Development

Annual Fund Start-Up Research Grants

Aim: The Start-Up Research Grants aim to assist young researchers at the beginning of their research career to kick-start their research career.

Amount: £2,000

Please click on the Engagement Form to express your interest in sponsoring a researcher.

Awards are made in the VC's Annual Fund Awards Ceremony each September and donors get a chance to meet the beneficiaries of their support and be publicly acknowledged and thanked.

2010/2011 Start-Up Research Grant Winners

Elaine Bullock, Royal Docks Business School
Research Title: The resurgence of organisational development (OD) – HR’s added value

Elaine possesses a wealth of experience in human resources management and joined UEL from the Metropolitan Police Service. Her research examines how organisational development roles have expanded within HR departments. ”As a new researcher in my first academic role the Start-Up Research Grant will provide me with the opportunity to focus on developing my research and writing skills. The financial support for transcribing activities will provide valuable time to focus on analysis whilst balancing my other work requirements such as teaching, consultancy and programme management’ Said Elaine.

Dr Stuart Connop, School of Health and Bioscience
Research Title: Incorporation of invertebrate conservation into urban ecology and sustainable development

Stuart is an environmental biologist who completed his postgraduate studies at UEL. His research seeks to understand the habitat management requirements of invertebrates in relation to landscape-scale planning decisions and sustainable development. “I am very pleased to have been awarded this grant – it will make such a difference to my work. The £2,000 Start-Up Research Grant will be used over several different areas, all of which are directly related to advancing my research within the university’s research strategy and plan” Said Dr Connop, receiving his award from the Vice-Chancellor.

Dr Christian Van Nieuwerburg, School of Psychology
Research Title: The impact of coaching on the development and career progression of aspiring school leaders from black and ethnic minority background

Christian is module leader for Coaching and Mentoring in Education on our postgraduate
Coaching Psychology programme. He is involved in the delivery of coaching interventions
in schools with both staff and students. The aim of Christian’s research is to explore the
perceptions of school leaders from black and minority ethnic backgrounds who have received
coaching. ”I plan on using the £2,000 Start-Up Research Grant to employ a research assistant for 24 days to help with my data collation. Having this help will really allow my research to progress
to the next level, which I am truly grateful for.”

Dr Usman Naeem, School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering

Research title: A hierarchical framework for activity recognition in smart environments

Usman’s research interests include activity of daily life (ADL) recognition, RFID sensors, reliable task recognition through object usage data within the home, intelligent/ambient environments,
and smart homes. Smart environments can be used to help recognise activities and provide
context-sensitive services and assistance – for example, automatically switching on music
when the person being monitored is having an evening meal.

”I currently lack vital equipment to carry out my research. The £2,000 from the Start-Up Research Grant will allow me to purchase this equipment and enable me to carry out complex
experiments." Said Usman.

Dr Tianjun Wang, School of Health and Bioscience

Research title: A survey of patients at the University of East London Acupuncture
Training Clinic

Dr Wang graduated and worked as a medical doctor in Nanjing, China, and joined UEL in
2007. Dr Wang’s research will investigate patient satisfaction and experience at the Clinic,
thereby benefiting the practice, its quality of training and the whole B.Sc. Acupuncture programme. An acupuncture-specific measuring tool will be developed to evaluate the
effectiveness of acupuncture.

“B.Sc. Acupuncture is a new programme in UEL which has run less than three years. The
Acupuncture Training Clinic has been open for two years. Both the acupuncture research
programme and I are fairly new to UEL, so it is important that research is undertaken to
enhance the entire area. The £2,000 Start-Up Research Grant will help me to do that”.

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© 2011