Explore our research

Discover how Bournemouth University and the University of Glasgow joined forces to turn scientific theory into art, opening the door to a world of interdisciplinary possibilities.

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Chickens’ diffusion to the west – through India, the Near East, Mediterranean and northern Europe – has been almost completely neglected in academic research. But the outcomes from this significant research project show just how important understanding the subject is.

BU’s Professor Khan has discovered a clean, sustainable and renewable way of meeting our future energy needs.

Oil traders, portfolio managers and policymakers will all benefit from a new framework for oil price forecasting that uses information from a wider range of sources in its predictions.

The Neolithic in southwest Asia (c 11,700-7800 cal BP) is an important period in human history which saw the advent of sedentism, agriculture, and ultimately, the rise of complex societies...

BU's Dr Anya Chapman is raising awareness of the importance of piers and how they can help regenerate seaside communities, successfully securing much-needed government funding to ensure their sustainable future.

Find out how BU researchers have applied their ecological tipping points research into society, with the uptake of their recommendations by the Forestry Commission and further research now extending to all types of ecosystems.

See how historic exhibits of Scotland were understood in China, helping to position Scotland’s international tourist product.

The hump-backed mahseer population has decreased by 90% in the last 15 years but due to a case of mistaken identity, the fish disappeared unnoticed from South India’s River Cauvery until research led by Adrian Pinder, director of Bournemouth University’s Global Environmental Solutions and director of The Mahseer Trust, highlighted the giant carp’s plight.

BU research which guided policymakers on the implications for intellectual property rights in the UK, as a result of 3D printing, is set to shape the landscape on an international scale.

Read how 3D rainforest mapping is informing conservation plans that are key to assuring the survival of species such as gibbons, siamangs, orangutans and elephants.

Research project Aftershock Nepal, which questioned the media’s handling of the 2015 earthquake, has led the way for similar initiatives to address humanitarian crises worldwide.

Extensive geophysical surveys of Avebury World Heritage Site address big academically and societally relevant questions, such as the social use of space at different times in the past.

Desti-Smart is a project addressing challenges for efficient sustainable tourism while at the same time promoting a low-carbon economy.

DRIVE is a new network that brings together academics, NGOs, stakeholders and practitioners from Kenya with UK partners to maximise digital technologies to address development challenges.

Investigating the origin and development of large-scale monuments, and the emergence of early complex societies, on the north European Plain, to examine the relations between monumental building and social structures after the emergence of sedentism at around 4100 BC.

The Smart Ports Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development (SPEED) project aims to improve ports in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the UK by using new advances in technology and data science.

MultiFluid will develop a multi-level theory and hybrid solution with tools to provide a coherent multi-level enhancement to refine the fluid details and offer user-friendly controls in animation.

Reducing nutrient levels in coastal ecosystems (RaNTrans) aims to improve the ecological status of transitional waters in England and France.

The SAMARCH project aims to provide new scientific evidence to inform the management of salmon and sea trout (salmonids) in the estuaries and coastal waters of the French and English sides of the Channel.

VISTA AR is a research project funded by ERDF that is working closely with  a number of tourist attractions in the South of England and the North of France , to develop an understanding of visitor experiences and using virtual reality to create new business models.

Investigating the use of generative AI tools in media creation in the context of responsible AI.

Schools, welfare organizations and businesses work together to support young people from within entrepreneur hubs. In these hubs, young people work on a business pop-up that will improve their neighbourhood.

Woolcombe is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. During the 1960s the Austin family, then owners of Woolcombe Farm, became interested in the archaeological resource of their home and carried out some limited excavations.

The 3DPARE project is working to deploy and monitor artificial reef blocks in the Atlantic ocean which have been designed and fabricated using innovative 3D printing technology and sustainable, low-impact bio-receptive materials.

There are many political and economic incentives to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but they bring with them a number of complexities that require in-depth research and discussion – a challenge a team of academics, led by Principal Investigator and BU Professor Jens Hölscher, is working to tackle.

This project started life as a symposium at BU, in June 2022, and evolved into an edited collection of articles published by Edinburgh University Press in Summer 2025.

ADDISONIC is finding new ways of fatigue-testing materials to more accurately predict and extend their lifespan, reducing the amount that ends up in landfill. 

The Archaeological Investigations Project (AIP), funded by English Heritage, systematically collected information about the nature and outcomes of more than 80,000 archaeological projects undertaken between 1990 and 2010.

The objective of the MARINEFF project was to develop a new approach to the design and construction of maritime infrastructure. MARINEFF strived to enhance and protect coastal and transitional water ecosystems in cross-border Channel regions.

Building on an excavation and insights from the early 1970s, discover how BU academics and undergraduate students have worked together to discover more about a possible Roman fortlet in Dorset.

This innovative programme of archaeological science will characterise stone and ceramic building materials and explore the contexts within which they were produced.

Discover how BU’s work, alongside partner institutions, is helping to improve the understanding of computational intelligence for multiple audiences – and garnering tens of thousands of online views in the process.

Find out how BU revived a post-excavation project to report findings from fieldwork and excavation activities that were completed more than 30 years ago.

The team are reasearching digital addiction (DA) as an emergent research area and are exploring the problematic usage of digital media. They particularly focus on aiding people to adjust their usage style through the use of digital technology itself.

The DIPCAT project has created an internationally-oriented learning platform in accountancy that supports skill development for early career professionals. 

Exploring the experiences of deaf and disabled television professionals working both on and behind the screen.

ECO-CODING is a Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) funded project that will bring the technology of DNA barcoding to BU, collaborating environmental organisations and local school children.

BU’s software engineering research has focused on the improvement of software development methods with a particular emphasis on the ‘upstream’ or requirements phases.

Understanding how the characteristics of CEOs influence research and development, innovation, and performance. 

Fair access – or widening participation (WP) – is an area of considerable interest in the UK’s higher education sector. Its impetus is on breaking down barriers that prevent people from diverse backgrounds from entering higher education, and flourishing when they do.

FishE is exploring the factors that can negatively affect fish populations, and find effective strategies to prevent their decline.

The FoodMAPP project will enable local providers to supply and sell produce directly to consumers, reducing waste and food miles. 

BU’s research has been at the heart of a dynamic repositioning of culture, working directly with the UK’s largest conservation charity, the National Trust, to make heritage accessible to a wider audience.

Project PDE-GIR, led by Bournemouth University, is developing partial differential equation (PDE) techniques to improve geometric modelling, image processing, and shape reconstruction (GIR). 

Green tribology provides answers to friction and wear problems within an ecological and environmentally sound context. 

BU is a partner in the Human Henge project co-ordinated by the Restoration Trust and also involving Richmond Fellowship, English Heritage, and The National Trust. Using natural and constructed landscapes to promote health and well-being has a long and distinguished history stretching back to the pilgrimages of medieval times.

The Hybrid Digital Physical Space research cluster is developing a deeper understanding of human behaviour and emerging technologies in hybrid spaces. 

Dr Ian Stephenson’s research develops new techniques to produce and render higher quality 3D images for feature film production.

Discover how BU is working in partnership with Coda Music Centre and SEN schools to make music more accessible to all children.

Within today’s information societies, there are a number of ‘informational interests’ on the basis of which certain rights are claimed and wrongs denounced.

Extensive data analysis based on fieldwork conducted between 1993 and 2009 has enabled BU to report on a fascinating ceremonial and funereal landscape in east Dorset.

Survey and excavation in the UNESCO World Heritage landscape of Avebury, to discover more about the people that inhabited it and the ways they lived. 

Supporting the local community and economy in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) area.

Investigating the development, social context, and landscape-setting of Malta’s Neolithic temples by focusing on the site of Skorba and its surroundings.

Archaeological evidence from sites in and around Novgorod, Russia, is being used to map nearby forests and document their exploitation.

CIPPM, in collaboration with other European research centres, has been at the forefront of research to develop solutions for the digitization of our cultural heritage.

The MINE team are combining cognitive neuroscience, clinical and social psychology with virtual reality (VR) to develop new insights into understanding and changing people's behaviour.

Developing a suite of modelling tools to support economic forecasting.

The Neolithic Flint Mines project was established in order to fully record and widely disseminate the results of the early 20th century investigations for the first time.

See how BU researchers have helped a Scottish town to explain its history in a modern way.

Background

In 1912, the discovery of human skull fragments, an ape-like jaw and crudely worked flints close to the quiet Sussex village of Piltdown was hailed by the world’s press as the most sensational archaeological find ever, the ‘missing link’ in the ‘chain’ of human evolution.

BU researchers developed practice development approaches that would work across a wide variety of health and social care settings.

The Centre for Media History (CMH) has won over £1 million in grants to digitise radio collections. Together with published output this has created the leading academic centre for radio history.

This AHRC network is focused on three emblematic contexts: two rural communities (Bario and Long Lamai) in Malaysia, a historical town (Ilha de Moçambique) in Mozambique, and five favelas (Rio de Janeiro) in Brazil.

Neal White has conducted interdisciplinary research across art and techno scientific disciplines at BU since 2003. His work uses art as a reflective framework – an active cyclical experiment – through which we can ask questions that will lead to unexpected events and ideas.

Reading on Screen is a collaboration between the universities of Bournemouth and Brighton funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

‘REGNVM: the First Kingdom’ is an ongoing project using archaeological and historical evidence to reassess the nature of cultural change across central south eastern Britain from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD, examining in particular the nature of trade, globalisatio

Exploring ways to improve mental well-being with therapeutic activities in ancient landscapes

CIPPM undertook a comparative study of commercial music videos and amateur parodies to determine whether there were economic consequences to the presence of parody.

Research into 2003/5 changes to UK accounting, auditing and corporate governance regulation found major flaws in the regime. By providing evidence and lobbying via other organisations, researchers have exposed these defects and their implications, contributing to critical public debate around the policy.

Research led by the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP) in conjunction with industry bodies has investigated management practices in the UK television industry. 

Find out how BU researchers have created a system that provides timely advice to balance the requirements of coastal bird conservation with those of society.

This project aims to design, develop and test an intervention to support TV freelancers’ careers. 

New modelling technology is helping preserve historic tanks, and other unique vehicles and structures, for generations to come.

The Centre for Applied Creative Technologies PLUS (CfACTs+) will transform the healthcare sector and training with digital technologies. 

The Durotriges Project is an intensive, multi-disciplinary investigation into the prehistoric and Roman societies of central south western Britain, conducted by staff and students of the Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science of Bournemouth University working in co-operation with students from other universities, schools, sixth form colleges and team of dedicated local volunteers.

The Wessex Portal and the Dorset Coast Digital Archive aims at promoting a better understanding of the unique natural environment and heritage assets.

The Imperial Image Database was set up in 2010 with the aim of generating three-dimensional (3D) scans of Roman portraiture recovered from different contexts across southern Britain.

Demonstrating the role of digital media and advertising in stimulating consumer imagination has transformed advertising in Transport for London. 

The UK-China Health and Economy Partnership is a novel knowledge transfer partnership that will promote long-term collaboration between Bournemouth University, the University of York, the University of Sheffield and the University of Leeds.

UCCVP aims to explore and investigate cloud-based virtual film production in both the UK and China, identifying key challenges and developing future strategic plans for UK-China collaboration in the film industry.

Exploring the experiences and motivations of production managers working in UK television, as well as the current skills gap for the industry. 

Funded by the first Egyptological ERC Advanced Grant, the Hyksos Enigma Project sees BU working with researchers all over Europe, under the direction of renowned Egyptologist Manfred Bietak and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

The aim of this project is to measure the economic and socio-cultural contribution of UK outdoor events. This will be achieved through the collection of data from public outdoor event suppliers, organisers and consumers to measure the value of public outdoor events in the UK. 

Virtual Avebury is an AHRC/EPSRC funded project under the 2017 Immersive Partnerships call.

The Vlochos Archaeological Project (VLAP) is a collaboration between the Ephorate of Antiquities of Karditsa and the Swedish Institute at Athens, with participating archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg and Bournemouth University, examining the extensive remains of a Classical-Hellenistic urban site at Vlochós in the municipality of Palamás.

Building on understanding of the Waddon Hill Roman Fort in Dorset and the history of the site. 

This study is crucial to understand how communities living in the Channel coastlands became interdependent at a time when trade in tin and copper was strengthening the foundations for an extensive prehistoric European union.