REF 2021 – Initital Decisions Published by HEFCE
Hefce have now released their initital decisions in relation to the next REF. For further information please see the Yammer Research Support Group (use your University login and password details – https://www.yammer.com)
Access to the full publication from HEFCE:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rereports/year/2017/ref201701/
How confident are you presenting at conferences? Would you like some free skills training?
In advance of our 14th September Postgraduate Researcher Conference, The Graduate School has asked Dr Adair Richards, trainer, broadcaster and consultant, to facilitate conference skills and 3 Minute Thesis training for our researchers. Even if you are not presenting at our conference, learning these skills is immensely valuable to you as a researcher and Adair is a master of teaching presentation techniques. Read the rest of this entry
New Yammer Research Support Group
All staff have access to Yammer… Kind of like facebook for work… In order to give Researcher’s at our University a dedicated space for interaction, helpful files, presentations, links etc, a Research Support group has been created, including information on the REF and RDM. Feel free to join & access these resources! (https://www.yammer.com (log in with your Uni username and password)).
New templates at DMP Online for Wellcome Trust and ERC Research
These reflect the new guidelines issued by the European Research Council (ERC) and the Wellcome Trust.
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/news/new-dmp-templates
Seminar – Criminology – 21 September
Paula Bowles; Criminology – Faculty of Health and Society, will be holding the following seminar
Thursday 21st September, 14.00-14.45, Park Campus, S138
“Patriotism is not enough”: Reframing the criminal ex-serviceman[1]
The narrative of the dangerous and criminal ex-serviceman is well established. In such accounts, men go to war, (the fortunate ones) return home disillusioned and angry and erupt into violence. Such travails are explained through the rhetoric of patriotism and heroism as soldiers “falling” into crime. Attempts are then made to pathologise their violent behaviour through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (with or without a medical diagnosis). The problem, as this thesis seeks to demonstrate is, despite recent attempts to demonstrate the overrepresentation of ex-servicemen in prison, there is no empirical data to support such a narrative.
[1] ‘Patriotism is not enough. I must have no bitterness or hatred for anyone’ (Edith Cavell, 1915 inscribed beneath her memorial, St. Martin’s Place, London).
Gateway – New Funding Module
The RSB office are excited to announce that the Funding Module of Gateway will be going live from Friday, 15th September. This new system will replace the RGA forms and the need for paper sign off. From the 15th anyone developing or submitting an application for research or enterprise funding will be able to get their application signed off in Gateway.
You’ll be happy to know that the new system will deliver a number of improvements:-
- Better reporting of projects
- Improved visibility of workloads, deadlines and outstanding tasks
- Increased accuracy in fund reporting
- Ability to request review of proposals by peers, RSB or others at a touch of a button.
To help staff in the introduction of this new funding module, a Drop-In Session will take place on Monday, 18th September from 10am-2pm in the Top Lodge Conservatory – bring your laptop or phone and the RSB team will be available to talk you through this new process. If you prefer a 1:1 or group session, please contact RSB@northampton.ac.uk and we will be happy to come to you. Depending on demand, further drop-in sessions can be planned.
We are looking forward to this new system going live and believe it will provide a more efficient way of managing research funding.
Article Processing Charges – Update
The University of Northampton has an institutional fund for the payment of article processing charges.
Publishing “gold” allows your research, the published version, to be made freely available immediately upon publication to anyone with internet access. This enables people to access your work without waiting for embargo periods to pass (which can be up to 5 years or more!) and for the published version to be made freely available, rather than your accepted manuscript!
The University has entered into a number of agreements that allow us discounts on the cost of article processing charges:
- IEEE (25% discount – prepaid account)
- Springer (All APCs at zero cost – please select the open access option)
- SAGE (£200 Discount)
- Taylor and Francis (75% discount on most journals)
- Wylie (25% Discount)
When publishing with any of the above publishers, please contact openaccess@northampton.ac.uk and we will guide you through the process.
If you have any questions in relation to article processing charges, copyright or the quality of a journal, please do contact openaccess@northampton.ac.uk prior to signing a copyright transfer agreement.
UEA Online Training Series for PGR’s 2017-18

If you are looking for training courses to enhance your research skills and prepare for your post-PhD life, then the University of East Anglia (UEA) is offering online research and professional training series for postgraduate research students in a Live-taught online format. This online training is organized in five modules on the following topics: Academic writing, qualitative research skills, finishing your PhD, teaching skills and quantitative research skills. The overall series of 29 online training sessions can be available to all PGR students for £70 per session. All you need to know about the context, rationale and delivery of the training, the benefits for you and the potential costs involved is found in the UEA Online Training Series for PGR’s Brochure (1).
Project Management in Science and Technology Workshop on September 19th 2017
We are pleased to announce that thyssenkrupp , a leading international company with their manufacturing, service and research and innovation centres (RIC) located in Brazil, China, Spain, South Korea, UAE, UK, and USA, in cooperation with the Graduate School, is organizing a workshop on Project Management in Science and Technology. The workshop falls within the framework of Partnership for Research and Innovation between the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology and thyssenkrupp Elevator AG (tkE) and will take place on Tuesday 19th September 2017 from 10am to 5pm in Grand Hall, Newton building, avenue campus. Facilitated by experienced senior management staff from (tkE), the workshop aims to develop an understanding of efficient adaptive Project Management (PM) methods. This event is open to PGR students, specifically in science/technology, engineering/product design and manufacturing. This one day workshop will be organized in two parts (theory and Practice), for more information about the workshop, please see the Programme
To book please visit the link