Research at the OU aspires to influence policy, shape professional practice and enrich lives and this group is home to some of the OU's research stories.
OU report shows support for new 'British Business Bank'
A new report from the OU suggests that there is considerable support amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the UK Government’s proposed British Business Bank.
When asked 'Would an institution like the proposed British Business Bank be likely to help firms in your industry to increase the amount they invest in their business?', almost half of respondents (48 per cent) agreed, while 30 per cent disagreed and 22 per cent were unsure.
Levels of support for this new institution were also found to be broadly similar across firms of different sizes. The study, which was sponsored by the Finance and Leasing Association, also asked SME owners and managers what they saw as the bank’s key priorities.
The most commonly identified task was ensuring adequate access to finance during economic downturns (64 per cent of respondents), closely followed by improving access to longer-term finance, such as 10 year loans (60 per cent), and providing Government support so that commercial providers can lend more easily or more cheaply (59 per cent).
Dr Richard Blundel, of The Open University Business School, commented: "These early findings indicate suggest that many SMEs are positive about Vince Cable's plan to create a new institution to complement existing finance providers and deliver added impetus in specific areas, such as new business start-ups and long-term financing.
"Current market conditions are extremely tough for many SMEs, while the prospect of sustained economic recovery remains elusive. We may also be seeing some of these wider concerns reflected in the way that people have responded to this novel idea."
The report is available to download here.
A new report from the OU suggests that there is considerable support amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the UK Government’s proposed British Business Bank. When asked 'Would an institution like the proposed British Business Bank be likely to help firms in your industry to increase the amount they invest in their business?', almost half of respondents (48 per cent) ...
OU research influences children’s lives in Hungary
John Oates, a senior lecturer in development psychology in the Centre for Childhood Development at the OU, was a member of the team that set up the first 40 Sure Start Children Centres in Hungary and he arranged the adoption of the English Early Years Foundation Stage as the framework for the Hungarian programme.
John recently presented a paper on his research at a Budapest conference on early intervention where Katalin Langerné Victor, Deputy State Secretary for Social Inclusion in Hungary, announced that the government will legislate for the continued expansion of the number of Sure Start Children Centres in Hungary, to improve the lives of children in poorer areas of the country.
Research at the OU influences policy and enriches lives. John has spent his whole career at the OU working on new ways to chart children's development. He began with an Economic and Social Research Council-funded laboratory-based study of children with and without Down syndrome through which he assessed developmental progress. He is currently leading a project in the Early Support national scheme, contributing to the design of an app to allow parents and carers to chart children's development on mobile devices.
A researcher at The Open University has influenced the expansion of centres for under-privileged children and their families in Hungary. John Oates, a senior lecturer in development psychology in the Centre for Childhood Development at the OU, was a member of the team that set up the first 40 Sure Start Children Centres in Hungary and he arranged the adoption of the English ...
Researchers devise new method to understand superconductors
Researchers at the OU have devised a new method to understand the processes that happen when atoms cool which could lead to new materials for superconducting power grids and widespread use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
In a paper, Bilayers of Rydberg atoms as a quantum simulator for unconventional superconductors, just published in Physical Review Letters, Dr Jim Hague and Dr Calum McCormick at the OU's Department of Physical Sciences describe a new method to understand the cooling of atoms, which is to simulate a superconductor using a "quantum simulator" (a kind of bespoke quantum computer for examining specific problems) rather than a supercomputer.
The researchers found that just such a simulator can be built to examine atoms cooled to just a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. The atoms are controlled using laser beams which enhance the electrical forces between the atoms, which are usually weak and unimportant. These forces mimic the physics of the superconductor, and the proposed simulator includes far more physical detail than ever before.
“The problem is that up to now nobody knew how to build such a material because physics of the best superconductors are extremely difficult to understand,” said Dr Hague. “By studying the atoms in the quantum simulator, we expect that it will be possible to make major progress in unravelling the underlying theory of these fascinating materials. A superconductor (a material with no electrical resistance) operating close to room temperature would offer potentially revolutionary technology.”
Access the paper Bilayers of Rydberg atoms as a quantum simulator for unconventional superconductors.
Researchers at the OU have devised a new method to understand the processes that happen when atoms cool which could lead to new materials for superconducting power grids and widespread use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In a paper, Bilayers of Rydberg atoms as a quantum simulator for unconventional superconductors, just published in Physical Review Letters, Dr Jim Hague and Dr Calum ...
Call for children to research and challenge bullying
A researcher at The Open University will encourage children to do their own research into bullying as a way of empowering them, during National Antibullying Week this week (19 November).
According to Professor Mary Kellett, Director of the Children’s Research Centre at The Open University, bullying can have devastating effects on children. She carried out some research into cyberbullying with colleague Saima Tarapdar and found that this rapidly evolving form of bullying is more prevalent than previously thought.
The researchers found that among 1,500 young people aged 12 to16, 38 per cent of them had been affected by cyberbullying.
“Levels of cyberbullying have not dissipated,” she said. “This requires the school, the community and more private settings to sharpen protection and response.”
Professor Kellett will drew on these findings at the Diana Award National Antibullying Week Event in London on Monday 19 November where she is lead a workshop for teachers around the benefits of empowering students to undertake their own research into bullying in schools.
The theme of the event was “We’re better without bullying” and its aim was to raise awareness of the issue of bullying and to encourage young people and professionals of all ages to take a stand and bring about positive change.
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A researcher at The Open University will encourage children to do their own research into bullying as a way of empowering them, during National Antibullying Week this week (19 November). According to Professor Mary Kellett, Director of the Children’s Research Centre at The Open University, bullying can have devastating effects on children. She carried out some research into ...
Martian microbes may have lived in warm water
Their study has determined that water temperatures on the Red Planet ranged from 50°C to 150°C. Microbes on Earth can live in similar waters, for example in the volcanic thermal springs at Yellowstone Park in the US.
Their conclusions are based on detailed scrutiny of Mars meteorites, using powerful microscopes in the University of Leicester Department of Physics and Astronomy combined with computer modelling work at The Open University.
They studied a type of Mars meteorite called a nakhlite, which contains small veins filled with minerals formed by the action of water near the surface of Mars. Analysis of the minerals indicates the temperature of the water when they were formed.
Microbes can use the reactions which take place during mineral formation to gain energy and elements essential for their survival.
The driving force behind heating the water may have been an impact into the Martian surface, the researchers suggests. The surface of Mars has many impact craters.
The project was led by Dr John Bridges, Reader in Planetary Science in the University of Leicester Space Research Centre; and Dr Susanne Schwenzer, Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Physical Sciences at The Open University, was in charge of the computer modelling.
For more detailed information see OU media release.
Research reference
Bridges J.C. and Schwenzer S.P. The nakhlite hydrothermal brine on Mars. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 359–360 (2012) 117–123.
Photo shows hydrothermal fractures around a Martian impact crater. Image: University of Leicester
Water warm enough to support life could have existed on Mars, according to new evidence published by researchers from the University of Leicester and The Open University. Their study has determined that water temperatures on the Red Planet ranged from 50°C to 150°C. Microbes on Earth can live in similar waters, for example in the volcanic thermal springs at Yellowstone ...
My OU PhD...
He travelled all the way from Switzerland to receive his OU PhD. In this short video at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, Jörg Bürgi, explains how his OU thesis earned him a place at the Global Ethics Forum in Geneva, and why he'd recommend OU study to anyone...
He travelled all the way from Switzerland to receive his OU PhD. In this short video at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, Jörg Bürgi, explains how his OU thesis earned him a place at the Global Ethics Forum in Geneva, and why he'd recommend OU study to anyone... 1.5 Average: 1.5 (4 votes)
OU to investigate potential Lunar and Martian bases
Researchers at The Open University have presented plans for an extraplanetary laboratory that will determine whether it will be possible to establish a base on the Moon, or potentially Mars.
The Open University's Planetary and Space Sciences researchers have developed a conceptual Lunar Volatile Resources Analysis Package (L-VRAP) that, if selected for funding, will ascertain whether there are sufficient quantities of water and fuel at the Moon’s South Pole to support a future manned research base. Researchers also suggest that L-VRAP could be utilised in a similar mission to Mars.
L-VRAP is a miniature chemical laboratory capable of identifying and quantifying volatiles - elements and compounds with low boiling points such as nitrogen, water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen and methane - in the Moon’s crust and atmosphere.
The device could be fitted to a Lunar or Martian lander and would carry out scientific investigations that are essential to the success of long-term space exploration and could pave the way for an extended human presence away from the Earth.
Dr Simon Sheridan, Research Fellow at The Open University and one of the authors of the paper, said: “To date, only a tiny fraction of the Moon's surface has been physically sampled and analysed and all of that activity took place 40 years ago. Our L-VRAP device is a state of the art sampling and analysis package that will determine in situ, the abundance and the isotopic composition of volatiles present in the Moon’s atmosphere, surface and sub-surface.”
Previously thought to be a dry, barren landscape, recent evidence suggests that the Moon has large pools of frozen water in craters around its poles. By measuring the detailed isotopic composition of key elements, L-VRAP may be able to provide clues to the origin of any water detected on the Moon.
The Lunar Lander mission will be considered at the ESA Ministerial meeting in November 2012. If selected, L-VRAP could launch as early as 2019. Meanwhile, The Open University will be developing L-VRAP in readiness for other space mission opportunities.
The paper describing the L-VRAP has been published in Planetary and Space Science. A copy of “L-VRAP - A Lunar Volatile Resources Analysis Package for Lunar Exploration” is available here.
Pictured is an annotated image of the L-VRAP CAD model
Researchers at The Open University have presented plans for an extraplanetary laboratory that will determine whether it will be possible to establish a base on the Moon, or potentially Mars. The Open University's Planetary and Space Sciences researchers have developed a conceptual Lunar Volatile Resources Analysis Package (L-VRAP) that, if selected for funding, will ascertain whether there ...
OU to research religion, martyrdom and sacrificial death in Britain and Ireland
A senior researcher in religious studies at the OU has won an award to take a leadership role in a programme that brings together research funded by all the UK research councils and also to research religion, martyrdom and sacrificial death in Britain and Ireland.
Professor John Wolffe, Professor of Religious History at The Open University, has been awarded a Leadership Fellowship as part of the Global Uncertainties programme which represents research council investment in security related research.
The Fellowship will include two elements: the first will focus on concepts of religion as a pivot for bringing together wider issues in the Ideologies and beliefs strand of Global Uncertainties itself, and in related Arts and Humanities Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council programmes. Central to this strand will be engagement with practitioners and policy makers outside academia with a view to presenting the research in a manner that is accessible and relevant to their concerns.
The second strand will examine the development of the concept of martyrdom and sacrificial death in Britain and Ireland since the outbreak of the First World War.
"Such an enquiry will help to balance the preoccupation of researchers since 9/11 in 2001 with Islamic views of martyrdom/suicide attacks by a focus on the Christian and culturally Christian context, which remains under-researched in this period," said Professor Wolffe.
There will be two main methods. First, there will be archival, library, and web-based research on historic sources, including books and pamphlets, newspapers and online databases, supplemented as necessary by site visits. Particular focal points will be the First World War, including the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, and the 1920 interment of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey; the Second World War, including Nazi persecution of European Christians, and the early 1980s, including the IRA hunger strikes and the Falklands War.
There will also be a series of semi-structured interviews with political and religious activists, carried out in partnership with the Institute for Conflict Research in Belfast, in four contrasting locations in Britain and Ireland - Belfast, Bradford, Dublin and London. These interviews will explore contemporary perceptions of historic 'martyrdom' events in the run up to the centenaries of 1914 and 1916; recollections of the early 1980s; and responses to present-day suicide attacks, sectarian murders in Northern Ireland, and casualties in Afghanistan.
A senior researcher in religious studies at the OU has won an award to take a leadership role in a programme that brings together research funded by all the UK research councils and also to research religion, martyrdom and sacrificial death in Britain and Ireland. Professor John Wolffe, Professor of Religious History at The Open University, has been awarded a Leadership Fellowship as part of ...
Report finds business is positive about national security regulations
Researchers at the OU have found that most financial services firms surveyed about the effects of incorporating national security regulations into their businesses are positive about it
In a report titled Taking Liberties released on 28 September by The Leverhulme Trust, Dr Kirstie Ball and researchers at the University's Business School reveal that responses from 85 financial services representatives show that larger financial services organisations have managed to incorporate the new Anti Money Laundering/Counter Terrorist Finance regulations into their businesses, benefiting from sophisticated computer systems to help identify suspicious transactions.
They found that smaller firms found compliance with the regulation costly by comparison.
The researchers, working under the umbrella of CRISP, the Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance and Privacy, also found that front line staff managed to adapt more effectively and managed to continue the customer interaction as normal while verifying any suspicions about the customer, in businesses which had strong Customer Relationship Management Systems.
Commenting on these findings, Dr Ball said: "In carrying out this research, we recognised almost immediately how Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terror Finance Regulations required the capture of data at great expense to the financial services industry and there seemed to be no return on this investment. Responses from the industry varied but what emerges strongly is how the industry has taken the practice of Anti Money Laundering and considered it as a positive aspect of their business."
Money Laundering Regulations came into being in 2007 and the Counter-Terrorism Act came into force in 2008.
A copy of Taking Liberties: Anti Money Laundering/Counter Terror Finance Regulations and The Financial Services Sector can be found here.
Researchers at the OU have found that most financial services firms surveyed about the effects of incorporating national security regulations into their businesses are positive about it In a report titled Taking Liberties released on 28 September by The Leverhulme Trust, Dr Kirstie Ball and researchers at the University's Business School reveal that responses from 85 financial services ...
OU PhD student wins first prize at international tissue engineering conference
An OU PhD student has scooped first prize for her research at a prestigious event in Vienna.
Melanie Georgiou won first prize for her oral presentation at the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) World Congress in Vienna earlier this month (September 2012).
Melanie presented her interim findings on work using stem cells from adipose tissue, which is part of a bigger project to develop tissue-engineered implantable devices for the surgical repair of the peripheral nervous system.
She said: “It was a great opportunity to showcase our research and I feel honoured to have won! My research indicates that adipose tissue can be used as a source of cells that could be combined with natural biomaterials to engineer new nervous system tissue. Building replacement nerve tissue in this way may one day be useful in repairing peripheral nerves that have been damaged by trauma.”
Dr James Phillips, Lecturer in Health Sciences and Melanie’s PhD supervisor, said: “Melanie’s achievement is remarkable and her work has been instrumental in furthering the overall project. Peripheral nervous system injuries that result in extensive loss of nerve tissue can currently only be treated using grafts of healthy nerves from elsewhere in a patient, resulting in additional damage and limited functional recovery.
"To build an effective replacement tissue that could be used as an alternative to a nerve graft requires a source of suitable cells. Melanie demonstrated how cells from a patient’s fat tissue could potentially form the living cellular component of a tissue engineered replacement nerve. This part of the project involved a collaboration between the tissue engineers at the OU and adipose stem cell experts in Sweden.”
Melanie’s work is part of the work of the Open University’s Biomedical Research Network. Her supervisors are Dr James Phillips, Dr Jane Loughlin and Dr Jon Golding. Further information about this research can be found at: www.jamesphillips.org
Watch this video and find out more...
Find out more:
An OU PhD student has scooped first prize for her research at a prestigious event in Vienna. Melanie Georgiou won first prize for her oral presentation at the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) World Congress in Vienna earlier this month (September 2012). Melanie presented her interim findings on work using stem cells from adipose tissue, which is ...
OU Indian presence in Britain project invited back to India
An OU research project which exhibits key historical links and cultural exchanges that took place between India and Britain from 1858-1950 and has been viewed by 6,000 visitors, has been invited back to India next week (25 September).
This follow-on, like the previous project, is led by Professor Susheila Nasta of The Open University in collaboration with Penny Brook of the British Library; Dr Florian Stadtler, OU Research Associate; and historian Rozina Visram.
The exhibition, which was due to end on 31 August 2012, has now been extended so that it can be featured alongside the project for a new diplomatic and Indian research audience by the AHRC and Research Councils UK (RCUK) in Delhi on 25 September.
Project director Susheila Nasta, Professor of Modern Literature at the OU, said: “This event which will take place at the British High Commission in Delhi will showcase the best of AHRC-funded UK-India humanities research. It will set up platforms for future India-British research partnerships and funding networks.
"Supported by the RCUK, the AHRC, the British High Commission and the Indian Ministry of Culture, the display of the exhibition will reach new Indian audiences drawn from HEI’s, the media industry, funding bodies and the cultural industries. This will further enhance Indian-British knowledge exchange and the wider cultural significance and impact of the OU project."
The exhibition presents a little-known aspect of the history of the relationship between both countries. On its extensive tour of northern and southern India in collaboration with the British Council and National Archives of India, it has already attracted over 6,000 visitors.
The display was accompanied by school workshops and digital learning webpages, hosted by the British Library. Monitoring forms revealed extensive positive feedback from teachers, students and the general public alike. The ‘Making Britain’ database, which underpins the research, has received 3,000 new visits per month since its launch in September 2010.
British Deputy High Commissioner, Eastern India, Sanjay Wadvani commented: “The Asians in Britain website and the database should be required reading for anyone joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s South Asia team.”
An OU research project which exhibits key historical links and cultural exchanges that took place between India and Britain from 1858-1950 and has been viewed by 6,000 visitors, has been invited back to India next week (25 September). The exhibition titled Beyond the Frame: India in Britain, 1858-1950, celebrates the often overlooked, long history of the Indian ...
OU researcher to study minerals on Mars
Dr Susanne Schwenzer in the University’s research centre for physical and environmental sciences is part of a team which will study minerals formed when hot or cold water interacts with rocks on Mars.
“We already know that there is water on Mars,” said Susanne. “Now, we want to know the temperature of the water and whether it is clean and supportive of potential life - or if it is poisonous. We also want to know if Mars has niches where microbial life could have existed.”
Susanne joins a mission led by Dr John Bridges, Reader in Planetary Science at the University of Leicester.
The Mars Science Laboratory mission, landing NASA’s most advanced planetary rover called Curiosity, is a deploying the most powerful suite of instruments yet sent to the Red Planet.
The rover is scheduled to land at 6.31am UK time on Monday 6 August, beside a Martian mountain within Gale Crater called Mt. Sharp, to begin two years of unprecedented scientific detective work.
Curiosity will also carry the biggest, most advanced suite of instruments for scientific studies ever sent to the Martian surface. The rover will analyse a dozen or so samples scooped from the soil and extracted from rocks.
The record of the planet's climate and geology is essentially "written in the rocks and soil"-in their formation, structure, and chemical composition. The rover's onboard laboratory will study rocks, soils, and the local geologic setting in order to decide if the conditions on Mars were able to support microbial life.
Prior to the landing, the MSL spacecraft will decelerate significantly from a speed of about 13,200 miles per hour to enable the rover to achieve a landing speed of about 1.7 miles per hour. The success of the landing is a critical milestone toward the goal of sending humans to Mars by 2030.
A researcher at the OU will take part in a mission to explore the chemistry of Mars when the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) lands on the planet next week (6 August 2012). Dr Susanne Schwenzer in the University’s research centre for physical and environmental sciences is part of a team which will study minerals formed when hot or cold water interacts with rocks on ...
Has OU research had an effect on your life or work?
Research at the OU aspires to influence policy, shape professional practice and enrich lives. The OU wants to continue to do research that changes lives in this way and is calling on you to help with this mission.
This is where you come in. The OU would like to hear from you about how the university’s research has influenced your life or work so that we can add new evidence to our impact statements and influence the allocation of funding for future research in these areas.
Just to remind you of some of the highlights of our research over the past two years, OU researchers…
- Are examining the cultural identity and emergence of Black British Jazz (BBJ).
- Developed a new computer toolkit called nQuire which gives children the power to be scientists making new discoveries.
- Relaunched the UK Reading Experience Database (RED), which provides fascinating insight into the habits and practices of British readers during the period from 1450 to 1945. Google Analytics shows the site attracted almost 12,000 unique visitors and over 3,000 repeat visitors over 12 months in 2010-11.
- Developed new techniques to help financial traders to manage their emotions and make better decisions. A key part of this project has been the development of a set of interventions and online resources that can be used to help investors recognise their emotional biases during financial decision making and, where appropriate, to address these biases.
- Issued a report looking at bisexual inclusion and equality issues. The Bisexuality Report has been downloaded over 15,000 times since its publication in February 2012.
- Are building up a picture of the experiences of older kitchen users, which will be used to improve guidance in kitchen design. This work led to our researcher informing the British Standards Institute’s B/599 Access to Buildings for Disabled People’s Committee.
Have you got involved with or been influenced by any of these projects or any other OU research? Has this or any other aspect of OU research inspired you to do something new or view something differently?
Are you in a position to help the university engage decision-makers with our research in new and significant ways, such as product innovation, policy change, or new ways of working in a professional field? If so, we would like to hear from you. If OU research has made an impact on your life in some way, please email platform@open.ac.uk and let us know.
Research at the OU aspires to influence policy, shape professional practice and enrich lives. The OU wants to continue to do research that changes lives in this way and is calling on you to help with this mission. The way in which UK government research funding is allocated has changed. As from next year universities like the OU are required to show direct evidence of how ...
OU researchers' top 10 innovations to transform education in five years
OU researchers have come up with their top 10 predictions of innovations which they believe will transform post-school education within the next five years.
The researchers claim that if education providers and policy makers take these predictions on board, they will make better informed decisions about curriculum design.
The Open University’s top 10 predictions is published today (23 July 2012) in a report, Innovating Pedagogy 2012, the first in a series of reports that explore the future of education in an interactive world and draws on the university’s position as a global leader in research and innovation.
Topping the list for immediate impact is the use of eBooks for social learning. The researchers claim that as eBook technologies evolve, they will offer new ways of interacting with massively shared, adaptive and dynamic books and be in wide circulation within two years.
The researchers also suggest that the concept of publisher-led short courses either in affiliation with recognised educational providers or independently, will become a reality within the next two years.
- Within the next five years, they also expect to see the emergence of some of the following developments:
- Computer-based assessment that supports the learning process through diagnostic feedback
- Badges to accredit non-formal learning along the lines of a Scout badge
- MOOCs - Massive open online courses which are attempts to create open-access online courses that provide no constraints on class size; some have already engaged over 100,000 participants
The report was written by researchers in the University's Institute of Education Technology and the Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology.
"We now have the technology to provide powerful, affordable tools for learning, but there are still impediments which relate to the pedagogy – which is the theory and practice of teaching, learning and assessment,” said Mike Sharples, Professor of Educational Technology and lead author of the report.
“In this first in a series of annual briefings, we explore current and emerging innovations in education and guide teachers and policy makers in making informed decisions about curriculum design, course development and teaching strategies.”
A PDF of the report is available here.
OU researchers have come up with their top 10 predictions of innovations which they believe will transform post-school education within the next five years. The researchers claim that if education providers and policy makers take these predictions on board, they will make better informed decisions about curriculum design. The Open University’s top 10 predictions is published today ...
From OU student to Councillor hoping to fight crime
Nicky will now face candidates from the Lib Dem and Conservative parties, in a public vote on 15 November 2012.
Nicky spoke to Platform about her chosen career and OU studies.
Can you tell us about your new role as Labour candidate for the Police and Crime Commissioner?
The Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are a new initiative by this Government. Their aim is to cut crime and deliver an effective and efficient police service within their force area. PCCs will be elected by the public to hold Chief Constables and the force to account effectively making the police answerable to the communities that they serve.
What does it involve? And how did you progress to this role?
Once elected the PCC will engage with the public and communities to enable them to set a five year police and crime plan for their local force and appoint the Chief Constable. They will do this by talking to the public and local communities in order to set priorities for the police and make important decisions about how services are funded.
How did you progress to this role?
My interest in the role stems from the real difference I have seen neighbourhood policing make in the ward I represent. Working with the local community the police have been able to solve issues of anti-social behaviour and gangs, and as a result crime levels have dropped dramatically. So when I heard about Police and Crime Commissioners, I was keen to bring this experience to this role, my strength is in working and reaching out to communities. Local people need to have a voice in how their neighbourhood is policed. So, I filled in an application form, was interviewed at great length with a number of other candidates to ascertain whether I was a suitably qualified candidate. I then attended a number of hustings (meeting) with the other candidate so that we could be questioned on our views and finally all labour members were asked to vote for their preferred candidate. Luckily for me, I won.
What inspired you to become a councillor?
Having a family made me feel that I had to stand up and be counted I want the best possible future for my children and if I want that to happen I need to make a difference and not rely on others to make the case for me.
You are at the end of studying for a degree in Social Science specialising in Social Policy and Criminology with the OU. Why did you choose the OU?
Because I needed to work and earn a living but was to keen to get some formal qualifications to back up the work I was doing professionally. The OU allowed me the flexibility I needed and the courses were interesting.
How have your studies impacted on your career?
They have been complementary to my career as a political advisor - quite often I have been asked to research policies around subjects, which we have actively been looking at within the course materials. For example when I initially started studying I was working for an MP at the time when genetically modified crops were at the forefront in the media, I was studying this in my OU course, at the same time I was writing to constituents on this matter. The study enabled me to deepen my understanding of the issues. In my current role as cabinet member, we have to actively develop policy and the study process helps in the methodology and research methods.
You seem very active on Social Media: twitter, blogging, website – do you find this attracts lots of interaction/comment and helps your campaigns as much as meeting people in person?
I think it widens my campaign. The difficulty in politics is ensuring you hear the views of the widest number of people possible. We know young people are often not engaged in the political processes, but we do know is that when they do engage it is through social media like twitter. It is a good way of reaching out to groups who wouldn’t normally be heard and making it relevant to them.
Which came first – being a councillor, OU study, family? Or all at the same time? And how did you juggle these commitments?
OU came first; I took a break to have my family, and then went back to the OU before becoming a Councillor. Having said that, I had been working as a political advisor since 1999 and my lack of formal qualifications in this field is one of the reasons why I started studying with the OU. Family and friends have been really understanding when I have locked myself away for a weekend when a TMA is due, but really because I have an interest in the subjects I’ve studied it’s incentivised me to make the time to sit down and study rather than sit down slumped in front of the TV.
What have you personally gained from studying / what has your experience with the OU taught you about yourself?
It’s given me the confidence that I can study a higher level, and that I can stand up and make a coherent argument, to put forward my political views, ideas and policies based on the knowledge that I know how to research and build a case based on evidence.
What’s next for you? (future aims in career or study)
I’ve just taken my final exams and hope to be graduating soon. I am busy at the moment campaigning for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections. I have no immediate plans for further study until I know the outcome of that election, however I have to admit being bitten by the OU bug, so you never know; maybe a Masters is on the horizon.
- Study a Social Science qualification
- About Councillor Nicky Williams
- Information on Police and crime commissioners
OU student and Plymouth Councillor Nicky Williams, (Labour Party) has been selected as a candidate for a prestigious £85,000 job as Police and Crime Commissioner of Devon and Cornwall Police. Nicky will now face candidates from the Lib Dem and Conservative parties, in a public vote on 15 November 2012. Nicky spoke to Platform about her chosen ...
Young head teacher's unconventional career path
Gareth Morris, head teacher of Flash Ley Primary School in Staffordshire, openly says that as a youngster he was “not desperately into school” and “didn’t turn up much either”. It is his experience of primary and secondary education that has helped shape his own approach to teaching and inspiring youngsters.
“First and foremost, teaching is about mutual respect,” says the father of two. “It is also about making sure the curriculum is exciting and interesting. It’s about having a level of connection between lessons so there are elements that link from one subject to another.
“We have also adopted the mantra of ‘believe to achieve’. Yes, we want academic excellence, but we want children to have an indomitable belief in themselves. It’s about respect, aspiration and interest – and getting children involved in the learning and getting teachers to make the most of their talents and being confident in their abilities.”
This philosophy contrasts with his experience of school, when after gaining four GCSEs he couldn’t wait to join the Army. His military career, though, was brought to an abrupt end when he suffered a knee injury. It was at that point he realised he needed qualifications or face the prospect of a lifetime working in dead-end jobs. He studied A Levels in History and English before going to Staffordshire University where he studied history and international relations.
Next he gained a PGCE teaching qualification, and then took a year out to study GCSE maths. While studying, he also earned “a stack of cash” in a sales job but felt unfulfilled and wanted to do something more worthwhile. I was then that he spotted a job as a teaching assistant and found his calling.
In the meantime, Gareth was also commissioned as an officer at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and later became a Lieutenant in the Territorial Army. In 2004, he was faced with the tough choice between his teaching and Army careers when he was called up to serve in Basra.
Gareth said: “I resigned my commission, because being a teacher isn’t the sort of job that you can go away and leave for nine months. I did want to go because I was an infantry officer and most of my platoon was going out there. In the end realised it would have got in the way of my teaching career, so decided to stay.”
Having chosen his vocation, Gareth worked his way up the ranks to become a deputy head at a school in Cheshire before moving back to his native Staffordshire in September last year. On top of his heavy workload, including preparing for two Ofsted inspections, Gareth has studied three modules for his Open University Master of Education (Leadership and Management), as well as his National Qualification for Headship (NPQH) professional qualification.
“As one of the youngest heads in the country, I have found it is experience rather than age that is important,” he says. “I have come in and got seven years’ experience in a range of environments and didn’t have any pre-conceived notions about how education was. All can see is how it should be. It can be quite peculiar sitting at meetings with other heads who are 10 or 15 years older than me, but it is important that they see me for the professional I am rather than how old am.”
Update - It is now four years since Gareth became head teacher. He is currently still in the postion at Flash Ley Primary School.
At 32, OU postgraduate student Gareth Morris is one of the youngest head teachers in the country. However, the path to the top of his profession has been an unconventional one… Gareth Morris, head teacher of Flash Ley Primary School in Staffordshire, openly says that as a youngster he was “not desperately into school” and “didn’t turn up much ...
An inspirational journey from study to retirement
A first time author with an inspirational journey from study to retirement has dedicated her book to the Open University because, she says, it changed her life.
Moira Coleman was one of the OU’s first 25,000 students starting in 1971. She undertook six years of degree studies, self-funded while working full time as a secretary but also taking on extra typing work to cover fees and books.
Remembering those days, Moira said: “I was excited to be part of something that was itself new and untried; I was ready and willing to take that risk. Everything about the OU appealed to me, not least the opportunity to continue working full-time while I studied. The approach to using tutorial support in conjunction with mixed media (then limited to TV, radio and printed materials) to support distance learning was revolutionary at the time and equally attractive.”
A full and successful career followed, with part-time work as a tutor for the Workers’ Educational Association leading to a permanent post on their professional field staff.
“This was the beginning of a 13 year career,” added Moira. “The range of work developed exponentially, opening the way to previously unimaginable opportunities, principally concerned with people who, against the odds, were keen to test themselves at higher levels, as I had done 20 years earlier. It was a chance to give something back.”
In her work with the WEA, Moira developed and delivered a series of courses preparing wary adult learners for the challenge of returning to study, with the objective of reducing first year drop out numbers.
Then in 1997, the work went a step further and on behalf of the WEA, Moira bid successfully for almost £250,000 of National Lottery funding to develop the courses into a computer-based, supported open learning format for disadvantaged adult returners living in rural Suffolk, known as the WEA Trailblazer Project.
“My OU pedigree came to the fore in a key element of the project,” said Moira, “which was enabling tutors to become communicators using digital resources. This was achieved by employing our own software programmer to work alongside both students and tutors.
“Unsurprisingly, he too was an ex-Open University student.”
Moira managed the project and bid to several other funding streams accessible in the Rural Development Area, securing another £500,000. A new post was created for her, Director of Learning Technologies, enabling Moira to cascade the entire experience within the Eastern District of the WEA and nationally.
When the funding ceased, so did the post, but the innovative approach of the Trailblazer project had caught the imagination of local education providers and Moira and the now redundant programmer set up a small software development business dedicated to enabling the education sector.
“This was my final taste of paid work, ceasing in 2010 by which time I was 63.
“Undaunted, I returned with relish to the historical research abandoned during the hectic, career-driven years.”
That research has resulted in Moira’s first book, ‘Fruitful Endeavours: the 16th Century household secrets of Catherine Tollemache’ which was published in August 2012.
The dedication reads: To the Open University, who took me in with an appetite to learn and sent me out with a hunger to learn more. Thank you from one of your first 25,000: 1971-76.'
Moria said: “The dedication is more than rhetoric; the hunger is still there, the desire to look into, not just look at.
“The OU changed my life and I have never ceased to be grateful.
“I found the OU experience to be rich and deep, providing me with a reservoir of mental stimulation that had been lacking before. This, and the gradual process of on-going personal achievement, helped me to gain self-belief. I learned to recognise my own strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies to enhance the former and overcome the latter. This had stood me in good stead for more than 40 years, enabling me to think outside the box, commit myself and finish what I start.
“At the risk of over-working a cliche, the Open University gave me an OPEN mind."
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A first time author with an inspirational journey from study to retirement has dedicated her book to the Open University because, she says, it changed her life. Moira Coleman was one of the OU’s first 25,000 students starting in 1971. She undertook six years of degree studies, self-funded while working full time as a secretary but also taking on extra typing work to cover fees and ...
Food waste no banana skin for Shane
Shane Jordan is the 26-year-old head chef at the Arc Café in Bristol, where he is attracting diners – and rave reviews – for his ‘waste not want not’ style of cooking, along with innovative recipes and techniques.
His vegan and vegetarian dishes use unusual ingredients such as cauliflower stalks and potato skins, the ingredients that most chefs simply throw away.
His biggest success to date has been a banana curry, which features lightly sautéed banana – skins and all – in turmeric and paprika spices
After completing an OU course in humanities some time ago, Mr Jordan studied human nutrition last year, funding it through a part time job.
He said: “I liked how flexible the courses were, and have learned so much about myself while studying.
“Although the humanities taught me about philosophy and poetry, the Human Nutrition has probably played the biggest part in my life, teaching me about our bodies and our relationships with food. I am a vegetarian chef, so learning about the nutritional side of food really fascinated me.
“Since I passed the course, I have opened my mind to the social problems of nutrition in low income families, and looked at alternative replacements for products such as refined white sugar, refined salt and meat products. I am very interested in food waste issues, and want to be able to help improve the health of children from low income families.”
Shane, who has worked as a chef for the last three years, has become a passionate campaigner against food waste, and hopes his style of cooking will minimise the amount of waste produced by restaurants, which in turn cuts down on landfill, reduces rat problems and saves money.
The inspiration for his OU course and chef work came when he was volunteering with Bristol's branch of FoodCycle last year. He helped provide free meals to the public at the Easton Community Centre.
He aims to promote his ideas at food festivals and school visits, and was a guest chef in the junior Ready Steady Cook at this year’s annual VegFest UK in Brighton, where he was able to create a new level of awareness and understanding among young people.
In the future, Shane hopes to continue his studies and front health campaigns involving young people.
A vegetarian chef is cooking up a storm thanks in part to an Open University course called Understanding Human Nutrition. Shane Jordan is the 26-year-old head chef at the Arc Café in Bristol, where he is attracting diners – and rave reviews – for his ‘waste not want not’ style of cooking, along with innovative recipes and techniques. His ...
My dog helped me get my degree
For recent graduate Susan Allinson the support of her dog during her OU studies was as important as the support of a family. Susan shares her story with Platform.
Finding inspiration to study
Usually most students praise the support of their family and friends who have helped them through all the OU years. For me, it is actually my dog who has helped me through some difficult patches, and especially when looking for inspiration for those TMAs.
Writing up TMAs almost always requires isolation, silence and hopefully no distractions. I was easily distracted by my dog at my feet with her deep dark eyes boring into me. I resisted most of the time although would occasionally give in and take her out for a short walk.
I revelled in those moments of distraction not because I had escaped from the real work but because I used this time to concretise my arguments and thoughts. And to my surprise it really worked! Once back in my seat, I couldn’t type fast enough, although, it does help if you have a good memory.
I graduated in April in London with a BSc after a long and very enjoyable six years of study.
Now that I have no reason to submit any more TMAs and to plan my life according to the cut-off dates, I find myself looking at the student homepage just to see if there are any e-mails for me. Alas, there are none. However, I still have the university’s links. This is where I came across the ‘OUSA Arts room’ and decided to have a look at this year’s student experiences and comments on my last course A218.
Promoting the benefits of having a dog
Amongst the usual banter of support and comradeship, there was one comment from a student who had just acquired a puppy and who wondered how this would affect her study. I do remember the day we bought our puppy after one of the OU exams in October 2001 and the way in which she changed our way of life – and only for the better I hasten to add.
The impact of animals on a persons life should not be underestimated and various research has taken place to explore the Human-Animal bond.
- An article in News in Health explores the health and social benefits of owning a dog. It suggests there is lots to be gained from this interaction but that we are still learning and more research needs to be done.
- According to about.com owning a dog or cat could also reduce stress and improve your mood.
For recent graduate Susan Allinson the support of her dog during her OU studies was as important as the support of a family. Susan shares her story with Platform. Finding inspiration to study Usually most students praise the support of their family and friends who have helped them through all the OU years. For me, it is actually my dog who has helped me through some difficult patches, and ...
Inspired by one of the very first…
Jim Watters, 63, fondly remembers brother-in-law Daniel, his sister’s husband, who he credits with giving him the vision to study with the OU.
Jim said: “Daniel was a paraplegic as a result of an industrial accident. He was an ‘A’ year student – one of the very first students of this new university backed by Harold Wilson and Jennie Lee. Although academically able, his physical health was taking a serious toll and the new OU seemed an obvious choice to enable him to further his education.”
Daniel took two foundation courses in Science and Maths, but died of a heart attack in 1974 aged just 44 before being able to graduate.
Jim added: “I used to have discussions with Daniel about this new University of the Air, and it was he who had the vision and gave me the inspiration to sign up, and hopefully ‘live’ out some of his dreams post mortem.”
But he says his qualifications were certainly life changing for the better.
“I was extremely lucky because the Ministry of Defence, who I worked, partly funded my courses which were broadly in line with my technical career.
“I gained enormously from my studies: in confidence, in my career and now in retirement. I had the privilege of working with many excellent scientists and some specialists in their chosen fields. All have been most complimentary about the OU and the opportunities it brought, especially in the 70s and 80s.”
Jim is now retired, but very active in many aspects of education having spent 20 years as chairman of the governors at a local school – something he says would most definitely have eluded him had it not been for his OU background.
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A retired design engineer was inspired to join the Open University by one of the very first ‘University of the Air’ students – who sadly died before he was able to graduate. Jim Watters, 63, fondly remembers brother-in-law Daniel, his sister’s husband, who he credits with giving him the vision to study with the OU. Jim said: “Daniel was a ...
