Collaborative research into sport and technology

17 February 2011

Academic staff from across the University came together for three days to participate in the first in a series of research sandpits. These events are aimed at stimulating research proposals and encouraging cross-faculty collaboration.

The research theme for this event was Sport and Technology, and a number of speakers attended to inspire ideas in this area. Among the speakers were:

• Scott Drawer, Head of Research and Innovation at UK Sport
• Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport at Team Bath
• Kate Grey, Paralympic swimmer and University of Bath Sports Personality of the Year

A diverse range of Departments participated in the sandpit, from Chemical Engineering to Psychology.

James Bilzon (Senior Lecturer in Physiology) commented: “Participants came from a wide range of academic disciplines, which opened our eyes to new and exciting opportunities in the application of technology to sport.”

Research proposals were formed within teams, which were then refined and adapted by frequent pitches to the whole group for instant peer review.

Proposals from the sandpit included:

• using social networks and video games to increase levels of physical activity
• enhancing specialist equipment to increase accessibility to sport and exercise
• developing technologies to provide real-time personal feedback to coaches and athletes in their training

All of the teams were encouraged to develop their research ideas into full proposals. Two proposals were then granted Development Awards to help advance the research beyond the sandpit. These interdisciplinary groups were the Biomechanical Optimisation of Locomotion Techniques (BOLT) and iCoach.

All sandpit teams will receive assistance with their research through the Research Development Support Office (RDSO) and a follow-up session with UK Sport will be held within the coming months.

Professor Jane Millar (Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research) attended the sandpit and commented; “ Developing new inter-disciplinary research proposals is an exciting initiative, and it was good to see the research sandpit generating so much enthusiasm, active participation and good ideas.”

The research sandpit was organised and mentored by the Associate Deans for Research:

• Dr Danaë Stanton Fraser (Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences)
• Professor Julian Chaudhuri (Faculty of Engineering & Design)
• Professor Matthew Davidson (Faculty of Science)

Simone Lewis, a Sport Psychologist at the Sports Training Village, also acted as a mentor throughout the event.

Future sandpit events are planned for the summer, with the themes to be announced shortly. Those interested in attending can register their interest through the Research Sandpit web pages.

For further information about this research sandpit, please contact Fiona Dale (Research Sandpit Co-ordinator), email: fac-hss-research-admin@lists.bath.ac.uk

Departments participating in the sandpit included:

• Mathematical Science
• Health
• Psychology
• Chemistry
• Economics
• Architecture and Civil Engineering
• Electronic and Electrical Engineering
• Education
• Management
• Chemical Engineering
• Computer Science
• the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering (BIME)