge-intensive companies.
British Business Bank's Enterprise Capital Funds programme …
We will work with businesses, our leading universities, research institutes and UK Research & Innovation to make the UK an even more attractive location for R&D activity. …
Global Entrepreneur Programme helps overseas entrepreneurs and early stage technology businesses that want to relocate to the UK.
R&D Tax Credit relief for SMEs and R&D Expenditure Credit …
A global platform for the technologies of tomorrow
We are bringing forward plans to transform the UK's regulatory system to enable innovation…. including through a Regulators' Pioneer Fund to support regulator-led initiatives.
We will work with other countries to develop a balanced and fit for purpose international intellectual property framework that maximises the benefits of innovation and creativity. We are establishing a new partnership with the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution to develop regulation ….
We will promote better governance frameworks around the globe through the FCO's network of overseas posts, and BSI's leadership role in European and international standards.
We will provide a safe and secure environment for research and innovation through physical and cyber protection.
A partner for a sustainable future
The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund …
The UK's commitment in law of 0.7 per cent of our Gross National Income to Official Development Assistance ….
We have invested across government in targeted programmes for international research and innovation for sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals.
We are committed to bring a whole of government approach to maximise the impact of international collaborative programmes…..
An advocate for better research governance, ethics and impact
The UK will play a full and active role in the global governance of scientific research and innovation organisations through critical global fora [there's a huge list]
New Inquiry into Research Funding: The Science and Technology Committee have launched a new inquiry to assess the impact of potential changes in funding on the ability of UK universities to conduct high-quality research.
The committee will begin taking oral evidence on 21st May 2019 and will likely cover;
What proportion of England and Wales' overall science research is done in universities? How much of that is funded directly by universities?
Has the establishment of UKRI affected the way in which universities apply for funding for research? Have the changes been beneficial?
The Government have committed to a target of 2.4% of GDP to be invested in research and development by 2027. What will be the balance between investment in research-active universities and industry? What are the expected changes to research funding in universities?
Would the reduction or abolition of tuition fees impact funding in such a way as to affect the ability of universities to conduct high-quality scientific research?
If Brexit led to a reduction in EU students studying in England and Wales, would that affect science research capabilities in universities?
CBI report on R&D: The Confederation of British Industry has published a report on the 'Changing Nature of R&D', which highlights that despite the Government's aim of raising R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, it is not expected to reach this level until at least 2053. As part of this, the CBI has called on the Government to commit to making a number of commitments to enhancing the UK's research and innovation ecosystem:
The Government should agree to setting out a comprehensive and future focused road underpinned by commitment to increasing public funding,
The Government should include measures to increase the number of businesses utilising the potential of data and analytics to at least 3%
This can be achieved by delivering a 'competency building' package to support businesses to understand and unlock value from their data.
The CBI calls on the Government to simplify the process behind businesses ability to navigate innovation and support productive partnerships.
This can be achieved by establishing a new 'business advisory group' for UKRI.
Implementing a business development and outreach for Innovate UK
Increase visibility and simplicity of government and university innovation support.
The CBI added that the UK should consolidate its position as a global leader in data-driven R&D by setting out 'ambitious and creative policy'
As part of this, the Government should deliver the world's most 'competitive R&D tax credit by ensuring that it recognises the growing importance of data-driven R&D'
The Government should also help businesses embrace experimental policy approaches.
Last week we mentioned that UUK and GuildHE consultation on the draft Knowledge Exchange Concordat, linked to the KEF. RDS will be leading on preparation of a BU response.
A joint UUK/Research England working group has developed a Knowledge Exchange Concordat for universities and colleges in England. UUK are doing the consultation with GuildHE for Research England. The PDF consultation document is here
The Concordat aims to:
help higher education institutions and their staff and students enhance clarity of mission
give partners an accurate representation of the approaches and strengths of individual higher education institutions
provide clear indicators of their approaches to developing and improving performance
give governing bodies and government broad confidence in the activity that is taking place in higher education institutions
Principles – The eight guiding principles are:
Mission: Knowledge exchange is a recognised part of the overall university strategy. We have a clear understanding of the institutional role and the purpose of KE and whom the intended beneficiaries are.
Policies: We have clear policies on all the types of KE that we undertake and we ensure they are understood by staff, students, collaborators and beneficiaries.
Engagement: We have clear access points, engagement mechanisms and policies developed to suit the needs of a wide range of beneficiaries working with institutions as publicly funded bodies.
Working effectively: We make sure that our partners and beneficiaries understand the ethical and charitable regulatory environments in which our institution operates and we take steps to maximise the benefit to them within that context.
Capacity building: We ensure that our staff and students are developed and trained appropriately to understand and undertake their roles and responsibilities in the delivery of successful KE.
Recognition and rewards: We recognise the achievements of our staff and students who perform high-quality KE activities.
Continuous improvement: We proactively strive to share best practice with our peers and have established processes for learning from this.
Evaluating success: We undertake regular institutional and collective monitoring and review of our strengthening KE performance using this concordat and through regional, national or international benchmarks to inform the development and execution of a programme of continuous improvement.
For each principle, a set of possible enablers is proposed. These are examples of good practice and give an indication of the sort of activities that could contribute towards the achievement of the aims of the concordat. They should not be considered as a prescribed set of activities and they do not represent a checklist against which universities can be judged.
Universities that sign up commit to:
Making it clear to staff, students and partners what they will do, what they expect within universities and how they expect to work with partners
The regular evaluation of approaches and processes to ensure continuous improvement in what is done
Adopting the principles outlined in the KE concordat as a framework for effective knowledge exchange
Publicly committing to the KE concordat
Conducting an evaluation of their KE strategy and practice, using the KE concordat
Producing and publishing a short action plan that identifies priorities, good and innovative practice and areas where improvement is needed
Considering and responding to feedback and advice from the Independent Panel.
The Resolution Foundation published Growing Pains – the impact of leaving education during a recession on earnings and employment. It explores the severe effect experienced by those leaving education during the 2008-09 recession and highlights that the negative effects were enduring – around 6% less hourly pay for graduates (20% less for sub-HE qualification) with these effects continuing for 6 years and the likelihood of graduates to be in a low paying occupation rose by 30% (and continued for 7 years). The report says:
…we find that people 'trading down' in terms of the occupations they enter after leaving education, coupled with pay restraint in mid-paid roles, are main drivers of poor pay outcomes for those entering the labour market in a recession.
Students graduating during the 2008 financial crisis aftermath experienced higher unemployment and poorer job prospects than their slightly younger peers. The report also highlighted that those who opted to taker a lower paid job (rather than unemployment) during their early career were blighted by poor future earnings trajectories and their job prospects to break into higher skilled more lucrative employment were damaged.
Inequality – a report and a new review
The Institute for Fiscal Studies and Nuffield Foundation have launched a report into Inequalities in the twenty-first century: introducing the IFS Deaton Review.
You can read the report here. It is only 34 pages long and an interesting read. Some points here:
Income inequality in the UK is high by international standards. Of other major economies, only the US has higher income inequality. However, Inequality in total net household income has changed little since rising sharply in the 1980s. The UK system of state transfers – especially tax credits – has been very successful at mitigating rising inequality.
Deaths from suicide, drug overdoses and alcohol-related liver disease have been rising among middle-aged people in England – similar to (though on a smaller scale than) what has happened in the US since the turn of the century, where the trend has been shown to be concentrated heavily among the lower-educated population. In the UK, this new trend has contributed to a small rise in middle-age mortality overall in the last few years, bringing to an end decades of continual improvement.
Women's employment has risen dramatically from 57% in 1975 to 78% in 2017. But whilst white British women have nearly closed the employment gap with men, Pakistani and Bangladeshi women are half as likely to work as men of the same ethnic group.
The gender hourly wage gap is strongly associated with childbirth and rises from less than 10% at the point of childbirth to 30% 12 years after the first child is born. This reflects an extraordinary lack of earnings progression for mothers, particularly those who work part-time.
There are stark geographical inequalities in the UK. Average weekly earnings in London are 66% higher than those in the North East. Men in the most affluent areas can expect to live nearly 10 years longer than those in the most deprived areas, and this gap is widening.
Inequalities in different dimensions – income, work, mental and physical health, families and relationships – are likely to reinforce one another. Inequality cannot be reduced to one dimension and is instead the culmination of various forms of privilege and disadvantage stemming across wealth, politics, social networks and cultural capital.
The last few decades have seen profound changes in the labour market. Earnings growth at the top has vastly outpaced growth in the middle, whilst real earnings have actually fallen for lowpaid men (Blundell et al., 2018).
Globalisation may have further exacerbated inequalities in earnings: competition for internationally mobile executives drove up top incomes, whilst import competition and offshoring put pressure on working-class jobs.
Union membership has declined dramatically over the last few decades. At the peak of union density in the 1980s, every other British worker belonged to a union; today, only one in four British workers do. In the private sector, that figure is less than one in seven. Falling union membership may have removed constraints on wage dispersion, increased the share of surplus going to executives, or more generally reduced the political clout of ordinary workers against other dominant groups
The share of all turnover captured by the largest 100 firms in the UK has risen by more than a third since the late 1990s. The average chief executive of a FTSE 100 company is now earning 145 times the average salary, up from 47 times in 1998.
Many of the sources of the divide are indeed global, but levels of inequalities vary greatly between countries. Government policies can play an important role in responding to structural forces and mediating their damaging effects on inequality. In some cases, government policies may themselves be the culprits for rising inequalities. Differences in tax and benefit systems will lead to different patterns of inequality. Education policy also plays a role. The vast inequalities by education in the US – in health, deaths of despair, marriage and life satisfaction – may partly reflect a large gap in earnings between high- and low-educated people, which has been rising since the 1980s.
High-quality vocational education can improve prospects for those who choose not to go down an academic path, and retraining can help workers displaced by globalisation and technological change.
Stronger trade unions can tip power back towards employees – in the Nordic countries, between 52% and 86% of all employees belong to a trade union
The report sets the stage for a 5 year review be chaired by Nobel Prize-winning economist Prof Sir Angus Deaton and is expected to be the UK's biggest analysis of inequality.
A brief Brexit mention
Over last weekend Kier Starmer, Shadow Brexit SoS said no deal would be passed by Labour MPs without a confirmatory Brexit referendum. Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson spoke on Radio 4's Today programme on Monday to reiterate this message (although in a toned down version). Starmer said on Sunday that cross-party talks would end this week unless an offer or breakthrough occurred.
On Saturday Tony Blair took to the Guardian stating Labour should never have put itself in such a position of destructive indecision. His article aimed to encourage everyone to vote (against Brexit extremism), arguing that the final decisions in Westminster on the Brexit deal will be influenced by the European election results.
Damien Hinds appeared on Sunday's Andrew Marr show and said that the European elections could be an ultimate protest vote opportunity.
Theresa May is expected to set out the timescale for her departure when she meets the 1922 Committee (Conservative backbenchers) on Thursday.
And as we go to press [early this week] the government is saying that they will put the EU withdrawal legislation before Parliament in early June, by-passing the meaningful vote. They have said that before. A helpful summary from Dods:
Labour has confirmed it would not back this deal without a cross-party deal agreed, and ERG Whip Steve Baker said bringing the Bill back would "eradicate the Government's majority" by alienating the DUP and Brexiteers: "Unless she can demonstrate something new that addresses the problem of the backstop, then it is highly likely her deal will go down to defeat once again."
The UK needs to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in order to move onto the next steps of the Brexit phase and to take the UK out of the EU in UK law. The legislation would make the citizens' rights part of the agreement directly enforceable in UK courts, and set their relationship with the EU's Court of Justice, as well "divorce payments", and give effect to the so-called backstop plan for the Irish border.
The Bill will be amendable and without substantial changes or cross party breakthrough then it is very unlikely that the Bill will pass. The rationale behind the move by May might be that the deadline for a new vote could inject a sense of urgency into cross-party talks, or it could be an attempt to fend off calls for her to immediately stand down as PM. She is due to appear before the 1922 executive committee tomorrow and was expected to set out a timeframe for her resignation.
If the Government loses the vote in June then it will make May's premiership as Prime Minister increasingly untenable. Downing Street have confirmed that if the vote is lost again then the UK is either set for a no deal on the 31 October or a revocation of Article 50.
Access and Foundation courses
The OfS have published a report on these courses.
For the past few years the number of students studying Access to Higher Education Diplomas… has been declining, while the number on integrated foundation years has been increasing. This means that in 2017-18, the number of entrants to Access courses was approximately equal to the number of entrants to integrated foundation year courses. The number of entrants to Access courses declined by 18 per cent between 2012-13 and 2017-18, from 36,880 to 30,410, while the number of integrated foundation year entrants almost tripled from 10,430 to 30,030.
This report shows that there are similarities between Access to Higher Education Diplomas and integrated foundation year courses, but also important differences. In particular, the wider geographical spread of Access courses means they may be suitable for a wider range of potential higher education students and enable progress on to many different courses, whereas foundation years may be more likely to attract students with a higher level of commitment to taking degree-level study at a specific provider.
The key findings of this report are as follows:
Two-fifths of Access students held a qualification equivalent to A-levels before taking the course, compared with four-fifths of foundation year students.
Most Access course entrants were over 21, whereas the majority of those starting foundation years were 20 or younger.
Access courses were almost entirely taught at further education colleges, while integrated foundation years were predominantly taught at higher education institutions.
This means that students usually had to travel further to take a foundation year than an Access course.
Subjects allied to medicine were the most common subject area for entrants to Access courses, whereas business and administrative studies were the most common for integrated foundation years.
The proportion of students who progressed to a degree programme in the four years following an Access course (62 per cent) was lower than the proportion who progressed after a foundation year (79 per cent).
Students from both courses sometimes went on to a degree course after two or more years, rather than immediately.
The proportion of entrants who progressed to degree-level study has remained broadly stable over time for both types of course.
Students who started without A-level or equivalent qualifications had a lower rate of progression to degree-level study (55 per cent for Access courses, 61 per cent for foundation years), than those with A-levels (71 and 89 per cent respectively).
Those who progressed to full-time degree-level study after a foundation year were more likely to complete their degree within four years (63 per cent) than those on a degree after an Access course (53 per cent).
Of those who qualified with a degree, a slightly higher proportion of Access course students achieved first or upper second class degrees(70 per cent) than those who studied a foundation year (67 per cent).
FE funding
The Education Policy Institute published a report on 16-19 education funding trends and implications. Some highlights are below. It is relevant to the Post-18 review because of the funding pressures and also to the debate on university admissions and access and participation.
Funding trends in sixth forms and colleges
Between 2010/11 and 2018/19, real terms funding per student in school sixth forms, sixth form colleges, and further education (FE) colleges declined substantially, by 16 per cent, from £5,900 to £4,960. This is twice the rate that the overall schools budget fell by between 2009/10 and 2017/18 (8 per cent).
Funding in school sixth forms declined by 26 per cent per full time student from 2010/11 to 2018/19. In the further education sector (sixth form colleges and FE colleges), funding declined by 18 per cent per full time student. Within this, funding for sixth form colleges fell faster than in FE colleges.
Despite funding being shifted towards disadvantaged students over this period, students in all institutions have experienced real terms funding cuts.
16-19 education has been the biggest real terms loser of any phase of education since 2010/11, but it has also suffered from a long run squeeze in funding: 30 years ago, 16-19 funding was far higher (almost 1.5 times) than secondary school funding, but is now lower.
Provision in sixth forms and colleges
Students in 16-19 education are receiving fewer hours of learning: learning hours with a teacher for students in all institutions fell by 9 per cent between 2012/13 and 2016/17. The deterioration of 16-19 institutions' finances may exacerbate these trends further.
This fall in taught hours is particularly prominent in academic subjects: level 3 subjects (A level or equivalent) have seen a sharp decline in hours by 21 per cent between 2012/13 and 2016/17.
For academic subjects, there has been a large decline in AS provision, which has not been offset by rises in the number of hours elsewhere. This may raise concerns about the curriculum becoming even narrower: upper secondary education in England is already narrow compared to leading education nations in the OECD.
The government should urgently review the adequacy of 16-19 funding, to understand whether current funding rates are jeopardising the sector's financial sustainability.
The government should assess the impact of 16-19 funding changes on curriculum breadth, ensuring that young people have a good choice of high quality post-16 academic and vocational qualifications.
The government should review the impact of funding changes on disadvantaged students and consider whether funding is supporting the government's aim of narrowing the attainment gap.
Rethinking student loan communications
Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert.com, has been a vocal contributor to the student loans debate calling for both reform, greater understanding (e.g. of parental contribution) and for the way student loans are talked about to be changed to aid understanding. Martin Lewis is concerned that the word 'debt' is described puts off those from lower income backgrounds from considering university – stalling their chances at climbing the social mobility latter. He has collaborated with the Russell Group to pilot a new student loan statement named the Graduate Contribution Statement. He says the current student loan statement is not fit for purpose and the new statement aims to inform people of their personal situation whilst using this information to illustrate how student loan repayments really work over the short and long-term – cutting through the confusion. The report describes the features of the new statement:
Focuses on repayments to be made, more than the debt. For the majority of university leavers, their outstanding 'debt' is a mostly meaningless figure that bears only a loose resemblance to what they need to repay. However, this figure, and the interest added, is the primary data given on the current statement – leaving many unnecessarily scared.
Details how the repayments actually work. (The 9% above the threshold, currently £25,725 (in England & Wales) for 30 years, unless they clear the debt before that.) One of Martin Lewis campaigning points is to ensure this is well understood. He says:… whether you owe £10,000, £50,000 or £3 million – with a £30,000 salary, you repay £385 a year. The only impact the size of the 'debt' has is whether you'll clear what you owe before it wipes.
Explains what contributions are made each month, and over the year. It shows how much graduates are actually repaying now on a monthly basis, instead of a long list of figures.
Predicts the total cost of higher education. As it's predicted that 83% of university leavers will keep paying for the full 30 years, the total cost is often not related to the debt. The statement estimates the total amount they will repay within the 30 years, both in cash terms and real terms while factoring in inflation – based on their earnings trajectory.
The Graduate Contribution Statement was tested in an online survey of 5,796 students, former students and parents, some institutions (such as students unions) as well as in a series of student focus groups.
96% of respondents said the new information is clear
90% said the statement helped them understand the student finance system
91% success rate achieved when respondents were tested to ensure they really did understand the more complex information correctly
Here is an example of the new statement.
The report from the pilot statement will be presented to the Government, and to Philip Augar (Post-18 HE Education and funding review).
Martin Lewis said:
"The current student loan statement is a blunt, misleading tool that is financially dangerous. It prompts often-unnecessary fear and distress from some of the millions who receive it. And worse, as it's a gateway document, this reverberates across society, and therefore risks wrongly deterring many from a future of higher education.
For the majority of university leavers, their outstanding 'debt' is a mostly meaningless figure that bears only a loose resemblance to what they need to repay. However, this figure, and the interest added, is the prime data covered on the current statement.
In fact, a more accurate name for the student loan system would be a 'graduate contribution', as what counts most isn't what's owed but what's repaid, which depends almost entirely on earnings. Yet the last year's annual repayment is only mentioned in passing, and there's no attempt to explain total repayments over the life of the loan.
Focusing on the wrong info can have damaging consequences for individuals. One woman told me how the fear of the growing interest on her statement meant she used an inheritance to overpay thousands. But as she was in a low-earning profession, with little likelihood of ever clearing much, her overpayment wouldn't have any impact on what she'd repay in future – so she'd simply flushed the cash away.
Therefore, with the Augar report on further and higher education due, we are urgently calling on it and the Government to look at using our statement as a basis to redesign the official statement. This would improve understanding and decision-making for past, present and future students alike."
David Thompson, Senior Policy Analyst at the Russell Group, added:
"The feedback it [the new statement] received through both our online survey and the focus groups we conducted was overwhelmingly positive. Respondents praised the new, expected lifetime repayments feature and the improved information about the 30-year forgiveness period as particularly helpful. I hope that the Department for Education and the Student Loans Company can act swiftly to adopt the best features of our proposed new statement. Doing so would not only be in the clear interest of graduates currently receiving statements, but may also help reassure both current and prospective students about the way student finance really works."
Wonkhe Daily
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Funding: Late last week the OfS announced the £1.24 billion recurrent grant funding for HE providers which supports high quality teaching and learning. The budget has increased by 1.5% (+£19 million) from the 2018-19 level. Notable is the increase (4.7%) to £713 million for the high cost medicine, science, technology and engineering programmes. £337 million for boosting equality of opportunity and promoting greater choice in HE, of this £60 million is dedicated to the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP). It is stated that the OfS will be reviewing the funding method in the future to ensure the post-19 education and funding review outcomes are addressed.
Wonkhe report on the for-profit providers that will receive the direct grant in 2019-20. that £10 million has been allocated to 25 providers that are being funded directly by the OfS for the first time in 2019-20. These include the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM), a music college owned by Sovereign Capital; Arden University and the University of Law, both owned by for-profit group Global University Systems; SAE Education; and Pearson College – all of which were previously able to access student loans but were not previously in receipt of direct grants.
FE/HE Collaboration?: New Chief Exec of the University Alliance, Vanessa Wilson, previously Commercial Director at UK Sport, blogs for Wonkhe drawing parallels between elite sports and the HE sector:
I see a close alignment with universities' and colleges' shared mission to fight for equality of opportunity and social justice, along with a collective goal to give universal access to great teaching, training and opportunities, regardless of gender, background, age, ethnicity, ability or disability.
We need a coherent, cohesive and integrated system, with long-term investment across early years, schools, colleges, adult education and our universities. And on tertiary education, we need cross-party consensus, a joined-up strategy and commitment on the way forward, not continually chopping and changing policy direction – another reason why the long delay in Augar being published is so frustrating.
On the divide between FE and HE she says: I am genuinely surprised by the extent the two sectors allow ourselves to be played off against one another, getting into a bidding war rather than arguing for sustained funding across the board. People, whether doing a college course or university degree, have the same aspirations, ambitions and ability to succeed.
Immigration: Ex-HE Minister, Sam Gyimah, spoke in defence of Universities in the Financial Times: I know from my time as a minister that no one in government ever took a decision deliberately to undermine the competitive position of our universities. Speaking of how the immigration policy is detrimental to universities Sam continued: you get a barely noticeable process of de-prioritisation, in which strategic decisions follow the path of least resistance. And in the current anti-elitist climate it is unfashionable to defend universities… Even in a successful sector you need to keep swimming to stay afloat — we assume our universities will continue to do well because they have always done so. This is alarming.
Gyimah highlights how the Netherlands will have the most English speaking universities in the European block and that others, worldwide, will seek to exploit the gaps we open as Brexit concludes. He says 'we' (presumably the Government and universities) have to be become more adept at global outreach and play the long game. Sam urges Government to bring together migration policy with export opportunities, the potential for young Britons to live and study abroad and moves to make it easier for our universities to expand overseas. Our reputation as an educational superpower is based on attracting the talented and the entrepreneurial...if we are to succeed as a country that lives by its wits and stands at the forefront of science, technology and learning, then a world class university sector must lie at the heart of a positive vision of Britain's future.
OfS Pilot Postgraduate survey: A Wonkhe blog highlights a pilot OfS survey on the postgraduate experience outside of the standard NSS realm. It includes new questions on pre-course information and expectations, how cutting edge the programme offer is, whether there is engagement with experts in the field but from outside the HE sector (fitting with a key message in last week's Universities Minister's speech – which wanted to see more PhD graduates pursing a research career in industry), plus mental health questions. In the blog Jim Dickinson speculates what it could mean for the future of the NSS and concludes: The morphing of NSS into a tool that can test things that OfS thinks are important like VFM or student wellbeing is well under way. And whilst to date it's mainly been used by OfS within the TEF, it's starting to become clear that NSS will soon be a much more wide ranging tool for testing OfS' success at meeting its objectives.
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JANE FORSTER | SARAH CARTER
Policy Advisor Policy & Public Affairs Officer
Follow: @PolicyBU on Twitter | policy@bournemouth.ac.uk
Tags: access and participation Augar review Brexit erasmus EU funding foundation courses Graduate Outcomes inequality innovation international staff international students knowledge exchange OFS research funding Review of post-18 education Student loans widening participation
Professor Dinusha Mendis leads an Expert Meeting on Regulating 3D Printing at the European Commission
Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Business Engagement, conferences, EU, Events, Featured academics, Fusion themes, Impact, Industry collaboration, policy, Public engagement, REF Subjects, Research news cippm
On 9 November 2018, Professor Dinusha Mendis of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM), hosted and led an Expert Meeting on the Intellectual Property (IP) Implications of 3D Printing at the European Commission, Brussels.
The Expert Meeting was hosted as part of the European Commission funded project on the Study into IP Implications on the Development of Industrial 3D Printing, which is being led by Professor Dinusha Mendis. Dr. Julie Robson (Co-Investigator) of the Faculty of Management and Mr. Dukki Hong (Research Assistant, PhD Candidate Law) were other project team members from BU who also participated in the expert meeting.
The expert meeting included invitees from the industrial, policy and academic sectors thereby drawing on views from key stakeholders in this field. Representative organisations included the EU Intellectual Property Office, European Patent Office, CECIMO, Materialise, HP, Prodintec amongst others. Amongst the academics invited, Dr. Marc Mimler (Member of Advisory Board) of CIPPM was also in attendance.
The EU-funded project led by Professor Mendis (Principal Investigator) consists of other UK and European partners including University of Glasgow, Scotland; Added Scientific Ltd UK, Technopolis Group Vienna Austria, University of Lapland, Finland and Boehmert & Boehmert, Munich Germany. The project is currently in progress and is due for completion in May 2019.
The project aims to provide an overview of the past and current industrial applications of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in selected sectors whilst identifying potential challenges and opportunities in need of clarification. In essence, the Study will aim to formulate a clear picture of the Intellectual Property (IP) framework that could enhance the competitiveness of the AM sector in Europe.
The current work builds on the Commissioned project on the Intellectual Property Implications of 3D Printing, which Professor Mendis led for the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) between 2013-2015 and the AHRC/CREATe project which Professor Mendis led between 2015-2017.
Tags: 3D printing 3d scanning additive manufacturing CIPPM dinusha mendis EU funding European Commission experts intellectual property IP Law law policy
EU funding opportunities – reminder to register
EU, Events, Funding opportunities, Info Days, pre-award ablaudums
As previously announced, RKEO will host seminar on EU funding opportunities (FG06, Talbot Campus, Fusion Building) on 10th October 2018. Sessions will be delivered by European Advisor of the UK Research Office Dr Andreas Kontogeorgos.
Please register to allow us to order lunch and refreshments for all attendees this week.
Sessions will commence at 11:30 with an update on Brexit, followed by a networking lunch. In the afternoon there will be a review of future ICT-related calls and more detailed overview of the COST Actions and Marie Curie training networks (MSCA ITN) funding schemes.
Everybody is welcome to choose to attend any of the sessions below:
11:30 – 12:00 – Brexit News, Q&A (to be continued during lunch if necessary)
12:00 – 13:00 – Networking Lunch
13:00 – 14:15 – Cross-disciplinary nature of ICT – forthcoming Horizon 2020 calls and topics under pillars of Industrial Leadership and Societal Challenges
14:15 – 14:30 – Comfort break / over-run time / time for people to come and in and out
14:30 – 15:15 – COST Actions – bottom-up driven networks for expanding European Cooperation in Science and Technology
15:15 – 16:30 – Overview of MSCA ITN funding scheme, followed by Q&A session
P.S. If you were unable to register, (quiet) drop-in to any separate session will be accepted.
Tags: EU funding funding opportunities horizon 2020 seminar UKRO
TENDER opportunity : Study on energy costs, taxes and the impact of government interventions on investments in the energy sector
BU Challenges, BU research, Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation Pengpeng
The European Commission is currently advertising a tender opportunity on the 'Study on energy costs, taxes and the impact of government interventions on investments in the energy sector' with the following aim:
The aim is to collect information on energy generation costs, system and external costs in the energy sector, in parallel with looking at taxes related the use of energy paid to the general budget, and to build up an inventory on government interventions related to energy. The study will cover the 28 Member States of the EU, all major energy sources and beyond the energy sector the main energy consuming branches, such as industry, transport and agriculture. Beyond the EU the study aims at building a database as complete as possible for G20 countries. In order to feed in the initiatives of the Energy Union, the study will identify best practices in the EU Member States to measure subsidies to fossil fuels, and it will analyse the impact of fossil fuel subsidies on decarbonisation objectives of EU policies and investments in climate friendly energy technologies. The next energy prices and costs report and the State of the energy Union report could use the results of the study.
Please see below a summary of this funding opportunity:
Deadline for requests to participate: 24 October 2018
Available funding : EURO 2,000,000 (excluding VAT)
Duration : 18 months
Please see this link for more information on this tender opportunity.
Tags: EU funding funding opportunities
Introducing Ainar Blaudums: Research Facilitator – International at RKEO Funding Development Team
EU, Funding opportunities, international, pre-award ablaudums
My name is Ainar Blaudums; in the beginning of July 2018 I have joined Funding Development Team of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office to perform duties of Research Facilitator for EU and International bids. I work across all faculties Tuesday to Friday, replacing my colleague Emily while she is seconded to perform duties of Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework Facilitator. My responsibilities include scanning strategic agendas of EU and international research funders, supporting principal investigators in strengthening their applications, ensuring the proposal meets the funder's strategic aims and supporting the FD Officers with my expertise of EU and international funding.
I am involved in advising academics on international funding opportunities and implementation of EU funded projects from 2005 (some may recall that it was Framework Programme 6 at that time). Before coming over to Bournemouth, about four years I was engaged with universities in Scotland – University of Glasgow and University of Stirling (Institute of Aquaculture).
Before that, about eight years I used to work for government in Latvia and more than a decade worked within IT industry where I got my very first experience of research support. I have been involved in legal and financial advising, risk & incident management, implementation of organisational change and even sales of IT services and new markets development (and I have really enjoyed all of those). My background is a combination of engineering, finance and law (formalised as MEng & MSc), which has been complemented with extensive research support, project management and contracts specialist experience. Hopefully, all this will help me to better understand your ideas and adding value to your grant applications.
Throughout my career, I have been involved both in pre- and post-award activities, starting from identifying funding sources, and proposal management up to project coordination and delivery. As a professional I prefer funding schemes with clear funding rules and offer of significant grant amounts, for example Horizon 2020. I cover all sorts of international funding schemes; however, my favourites are Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and European Research Council grants. I believe my ability to translate funders' rules into recommendations for proposal writers may significantly improve chances to win any of Horizon 2020 collaborative and other funders' grants.
Very shortly about me as a person – I enjoy travelling overseas, gardening and appreciate all the nice and simple things what life offers.
I will appreciate your every initiative contacting me in a case you have in mind an excellent research project idea where EU or international funding may be an option to give it a go. You already know from my colleagues what a role of research facilitator generally is. I am adding to this an international component – feel free to mention to Alex, Rachel or Ehren that you may need an advice on international funding. In a due course, I hope to be in touch with many of you.
Tags: EU funding Funding Development Team R&KEO research support
CIPPM Co-Director Professor Dinusha Mendis and Team Secures European Commission Funding for Research into 3D Printing and IP Law
Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured, Fusion themes, Impact, REF Subjects, Research news cippm
A project exploring the 'Study into the Intellectual Property Implications of the Development of Industrial 3D Printing' was awarded by the European Commission to the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) in April 2018.
The project led by Co-Director of CIPPM, Professor Dinusha Mendis (Principal Investigator), also includes Dr. Julie Robson, Associate Professor, Marketing (Co-Investigator), Dr. Marc Mimler, Lecturer in Law (Member of Advisory Board), Dr. Sally Weston, Senior Principal Academic in Law (Member of Advisory Board) and Mr. Dukki Hong, PhD Candidate, CIPPM (Research Assistant).
Apart from members of CIPPM, this one-year project also includes partners from UK (University of Glasgow; Added Scientific Ltd), Austria (Technopolis Group), Finland (University of Lapland) and Germany (Boehmert & Boehmert).
Tags: 3D printing additive manufacturing CIPPM EU funding European Commission industry intellectual property law
€100m+ available for EU-China joint programmes under Horizon 2020
EU, Funding opportunities, Global engagement eknight
For the period 2018-2020, the EC has reserved a budget of over €100 million for the benefit of EU-based entities for Horizon 2020 partnerships with China. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) are reserving millions of RMB to fund partnerships with the EU under the joint Flagship Initiatives and in other key strategic sectors. Some competitions are already accepting applications from the EU – RCUK China has prepared an overview of opportunities available available for download here.
If you are interested in applying to any of these calls then please contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer, in the first instance.
Tags: China EU funding EU H2020 RCUK
Horizon 2020 – UKRO Visit update
EU, Funding opportunities, Global engagement, international Emily Cieciura
On Wednesday, 8th November 2017, BU staff enjoyed the annual UKRO visit, timed to provide an update on the new 2018-2020 Work Programmes, released at the end of October. Our institutional representative, Andreas Kontogeorgos, gave an excellent summary of all the new calls and opportunities, especially within the Societal Challenges and where industrial collaboration is championed. Given that one day is insufficient to provide and take in all the information available, please refer to the slides from the day in MyBU. Please select UKRO Updates, and continue into this section having read the access information.
If you have an interest in applying to Horizon 2020 and other European funding, please make full use of BU's subscription by registering to receive updates from UKRO. On their website, you can access subscriber-exclusive support materials including call fact-sheets (which will be updated as required) and details of UKRO events.
Within BU, additional support materials are being developed, along with follow-up events based around calls, which will be announced and circulated in due course.
BU staff considering applying for any of these calls and other international funding, should contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO's Research Facilitator: International Funding, for further information and support.
Tags: EU funding h2020 horizon 2020 RKE development framework UKRO Work Programme 2018-2020
Cross-Border Event on Natural and Cultural Heritage – post event report
EU, Events, international, RKE development framework Emily Cieciura
On Wednesday 11th October, BU were pleased to welcome the Interreg France (Channel) England (FCE) team and their guests for their cross-border event, considering Specific Objective 3.1: Natural and Cultural Heritage:
3.1- Realise the potential of the common natural and cultural assets to deliver innovative and sustainable growth
The focus of this Specific Objective is to develop the economic potential of the Programme's natural and cultural heritage. By investing in this Specific Objective the Programme aims to improve the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the Programme's cultural and natural heritage, and to support economic growth through developing a more competitive tourism offer.
This has the aim of increasing not only the regions appeal to visitors, but making it a more appealing place to live and work with the intention of attracting businesses and therefore jobs to the area.
With over 70 attendees from across the area of eligibility, the day gave all attendees the opportunity to find out more about the programme, explore areas of common interest, meet with like-minded potential project partners and consider how their own disciplines may contribute to the delivery of innovative and sustainable economic activities which enhance common cultural and natural assets.
The day began with a welcome from Carolyn Reid (FCE Programme Manager) and Prof Michael Wilmore (Executive Dean, BU's Faculty of Media and Communication). Following presentations outlining the scheme, attendees found out more about two funded projects – VISTA-AR and GO TRADE. Following a panel discussion with heritage experts from both France and the UK, the afternoon consisted of themed breakout sessions (Natural Heritage, Built Heritage, Intangible Tourism and Events and Trails) plus surgeries with FCE facilitators.
The day concluded with project pitches and recognition that the event had been a fruitful experience for all those in attendance.
If BU staff are considering applying for this or any other Interreg scheme, please contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO's Research Facilitator: EU & International Funding.
Tags: Channel Programme cultural heritage EU funding Interreg natural heritage nature
Interreg: Cross-Border Event on Natural & Cultural Heritage on 11th October 2017
EU, Events, Funding opportunities, Info Days, international Emily Cieciura
Don't miss out – some places are still available at this event:
BU is proud to announce that the The Interreg France (Channel) England Programme is holding their cross-border event, to support applicants who are interested in applying for EU funding under the Programme's specific objective 3.1 on natural and cultural heritage, at Bournemouth University. This event will take place in BU's Executive Business Centre on Wednesday, 11th October 2017. Booking is essential.
The event is a fantastic opportunity to:
Understand how to apply for EU funding under the Programme's specific objective on natural and cultural heritage
Hear from experts working in the heritage industry
Find out what heritage needs and priorities have been identified in the Channel area
Hear from heritage projects already approved by the Programme
Network with applicants and project partners from both France and the UK
We look forward to welcoming guests from both France and the UK at this event.
BU is proud to announce that the The Interreg France (Channel) England Programme is holding their cross-border event, to support applicants who are interested in applying for EU funding under the Programme's specific objective 3.1 on natural and cultural heritage, at Bournemouth University. This event will take place in BU's Executive Business Centre on 11th October 2017. Booking is essential.
Find out more and reserve your place.
Policy and political scene this week: 25 May 2017
EU, Impact, policy, Uncategorized carters
Welcome to this week's political scene within research. Here is a summary of the week's generic policy reports and releases, alongside new niche consultations and inquiries.
The role of EU funding in UK research and innovation
This week the role of EU funding in UK research and innovation has hit the headlines. Its an analysis of the academic disciplines most reliant on EU research and innovation funding at a granular level.
Jointly commissioned by Technopolis and the UK's four national academies (Medical Sciences, British Academy, Engineering and Royal Society) it highlights that of the 15 disciplines most dependent on EU funding 13 are within the arts, humanities and social science sphere.
Most reliant on the EU funding as a proportion of their total research funding are Archaeology (38% of funding), Classics (33%) and IT (30%).
The full report dissects the information further considering the funding across disciplines, institutions, industrial sectors, company sizes and UK regions. It differentiates between the absolute value of the research grant income from EU government bodies, and the relative value of research grant income from EU government bodies with respect to research grant income from all sources, including how the EU funding interacts with other funding sources.
There are also 11 focal case studies, including archaeology and ICT. Here's an excerpt from the archaeology case study considering the risks associated with Brexit and the UK's industrial strategy:
"As archaeologists are heavily dependent on EU funding, a break away from EU funding sources puts the discipline in a vulnerable position. This is exacerbated by the fact that the UK is short of archaeologists and/or skilled workers active in the field of Archaeology because of the surge in large scale infrastructure projects (e.g. HS2, Crossrail, and the A14), which drives away many archaeologists from research positions." Source
See the full report page 25 for particular detail on ICT and digital sector, and page 39 for archaeology. For press coverage see the Financial Times article.
Bathing Water Quality
The European Environment Agency published European Bathing Water Quality in 2016. It sees the UK as second to bottom in the league table for quality of bathing water. While 96.4% of British beaches were found safe to swim in last year 20 sites failed the annual assessment. Only Ireland had a higher percentage of poor quality bathing waters at 4%.
Report link: https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/european-bathing-water-quality-in-2016
How and when to submit evidence to policy makers
This week Research Professional ran a succinct article encouraging researchers to think more about when and how they submit evidence to policy makers. Timing is key, policy makers often want information instantaneously and the article urges researchers to be responsive but pragmatic, including a pro-active approach of gently keeping key policy makers informed of new developments.
Researchers wanting to have a political impact may consider attending a UK Parliament Outreach and Engagement Service events.
Consultations and Inquiries
Responding to a select committee call for evidence is a great way for academics to influence UK policy. If you respond to a consultation or inquiry as a BU member of staff please let us know of your interest by emailing policy@bournemouth.ac.uk at least one week before you submit your response.
This week there are three new inquiries and consultations that may be of interest to BU academics.
A Scottish Parliament inquiry is seeking individual's views on community-based approaches to removing barriers to participation in grassroots sport and physical activity, including how to promote volunteering. The committee is asking for views and examples on a range of questions, including:
Examples where a community based approach has been successful in removing barriers to participation in sport and physical activity?
Approaches that were particularly successful in increasing participation among certain social groups, like women, ethnic minorities, certain age-groups?
The barriers facing volunteers and how can they be overcome? The aim is to inform how Scotland might increase participation rates across all groups and sectors of society, respondents can select to answer only the most relevant questions.
The call for evidence closes on 30 June.
The British Youth Council has opened an inquiry into body image and how the growth of social media and communications platforms has encouraged attitudes that entrench poor body image. Included among the inquiry questions are:
Has the growing use of social media and communications platforms amongst young people encouraged practices and attitudes that entrench poor body image? What is the link between "sexting" and body dissatisfaction?
Do internet companies, social media platforms or other platforms have a responsibility to tackle trends which entrench poor body image? What are they already doing in this area? What more should they be doing?
Are particular groups of young people particularly prone to poor body image, or less likely to seek help? What causes these trends?
In relation to young men and boys, minority ethnic groups, and those who self-identify as transgender: what are the specific challenges facing young people in these groups? How effective is existing support?
To what extent is dissatisfaction with body image contributing to the increase in mental health problems amongst children and young people?
Drainage & Flooding
The Welsh government has opened a consultation on the implementation of sustainable drainage systems on new developments (schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010).
The consultation closes on 11 August.
HE Policy Update
You can also sign up to receive BU's separate weekly HE policy update delivered direct to your inbox each Friday by emailing policy@bournemouth.ac.uk
Policy & Public Affairs Officer
Tags: archaeology Bathing water quality Body image Brexit community sport participation EU funding ICT Influencing policy social media sustainable drainage
Latest Funding Opportunities
EU, Funding opportunities Eva Papadopoulou
The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information.
Surrey Archaeological Society, Archaeology and History Grants
Surrey Archaeological Society welcomes applications which will assist archaeological and historical research within the county. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate in what ways the proposed research will further understanding of the County's archaeology and history. It is anticipated that some form of Project Design will be submitted (as long or short as the occasion demands, but essentially to say what the project is about, why it should be done, how it will be done, by whom, how much it will cost, and when and how it will be archived, written up and the results disseminated.)
Deadline- none
Amount of grant- £2000
Society for the study of Addiction_ Bursary Scheme
The aim of the Bursary scheme is to facilitate training in the addictions field for individuals experiencing difficulty in funding a course of study.
The Society's Trustees make SSA funds available to individuals who:
have been offered a place on a UK University-validated, UK-based programme in specialist addiction studies;
have a demonstrable commitment to working in the addictions field;
have not participated in a substantial event of this nature in the one year prior to that for which they have applied (unless the latter is a follow-up course for which they cannot obtain funding).
Amount of bursary: £1000 per annum standard award (or less if the fees are below this amount) for an individual course of study in any one financial year; or a maximum of £1,500 when taking courses consisting of more than a single module.
The Wellcome Trust
This scheme is for small-scale humanities and social science research projects, scoping exercises or meetings in any area of human or animal health, including projects relating to research resources.
The normal maximum that can be applied for is £5,000. If funding is intended for international meetings, or to attract international speakers, up to £10,000 may be requested.
Amount: £5000 and if funding is intended for international meetings: £10000
Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award
The scheme provides universities with additional support to enable them to recruit or retain respected scientists of outstanding achievement and potential to the UK. It provides a salary enhancement which is paid by the university in addition to the basic salary.
The scheme covers all areas of the life and physical sciences, including engineering, but excluding clinical medicine.
The scheme is jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the Royal Society.
Applicants can be of any nationality and must hold a permanent post at a university in the UK or have received a firm offer to take effect from the start of the award as well as having their basic salary wholly funded by the university.
The eligibility of the application must be discussed between the Vice Chancellor of the university or their elected representative (e.g. Head of Department) and the Royal Society Grants Office before an application can be made.
Interested applicants must let RKEO know at first instance and we will contact the Funder about this scheme, after which a security code can be obtained for the nominated researcher to begin the application on e-GAP.
Before applying, please ensure that you meet all the eligibility requirements, which are explained in the scheme notes.
The scheme provides up to 5 years' funding after which the award holder continues with the permanent post at the host university.
The focus of the award is a salary enhancement, usually in the range of £10,000 to £30,000 per annum.
It is the responsibility of the host university to pay the basic salary. It is also the responsibility of the host university to meet the employer's contributions towards pensions and National Insurance for both the basic salary and salary enhancement.
Deadline for applications: 4th July 2016
Innovate UK- Funding competition: manufacturing and materials
Innovate UK is to invest up to £15 million in innovation projects in manufacturing and/or materials. These projects will focus on identified technical or commercial challenges. It will fund projects that aim to lead to increased UK SME productivity, competitiveness and growth.
Projects need to be led by a business and must involve at least one SME. They can be carried out by an SME working alone or in collaboration with other organisations. Projects with costs of £100,000 or more must involve working with other partners
The funder is looking for projects which focus on any of the technical feasibility, industrial research or experimental development research categories.
Projects should last between 6 months and 3 years. They should range from total costs of £50,000 to £2 million.
Deadline for registrations by noon: 6th July2016
Deadline for applications by noon: 13th July 2016
Innovate UK_ Connected digital additive manufacturing
Innovate UK is investing up to £4.5 million in collaborative industrial research projects that stimulate innovation in additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing.
The aim of this competition is to help companies overcome barriers to business growth in additive manufacturing. It will also encourage them to explore and develop their wider digital manufacturing capability. This will help them secure a more productive and competitive business proposition in the future.
Projects must range in size from total costs of £500,000 to £1.5 million.
A business must lead this project. You must collaborate with at least one other business. You can invite research organisations to work with you on this project.
Deadline for registrations before noon: 20 July 2016.
Deadline for applications before noon: 27 July 2016.
BBSRC_Foundation Awards for Global Agriculture and Food Systems
The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a new 5-year £1.5Bn resource funding stream, announced as part of the 2015 spending review, to ensure that UK research takes a leading role in addressing the problems faced by developing countries. The GCRF will deploy the UK's world-class research capability to address the challenges faced by the developing world. The funding is protected science spend and the Research Councils are primary delivery partners. The GCRF is also part of the UK Government's pledge to allocate 0.7% of Gross National Income to Official Development Assistance, promoting the welfare and economic development of developing countries. With the GCRF focus on global challenges, research investments are expected to span disciplines including the biological sciences, environmental sciences, medicine, engineering and physical sciences, the social sciences and the arts and humanities.
BBSRC, MRC, ESRC, AHRC and NERC are working in a co-funding partnership to support multidisciplinary Foundation Awards for Global Agriculture and Food Systems. Foundation awards aim to be flexible, moderately sized, short to medium-term investments targeted towards novel research objectives – that address the challenges faced by the developing world. Up to £16.3M is available based on the quality of proposals received. BBSRC is leading and manging the call on behalf of the other funders with an anticipated BBSRC budget in the region of £12M and funding support from MRC, ESRC, AHRC and NERC.
This BBSRC-led call complements the MRC-led Foundation Awards strategies in Global Health Science – Beyond Infections, and Global Infections – Vision and Strategy; these other calls are also being co-funded substantially by BBSRC, and also by ESRC, AHRC and NERC.
Applications must be submitted by UK Research Organisations that are eligible to receive funding from BBSRC. Information about eligible organisations is available on the RCUK website (see external links). Non-eligible partners (including those from overseas organisations) may be included, as described in section two of our grants guide, under 'Collaborative Research Grants'.
There is a two stage application and assessment process: outline and full proposals.
BBSRC is leading on the administration of this call, on behalf of all the funders. Applicants should refer to the BBSRC grants guide and Je-S help text for further information.
Deadline for outline applications via Je-S by 4pm: 22 June 2016
Technical and scientific support in relation to the implementation of the 92/43/EEC Habitats and 2009/147/EC Birds Directives
The Directorate-General for Education and Culture has opened a call for tenders, to provide technical and scientific input to the Commission in 3 areas which are of key importance for the implementation of EU nature legislation (Birds Directive 2009/147/EC and Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC): analysis of legal cases or EU-funded projects and programmes to verify conformity with the requirements of EU nature legislation; drafting of guidance documents and technical notes to promote coherent implementation of the Directives; and evaluation of information submitted by Member States under reporting obligations of the Directives.
The contract is worth €1.8 million over 36 months.
Deadline for receipt of tender 16:00: 22 June 2016.
ESRC_Tackling antimicrobial resistance: behaviour within and beyond the healthcare setting
The ESRC, in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) are pleased to invite applications for cross disciplinary proposals on the topic of behaviour relating to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
This call will address theme 4 of the cross-Research Council initiative (MRC website) on AMR: 'Behaviour within and beyond the health care setting'. Through this call, we aim to expand understanding of how the behaviour of public, professionals and organisations impacts on AMR: how it can enhance or control the spread of AMR; how it is affected by social, psychological and organisational context, cultures and history; and how it can be influenced to create different future scenarios.
The funder will accept two types of proposal:
Small scale pump priming grants – maximum of £250,000 at 100 per cent FEC for up to 24 months. These grants will be primarily for research relevant to the needs of Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).
Large scale collaborative grants – maximum of £2 million at 100 per cent FEC for up to 48 months. These grants will be open to proposals focusing on the UK or global settings.
All proposals should be highly collaborative and have a strong focus on real world impact. Research proposals relevant to humans or animals are welcomed. This call includes a significant proportion of funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). GCRF forms part of the UK's Official Development Assistance commitment, and will be awarded in a manner that fits with Official ODA guidelines.
Pump priming proposals: 16.00 on 20 July 2016
Collaborative grants: 16.00 on 8 September 2016
If planning to apply for a large scale collaborative grant submit an expression of interest (EoI), using the short online form by 27 July 2016.
ESRC_GCRF Secondary Data Analysis Initiative highlight notice
Expected to open by the 10th June, ESRC is planning to announce a Secondary Data Analysis Initiative (SDAI) highlight call as part of its contribution to the new Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). GCRF is a £1.5 billion fund to support cutting-edge research which addresses the challenges faced by developing countries. The fund will address global challenges through disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and will strengthen capability for research and innovation within both UK and developing countries, providing an agile response to emergencies where there is an urgent research need.
The aims of this highlight notice will be to:
utilise existing data resources to produce high-quality, impactful research on developing countries
improve the capacity and methods for secondary data research in and on developing countries
co-produce substantive and innovative data research in readiness for future GCRF calls
provide insight into existing data resources which can be used to conduct research on developing countries
Thematically, the highlight will encourage focus on the five core areas ESRC has initially identified in its GCRF contribution:
Building effective institutions in conflict-affected and fragile states
Migration, mobility and development
Dynamics of inequalities
Innovation and inclusive economic growth
Shocks, security, risks and resilience
All proposals will have to make a clear case for how they comply with Official Development Assistance (ODA) guidelines.
All projects will be required to commence by January 2017. The funder aims to fund around seven projects, with a total budget of £1 million allocated to this call.
Deadline for proposals: 11 July 2016
EC_2016 Call for proposals for LIFE Grants
The LIFE (the Financial Instrument for the Environment) Regulation, which was published on 20 December 2013, sets a budget for the next funding period, 2014–2020, of €3.4 billion in current prices.
Current traditional open calls span from Climate Change Action, Environment and resource Efficiency, Nature and Biodiversity and Environmental Governance and Information.
Deadlines: 7-15 September 2016
Tags: EU funding funding
MSCA Individual Fellowship 2016 call is now open
EU, Events, Funding opportunities, Global engagement, international, Training, Uncategorized Emily Cieciura
The wait is finally over. You can now start your application for the 2016 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships. This call will close on 14 September 2016, 17:00 (Brussels time).
According to the Participant Portal:
The goal of Individual Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of experienced researchers, wishing to diversify their individual competence in terms of skill acquisition through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility.
Individual Fellowships provide opportunities to acquire and transfer new knowledge and to work on research and innovation in a European context (EU Member States and Associated Countries) or outside Europe. The scheme particularly supports the return and reintegration of researchers from outside Europe who have previously worked here. It also develops or helps to restart the careers of individual researchers that show great potential, considering their experience.
In RKEO, we have a schedule for the 2016 submissions. Once we know that that you are interested in submitting, we will keep you up to date with our activities. Just contact your relevant Faculty Funding Development Officer to let them know that you plan to submit to this call. If you missed the introductory sessions that were held in December, BU staff can access the slides – MSCA 2016 v2. You may also wish to refer to the RKEO Guide to Fellowships.
To book onto the internal two-day workshop, hosted by Dr Martin Pickard, on 24th and 25th May, please contact Dianne Goodman, Funding Development Team Co-ordinator in RKEO, as soon as possible. Places are limited. You should attend with your potential fellow, if possible. N.B. their travel to BU cannot be funded by RKEO. This workshop is, however, free for BU staff and potential fellows.
There is a European IPR Webinar – IP Management in H2020 with a special focus on Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions – on 4th May 2016 at 09:30 in P402 for c. 75 minutes to include the webinar, Q&A with the presenter and time at the end for informal discussion with your peers. Again, please contact Dianne Goodman, to reserve your place for this event. If you go to the external event page, do not register on this page as RKEO are already registered.
Contact Emily Cieciura, Research Facilitator: EU & International or the relevant Faculty Funding Development Officer for further help and support or if you have any queries or comments.
Tags: EU funding fellowship funding opportunities horizon 2020 Marie Slodowska-Curie MSCA
European Research Council- Starting Grant and Consolidator Grant figures
EU, Funding opportunities emilner
Have you thought about applying to the European Research Council (ERC) for funding? Although the funding calls are not yet open, it may be worth starting on your proposal now as calls are published every year.
Starting Grants: For 2015, a combined total of €429 million was given to 291 early-career researchers, with the greatest number (48) being awarded the UK and an overall success rate of 12%. For 2016, the ERC received 2935 applications (an increase of (+0.5%). The highest number of applications were from Physical Sciences and Engineering (1299), followed by Life Sciences (854, a decrease of -3%), and Social Science and Humanities (782, an increase of +3%).
Starting Grants are for researchers who have 2-7 years of experience since the completion of a PhD and a track record of excellence, you may be eligible for up to €1.5 million for projects lasting up to five years.
Consolidator Grant: For 2015, the ERC gave a combined €585 million to 302 successful applicants for an overall sucess rate of 15%. For 2016, the number of applicants increase by 12% from the previous call with the highest number of applications was submitted from Physical Sciences and Engineering (1075), followed by Life Sciences (713), and Social Science and Humanities (516).
The Consolidator Grant is a fund with up to €2 million available for researchers with 7-12 years of experience since the completion of a PhD who also have a demonstrable record showing scientific talent and excellence.
As part of the first phase of a two phase application process, evaluators will first judge the synopsis and CV of the applicant to see if the work is ground-breaking in nature, ambitious and feasible. The evaluators will also judge the track record of the applicant to see if they have the proven intellectual capacity (through publication), creativity (novelty) and commitment (through a track record of managing previous projects).
If you are interested in applying to these funds, please contact Emily Cieciura, the Research Facilitator for EU & International funding or your relevant faculty Funding Development Officer.
Tags: erc EU funding European
COST Actions – supporting high-risk, innovative and emerging research themes
BU research, Featured academics, Funding opportunities, Research news Emily Cieciura
COST Actions are a flexible, fast, effective and efficient networking instrument for researchers, engineers and scholars to cooperate and coordinate nationally funded research activities. COST Actions allow European researchers to jointly develop their own ideas in any science and technology field. COST Actions are bottom-up science and technology networks, open to researchers and stakeholders with a duration of four years. They are active through a range of networking tools , such as workshops, conferences, training schools, short-term scientific missions (STSMs), and dissemination activities. COST does not fund research itself.
COST prides in its support for high-risk, innovative and emerging research themes. Importantly, COST does not set any research priorities.
Currently on the COST website is a report on Collecting research data to counter femicide worldwide
Femicide across Europe is the first pan-European research network investigating the causes and risk factors of a phenomenon killing thousands of women every year, worldwide.
Femicide refers to the killing of women and girls because of their gender. European researchers studying the cultural, societal and psychological causes and risks factors behind femicide set up the network to fight the phenomenon through advocacy and research. One idea is to create a European Femicide Observatory gathering and comparing data from each of the 30 countries involved, of which half are Inclusiveness Target Countries . The goal is to come up with new guidelines and shape new EU public policies countering killings.
Specialists have been studying quantitative and qualitative data and ways to reduce discrepancies in country records. Such discrepancies are often due to the different definitions of femicide, which is sometimes seen as gender-based violence.
"When our COST Action was first proposed, the term femicide was not widely used. Everyone knew of homicide, but few had given thought to the fact that some women, particularly those involved in intimate relationships, were murdered simply because they were women. Today, two years within the COST Action, 'femicide' has become a buzzword, Action Chair Dr Shalva Weil explains."
Network members have also been advocating for a more straightforward approach to lowering femicide rates in Europe. They have already addressed the Portuguese Parliament and the Parliament of Aragon in Spain. The network also took part in two United Nations sessions in Bangkok (November 2014) and New York (October 2015).
By participating in the network's training schools and scientific exchanges, young researchers are also given the chance to better understand the phenomenon EU-wide. One outstanding result of the Action's work is a comparison of national statistics from 10 European countries .
The Action's next annual meeting will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in May 2016.
Why not take a look at the COST Action database to see if there is a current Action relating to your research? You can then consider joining an existing Action or submitting your own proposal.
Click on the tag COST Action (below) to see other BU posts on this topic, including Edwin van Teijlingen's report on his recent publication and his experience of attending a COST Action Training School.
If you are interested in applying for COST, please contact Emily Cieciura, Research Facilitator: EU & International of you Faculty's Funding Development Officer.
Tags: COST Action data EU EU funding Europe Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen research funding
Creative, Digital & Design Business Briefing – September 2015
Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team jcodling
This is a monthly publication that provides a digest of useful information about funding, financing, support and events to assist creative, digital and design businesses with their innovation and growth strategies.
European Funding Guide – Creative Industries
A short KTN guide to help you submit a proposal for the Horizon 2020 funding programme (H2020) & other European funding sources. It provides a brief overview of support, how to apply and useful links.
Internet of Things Cites Demonstrator
Up to £10 million funding competition to demonstrate the capability of the Internet of Things in a city region. Projects should involve at least one local authority, one local enterprise partnership and several businesses.
Digital forensics – up to £300K phase 1
The challenge from the Home Office, is to improve the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of recovering and automatically analysing data from the seized digital devices of suspects under investigation. Maximum value of £40K per project.
Tags: creative design Digital EU funding


text:
Expect temperature in flux as rainstorms mix with heat wave
Max Martin
Updated: July 19, 2019 3:54 PM PDT
Two Victoria councillors try to end free lunches for themselves and are outvoted
Charlie Urquhart walks along King Street on his way home after work in London. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press)
Friday brought a mixed bag of weather to the city, including oppressive humidity that topped out at 45 C, thunderstorms and even a tornado warning.
And it's likely to continue Saturday, with Environment Canada projecting a humidex of 43 C and a chance of thundershowers and continuing a heat warning throughout the region.
"The humidity levels are very, very high," said Gerald Cheng, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. "Every time it's over 40 C, already it can be stifling for some people."
Around 1:30 p.m. Friday, the weather took a turn and the national weather agency issued a tornado warning for London, Parkhill and eastern Middlesex County.
While a tornado didn't touch down in London, apocalyptic-looking black clouds and thunderstorms rolled through the city bringing torrential downpours, toonie-sized hail and causing power outages.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit has issued a heat warning for the area and anticipates a four-day heat wave that started Thursday.
Health inspector Randy Walker said Londoners should be aware the temperatures could change quickly over the course of the heat wave.
Several people spent time at the beach in Port Stanley. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press)
"It will fluctuate quite a bit because of the extreme weather. Thunderstorms can drop the temperatures," he said. "It's still going to be a nasty weekend that way."
In some areas in the city, the heat that has been absorbed into asphalt can turn the rainwater into steam, adding moisture to the air and ramping up the humidity.
"In concrete jungles, that just makes it more stiflingly uncomfortable because all the moisture is now in the air," said Walker.
The risk of heat stress or exhaustion increases when the forecast predicts consecutive days of high temperatures.
Although next week should see a cool-down, the rest of the summer could see more humidity. "More heat waves are possible," said Cheng.
But for some businesses, the balmy weather can be welcome, especially after the wet, cool start to the season.
If there's one way that's sure to beat the heat, it's ice cream.
"People do tend to come out for ice cream when it's hot," said Tien Tran, manager at Merla-Mae Ice Cream. "Once the weather started to turn around and especially when the sun comes out, people crave it."
No serious collisions early on as snow arrives
Eastern Newfoundland still reeling after blizzard
Rejoice! Environment Canada cold warning lifted for Calgary

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The Sacred Mushroom Seeker
Tributes to R. Gordon Wasson by Terence McKenna, Joan Halifax, Peter T. Furst, Albert Hofmann, Richard Evans Schultes, and Others
Edited by Thomas J. Riedlinger
Published by Park Street Press
A celebration of the life and pioneering work of the eminent mycologist and scholar R. Gordon Wasson.
A legendary figure in the field of ethnobotany, R. Gordon Wasson's trail-blazing work on hallucinogenic mushrooms with the Mexican curandera Maria Sabina in the 1950s brought increased scholarly attention to the importance of psychoactive plants in the spiritual life of indigenous peoples and had a profound influence well beyond the academic world. His accessible writings helped popularize these discoveries, forming the ground for the social revolution of the following decade. With the growing interest in the role of psychoactive plants in society today, the work of R. Gordon Wasson and the example set by the man himself, so well illustrated here, takes on increasing importance.
Publisher: Park Street Press (March 1, 1997)
Body, Mind & Spirit > Spirituality > General
Body, Mind & Spirit > Entheogens & Visionary Substances
Self-Help > Spiritual
Social Science > Popular Culture
"This work is a remarkable achievement. It successfully captures all aspects of a complex personality. Gordon Wasson was a wonderful mixture: part businessman, part adventurer, part scholar. He achieved more in each of these fields than most do in any one discipline. Sketching a life-size portrait of this intriguing man is no mean feat, but this work achieves that goal."
– Dr. Mark J. Plotkin, author of Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice
"R. Gordon Wasson's work on hallucinogenic mushrooms sparked the psychedelic movement: this varied collection includes contributions in the field of ethnobotany, comparative religion, and anthropology and offers a tribute to Wasson's research through new contemplations."
– The Bookwatch
Book Cover Image (jpg): The Sacred Mushroom Seeker


(Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times via Redux) President Donald Trump hosts a round-table discussion with Hispanic pastors at the White House on Jan. 25, 2019.
(Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images) Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz speaks at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Seattle, March 22, 2017.
(Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada via AP) Former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg addresses a group of business and government leaders at the Asia Pacific Foundation in Toronto, Jan. 15, 2019.


I think that is one of the hardest things - to stay active and planning/making healthy meals when you're so busy and stressed with other things. It's so easy to just order something in instead, but I always feel better when I keep eating healthy and balanced foods and getting in some activity.
Love the picture :) He's so cool and relaxed!
It's so hard to stay in "health mode" when I am stressed. The first thing I want to do is eat food, and be lazy. BUt you are right, that is so counterproductive. I always have to remind myself that being lazy and eating when I'm not hungry will only cause me more stress, and exercise and healthy foods ALWAYS help!
You've spoken truth here. Exercise does give you more energy to get through your way, AND, it's important to realize that sometimes you've just got to slow down.
I too thank you for the reminder.
I go thru the same thing.
and now I am trying to keep BALANCED no matter what life is chucking at me.
and I too have to "ease" up when it comes to health and exercise. I think I have been more even keeled lateley and I hope I can continue!
I love how the toddler knows how to take care of himself. So intuitive and not messed up by the world telling him what he *should* be doing. Lovely.
I think it really takes a conscious effort to take care of yourself in a healthy way. Sometimes when things are tough, I just want to hibernate in front of the TV. But I know I'll feel better if I take care of myself and if I can just get out the door to the gym, I'm all set.
Awww, the toddler is super cute (once again) with that bear towering over him, hee hee!
I completely agree with this post. Although eating well and exercising does make a difference in how you feel, it's not the end of the world if you miss a workout or eat Amy's frozen meals.
I know I'm going to be super busy once school starts with my new TA job, being a full time student, being involved in church, and blogging ;). I might have to cut down my cardio, cooking time, and blogging :(, but hopefully, it will all work out somehow!
Andrea, I am totally in your shoes right now! Life has gotten busy and I've had to slow down in some areas. Blogging being one of them, lol :) Also, like you it is hard for me to realize that it's okay to not have every meal done by scratch especially when there is no time. However, I'm way past due on exercising. Need to just do it! Great post!!
There have been times when I've been in a rut. But I always tell myself that tomorrow will be a brighter day. I really do. When I know I have to do something. I force myself to do it because I'll eventually have to get it over with. Delaying the problem won't solve anything. Plus,I try to stay positive.
such a good post - i think its so easy to forget to take care of yourself when things get tough, but that's when you need it the most! it can be done - it may require a little work but i think it pays off in the end. thanks for your reminder, and again - your son is TOO. DANG. CUTE.
It's like sometimes you almost have to learn to be a kid again and realize there is more to life than whatever is stressing you out. I try to work out often when I am stressed, particularly boxing since it feels good to get it out somewhere. Mostly I end up forgetting to actually eat and that makes me even mroe cranky. So go ahead and take a "time out".
I think we all need to be a little easier on ourselves. Sometimes we all need to slow down a bit, and take care of most important things first. I think we have to also be careful, though, to not give up completely on a healthy lifestyle during crazy busy times. Too many people make a healthy lifestyle "all or nothing".
There's definitely room for balance. Thanks for a well-written and thought-provoking post!
I go thit with some virus and the symptoms never got too bad but i had a fever and slept for 13 hours in a row on Sunday. It was exactly what i needed. I need to take good care of myself and slow it down.
what a great pic!!! i try to remember that life is a constant roller coaster - at least, mine has been. when i'm really busy i just do the best i can and rest assured that when things aren't as crazy i can always go "back to normal."
It's definitely hard to find that balance between not letting yourself off the hook and not pushing yourself too hard. I struggle with that all the time since I tend to think in extremes. I try to tel myself, "Do what you can."
Sounds to me like what you call "taking it easy" would be better eating than most people do. I think you're doing an amazing job. And yes, it is really hard to stay focussed on healthy food when things get hectic and sadly, I have no advice! The only thing that helps me out somewhat is making sure I have decent, easy food in my fridge. I've had busy nights where I call a boiled egg, hummus and veggies and a glass of milk dinner.