Research Job at Mouchel-CfWI and MPhil Opportunity at MBS
Horizon Scanning Opportunity
Mouchel and the Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CfWI) are looking to recruit a Masters student to be employed by CfWI and based at the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR) of The University of Manchester to provide focused research for specific horizon scanning projects. The student will need to submit a research proposal and register for a part-time MPhil programme at the Manchester Business School (MBS) before Thursday 24 January 2013.
The student will be supervised by Professor Ian Miles and Dr Rafael Popper at MIoIR/MBS and will also be part of the CfWI horizon scanning team. The duration of the contract with Mouchel-CfWI will be 3 years with a salary of £ 13,000 per year (plus MPhil tuition fees).
Interested candidates eligible to work in the UK should contact rafael.popper@mbs.ac.uk ASAP!
MPhil Qualification requirements
To be registered in the MPhil programme at MBS we normally require:
- Bachelors degree with first or upper second class honours or the overseas equivalent.
- Strong motivation and interest in the course.
- Proof of English language competence (if applicable).
- Ability to complete the MPhil dissertation in 2 years.
General requirements
The general skills and activities that we look to the research student to bring include:
- Knowledge of the health and social care system and associated literature, with a mature understanding and interpretation.
- Rigour in analysing and synthesising evidence.
- Ability to apply and (if necessary) develop methodological approaches, and explain them in a way that is accessible to others.
- Ability to provide insightful commentary and feedback on others’ work.
Expected CfWI work-related outputs
- First deliverable – Work needs to start in January 2013 into the top-ten technology issues across health and social care, that is those that are the highest impact and highest uncertainty. The CfWI will work with UoM to define appropriate issues to investigate. An early scope and outline of this deliverable is required by end of January, and the draft document completed by end of March 2013.
- Commissioning further research activities – Further research will be commissioned by the CfWI after the first deliverable is completed and accepted. The area is to be agreed and confirmed before the work starts, and will include a description of the research required, timescale and outline deliverable structure.
Expected MPhil studies-related output
- MPhil Thesis – To be completed in 2 years.
Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2013
In 2012 we have successfully delivered the first Beta versions of the Horizon Scanning Hub of the Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CfWI) and the Forward looking Activities Mapping Environment (FLAME) of the EC funded European Foresight Platform (EFP).
2013 will be a year of sustained growth and innovation for Futures Diamond. Our technology development agenda will introduce new and better solutions providing our partners and clients with tools designed to empower stakeholder engagement, intelligence gathering and forward looking decision-making processes.
Futures Thinking Applied
2012 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 9,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 16 years to get that many views.
Horizon scanning activities at the CfWI
On 15 October 2012 we have publicly launched the CfWI Horizon Scanning ‘Hub’ available at http://www.horizonscanning.org.uk
The Hub was jointly developed by the CfWI, The University of Manchester and Futures Diamond. The following film explains the main demographic and financial challenges facing health and social care, before outlining why the CfWI has adopted horizon scanning as a means of helping organisations address these challenges. It explains:
- the CfWI horizon scanning methodology
- the projects where the CfWI has used horizon scanning
- the organisations with whom the CfWI works.
The video concludes by illustrating what people think of the CfWI approach, before explaining the future work of the CfWI, including the CfWI’s new online information hub, which is designed to assist organisations in their workforce planning.
Recommendations for a European innovation strategy
Keynote speaker in the session on Recommendations for a European innovation strategy at the International Conference on Innovations for the Ecological Turnaround (Berlin, Germany – 10.05.2012)
Conference background
Only ecological innovations will move the world towards a green economy. We need innovations to produce, in a more-eco-friendly way, what the planet offers its rapidly increasing population and to use these offerings more intelligently and on more than one occasion. We need technical, process- related, social and political innovations that enable system change.
Only the accelerated use of innovations can – in these times of change, when record greenhouse gas emission levels are being reported and all across the globe a departure from fossil fuels in thoughts and deeds has arrived – successfully limit progressive climate change. Only in this way will we succeed in decoupling CO2 emissions and resource consumption from economic activity in the long run.
How, in the Year of Science 2012 – “Future Project Earth” announced by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, can the course be set in science policy? How do we create truly relevant knowledge? What can be the innovation accelerators for production in various sectors of the Euro- pean economy? Which ones are needed for global agriculture, energy supply, urban development and mobility, and what form should an innovative science, research and economic policy take for it to fuel innovations and release the potential of a creative society?
Against the backdrop of the challenges, this conference will enable a critical appraisal of the status quo and provide compelling insights into new production processes, into technological and social innovations as well as process innovations, into trends and research findings on the horizon as well as information on unresolved, urgent tasks and research projects.
Full conference programme in English available here
UK science and innovation delegation visits Colombia
A high-level UK science and innovation delegation visited Bogota, Medellin and Cali to discuss opportunities.
The UK is a world leader in science and innovation. The UK has won 76 Nobel Prizes for science and technology. That’s second in the world and more than anywhere else in Europe. Many of the most life-changing innovations over the last 25 years have had key parts made, designed or developed in the UK – from the World Wide Web to the cell phone with GSM services, General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and dual-mode 3G. The UK is Europe’s leading market for software and IT services. London has more software and IT services companies than any major US city. Tech City, London is the largest and fastest-growing tech cluster in Europe, with over 600 digital and media companies located in and around East London.
Given the UK’s key strengths in science and innovation and following the Guest of Government visit to London by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, a high-level UK science and innovation delegation (Professor David Clary, Dr Tunde Idowu, Consultant Paul Simmonds, Dr Rafael Popper, Dr Geoff Gregson and UK Prosperity Officer in Colombia Peter Bainbridge) visited Bogota, Medellin and Cali to discuss opportunities to identify how the UK and Colombia can develop a stronger relationship on science and innovation.
During the visit, the delegation met representatives from Colciencias, the National Planning Department, the offices of the Mayor of Medellin and Cali, the Governor of Antioquia’s office, Tecnnova, RUTA N and a number of universities to identify areas for collaboration – including in the areas of nanotechnology, health, urban planning, transportation and the commercialisation of science.
The delegation expressed their delight to be invited to Colombia and look forward to developing a deeper relationship with Colombia on science and innovation.
See also Spanish version at Reino Unido visita a Colombia en temas de ciencia e innovación
Grand Challenges and S&T Foresight
Invited to speak about “Grand Challenges and S&T Foresight” at the section of «Science and Innovation» of the XIII International Academic Conference on “Economic and Social Development”
(Moscow, Russia – 4 April 2012)
The presentation was part of Session One on “Science and Technology Foresight in Russia”. The session was attended by over 200 people and moderated by Dr. Dirk Meissner. Other presentations of the session included: “S&T Foresight and its Place in Russian S&T Policy” by Prof. Leonid Gokhberg; and “S&T Foresight: Methods and Organisation” by Prof. Alexander Sokolov. The session discussant was Dr Oleg Karasev.
