Time is running out to nominate your top alumni

There is still an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of our alumni this year.

Please think about nominating a colleague, family member or friend – or even yourself!? – for our Alumni of the Year Award 2022.

The closing date for applications is 17:00 on Sunday 31 July. One outright winner accolade and up to two highly commended awards will be presented at the Student and Alumni Awards on campus in Milton Keynes on Friday 21 October.

David Monk, an NHS senior manager and St John Ambulance senior clinical leader, was last year’s deserved winner. Ahmed El-Hamaky and Sara Vermeulen-Anastasi were the others to be highly commended.

Sadia stars in Institute of Directors annual report

Dr Sadia Ahmed, one of 10 members of the OUBS Alumni Council, is featured on the front cover of the annual report and accounts from the Institute of Directors (IoD).

The Chief Innovation Officer, who is also pictured and quoted inside said:

“Having become more involved with the organisation, learning about their activities and strategy, I can attest that they truly ‘have an eye to the future’.”

Alumni Council and Executive Dean on the case with Law student

OUBS recently hosted its first face-to-face Alumni Council meeting for more than two years due to the pandemic.

They met to discuss important topics relating to OUBS’s advancement including internationalisation, the OU brand, accreditation and, of course, how the alumni community can be engaged as ambassadors. Some members flew in from the US and Switzerland, while others travelled from different parts of the UK.

A more formal meeting on Thursday 7 July followed a meal the evening before which saw a welcome surprise guest. Attentive restaurant staff in Brasserie Blanc in Milton Keynes introduced their General Manager Aliz Koloh who will be starting her fourth year studying the LLB (Bachelor of Laws) degree with the OU.

Hungarian Aliz, who has lived in the UK for more than 20 years, finds studying with the OU fits around her life well. She was delighted to meet our Executive Dean, Professor Dev Kodwani, and some of the Alumni Council members. The photo shows, left to right: Gillian Hannon, Aliz, Dev, Zoe Lawson, Sue Heightman and vice-chair Nick Wilkinson.

We’re continuing to support the vaccination efforts of the NHS

The Michael Young Building (MYB) on campus in Milton Keynes is home to OUBS and our sister School the OU Law School. The ground floor has been one of the NHS vaccination centres since March 2021.

We continue to be proud for supporting the national vaccination roll-out with a further extension agreed which will see this important local centre operating for the rest of 2022.

Working with Greater Manchester Police to evaluate ‘We Move’

Our Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL) is working with Greater Manchester Police on evaluating an intervention project for young people at risk of organised crime.

The ‘We Move’ programme was introduced in May 2022 to help prevent child criminal exploitation (CCE) by organised crime groups. The Centre is helping inform the implementation and development of the programme throughout its initial 18-month pilot period – full details here.

‘We Move’ is designed to target 12 to 18-year-olds across Greater Manchester identified to be at risk of perpetrating or being a victim of violent crime because of peers, associates or family members’ involvement in organised crime, gangs or violent crime. Other significant factors are disengagement from education and evidence of mental ill health.

Uplifting app for the benefit of new recruits

Another project for the national Uplift programme was recently completed by our Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL). This followed a previous piece of work exploring the implications of having a younger in service and age profile of officers.

A consultation exercise with new recruits aimed at exploring their perceptions of current onboarding processes found that, although the police are doing fairly well at managing IT and policies and procedures, improvements in engagement with new recruits about career development and the breadth of policing was required.

An ‘Onboarding Map’ app was developed which is now with the Uplift central team for piloting. This should provide clarity for recruits about key ‘onboarding’ activities they should expect when they join and at which stage.

Policing’s Festival of Impact at the end of September

A Festival of Impact, organised by our Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL), is taking place on campus in Milton Keynes on Wednesday 28 September – Thursday 29 September. 

This will showcase and celebrate the strength of the academic-police partnership, both in terms of its outputs and outcomes for policing and academia and also the lessons learned from such a collaboration.

Staying ahead of the game in the fight against malaria

Swiss-based MBA alumnus Mark Hoppé is helping in the fight against the malaria mosquito. 

The insecticides that have been used to control malaria mosquitoes are becoming less effective, as the mosquitoes become resistant to them. 

This could greatly impact our ability to prevent malaria.

Until recently, Mark co-chaired one of the working groups of the Vector Control Working Group (VCWG) which has seen some of its members produce a new short course. 

The Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC, on Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM MOOC) is launching on Monday (25 July) on FutureLearn – watch the trailer here. This free MOOC, funded by UK Aid and the IVCC, was produced by the University of Basel.

Mark is a Public Health Team Leader at agricultural science and technology providers Syngenta at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. He graduated with our MBA in Technology Management, Innovation and Creativity in 2005. 

He said: “Pulling the MOOC together with material and input from volunteers from around the world, especially during a pandemic, has been ‘fun’ (!) but I’m very pleased with the outcome. 

The hope is that if those involved in malaria mosquito control have a greater understanding of the issue, and how to address it, the effectiveness of the insecticide-based malaria prevention interventions can be prolonged.”

Your chance to win Linda’s book on collaboration

MBA alumna Linda McComie, who graduated in 1994, has co-authored a new book on ‘Implementing and Managing Collaborative Relationships: A Practical Guide for Managers’. Published by Routledge, this is a unique ‘go-to’ guide for all managers who should be looking at collaboration with other organisations as a new way to attain outstanding results that would not be achieved on their own.

Business Relationship Management Specialist Linda is the Director and co-founder of SCCI Ltd, alongside the book’s co-author Andrew Humphries.

Two lucky readers can each receive a free copy just by sending their name, address, PI and phone number to OUBS-Alumni by Friday 16 September.

Ask the Expert: A day in the life of the Digital Detective Tickets, Thu 28 Jul 2022 at 12:00 | Eventbrite

You’ve seen it in the movies; you’ve seen it on TV - evidence is collected from the scene of some horrible crime and, within 20 minutes, a forensic expert has done the analysis and discovered vital clues that push the police enquiry forward. 

In fictional crime series, computer and mobile phone forensics is particularly portrayed as quick and easy to do. But is it? 

Join OU cyber security expert, Dr Jan Collie to find out more and hear real stories from the digital dark side.

A day in the life of the digital detective is rarely dull!

MBA online information session | The Open University Business School

Do you know anyone looking to study on The Open University’s Triple Accredited MBA?

Share this link with them to highlight how an OU MBA can make a difference in their career.

Previous careers webinars recordings still available

A series of webinars took place during the 2021-22 academic year to help make a step up in your career or to change direction.

These free webinars, generally held over lunchtime, are exclusively for our alumni.