Welcome ....

to your Summer newsletter, featuring the latest news from The Open University Business School (OUBS)

This issue is packed with some fascinating news highlights and research projects which is testament to the tremendous work which has continued, and sometimes intensified, during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Much of this work is being showcased in a new online series, ‘Business and Law in the time of COVID-19’, with some great new material being added on an almost daily basis. Please take a look at some of the blogs. 

These positive contributions belie the fact that the last few months of the 2019-20 academic year have been challenging for so many as we’ve adapted to the ‘new normal’ which quite often has involved working from home. I know this has been the case for so many of our wonderful alumni and I hope you and your loved ones remain safe and well.

As I mentioned in my previous newsletter message, global management and leadership challenges require resilient, skilful and responsible leaders who can shape the destiny and future direction of organisations. Please remember that you are a member of a worldwide community of 92,500 OUBS alumni, of which almost 27,000 are MBA graduates. We are proud of your achievements and the positive contributions you’re making to your communities, organisations, and to wider society.

You will see below that we have an active alumni community and we love to hear your stories. You can keep in touch with each other and the OUBS alumni team via LinkedIn and Twitter (@OUBSchool) – please use the #OUFamily hashtag whenever you feel it is appropriate to do so – and you can also reach us via email.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer holidays as much as possible, although it may be staycations for many as opposed to jetting off to more exotic climes. Whatever you do, we look forward to keeping in touch over the coming year.

Headlines

Survey outlines the effects of the pandemic on business

UK organisations anticipate that it will take 18 months to fully recover from the disruption of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and subsequent social distancing measures, with small businesses leading the way back to ‘normal’. A survey of 400 business leaders and managers was commissioned by the OU’s Business Development Unit (BDU). It found that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expect to recover to their pre-Covid-19 status in 15 months, with larger organisations trailing behind by a further six months. For the full story.

OU reaffirms its commitment to racial equality

A race equality statement has been produced which also includes a number of resources to support all OU students and a selection of free-to-read academic articles (via Open Research Online or ORO). This was prepared by Dr Liz Marr (Pro-Vice-Chancellor, PVC-Students) with support from the OU Students Association and others. See the OU’s race equality statement.

Let’s get more social as lockdown continues to ease

You may already be a follower on Twitter of OUBS (@OUBSchool). Now a joint Twitter account (@FBL_OU) has just launched to showcase the work of our Business and Law Schools, known collectively as the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL). Please contact us directly via Twitter or email OUBS-Alumni if you have any questions.

African women’s voices are being showcased in new series

The OU and openDemocracy have launched a new series on women’s entrepreneurial journeys. Led by Dr Michael Ngoasong (pictured), a Senior Lecturer in Management, the series will showcase new African women’s voices and will challenge societal expectations of women’s entrepreneurship on the continent. openDemocracy has a global readership and a dedicated, curated page on its website will host ‘The Human Costs of Women’s Entrepreneurial Journeys’. The series will draw on the work of the recently-established Gender, Entrepreneurship and Social Policy Institute (GESPi), a collaboration between the OU, the University of Surrey and others in the UK, Europe and Africa. Read the first article here.

Do you know someone who used to be a vet?

Dr Caroline Clarke, a Senior Lecturer in Organisation Studies, is looking to interview former vets who have left the profession. This is for a research project in conjunction with Lancaster and Oxford Brookes universities. She wants to speak with those who have been a practising first-opinion vet in the UK; and have left first-opinion practice voluntarily in the last five years. Please contact Caroline if you know anyone who meets these two qualifying criteria and who are willing to undertake an anonymous and confidential telephone interview. Further information here.

Coronavirus and wedding ceremonies – please take our survey

Were your plans to marry in England or Wales affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic? Dr Stephanie Pywell from our sister Law School, and Prof Rebecca Probert from the University of Exeter, are conducting research into how couples’ wedding ceremony plans have been affected. They are hoping for responses from couples who married earlier than they had planned, those who were unable to marry during lockdown, those whose post-lockdown ceremonies have been altered or postponed, and those who have decided to marry because of the pandemic.

Read more about the research project here at our COVID-19 research blog series.

If this applies to you, or anyone you know, you can access the survey here which closes on 31 August. Feel free to share widely so that as many people as possible can contribute to the survey.

Research and Learning

Reflections on the pandemic from academic experts and researchers

Everyone will remember 2020 as the year of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, a worldwide lockdown and the ‘new normal’ of remote working. A new series has gone live highlighting the range of responses to the coronavirus from academics and PhD students in the Business and Law Schools, and showing how management and legal insights from research and scholarship can help us consider and interpret the current context. ‘Business and Law in the time of COVID-19’ has received a strong response with many contributions in the pipeline and future submissions welcome. Please email OUBS-Alumni for further details and/or if you would like to get involved.

Finding out what this all means for the self-employed

One of the featured articles in this new series is Professor Liz Daniel being awarded £178,000 by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under their Covid-19 research funding. The 18-month project, ‘Addressing inclusivity in the spatial and social impacts of COVID-19 on the self-employed in the UK’, sees the Professor of Information Management (pictured) collaborate with colleagues from the University of Southampton and Cardiff University. The project team are exploring the differential effects of the pandemic on the self-employed across the UK including gender, ethnicity and sector. For the full story.

First police constable degree apprentices welcomed

The OU and North Yorkshire Police have welcomed the first intake of student officers to their Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) programme. The cohort are the first student officers to embark on a PCDA, both with the OU and North Yorkshire Police, following the force’s recruitment campaign in November 2019. The new officers will combine their practical police officer training course with studying for their BSc (Hons) in Professional Policing Practice, graduating in three years’ time. The 31 new officers (shown above, socially distancing) began their initial training at police headquarters in Northallerton at the end of June. For the full story.

Improving the mental health and wellbeing of emergency responders

A new joint report advising ways the mental health of emergency responders could be improved has been released by the OUBS-based Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL). Call operators, police, fire, ambulance and volunteer organisations such as mountain rescue and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) are all emergency responders. Work was carried out in partnership with the King’s Centre of Military Health Research, King’s College London, with the report collating research before the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. It was funded by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate Middleton). There is more information on both the CPRL and OUBS websites.

Spread the word about new business management microcredential

Launched this year, microcredentials are accredited, online courses designed to help learners build specialised skills relevant to their career. The first in a suite of new business management 10-credit short courses recently opened for enrolment ahead of a November start on digital learning platform FutureLearn. The Business Management: Marketing Principles and Practice microcredential will be followed by others on organisational behaviour, managing people, project management and financial decision making (parts I and II), all launching over the next 12-18 months. Together the six microcredentials will combine to make up a business management qualification, suitable for those working in or hoping to move into management in commercial and non-commercial sectors. Further details here.

Interest continues to rise in MoneySavingExpert collaboration

The ‘MSE Academy of Money’ – a six-part badged course on digital learning platform OpenLearn covering all key aspects of personal finance – has continued to attract learners since its launch in May. Martin Upton, a Senior Lecturer in Finance, is the lead academic for the collaboration with leading consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE). As of Wednesday 19 August, there have been 25,365 enrolments and 2,755 badges awarded (completions).

The six two-hour sessions are designed to give people the skills and knowledge to master their finances. Each includes an introduction video from MSE’s founder and renowned personal finance expert Martin Lewis. The sessions focus on: Making good spending decisions; Budgeting and taxation; Borrowing money; Understanding mortgages; Saving and investing; and Planning for retirement. Further information, including a link to the course, is available here.

Funded PhD studentships available to start in February 2021

OUBS and our sister Law School are inviting applications for a number of full-time funded PhD studentships on urgent, complex societal problems that management, business and legal researchers can help to address. Read more here on a themed call of ‘Responding to COVID-19 and the Climate Emergency’. Twelve PhD research proposals consider the organisational and legal challenges posed by the pandemic and/or the climate emergency. The closing date for applications is Monday 7 September with a start date of 1 February 2021.

Alumni

We are immensely proud of our alumni community and this space is an opportunity to share some of your news, a personal achievement or a promotion, so please get in touch.

Simon helps facilitate discussions on the current crisis

MBA alumnus Simon Wallace, the founder and managing director of The Whole Thing Group, has co-hosted fortnightly panel discussions with a select group of leading, international board level executive leaders. The C-19 Innovation and Leadership Webinar Series has discussed four business critical themes affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic – Business, Communication, Finance, and Social innovation and leadership. Simon was joined by Professor of Strategic Management George Frynas for each webinar to hear the experiences and lessons learnt by expert leaders and directors of change, exploring how they are steering their business through the current crisis. Read more insights and watch the webinar series.

Craig has an engaging internal comms podcast

A new weekly podcast from MBA alumnus Craig Smith could be just what you are looking for if you work in employee engagement, internal communications or a related area. The podcast from The Big Picture People features an interview with a leading practitioner, consultant or thought leader. It is aimed at professionals working in employee engagement and internal communications but also organisation development, learning and development, and HR. Please visit ‘Engaging Internal Comms’ for links on different podcast platforms and to sign-up for exclusive content.

CVSL backed by MK charities in supporting Small Charity Week

Small Charity Week in June was supported by our Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL) with research-informed online resources and a live ‘lunch and learn’ session. This was in partnership with two Milton Keynes local charities (MK Community Foundation, and Community Action: MK).

The work of a former MBA student, Nick Clarke from Stockport, was also highlighted during the week. Nick was still in his 40s when he suffered a severe stroke in September 2012, inspiring him to become the Founder and CEO of the StrokeInformation charity. Read more here about the football-mad married father of two’s charity which now runs a free weekly drop-in facility in Stockport town centre.

Alumni Services

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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