Register to attend now!
Register for the Research Hootenanny once and you will be sent details of how to join all of the sessions on the programme (except the Fundamentals of Research Impact – Research Excellence and Impact & Open Access Mystery Role Playing Game which require separate sign-up, see details below).
Joining instructions will be sent to your registered email address the week commencing 24th January 2022.
Monday 31 January – Friday 4 February 2022
The Coventry University Research Hootenanny is a vibrant mix of activities to showcase research excellence at CU, to celebrate our researchers’ successes and to explore new ways to undertake and to share research – locally, nationally and internationally.
This year’s Research Hootenanny will be taking place through a hybrid format:
Monday 31 January – Tuesday 1st February:
All sessions will be facilitated in-person at Elm Bank, Coventry Campus
Wednesday 2nd February – Friday 4th February:
All sessions will be an online via webinar format
Browse the current schedule below. Keep a look out for additional workshops and webinars being added to the schedule over the coming weeks.
Monday 31 January
All sessions today will be facilitated in-person at Elm Bank, Coventry Campus
AM Parallel Sessions
10.00 – 11.00
Metadata Lego
The Research & Scholarly Publications (RSP) Team will be hosting an hour session to support you with an aspect of research data management. To ensure that you understand your own data and to enable others to find, use and properly cite your data, it helps to add ‘documentation’ or ‘metadata’ (data about data) to the documents and datasets you create. Test your descriptive skills during this session as you create and describe your Lego constructs, and see if your colleagues can recreate your structures.
11.00 – 12.00
Impact and the CovenTree
Facilitated by Coventry University’s Research Excellence and Impact Team
Now that submissions to REF 2021 are behind us we have the chance reflect more on the significant and far-reaching changes which have been driven by CU researchers, following our institutional commitment to Excellence with Impact.
This presentation will showcase some of the varied pathways to impact taken by a number of research projects across CU. These pathways can offer inspiration and insight into the journeys taken by researchers in the pursuit of improving society: moving from initial discussions and planning to stakeholder engagement, research uptake and impact in the long-term.
11.15 – 12.30
Research Data Management Escape Room
The Research & Scholarly Publications (RSP) Team will be hosting a session to support you with an aspect of research data management. Sharing data that validate publications is an important requirement of Research Funders and Coventry University. Join the RSP Team for an alternative way on locating RDM guidance in the Library and how to upload dataset(s) to the institutional repository. Will you Escape FAIRly to Funding?
14.00 – 15.00
Researching outside the box: disrupting and reshaping research practice through transdisciplinarity
Facilitated by Dr Kathryn Stamp, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE)
Multi-disciplinary approaches to research are growing increasingly popular, with more cross-disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary projects taking place, but what do we actually mean by these terms? What does it mean to work in a transdisciplinary way with colleagues from disciplines either somewhat or very different from ones own?
This presentation will reflect on experience of working on transdisciplinary projects, involving arts and humanities researchers with computer scientists and engineers. The session will explore the opportunities, benefits, challenges and reality of working in this transdisciplinary way and how it could significantly impact how we understand our own current research and possible future collaborations.
Tuesday 1 February
All sessions today will be facilitated in-person at Elm Bank, Coventry Campus
10.00 – 11.00
Curiosity makes Jack a playful boy…
Facilitated by Professor Sylvster Arnab, Professor of Game Science at the Disruptive Media Learning Lab and an associate of the Centre for Post-digital Cultures at Coventry University
In this short talk, Sylvester will unpick the motivation behind his transdisciplinary research practice from ideation through to impact pathway. The talk draws insights from the various research, development, and practice within his portfolio of play and game-based projects and initiatives.
11.00 – 12.30
Fundamentals of Research Impact – Research Excellence and Impact
This session has a maximum attendance capacity of 30 people and is intended for staff who have research responsibilities. For this reason the registration process for this session is separate to the other sessions in the Research Hootenanny.
Considering the complexity of the concept and different pathways to impact in different disciplinary areas, the Research Excellence and Impact is offering a 4-parts training to develop better understanding of impact. Below are the details and dates of the individual sessions. Click the link below for more details and registration. https://recap.coventry.domains/event/fundamentals-of-research-impact/
Impact is one of the crucial elements used in assessing research excellence. In addition to academic contributions, research excellence includes economic and societal contributions, which benefit individuals, organisations or nations.
13.00 – 13.55
A case study in Transdisciplinary Research: Developing a holistic comfort model
Facilitated by Professor James Brusey, Senior Research Fellow of the Cogent Computing Applied Research Centre
With this talk, I wish to discuss two aspects of TDR: First, what differentiates it from cross-disciplinary research; Second, challenges encountered for TDR that make it especially difficult to get right.
PM Parallel Sessions
14.05 – 15.00
Transdisciplinarity and the Engineering of Sustainability: learning from the Global South
Facilitated by Professor Elena Gaura and Dr Alison Halford
The talk debates the role of various actors in the process of co-design of technological interventions when geography, culture, ethical considerations and responsible innovation principles all come to play. We highlight gaps in design knowledge when complexity of context overpowers the simplicity of the technology and the imaginary overshadows the reality.
We draw from two complex energy access case studies in Nepal and Rwanda and show why achieving technology sustainability calls for truly transdisciplinary work.
14.00 – 15.30
GCRF Poster Showcase
Join us for a GCRF Poster Showcase as part of the Doctoral College & Centre’s Research Hootenanny 2022. The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) supports cutting-edge research to address challenges faced by developing countries. Learn more about the research being undertaken by some of our current GCRF award holders.
Wednesday 2 February
All sessions today will be an online via webinar format
10.00 – 11.00
Is your PhD looking at developing digital health content? There’s an app for that, and it’s free!
Facilitated by Andy Turner, Professor Health Psychology, Centre for Intelligent Healthcare and Founder of Hope For the Community CIC (https://www.h4c.org.uk/)
It costs £200K to build an app that delivers behavioural and mental health interventions. Researchers in the Centre for Intelligent Healthcare have developed a “white label” interactive platform which has been used by several PhD students to develop and test digital interventions such as mindfulness for endometriosis. Current projects include digital interventions for cancer, schizophrenia, kidney disease and domestic and interpersonal violence.
Join this session to see a demo of the platform and find out how you could use it in your PhD.
Parallel Sessions
11.05 – 12.30
An Introduction to Thinking Through COVID-19: Entangled in the Epoch
Facilitated by Stacey Moon-Tracy, Hannah Honeywill & David Beauchamp
In this session three Coventry University researchers will present their ongoing research on memorialising of Covid-19, its impact on nursing and official communications during the pandemic. Through this session you will also be able to find out more about the Coventry Covid-19 Network and its current members’ work. Moreover, if your research focuses on or relates in any way to COVID-19, the Network would like to meet you. Artist and PGR Hannah Honeywill will discuss her research on the memorialisation of COVID-19 and how she is developing her own approach to this through her practice research. Script writer and PGR, Stacey Moon-Tracy presents on her co-creative script writing method to explore the impact that COVID-19 is having on Intensive Care Nurses. Applied Linguist and PGR, David Beauchamp introduces aspects of his multimodal corpus of texts relating to the official communications during the pandemic and its impact on future reporting on COVID-19.
Revised time of: 12.30 – 14.30
Research Cafe: ‘Beyond the Viva: Life after a PhD’
Brought to you by the Research & Scholarly Publications Team, The Library, Coventry University
We are planning an online Research Café event for Wednesday 2nd February, 12-2pm, on the theme of: ‘Beyond the Viva: Life after a PhD’. This event will form part of the Doctoral College’s ‘Research Hootenanny’ week. We would welcome presentations from any Coventry University PhD alumni who would be willing to talk about what they went on to do after finishing their PhD.
We would be particularly interested to hear from:
- Alumni who have continued to work in academic research
- Alumni who have launched non-academic careers resulting from their PhD, e.g. in industry, through setting up a business or not-for-profit organisation
- Alumni who would be willing to talk about the broader benefits they perceive from having completed a PhD, such as the skills and aptitudes they developed during their study
We typically ask for presentations to last 15-20 minutes, with an opportunity for audience questions following the presentation. Research Cafés are intended to act as informal, relaxed forums for discussion and exchange of ideas. If any PhD alumni would be interested in presenting, please get in touch via this online Form and provide a title and brief abstract of your prospective presentation – https://forms.office.com/r/yxSGYuzP8C. We hope this event will provide some ideas and inspiration to our current PGRs as to how their PhD may serve them beyond graduation. Attendance at the event will be open to current staff and students at the University, with the majority of attendees likely to be current Post Graduate Researchers.
14.05 – 14.30
Trials & Tribulations: the downs and ups of academic life – ‘Positives of a Negative Academic CV’
Facilited by Mark Adams, Career Development Consultant
A career in academic research is documented as a fluid chronology of success that obscures any setbacks. Peer perception perpetuates academic progression as a seamless, fluid and streamlined succession of triumphs and successes. Therefore, whenever an early career researcher experiences the inevitable individual knockback, such false narrative can leave them feeling alone and inadequate. This short session encourages us to learn to embrace our failures and as an essential part of personal and professional development, and in the context of the ‘negative academic CV’ how may we learn to view rejection in a positive light and as an integral part of future success.
Thursday 3 February
All sessions today will be an online via webinar format
10.00 – 11.00
Enabling Transdisciplinary Research and Evaluation using Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE): An Automotive Cybersecurity Case
Facilitated by Stephen Powley, PhD Researcher, Automotive Cybersecurity, Centre for Future Transport and Cities,
Systems Engineering (SE) is by definition “a transdisciplinary and integrative approach to enable the successful realization, use, and retirement of engineered systems”. The concept of a system is very broad and SE techniques have a lot to offer the academic research community. This presentation will provide an introduction to SE and describe research that applies its techniques to identify, model and evaluate enterprise capability needs in the context of automotive cybersecurity. This research draws on techniques from many disciplines, including Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), ontology engineering, qualitative interview studies and action research. A focused example application of a novel Evaluation Framework will be discussed. Evaluation presents a particular challenge for cybersecurity due to the variety of disciplines and techniques involved, and the need to blend qualitative and quantitative results.
11.05 – 12.00
Developing Practical Research Questions for Understanding Ambiguous Phenomena (or Grand Challenges)
Facilitated by Dr Sandar Win, School of Economics, Finance and Accounting, Coventry University
Regardless of whether we are early career or senior academics, we always find challenges in identifying ‘practical’ research questions. Many of these questions come from identifying gaps in the literature. This meant that if a phenomenon has not been studied before, that phenomenon is likely to remain ambiguous for a long time. Academic literature also treat research questions as taken for granted and that these questions remain unchanged throughout the research process. Hence, in this session, Sandar will talk about how academics can identify ‘practical’ research questions for understanding ambiguous phenomena from the publication which was based on her research experiences. The paper is titled ‘Reflecting and Integrating the Contextual Influences of Ambiguities and Institutional Power in Organisational Research Design: A Case of Myanmar’.
12.05 – 12.30
Trials & Tribulations: the downs and ups of academic life
‘Publish or Perish’
Facilitated by Professor David Broom, Centre for Sports, Exercise and Life Sciences
In this talk, Professor Broom will highlight the importance of publishing throughout the PhD journey and into your academic career. He will reflect on his own trials and tribulations of publishing which will include overcoming crises of confidence, the importance of targeting the right journal, dusting yourself off when taking a knockback but then aiming higher.
PM Parallel Sessions
12.35 – 13.00
Trials & Tribulations: the downs and ups of academic life
Embracing strong opinions in the journey to success
Whilst Dr Sally Pezaro has recently won the Royal College of Midwives Partnership Working award, her academic journey has not been easy. In this session she will recount how she has failed to secure fellowship bids and experienced challenges in taking on research which has attracted strong opinions and criticism.
12.30 – 13.30
Dr Who?….Let’s talk about finding communities
Facilitated by Jennifer McNally, Centre for Research Capability and Development @ the Doctoral College
No matter where you are in your programme, being a doctoral researcher can sometimes be an isolating experience. All of our journeys are unique and we will each find support in different places. In this session we will discuss where we seek support in and around our doctoral community and share tips and tricks on being part of a community.
In this session you will have had the opportunity to talk to colleagues who feel the same and explored some of the ways others have found to deal with similar issues.
Dr Who? discussion meetings offer you the opportunity to meet with others in a similar situation to help, support, understand and encourage each other.
Doing a research degree is hard work. You need to stay motivated and are often working in isolation. We hope attending ‘Dr Who’ discussion meetings will help you to:
- feel more confident and positive
- keep a realistic perspective on your research degree
- develop strategies to address any difficulties you are encountering
- meet fellow postgraduate researchers who may continue to be sources of encouragement and support
14.00 – 15.00
Transdisciplinarity is Nothing New – Revisiting Its History and Imagining Possible Futures
Facilitated by Dr Luca Morini, Research Associate at the Centre for Global Learning Education and Attainment, Coventry University
While the terms “transdisciplinarity” is emerging as a new, powerful framing for the interconnected challenges that Higher Education and broader global societies need to face today, the risk is that it becomes just another academic buzzword, neutralised in its conceptual and practical potential and implications.
This talk will explore the historical roots of transdisciplinary perspectives, their ambitious developments in the 2nd half of the 20th Century, the current “state of the art”, and the obstacles transdisciplinarity has encountered in truly “taking root” within and beyond academia, touching on media ecology, complexity theory, systems thinking, and the relationship with indigenous ways of knowing.
The talk will conclude with a brief playful experiment, inviting participants to collectively imagine how to frame and develop transdisciplinary research projects and pedagogies.
15.05 – 16.00
Postgraduate Research: Planning the year ahead @ the Research Hootenanny
- Would you like to learn more about the opportunities that could enhance your research project and develop your skill-set?
- Do you want to make the most of the developmental opportunities available to you?
Join us at this session to create an action plan of how to identify gaps in your researcher development and to learn more about upcoming opportunities for Postgraduate Researchers at Coventry University.
Friday 4th February
All sessions today will be an online via webinar format
AM Parallel Sessions
10.00 – 12.00
Thinking strategically about your career
Facilitated by Dr Iveta Simera, Centre for Research Capability and Development @ the Doctoral College and Mark Adams, Talent Team
This practical, highly interactive workshop is aimed primarily at postdoctoral researchers who are considering their next career steps. At the workshop we will:
Discuss key questions we need to ask ourselves when faced with career dilemmas:
- How can I make sense of my career so far?
- What do I want from a job?
- What jobs would suit me?
- What job do I want to?
Explore 3 scenarios:
- I like to develop successful academic research career
- Not sure if I want to stay in academia or transfer to the industry
- I like working at the university but not sure if research career is the right path for me
Discuss how to create an action plan
Consider potential barriers and challenges
Share useful resources
10.00-11.00
Starry-eyed or retina burn? Becoming transparent about transdisciplinarity
Facilitated by Micia De Wet
Transdisciplinary research is lighting up the stage of research. It promises innovation, knowledge generation, and novel contributions to both industries and academies. But what is going on behind the scenes? And are universities and industries actually ready for this show to go on? In this presentation, I share the process of my PhD project which has worked in and between acting training, cognitive science, and somatic practice. I share the challenges that have arisen in working between knowledges, knowing, and practices from different disciplines. I also share the challenges I have come to face with funding, communicating, and validating the research. By analysing my own process, I consider what a future for transdisciplinary may need to not only be sustainable, but to also be ethical, compassionate, and inclusive.
11.05 – 11.30
Trials & Tribulations: the downs and ups of academic life – What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”: How to Get Your Book Published and Not to Despair
Facilitated by Matt Qvortrup
Professor Matt Qvortrup has published over ten books on politics, history, and philosophy, most recently a biography about the former German chancellor Angela Merkel (Angela Merkel: Europe’s Most Influential Leader, Duckworth 2021). In this talk, he shares insider tips on how to get published (with an agent, or directly with a publisher). He shares his experiences – how to overcome the inevitable rejections (‘my first book was rejected by twenty publishers before it was published’, he says). So, here is all there is to know about publishing in 20 minutes.
PM Parallel Sessions
12.00 – 13.30
Open Access Mystery Role Playing Game
This session has a maximum attendance capacity of 8 people. For this reason the registration process for this session is separate to the other sessions in the Research Hootenanny.
Participants can sign up at: https://forms.office.com/r/Jufz8b8Usy.
Originally developed by Katrine Sundsbø at the University of Essex, the Open Access Mystery sees each participant take on the role of one of eight characters who meet at a Conference – with each character having their own eccentricities, foibles and secrets…
Through several rounds, the game is designed to introduce participants to a range of topical issues in the research environment. These include: arguments around open access to research, research ethics and the contested role of metrics like the journal impact factor and H-index in evaluating research quality. Whilst no prior knowledge is required, it would help if participants can do a bit of advance preparation in familiarising themselves with their character details and the glossary of research related terms which crop up in the game. Participants will be sent their ‘character packs’ in advance of the game being run.
13.00 – 14.00
ReCap’s All New Researcher Development Programme
Facilitated by the Centre for Research Capability and Development @ the Doctoral College
In this session, the Centre for Research Capability & Development will present our new Researcher Development Framwork, delivery strategy; introduce the key areas of development for 2022 and the new platform for learning resources. ReCap aims to facilitate the development of researcher capability to deliver impactful research and develop successful careers as well as building effective research teams and a strong institutional reputation. To achieve this aim, the new framework uses an individualised approach to help Researchers in setting personal and professional development goals, and creating development plans to reach their goals.
We are also keen to hear from you so there will be an opportunity during the session for you to provide your opinions and suggestions for the framework and future provision from ReCap.
14.00 – 16.00
Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding
Facilitated by Dr Luke Blaxill from GradFunding
Are you a current PhD or PGR student who needs extra funding for fees, living expenses, research, conference or 4th year PhD writing-up costs? Have you been adversely affected financially by the Covid-19 Coronavirus? If the answer is ‘yes’, then considering attending this webinar! It’s all about funding from unusual places you probably haven’t heard of! As well as explaining the more ‘usual’ postgraduate funding options available, it’s mainly about alternative grant-making bodies in Britain: principally charities, trusts, and foundations. Charities and trusts are seldom used by students, but often make grants regardless of subject, course, or nationality. They are an excellent – but underrated – funding option. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to: identify the appropriate alternative funding bodies for you, find them via books and the internet, and apply strongly and correctly. The workshop is based on an award-winning resource called the ‘Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding’ that Coventry subscribes to and students can access for free (www.postgraduate-funding.com)! The workshop will be delivered by Dr. Luke Blaxill, who won 45 separate grants from charities and trusts as a postgraduate student and whose story has been featured in several national newspapers and on TV.
NOTES ON WEBINAR
Participation in the ‘active’ parts of the webinar is optional. You can simply dial in, turn your camera off and listen to the whole webinar if you wish. Or you can be more active by posting questions to the facilitator, posting input to the discussion sessions, and indeed contributing directly to the optional flexi discussion at the end.
STRUCTURE OF WEBINAR
(1 Hour 30 mins, with optional Q&A of 30 mins)
· Introductions of Facilitator and Participants, and the Alternative Guide
· Introductory Presentation on Alternative funding Sources
· Presentation on Finding Charities and Trusts
· Presentation on Initially Approaching Charities and Trusts
*******BREAK******
· Discussion [contribution optional]: What makes a strong application to a charity?
· Presentation on making strong applications to charities
· Closing Comments Golden Rules for strong charity applications
Questions, comments, discussions (up to 30 minutes)