Meet our new Head of the Business School

Professor Keith Schofield will join The Open University as the new Head of School in September, taking the reins from Siv Vangen who is returning to her substantive role as Professor of Collaborative Leadership.

An OU graduate and former Associate Lecturer in the Business School, Keith rejoins from Aston University where he is the Deputy Dean in the College of Business and Social Sciences.

Keith has a wealth of experience in leveraging the three accreditation networks (EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB) and so looks forward to continuing the success of the Business School in maintaining its elite triple crown of accreditation, a status held by fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide.

Keith is off to a good start as the Business School has received formal ratification from the EQUIS board that it has been reaccredited for a further three years.

Democracy in action – holding our political leaders to account

A Business School lecturer, Dr Fidèle Mutwarasibo (far left), and the OU’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Prof Kevin Shakesheff (fourth from right), were part of the Citizens:MK delegation at the recent National Assembly.

Citizens:MK is a chapter of the Citizens UK network, which presented its ‘election manifesto’ to representatives of the three main political parties – Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats - ahead of the UK General Election. 

The societal challenges they posed included: Mental Health; Work and Wages; Climate Justice; Welcoming Refugees; Pathway to Citizenship; Racial Equity in Education; Democracy and Devolution; and Housing and Homelessness. Representatives from the parties responded and made pledges to the Assembly.

Positive results in National Student Survey (NSS) 2024

The OU received scores higher than the sector average for teaching, organisation and management, assessment and feedback, and learning resources in this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) results.

Our strong teaching and learning offer saw more than 90% of students name courses ‘intellectually stimulating’ and respond positively on how teaching staff explain content. Assessment is another highlight with more than 92% of students responding positively when asked about receiving their assessment feedback on time – this is nearly 13% higher than the sector average.

More research with Money and Pensions Service on financial wellbeing

Prof Ali Ataullah (pictured), Director of our Centre for Public Understanding of Finance (PUFin), has helped examine the association between disabilities / long-term illnesses and personal financial wellbeing.

This research was led by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) and also involved Dr Hang Le from Nottingham University Business School.

Funded by MaPS, the report shows that within the disabled population, financial wellbeing is lowest for women, single parents, unemployed people, and those living in deprived areas. It also finds that people with a disabled partner or spouse tend to have lower financial wellbeing, even if they are not disabled themselves.

According to MaPS, this research is critical in helping to achieve its objective to ‘design and deliver high-quality services to our customers that take full account of their current and potential vulnerability and their protected characteristics’. These findings will be used to inform its future decision making.

New collaboration offers finance students practical experience

The Business School is collaborating with Zoho Books as part of the new BSc Accounting and Finance degree, to provide students with free access to a full suite of accounting software for the duration of their module studies.

The collaboration aims to equip students of the B250 Intermediate Financial Accounting module with practical experience of Zoho Books, a renowned accounting software which helps businesses manage accounting operations on a unified platform.

Kevin Amor, Lecturer in Accounting and Financial Management, said: “This is a great opportunity for our accounting students. Having access to real, professional accounting software during their studies will not only increase the authenticity of their study activities but will also significantly increase their employability as future professional accountants.”

SHORT COURSE SPOTLIGHT: Behavioural insights for the workplace

During this course we'll explore the value of appreciating different identities and diversities in the workplace. You'll discover how people contribute individually and collectively to the successful working of organisations. We'll also look to enhance your communication skills through these insights and at how your own motivations and behaviours interact with those of others.

Alumni Council member profile: Tillmann Henssler

The newest member of our Alumni Council, Tillmann Henssler, graduated from the Business School with his MBA in 2000 while living in Germany. Currently working as a Manager for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Tillmann has much commercial experience in pharma, procurement and DEI.

Tillmann is looking forward to supporting the Business School through his new role in the Alumni Council. He said: “Having lived in Germany over the past 30 years, I was delighted that the Council reached out for more overseas members to support its internationalisation goals. As the OU is a world leader in increasing access to education on a global scale, one of the projects I would like to get involved with is supporting and increasing digital accessibility and helping to remove potential barriers.

“I have always been keen to support OUBS and its projects. In 2017, I organised the Berlin Alumni Networking group, I presented two webinars on Diversity & Inclusion in the workplace in 2018, and I featured in the International Open Diaries Video series in 2019.”

Also in 2019, Tillmann became the first OUBS alumnus to be recognised in AACSB’s Class of Influential Leaders, thanks to his work on diversity and inclusion at both Pfizer and OUBS. The accolade celebrates notable alumni from AACSB-accredited schools whose inspiring work serves as a model for the next generation of business leaders.

Hybrid working: skills for leadership

How does the hybrid world make you feel as a leader? Do you trust your team and workforce to get the job done, or are you much more comfortable having them within your gaze in an office?

Hybrid working is here to stay, and more than ever you will need to understand how this makes your employees feel – and how it makes you feel.

If hybrid working is supported well from all levels of an organisation, it can create real and positive change for the workforce, but it requires leaders to foster inclusion and create connections with their hybrid workforce. It requires trust. It requires empathy. It needs clear accountability. It needs leaders to be connected and to humanise their workforce.

This free course will give you an opportunity to reflect on who you are as a hybrid leader and how you want to develop.