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Welcome ....
to your June newsletter, featuring the latest news from The Open University Business School (OUBS)
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NHS senior manager and St John Ambulance senior clinical leader David Monk (pictured) was the deserved winner of our Alumni of the Year Award in 2021. Now who’s next to be honoured?
From today until the 31st July 2022, members of the alumni community - as well as alumni self-nominations - are being invited to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of their peers.
There will be one outright winner and up to two highly commended awards, to be presented at the Student and Alumni Awards at our campus in Milton Keynes on Friday 21 October.
Who will you nominate? ....
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Deadline approaches to apply for the OUBS Alumni Council
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OUBS alumni are vital to our continued success and one of the ways to be involved is through the Alumni Council. This diverse and representative body aims to create a global community that is inclusive, innovative, and responsive and delivers value to its members; and to support the growth of OUBS by enhancing alumni networks.
The Alumni Council meets four times a year (both face-to-face, and online) with senior management and advises OUBS, including the Stakeholder and Alumni Engagement (SAE) team, on the development and delivery of strategic alumni engagement activity.
Find out more, including how to apply, click here. Please be quick as the deadline for applications is 17:00 on Friday 15 July.
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Business Barometer reveals impact of UK skills shortage
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The OU has partnered with the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) to publish a new report into the size, nature and impact of the UK skills shortage. The Business Development Unit (BDU) annual report, in collaboration for the first time with BCC, was launched yesterday (Wednesday 29 June). It is based on a survey of more than 1,300 organisations of all sizes across the four nations from the public, private and third sectors. This found that almost three-quarters (72%) of organisations say the impact of skills shortages is causing increased workload on other staff, while 78% are seeing reduced output, profitability, or growth.
See here for more findings and to download the full report.
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Joyce’s joy at deserved accolade from the Queen
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Associate Lecturer and Practice Tutor Joyce Fraser (pictured) was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours list 2022 for ‘services to the promotion of Black history and heritage’. She is the founder and chair of the Black Heroes Foundation charity which preserves the legacy of her late husband, Peter Randolph Fraser (also known as ‘Flip’ Fraser). Founded in 2016, it champions her visions of ‘a world where Black Heroes are acknowledged, respected and celebrated’.
Joyce said: “This honour is not just for me but also for the whole Black community. It is a great way to honour the legacy of my late husband, ‘Flip’ Fraser, who was in the process of setting up the Black Heroes Foundation when he became ill and sadly passed away in 2014. I’m hoping the exposure that comes with being awarded an OBE will highlight the work we do developing talent and artistic initiatives in the community that focus on youth, education, training, social up-lifting and personal development.”
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Where is the OU taking you? Share your story on social media
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How can learning open doors to a better future, whether that is improving mental health, gaining confidence, inspiring younger generations, starting a new career, or getting a promotion?
The OU is calling on members of its community, including alumni, to demonstrate the value of learning and the role it can play in shaping futures – by sharing your own stories on social media using the hashtag #TheFutureIsOpen.
See here for full details on how to get involved.
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Please give generously to support the OU family
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The annual OU Giving Day is next week – 09:00 on Thursday 7 July to 21:00 on Friday 8 July – and there are lots of fantastic ways you can get involved in this amazing 36-hour fundraising event. Help transform more lives and rewrite more futures by raising money for the Open Futures Fund, which provides scholarships and bursaries for disabled veterans, carers, Black students from disadvantaged backgrounds and those seeking sanctuary.
You can find out more here including opportunities to maximise your gift and also watch a short video.
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New study on SME decarbonisation for the UK’s Climate Change Committee
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Richard Blundel, Professor of Enterprise and Organisation, has contributed to a new report, ‘How can policy better support SMEs in the pathway to Net Zero?’ for the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC). He was part of a multidisciplinary team led by the Energy Saving Trust, along with Dr Sam Hampton (University of Oxford) and Purple Market Research. The team interviewed small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners and managers, plus specialists from selected industry sectors, reviewed existing policies and proposed a series of novel approaches.
The CCC advises the UK and devolved governments on emissions targets, and reports to Parliament on progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change. This is the first study that the CCC has commissioned which is focused specifically on policies to promote decarbonisation in SMEs. It was commissioned to inform upcoming reporting on the role of business in a Net Zero UK, due for publication later this year.
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Learn about ‘Greenwashing’ and the tricks of the trade
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Lecturer in Marketing Dr Morteza Abolhasani and Professor of Marketing Strategy Gordon Liu, together with OU colleague Dr Zahra Golrokhi, have written an article on ‘Greenwashing’. First published by The Conversation, it describes how ads get you to think brands are greener than they are – and how to avoid falling for it.
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Short courses CREATE-d to combat uncertainty in the digital era
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Executive Education have launched a further four short courses, each with 20 hours of learning, in a development suite of more than 25 courses. Dr Hilary Collins from the team said: “This suite has been designed to support learners in the workplace develop new skills to enable them to succeed within this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment.”
The four new short courses are...
- CREATE: Implementing policy to combat uncertainty
- CREATE: Developing strategy to combat uncertainty
- CREATE: Developing business in the digital era
- CREATE: Effective communication in the digital era
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How craft bakers fared during the pandemic… and what happens now
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As the cost of living continues to rise, one OUBS researcher is looking into how craft bakers are faring in an uncertain future. Professor Emma Bell has launched a survey to see how they are responding to today’s challenging market and what kind of support they need to survive and thrive. The challenges include rising energy costs and an impending global crisis in wheat production so the research will provide key insights into how craft bakers are responding. The survey has been set up with support from The Real Bread Campaign and the Craft Bakers Association – full story here.
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Centre’s annual conference explored hybrid working
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Our Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL) held a successful annual conference online, exploring ‘Working in hybrid spaces: voluntary sector leadership and learning’. Speakers included Dame Sara Llewellin, Chief Executive of the Barrow Cadbury Trust, as the keynote, together with Centre Director Dr Carol Jacklin-Jarvis and Head of the Business School Professor Siv Vangen – catch-up here.
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Check out this digital skills toolkit for your organisation
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The EU3Digital project, funded by Erasmus+, aims to ensure the success and sustainability of social enterprises by producing key learning materials and free access resources. Our Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL) is part of the EU3Digital consortium which has recently released a hands-on toolkit, Toolkit on Digital Skills, to support social enterprises and third sector social organisations with going digital. The free access Toolkit offers learning resources to increase organisations’ digital competencies, advance digital strategies, help to engage with existing digital support and so build capacity – more here.
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We are proud of our alumni community and this space is an opportunity to share some news, a personal achievement or a promotion, so please get in touch.
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Steps to Startup digital launchpad – are you a Social Shifter?
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The OU is piloting a new scheme for social entrepreneurs and innovators, aimed at our current students or recent graduates with an idea for positive social or environmental impact. You can take part in a free eight-week programme designed to jumpstart your idea or project and turn it into a fully-fledged social enterprise. Please check out this digital brochure for more information and contact RES-Student-Programmes to register your interest by the 8th July 2022.
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Alumni are part of OU-riginals for ‘Unlock Your Inner Boss – LIVE!’
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Three OUBS alumni – Nick Bassan, Antonio Grasso and Bryan Steinauer – were among the ‘OU-riginals’ (pictured) offering specialist advice to television and radio presenter Gemma Cairney recently. She was on campus in Milton Keynes to film an exciting social experiment, ‘Unlock Your Inner Boss – LIVE!’, as part of the OU’s Skills campaign. This was a real-time livestream event shown on the OU’s YouTube channel with streaming live on the hour from 11:00 – 16:00.
Gemma was tasked with sitting at the helm of a fictional business for the day, faced with a series of lively business challenges to overcome. She was supported by the ‘OU-riginals’ while viewers also interacted with her using live voting to help steer decisions. You can see some of the day’s highlights here.
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Conference: The Impact of Covid-19 on Staff in UK Higher Education
This face-to-face conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, will present the findings of an OU-funded research study exploring the impact of Covid-19 on professional and academic staff in UK higher education.
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Webinar: The Impact of Covid-19 on Staff in UK Higher Education
This morning webinar will present the findings of an OU-funded research study exploring the impact of Covid-19 on professional and academic staff in UK higher education.
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Jane Barrett (pictured), co-founder of The Career Farm, presented the final lunchtime careers webinar of the 2021-22 academic year earlier this month. Exclusively for our alumni, she spoke about a structured and systematic approach to career and life planning to help navigate opportunities and future decisions. Having retrained as a career coach, Jane has worked with top business schools for more than 20 years to help focus and accelerate career ambitions.
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We have a range of exclusive offers for our OUBS alumni. Click the buttons to find out more. Remember, you can access our career webinar recordings on our website along with a whole range of online careers articles.
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Thanks for staying connected, take care
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Best wishes
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OUBS Alumni Engagement Team
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The Open University (OU) Business School’s Stakeholder and Alumni Engagement team works with the OU’s Development Office to keep in touch with alumni, partners and supporters. Our privacy policy sets out how the OU obtains, manages, uses and protects your data and relates specifically to information held by both Offices.
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