Seven secrets of highly successful research students lecture held at Glyndwr University

February 28, 2012 by · No Comments · research

I am just collating the feedback from our students and supervisors who attended the Hugh Kearns see here lecture titled Seven secrets of highly successful research students, held at Glyndwr University on 6th February.  54 students attended the morning event and 37 supervisors came to the afternoon event.

Hugh’s presentation style and his enthusiasm for the subject created a vibrant atmosphere and quoting one student “Time just flew by”.  It was practical down to earth common sense principles that he shared, aimed at keeping students on track.  It seems that all students have their highs and lows, like riding a rollercoaster as they progress.  Many felt that just by knowing that others felt the same, made them feel better and “normal”.

He suggested ways to manage your valuable time, finding a time to check emails after a writing session, not before.  There was a discussion about procrastination and clean houses, which many could identify with.

Overall the lecture had the required effect with 95% of respondents to the student survey stating they had been motivated to work on their PhD following the lecture.

Misha Jepson, Glyndwr Graduate School

Glyndŵr University Graduate School publish its 4th Researcher Newsletter

February 27, 2012 by · No Comments · newsletter, repository, research

Glyndŵr University Graduate School has just published its 4th Researcher Newsletter. See a copy here It is designed to be read online and includes links to other useful websites.

As editor I was keen to produce a student resource as well as an informative news document, aimed not just at students and university staff but also of interest to funders, business partners and the community at large.   Content varies but I always try to ensure we represent the broad range of research that takes place at the university.  This issue we cover the organic slug pellets being made from recycled cider production, commissioned by Heineken.

There is information about the “Distance Art Exhibition” that took place in Sofia, Bulgaria that forms a part of research being conducted by our programme leader for Art, John McClenaghen.  His work was exhibited at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2011, and is now available on our research repository here  .  An image here of one of his pieces is also now part of the Peoples Collection Wales (for details see here).  The Peoples collection Wales is bilingual website launched in August 2010, that stores images, videos, maps and other historical and culture information.  Ordinary people can contribute as well as museums, so if you have not seen what it has to offer have a look now.

Researchers from the university’s Phillips Hydrocolloids Research Centre have been chosen by the Association for the International Pro-motion of Gum Arabic (Germany) and the Gum Arabic Board (Sudan) to provide international training on Quality and Good processing Practices of Gum Arabic to farmers, processors and exporters in Sudan.

There is an article about the  Spruce Goose flying mystery, and the launch of the new Centre for Creative and Applied Research for the Digital Society (C.A.R.D.S) see here

If you have any comments about the newsletter, or would like to contribute to it int he future, please let us know.

Misha Jepson, Glyndwr University, Graduate School

Glyndŵr University Repository is Supporting Open Access, and going mobile to collect work from authors

October 28, 2011 by · No Comments · open access, repository, research

Open Access is becoming very popular and authors are now realising the benefits of sharing their work with a wider audience. This week I received an email from a researcher in Australian who had visited the University’s repository and located the work of one of our academics, she wanted to make contact with him to discuss his research further. Other authors are very interested to receive their monthly download figures from our site, what often surprises them is the new popularity of their previously published work. I suspect this is a result of a wider audience being able to gain access to the work, which previously may have been hidden away in specialist publications that required a large subscription to access them or an additional one off payment to download the article from the publishers website.

My passion for Open Access is growing and I now point to the possible benefits of sharing research knowledge with the world. Often I am heartened to read articles submitted to the repository, which have the potential to help so many people, in areas like social inclusion, health and community. In the new digital age people are looking to find their own solutions to their problems rather than wait to be informed by traditional methods. If cutting edge research is openly available fairly soon after its written the benefits are going to be felt by a great deal of people, and not restricted to subject specialists who then decide if they need to pass this on.

To mark the International Open Access Week (24th -30th October). Glyndŵr University Research Online Repository will be launching the “going mobile” pilot project, the new feature hoped to make the submission process easier, will give Author’s the option to request a visit from the “Travelling Repository Manager”. Researchers will be able to arrange to have their peer reviewed published research files collected from their office. The Travelling Repository Manager armed with a pen drive is planning to copy files direct from the author’s computer ready for submission to the repository. Removing the need for email attachments and multiple submissions.

If researchers are not sure which items of their work will be suitable , they can arrange a 1:1 consultation or contact Misha Jepson for advice. For further details about this project contact Misha Jepson at d.jepson@glyndwr.ac.uk

If you have not visited Glyndŵr University Research Online repository yet, take a look at the site using this link http://epubs.glyndwr.ac.uk/

You can also follow repository news and see details of all the new submissions via Twitter at http://twitter.com/glyndwr_repos via the RSS feed.

See other open acces events via the UK Council of Research Repositories blog and world events at oad

Posted by Misha Jepson, Graduate School and Research Services Co-ordinator, Glyndŵr University

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Researchers – Have you read your research funders policy on Open Access?

October 11, 2011 by · No Comments · open access, research

Research councils emphasise the importance of open access to research outputs

Authors should note that many funders now require that research is published through an Open Access route. This could be via an Open Access Journal or subject repository, and there are many options currently available. See the Directory of Open Access Journals DOAJ for some examples.

Authors need to check that their chosen publisher allows them to make the work Open Access, if this is one of their funder’s requirements. Some publishers have very strict copyright rules which prevent the Author allowing their work (full text) to be used as Open Access Data.

Recently Research Councils UK (RCUK) have been issuing reminders explaining the need for all funded research publications to be published as freely available documents to anyone with access to the internet. This policy was implemented for all research articles submitted for publication on or after 1 September 2011, making the matter of ensuring open access to research publications even more critical for University staff.

Note
Authors currently employed by Glyndŵr University can ensure that their work is made Open Access by adding it to the Glyndŵr University Research Online GURO, Open Access Repository following its publication.
EPSRC Introduces a New Policy

In June 2011 the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) have been the latest funder to announce that they are implementing a new policy on access to research outputs.

The policy covers the access to research publications arising from EPSRC-sponsored research, and is being introduced to ensure that these are made as widely and freely available as practicable. The policy, which recognises the need for increased availability and accessibility of publicly funded research findings, is in line with the RCUK position statement on access to research outputs (PDF 75KB)

The policy requires that all published EPSRC-funded research articles which are submitted for publication as from 1 September 2011 must be made available on an Open Access basis.

The policy is not prescriptive about how this is done: authors have the flexibility to choose an approach best suited to their field of research either by post-publication archiving in an open access repository or through publishing within an open access publication. Choosing to publish as open access could cost a fee of approx. £1,500-£3,000, which must be paid by the grant holder, but this could be included in the initial funding application.

The European Research Council (ERC) also has a ‘Green’ Open Access Self Archiving policy, which is similar:
“The ERC requires that all peer-reviewed publications from ERC-funded research projects be deposited on publication into an appropriate research repository where available, such as PubMed Central, ArXiv or an institutional repository, and subsequently made Open Access within 6 months of publication.”

The ERC Scientific Council statement on Open Access from Dec 2006 is here pdf and their guidelines for Open Access from Dec 2007 is here pdf

Checking Publishers Policies
Publishers who have open access prohibitive policies need to be identified and authors need to make an informed choice about if they can still use them. You can discover if your key journals are restrictive or permissive to open access by searching the SHERPA/RoMEO site. Increasingly major publishers, such as Springer or Elsevier, are making open access publication possible within their key titles, although a publication fee is usually charged as described above.

Checking Funders Requirements
The SHERPA/JULIET website maintains an easy to understand list of all major research funders’ policies with respect to open access availability of funded work for all major UK and international funding bodies. A few examples are given here:
• Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
• European Research Council (ERC)
• Medical Research Council (MRC)
• National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
• Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
• Wellcome Trust (WT)
Posted by Misha Jepson, Glyndŵr University

Glyndŵr University virtual open day – register now for Thursday, 8 September from 10am to 1pm.

September 7, 2011 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

Glyndŵr University virtual open day – register now

Thursday, 8 September from 10am to 1pm.

pg vod register now

Graduates looking to upgrade their qualifications in an increasingly competitive employment market will be able to find out about university courses via web chats.

Glyndŵr University is holding a postgraduate virtual open day on Thursday, 8 September from 10am to 1pm.

Staff will be contactable online to answer questions about any of the 100+ postgraduate and professional courses offered by Glyndŵr University.

Peter Heard, executive director of the university’s Graduate School, said: “We have some fantastic research going on at the university which feeds into all of our masters and higher level degree programmes and provide opportunities for all postgraduate students.

“We’re also committed to offering varying routes of study, with the flexibility to study part-time on many masters degrees while continuing to work”

To register email marketing@glyndwr.ac.uk with your name, location and the area of study you’re interested in. Full details of how to take part will be sent out to you nearer the time.

For more information click here.

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Research Journal Publishes Students Articles

August 22, 2011 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

Dr Peter Heard from Glyndŵr University’s Graduate School has joined the editorial board of the peer reviewed journal Critical Commentary. The journal publishes articles of exceptional quality written by undergraduate and postgraduate research students.

Critical Commentary which was launched by Newman University College in 2007 became a collaborative journal for the Consortium for Research Excellence Support and Training (CREST) this year. As a member of the CREST Glyndŵr University, is actively supporting the journal and many other CREST events in the future.

Critical Commentary is currently published in both hard copy and electronic (pdf) format. All issues can be read online or downloaded at no cost from its dedicated area on the Newman University website (www.newman.ac.uk/research). Critical Commentary is deposited in the British Library and the other five Legal Deposit Libraries of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Submissions must be sent by email to the Research Office Administrator of the Graduate School at Newman University College, who will coordinate the review process and all related correspondence. It is advisable for submitters to refer to the Journals Guidelines for Contributors for more information and if any Glyndŵr University Researchers wish to discuss their submission in advance they should contact Dr Heard at p.heard@glyndwr.ac.uk.
The CREST exists for institutions that have achieved high levels of research excellence concentrated in smaller communities of research practice, in order to

o create a collaboration of equal partners seeking to achieve research excellence through collegiality and mutual support
o achieve collective and individual innovations in translational research with benefits for students, society and industry
o build research capacity within participating institutions and secure critical mass together while retaining diverse, student-centred, research-led learning environments
o Provide an external structure for the sustainable delivery of the research objectives of members and the promotion and promulgation of their achievements.

CREST is a sub-association of GuildHE and supported by the Higher Education Funding for England (HEFCE). It organises a wide range of events from training sessions, seminars and a research symposium.

CREST Events

Researchers and staff working and studying at CREST member HEI’s (including Glyndwr University) are invited to present or attend at the next CREST Research Symposium taking place in London on 6th September 2011. See the CREST website for more details at http://www.crest.ac.uk/en/events/index.cfm/crestsymposium20110909

Posted by Misha Jepson, Graduate School and Research Services Co-ordinator, Glyndŵr University

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Glyndŵr University Visionary Garden wins Bronze Award

July 26, 2011 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

As editor of the Glyndŵr University’s Researcher newsletter see http://glynfo.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=70 I was able to meet with David Skydmore Project Director for Horticulture at our Northop campus back in January 2011. We discussed the Horticulture Wales Project see http://www.horticulturewales.co.uk/Introduction.aspx for more details. It’s been set up to help develop supply chains in Wales for businesses linked to Horticulture, offering expert support to enhance their efficiency. This is a pretty exciting project and seems to be offering a wide range of services.

During our meeting I shared my enthusiasm with David about my love of photographing plants and gardens. We talked about the RHS Flower show that takes place annually at Tatton Park near Knutsford, and discussed the success of the University’s previous entries. It soon became apparent that the University were planning a garden for this year’s show, which would take place in July. Without a seconds thought I offered to volunteer to help construct the garden. Then the long wait began, for the call to action.

The months passed but by June I had been allocated a time to start work at Tatton. Arriving on the first morning I was greeted by an already colourful display, from the visionary garden called “Metamorphosis 2”which was well under construction. Most of the hard digging work had been completed and the main features were in place. For the next 3 days we worked in the rain, building, planting and tweaking the plants so they looked at their best. Peter Styles Lecturer in Art, Design and Landscaping at Northop was the designer, and he was being helped by colleagues Richard Lewis, Lecturer in Organic Horticulture and Nicola Sweeting, Lecturer in Art, Design and Landscaping. Students had worked on the garden in the weeks before my visit; I just hope they got as much from the experience as I did.

It was hard work, but amazing the see the garden develop. Its vibrant colours produced by coloured hoses and square beds of flowers amongst black and white wooden screens/frames and gravel, produced some great contrasts in both colour and texture. We talked of balls of energy and transformation, of volcanoes and ferns representing splashes of molten liquid. The garden was truly unique, when viewed in sunlight or rain.

The BBC Gardeners world showed a clip of it, where Joe Swift and Andy Sturgeon discussed its merits. “A shot of energy” they said and the close detail and high angles it was shot from gave me a completely different viewpoint. You can see the footage at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012rf5l (12 minutes in).

The RHS website also has video footage of Chris Young reporting on the visionary gardens at http://www.rhs.org.uk/Video/Shows/Tatton/2011/Visionary-gardens

For still shots of the garden see http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Show-Tatton-Park/2011/Gardens/Garden-A-to-Z/Metamorphosis-2
Garden Description.
With its thought-provoking, sculptural design this garden is based on the concept of a dull monochromatic landscape that is gradually transformed into a colourful display of flowering plants by a powerful energy source.
This energy emanates from the earth and is carried around the garden through coloured energy strands. As they touch the monochromatic plants they metamorphose into bright yellow, orange or green, creating a garden of dramatic colour contrasts.
Mirror balls become green box (Buxus) balls, and grey and black foliage plants transform into vibrant yellow and orange flowering plants. A 3D black grid structure visually holds the elements together.
In case you are wondering would I go back and do it again? of course I would. I have already volunteered for next year; I just hope the rain stays away for my next gardening adventure. Wandering through the RHS gardens will never be the same again, as I now know how much planning and work helps create their flawless elegance.

Congratulations to Peter and his team, as the garden was awarded a bronze.

Posted by Misha Jepson, Graduate School and Research Services Co-ordinator, Glyndŵr University

The Wrexham Science Festival

May 26, 2011 by · No Comments · repository, Uncategorized

The Wrexham Science Festival is a yearly event, which takes place on the Glyndŵr University Plas Coch Campus in Wrexham. The aim of the event is to encourage as many people as possible to think about science, to come along and learn some new facts, ask questions and go away with a greater understanding of how science is part of everything we do. Think about everything around you right now, it’s all been influenced by science, whether it’s a plastic chair made from chemicals designed in a science lab, to the lights that flicker above us.

There are a wide variety of talks which take place mainly in the evenings of the first and second weeks. Speakers range from University professors, specialists in the field of science and people who may just have a passion for science. All the talks are free, but they do encourage donations so that the event can be supported in future years.

Last year I introduced speakers for the “Laughter Therapy”, who as you may expect were full of life and enthusiastic about making people laugh. It was a very light hearted event, with balloon games and jokes, mixed with the serious presentation of facts about research looking at how laughing can really make us feel happier. We were even told that if we just force a laugh, it fools our brain into thinking we are happy, and releases chemicals that actually do make us happy, how amazing is that?

I also had the pleasure to see Johnny Ball bounding enthusiastically and larger than life around the stage, engaging young and old in the audience, with his knowledge and special kind of delivery method sharing his interesting facts about Maths and Science.

Another talk was about “Taking Inspiration from Nature (A computing perspective)” by David Howard. Here we were shown film clips of battling robots who were evolving and learning from their experiences and how recording birds moving in flocks was used to make computer animated film sequences more realistic. Then we heard how designers were taking the best performing of their virtual creatures and using them to produce more advanced creatures, a bit like natural selection but this was serious research to help solve man’s current problems.

I attended 14 talks in all, so it was a busy week planned with great precision. The festival culminated in the usual Saturday Scientific event, a six hour extravaganza of hands of science experiments, live science demonstrations, science shows and exhibitions, aimed to entertain and inform all ages.

This was my 6th Science Festival at Wrexham, and now the excitement is building for this year’s event in July. This year I have finally taken the plunge, and volunteered to give two presentations myself both related to the Glyndwr University Research Online repository which I manage. I am busy collecting information about Open Access and how publishing science articles and research on the internet so people can access it for free is having a huge positive effect in the world. I have found examples of Doctors in the remote areas of the world learning about the latest Malaria research, which can then help them treat patients.

My only regret? I will have to miss some other talks because I will be busy with my own. However I am sure there will be lots more to choose from on other days.

If you are interested have a look at the Wrexham Science festival website http://www.wrexhamsf.com/en/ or join them on Facebook and twitter to see how preparations are going, and to get the most up to date information about the event. If I were you I would set aside the 14th-23rd July dates in your diary, just in case you want to take a new look at science.

Posted by Misha Jepson, Graduate School and Research Services Co-ordinator, Glyndŵr University

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Postgraduate Research Experience Survey Closes

May 26, 2011 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

Thanks to all students who contributed to the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey.
Nearly half of our postgraduate research students took part – a brilliant response rate, which will provide us will really useful information to help us enhance our provision. We appreciate the time and thought that you have all given to this.
The winner of the Apple iPad was Jan Green, a Senior Lecturer in Management at the University, who is one of our PhD students.
Jan said, ““Being a research student is so absorbing and has taken me in directions that I did not envisage! The occasional frustrations are far out-weighed by the satisfaction of making progress with my work in the supportive environment of Glyndŵr University.”
Written by Stewart Milne, Head of Research Services

Glyndwr University Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES)

April 20, 2011 by · 1 Comment · Uncategorized

Glyndwr University is way ahead of the UK overall in terms of PRES responses – almost a third of our postgraduate research students have taken part, while the national figure is only one in four.

But, can we achieve a 50% response rate?

PGR students can contact me at s.milne@glyndwr.ac.uk for a reminder of their confidential login details (which was sent via email in March) so they can have a chance of winning the Apple iPad!

The Higher Education Academy describes the PRES together with the PTES surveys as:
“The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) and the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) allow institutions to collect feedback from current postgraduate students in a systematic and user-friendly way. Results are anonymous, allowing comparison against sector benchmarks and previous years’ survey results whilst ensuring that they are used for internal enhancement rather than as league tables”

Stewart Milne, Head of Research Services, Glyndwr University

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