BU’s research was recognised at this year’s European Conference in Research Methods (ECRM), hosted by the University of Malta.   A poster reporting on reflections in using appreciative action research in Higher Education “How Brilliant Are We?” was awarded a first prize at the conference.

This research project drew on existing information from SUBU You’re Brilliant Award and focused on the ‘discovery’ aspect of Appreciative Inquiry. You can find out more about this research and take a look at the prize winning poster here.

The research team – Susanne Clarke, Lois Farquharson, Bethan Collins and Anita Diaz would like to thank all those involved in this research. Please do contact us for more information and engage with next steps for this work.

This research was funded through the Fusion Investment Fund and ongoing work will be included within the Centre for Excellence in Learning.

Summary of the ECRM conference

ECRM is a recognised event on the European research conferences calendar and provides a valuable platform for individuals to present their research findings, display their work in progress and discuss conceptual advances in the area of business and management research. It provides an important opportunity for researchers and managers to come together with peers to share their experiences of using the varied and expanding range of research methods available to them.

The conference opened with a keynote from Professor Mark Saunders from Surrey Business School, on the topic of “The (re)- emergence of mixed methods research: to combine or not combine?” The second day began with a Keynote by Professor Rob Briner from The University of Bath, on the topic of “Measuring employee attitudes and perceptions: The causes and consequences of poor construct definition and operationalization”.

(Summary taken from the conference web-site: http://academic-conferences.org/ecrm/ecrm2015/ecrm15-home.htm)

I attended on behalf of the “Brilliant Research “ team and it was great to see so many of the research projects presented by others across the sector particularly those which had clear synergies with CEL. Good contacts were made with Kingston University and please do make contact with those named below and invites to them to visit CEL will be made for next term!

Student conceptions of Employability: A Phenomenographic Study, presented by Rebecca Lees (Kingston University).

“Mind the Gap: Developing Student Confidence During Transition” Hilary Watson, Nathalie Charlton and Rebecca Lees, Kingston University.

Susanne Clarke accepts our prize from Conference Co‐Chair Frank Bezzina

Discussing our poster with colleagues and with keynote speaker Professor Mark Saunders