Welcome ....

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

With lockdown maintained in the UK, the OU’s open access educational platform OpenLearn is enjoying unprecedented demand which emphasises our continued relevance. There were some subdued celebrations for Charter Day last Thursday (23 April) which marked 51 years since the OU received its Royal Charter.

It is important to stay connected online so please remember you can keep in touch with each other and the OUBS alumni team. This is 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.

You might also want to review previous Alumni eNews issues in our newsletter archive section. This new section on the OUBS website has newsletters from earlier this year, including the most recent spring issue, and those from 2019.

Stay safe, stay well, and do stay connected.

Headlines

Take a look at what we’re doing to help the wider society

The three OUBS academic centres of excellence have recorded video updates to demonstrate how their work is relevant in the current crisis.

Our Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL) is in contact with its partner forces about providing research evidence and reviews. With the police identified as key workers, watch an update from the Deputy Director for Learning, Dr Zoë Walkington.

The Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL) continues to run local leadership learning clubs online, supported by its leadership courses on OpenLearn. Watch a short video message from Director Dr Carol Jacklin-Jarvis for the groups and organisations working with the Centre.

Research into Employment, Empowerment and Futures (REEF) Director Dr Owain Smolović Jones discusses fascinating research relating to the current situation – watch here.

And the Open Justice Centre from our sister Law School also has some video updates with its two co-directors, Hugh McFaul and Francine Ryan.

Trio of programmes showcased on OU / BBC showreel

The OU’s long-standing collaboration with the BBC sees a range of content co-produced across its channels and platforms, all delivering assets for teaching and learning. Academics from both our Business and Law Schools were consultants in the making of three programmes – Catching Britain’s Killers, Inside the Bank of England, and The Prosecutors – which feature on the annual showreel for 2018-19. Catching Britain’s Killers involved Dr Matt Jones (right) and Dr Zoë Walkington from the Centre for Policing Research and Learning, together with Head of the Law School Paul Catley.

Your opportunity to enter to win ‘The Bee Book’

Co-author and MBA alumnus Craig Smith has kindly donated four copies of The Bee Book which focuses on leadership and change. This easy-to-read business book deals with challenges ranging from general leadership to employee engagement. To be in with a chance of winning one of four signed copies up for grabs, please email with your name, PI number, phone number and postal address. The competition will close on Friday 22 May. Terms and conditions are online.

Research and Learning

Professor of Public Leadership receives lifetime achievement award

OUBS’ Professor of Public Leadership has been recognised with an international lifetime achievement award for an outstanding record of teaching, research and publication on public leadership and management over more than two decades. Professor Jean Hartley received this year’s Routledge Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Public Management Research, awarded by the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM), last Thursday (23 April). She had been due to receive her award at the IRSPM Annual Conference in Tampere, Finland but the award citation and ceremony were conducted virtually instead. Professor Hartley, who is Academic Director of the Centre for Policing Research and Learning, also recorded a short video message – for the full story.

New Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences are honoured

Two OUBS academics were among the 51 leading UK social scientists to have been conferred the award of Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. Professor Emma Bell (Professor of Organisation Studies, pictured bottom) and Dr Jacqueline Baxter (Director of SCiLAB, the Centre for Innovation in Legal and Business Education, pictured top) joined those elected for their outstanding contributions to research and to the application of social science to policy, education, society and the economy.

A third recipient from the OU was Parvati Raghuram (Professor of Geography and Migration). The Academy’s Fellowship has 1,400 distinguished individuals from academic, public and private sectors, across the full breadth of the social sciences. They have worked to help understand and tackle some of the toughest challenges facing us in modern times, through leadership, applied research, policymaking and practice.

Caring leadership is always key in a crisis

A new book, ‘Paradox and Power in Caring Leadership: Critical and Philosophical Reflections’, addresses crucial questions for organisations and their people. Dr Leah Tomkins, a Senior Lecturer in Organisation Studies, asks questions such as: In times of crisis, what should leaders and organisations do differently to discharge their duty of care and compassion? Why does it matter that leaders show up in a crisis, irrespective of whether there is anything practical they can do to help? What can we, the public and constituents of various organisations and institutions, do to manage our own anxieties? And, how can we exercise self-care when we have so little control over what is happening to us? There is much more on this topical new book, published by Elgar, here.

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.

Zoe’s mobile app is not fake news

In these exceptional times of social isolation, there’s only so much Netflix and online yoga a person can tolerate. So when OUBS Alumni Council member Zoe Lawson saw an advert to participate in an online Hackathon against the coronavirus (COVID-19), she decided to sign-up to take positive action in an otherwise powerless situation.

Organised by the Swiss authorities (she lives in Switzerland), the competition brought together more than 600 teams over one weekend. Many, like Zoe’s team, had never met before (and most still have not actually met in person). After more than 48 hours’ work, their proposed solution was a prototype mobile application designed to help people identify fake news.

The project was selected as one of the winners and received a cash prize, with the team now working on a further funding application to turn their idea into a reality. Zoe would be delighted to hear feedback from other OUBS alumni on her project via email.

Events

In line with the UK Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, we have postponed several events. We hope to resume our full events programme later in the year.

Networking Switzerland – please send us your thoughts

Are you based in Switzerland or close to its borders and interested in meeting your fellow alumni? We have a volunteer who is willing to host a group but would like to gauge interest of the potential numbers, the best location and the type of events. Please email us with your comments.

Alumni Opportunities

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers

A huge thank you to all those alumni who answered our call on the LinkedIn Postgraduate group for volunteers to help the B875 module team with some advice for students about to embark on their final project – you are all wonderful! The course team are now selecting and will be in contact shortly.

If you would like to volunteer for future projects, or just stay in touch with your fellow alumni, do please join this LinkedIn group.

Discover the benefits of the Association of MBAs (AMBA)

There are many benefits of being an OUBS alumnus or alumna which includes automatic approval to join one of the School’s accrediting bodies, the Association of MBAs (AMBA). Its network of accredited schools has grown to more than 270 institutions in 75 countries, with more than 46,000 student and graduate members worldwide.

Once registered, you can take advantage of a range of free benefits such as webinars or virtual masterclasses, AMBA’s exclusive CV360 tool (automatic CV scoring, instant analysis/feedback and progress tracking), its new career app, articles from business leaders and opinion formers, discounts on business books and subscriptions, career coaching, and more. Follow this link for more information and to sign-up.

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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