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School of CS newsletter
Published: Monday, 28 September 2015Weekly newsletter for the School of CS
[ top ]News from Head of School
We are now a Computing at School Regional Centre
The School of Computer Science has been appointed a CAS (Computing at School) Regional Centre. This is major recognition of the work that the School has been involved with over a number of years in supporting schoolteachers and schoolchildren in the adoption of computing as an important subject in schools.
The appointment has been made by the Department for Education and the BCS (British Computer Society). It comes with funding and we are intending to appoint a new member of the support staff to help co-ordinate the Centre’s activities. The region covers Greater Manchester, Liverpool, south Lancashire and north Cheshire. The role of the Regional Centre is to provide support for computing in schools, to foster and build local networks of support and provide opportunities for teachers and schoolchildren to engage in high-quality computing activities.
We have many students involved in exciting school-based activities and some staff are involved to. If you are interested, please contact me (david.e.rydeheard@manchester.ac.uk).
Jez Lloyd has put together a short video of some of our schools' outreach activities: https://youtu.be/0XOQ3fdpI54
David Rydeheard
Xiao-Jun Zeng’s impact highlighted
Following REF the UKCRC, BCS Academy and CPHC commissioned a report highlighting 20 of the impact case studies from REF2014 that has now been published. The examples reflect the range of those submitted including spin out companies, software tools and techniques, commercialisation of open source software as well as a number of healthcare related applications and aids for people with disabilities, giving an excellent overview of the ways in which impact can be achieved.
One of the case studies describes how Xiao-Jun Zeng’s PhD research was a key contribution to the formation of Knowledge Support Systems Ltd, a company with a £19M turnover in 2012. The report describes how this came about.
[ top ]News and announcements
NERC Demand Management – process and timeline for January 2016 Standard Grant
Internal deadline: 01 Dec 2015
IMPORTANT: Further to the Demand Management process implemented for the July 2015 Standard Grant Round, we will now be implementing this process for the January 2016 Standard Grant Round.
For full guidance contact sarah.chatwin@manchester.ac.uk
Submissions must be managed by your RSM (Sarah Chatwin) alongside any queries.
Congratulations to Sophia Meng on her eScience prize
Sofia Meng recently won an award to attend e-Science 2015 and you can see the link to their interview with her below.
New feature in Google Scholar: Browse by Institution
Google Scholar has a new feature which allows browsing by institution, for example, you can browse all publications from University of Manchester
https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_org&org=13860336253325434807
There are some limitations to this feature described here http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.04515
Library news and visit on Thursday 1st October
I'm Nick Campbell, your Academic Engagement Librarian.
I can help you make the most of the Library's services for your research and teaching.
I can also put you in touch with Library experts on:
Teaching Support:
- Advising on resources
- Reading list support
- Digitisation services
- My Learning Essentials
- Copyright advice
Research Support:
- Citation analysis
- Research Data Management
- Open Access
- Manchester eScholar
- Special Collections
I'll be visiting the Kilburn Building on Thursday October 1st 10-12 to showcase our services and the support available to you in your teaching and research.
Please come along and say hello.
All best wishes,
Nick
nick.campbell@manchester.ac.uk
Blackwell's University Bookshop, Manchester
Blackwell's bookshop on Oxford Road opposite the Kilburn building have been in touch to reassure us that they are still open as usual despite the upheaval caused by the demolition of the Precinct bridge and subsequent building work. The manager, Paul Thornton, has asked that if you want to ensure they stock the recommended texts for your course please contact him at paul.thornton@blackwell.co.uk.
[ top ]Events
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter: celebrating Black History Month 2015. Join us for an inspirational Black History Month discussion with Professor Alan Rice, Dr Miranda Kauffman and Marcia X.
Wednesday 21st October 3-5 pm, 70 Oxford Street, Manchester Metropolitan University
Free. Please confirm attendance to Leila Goulahsen L.Goulahsen@mmu.ac.uk
Grant Writing: Pathways to Impact
Event: 02 Dec 2015, 9:30 - 13:30, Roscoe Building
Register through https://app.manchester.ac.uk/FEPSS8851
This workshop is open to Research Staff (postdocs/fellows) across all faculties, who have previous experience of or who are currently developing a grant application and associated Pathways to Impact plan.
When applying for research grant and fellowship applications in the UK, research investigators are required to articulate the potential impact that their research may have on society, culture and the economy. If you are are looking to develop more successful and appropriately funded Pathways to Impact plans then this workshop is for you! The interactive session training will address:- Developing a framework for your research impact planning
- Considering which stakeholders to involve throughout the research project and how
- Understanding the types of benefits and impacts that your research could have
- Defining milestones/timelines
- Considering resourcing and costing impact activities appropriately.
- Reviewing the funding agencies review criteria for impact in grant applications
- Making a P2I interesting and engaging and understanding what funders expect to see.
- Finding out what support and resources are available at the University.
Pre-work: It is a requirement that participants have thought about the potential impact of their research and have captured their ideas by preparing a draft Pathways to Impact (contact sarah.chatwin@manchester.ac.uk for a copy). Alternatively you may provide an example from a previous or current grant or fellowship application. (To be submitted by 16 November 2015). In return you will receive feedback from the training and business engagement teams.
[ top ]Funding Opportunities
John Rylands Research Institute Seedcorn Funding
Deadline: 30 Oct 2015
This Call is for small scale projects (up to £5k) that will lead to the opportunity for larger grant capture within the Institute. Funding is available to all academic and Library staff at the University. Applications are especially welcome in the areas of:
- World Literatures
- Revolutions in Print
- Religions
- Science and Medicine
- as well as those that have the potential to result in high-profile publications
Full support is available from our expert team including curators and the Institute grant writer. All applications and enquiries should be sent to jrri@manchester.ac.uk
Stroke Association Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Fellowship Funding
Deadline: 5pm 04 Nov 2015
These Fellowships are aimed at the stroke research leaders of the future. We specifically welcome applications from Nurses and Allied Health Professionals; however, those conducting applied research in the area of stroke will also be considered eligible.
Postgraduate Fellowships:
Our Postgraduate Fellowships (up to £105k over 3 yrs) enable outstanding graduates to obtain a postgraduate research qualification (MPhil or PhD), giving them the required skills to ultimately undertake an independent career in stroke research.
Postdoctoral Fellowships:
Our Postdoctoral Fellowships (up to £175k over 3 yrs) are intended to provide the skills and training for the development of an independent career in stroke research.Grants will be awarded in March 2016.
For further information please contact the Research department at research@stroke.org.ukGoogle Research Awards
Deadline: 15 Oct 2015
Google Research Awards are one-year awards (up to $150k) structured as unrestricted gifts to universities to support the work of world-class full-time faculty members at top universities around the world. Faculty members can apply for Research Awards by submitting a proposal to one of our two 2015 funding rounds. Our 2015 deadlines are April 15 and October 15.
Recipients are selected through a comprehensive internal review process and notified of their awards within 4 months of the initial submission. Most awards are funded at the amount needed to support basic expenses for one graduate student for one year. Please see our FAQs for more details on eligibility and budgets.
The intent of the Google Research Awards is to support cutting-edge research in Computer Science, Engineering, and related fields. We ask applicants to categorize their proposals into one of the following broad research areas of interest to Google:
- Computational neuroscience
- Geo/maps
- Human-computer interaction
- Information retrieval, extraction, and organization (including semantic graphs)
- Machine learning and data mining
- Machine perception
- Machine translation
- Mobile
- Natural language processing
- Networking
- Physical Interfaces and Immersive Experiences
- Privacy
- Security
- Software engineering and programming languages
- Speech
- Structured data and database management
- Systems (hardware and software)
NIHR funding opportunities
Programme Grants for Applied Research - Invitation for Applications
Closing date: 1pm 06 October 2015
The NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research programme invites Stage 1 research proposals to develop individual programmes. Research funded through a Programme Grant typically consists of an interrelated group of high quality projects focused on a coherent theme and hence require multidisciplinary approaches, including clinical, health economics, statistics, qualitative and behavioural sciences, to ensure that research objectives can be met. The amount awarded and the length of the funding period will depend on the nature of the proposed work, in particular whether or not the proposal includes a substantial powered trial.
Programme Development Grants - Invitation for Applications
Closing date: 1pm 13 October 2015
PDGs are designed to increase the rate and number of successful applications for a full Programme Grant by supporting the completion of the necessary preparatory work to suitably position the research team to submit a competitive Stage 2 Programme Grant application.
Public Health Research Programme - Researcher-led call
Closing date: 1pm 09 November 2015
The Public Health Research Programme are accepting applications to their researcher-led workstream. The PHR Programme funds research that evaluates public health interventions, specifically to provide new knowledge on the benefits, costs, acceptability and wider impacts of non-NHS interventions intended to improve the health of the public and reduce inequalities in health
Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme - Commissioned call
Closing date: 1pm 10 November 2015
The Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme is accepting applications to their commissioned workstream for the following topics:
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15/73 Markers of early treatment response in non-cancerous conditions
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15/74 Novel diagnostics and treatments for irritable bowel syndrome
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15/75 Mechanisms of action of health interventions
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15/76 Severe opportunistic fungal infections
Public Health Research Programme - Public mental health call
Closing date:1pm 30 November 2015
The Public Health Research Programme are accepting applications for research into the evaluation of public health interventions to improve public mental health.
Research for Patient Benefit Programme Competition 28 - Invitation for Applications
Closing date: 1pm 02 December 2015
Applications are invited for NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) proposals which are related to the day-to-day practice of health service staff and are concerned with having an impact on the health or well-being of patients and users of the NHS on a wide range of issues. The programme supports applications which are regionally derived and applications which have emerged from interaction with patients and the public, which relate to patient and service user experience, and which have been drawn up in association with a relevant group of service users.
Royal Academy of Engineering ERA Foundation Entrepreneurs Award
Deadline: 02 Nov 2015
http://enterprisehub.raeng.org.uk/about/
The scheme encourages and rewards the creativity and innovation of early-career engineering researchers working in UK universities, in the broad field of electro-technology. The award is presented annually to an individual or team who demonstrates considerable entrepreneurial potential. The winning individual or team receives a £10k personal recognition award and a £30k grant for the continued development of the innovation. In addition, the winner is invited to become a member of the Enterprise Hub where they receive ongoing support from the RAEng and a package of bespoke mentoring and training.
Software verification and validation for complex systems
Information event: 09 Oct 2015 (Birmingham)
Registration closes: 11 Nov 2015
Deadline: noon 18 Nov 2015Innovate UK and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) are to invest up to £580,000 in technical feasibility studies to stimulate innovation throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC) while focusing on the verification and validation* (V&V) of two classes of complex systems: cyber physical systems (CPS) and systems with emergent behaviours.
Projects of 6-12 months (£50-100k) must be industry-led (SMEs), working in collaboration with one or more business or research partners.
[ top ]Featured Research Outcomes
Best student paper award for Robert Różański
PhD student Robert Różański (supervised by Prof. Ross King) presented his paper 'Automating the Development of Metabolic Network Models' at the 10th Computational Methods in Systems Biology conference at the Royal Society in London, which received the best student paper award.
Manchester leads in text mining
An analysis of global biomedical text mining studies concludes that the organization with most published articles and the best quality of articles is University of Manchester.
Open PHACTS wins linked data award
An international jury of ambassadors from over 15 European countries elected Open PHACTS the winner of the Linked Open Data Award in the inaugural European Linked Data Contest (ELDC).
BioVeL outcomes showcased
A followup of the BioVeL project has been accepted by the Research Data Alliance Climate Data Challenge and will be presented as a showcase at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris in December. The showcase is called "Predictive modelling of mosquito-borne diseases in Sweden" and demonstrates how predictions of climate change can be used, together with species distribution information, to predict potential future disease areas.
MSc paper presentation
MSc student Jorge Arturo Wong Mozqueda, will be presenting his research at the International Workshop on Sustainable Software Systems Engineering 2015, to be held in conjunction with the 13th IEEE International Conference on Dependable, Autonomic and Secure Computing (DASC 2015), in Liverpool. The paper, entitled ‘Is Software Quality Related to Test Coverage?’ covers the core of his MSc project, supervised by Caroline Jay and Robert Haines, which demonstrates that as test coverage rises, code complexity decreases.