BNU has a strong connection to positive psychology and we have a number of postgraduate courses dedicated to this area of study.

The Reflecta project’s aim is to develop a means of integrating wellbeing into learning through reflective practice, rather than viewing self-care as an add-on. The project received £60000 in funding from MedTech SuperConnector, which has been used in two ways:

1. The development of a new model of reflection for wellbeing and professional learning (SELF)
2. The development of a mobile technology to support positive reflection (Reflecta), now available in Beta version.

We have a team of colleagues from Psychology, Education and Computing working on the project, but have drawn in others from disciplines where the model can be deployed. Our main activities are the development of the SELF model through research and technical development of the Reflecta technology for mobile use.

We are actively seeking partners from other universities or relevant organisations who would be interested in working with us as part of this research and development project. Please get in touch with Dr Rebecca Rochon Rebecca.Rochon@bnu.ac.uk for more information.

MedTech SuperConnector is a collaboration of academic institutions led by Imperial College, London, with a shared vision to support early career researchers in the development and translation of their early stage medtech innovations. More information is available here: https://medtechsuperconnector.com/

Undergraduate nursing students are required to learn a vast range of medical terminology, including many Greek and Latin terms, to orient them for practice. Teaching students skills to decode these terms is central to their success.

Nursing lecturers Taryn Tavener-Smith and Nicole McAllister are developing a mobile app with Jon Jackson from Computing: Medical Terminology App Demo - YouTube They are conducting evaluations with nursing students to see how useful they find it and how it could be improved.

Building on BNU’s research with members of the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma (GTR) communities, the University has co-created a network of practice focused on supporting access to higher education for members of the GTR; Showmen and Boater (GTRSB) communities. This developing network (currently with 66 members from across the country) is part of a suite of activities which successfully incorporate policy engagement, action research and the development of inter-institutional networks attracting a considerable level of national and indeed international attention.

The background to these activities lies in BNU’s commitment to widening participation and a developing focus on supporting members of the GTRSB communities into higher education. Collectively the communities have the lowest outcomes at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 of any ethnic groups in the UK. The reasons for low attainment, early school leaving and disengagement from education are complex and bound up in experiences of racism, exclusion, historical lack of engagement with formal education and often limited cultural capital in relation to proceeding to further or higher education. Ultimately, this leads to extremely low rates of university attendance for members of these communities.  It has been estimated that there are only around 200 GTR students in higher education in the UK at any one time; equivalent to 3-4 per cent of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller population aged 18-30 years;  as compared to 43 per cent of 18-30 year-olds in the general population entering university.

Fuller research findings and recommendations from this stream of work are updated on the BNU website and published in research notes.

For further information on the background to this work see: https://bucks.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/17932/

Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, Dr Richard Mather and Dr Helena Chance are leading this project to develop and evaluate a novel collaborative approach to learning. They are using inter-disciplinary curricula to enhance work-readiness of computing and creative-advertising undergraduates. The project vehicle was a live-brief for the University Computing and Art and Design departments to work with Wycombe District Council to develop a mobile and location-sensitive “Heritage Trail App” to interpret significant sites in High Wycombe.

The project formed part of a body of work underpinning a REF2021 impact case study on the application of a novel pedagogical approach that combines elements of collaboration, simulation and interdisciplinarity in academic and stakeholder partnerships.

BNU has an outstanding track record in delivering professional practice workforce development, including the following projects funded by external agencies:

• Identification of prospects for Advanced Clinical Practice in oncology, specifically reviewing Therapeutic Radiography – funded by Health Education England (HEE). Prof Ricardo Khine.
• Practice Education Resource Project / Feasibility study for radiography. In partnership with Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust (BHT), funded by HEE. Prof Ricardo Khine.
• Exploring Advancing Clinical Practice (ACP) roles, and status and training needs of Independent Prescribers from a system wide perspective. In partnership with Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust (BHT), funded by HEE. Prof Karen Buckwell-Nutt.
• Orthoptist CPD provision on Visual Processing Difficulties. In partnership with Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust (BHT), funded by HEE. Prof Ricardo Khine.
• Third Sector Workforce – Providing Training to those who Support People with Learning Disabilities or Autism. Funded by HEE. Margaret Rioga.
• Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (MCA & DOLS). Funded by the CWHHE CCG Collaborative in NW London. Conduced by Professor Colin Martin, Professor Susan Procter, Dr George Clerk and Dr David Hancock.
• Prevention and management of pressure ulcers. Funded by Health Education NW London and led by Prof Susan Procter.

BNU has a long track record of developing innovative and technological curricula in a range of areas to support educational development across Europe, with a specific focus on Eastern Europe.

Projects have included:

• Developing innovative and technological cyber security curricula in vocational schools, led in Turkey. Cyber Security project website.
• Development of an environment that stimulates engineering creativity, entrepreneurial activities and fosters youth employability through university-business-industry networking on FABLAB platforms in Belarus and Ukraine.
• Connecting experts and students from the furniture sector and the art world through development of an ARTURE platform, led in Greece.
• Institutional and national strengthening of internationalisation and recognition mechanisms in Bosnia and Herzegovina Higher Education. STINT
• Enabling European and Latin American public servants from HEIs, local governments, national governments and regional bodies to improve their skills with an Open Government Digital Education Platform (OGDEP).
• Development of a sustainable and viable method of contributing to the reduction of general intent, juvenile delinquency and early school dropout: BLOSSOM.
• International Master's Degree for the environmental security sector.  ENSEC
• Development of an International Masters Module programme for the Carbon Neutral Management of Sport Marinas - INCAMP.
• Development of an innovative approach for training for university professors to work in the modern diverse and intercultural environment. UNICULTURE
• Development of Innovative Learning and Practicing Modules, Implemented in Cloud Computing and IoT in Digital Industry