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.
Q&A with competition winner and published author James Clark
What and when did you study with the OU?
I started my studies in 1999 with S103 Discovering Science, because I wanted to refresh and expand my knowledge of general science. At the same time, I was researching my first booklet about ghost stories and legends from my home town and I found myself becoming increasingly interested in the ways in which people experience the world. For example, why do some people believe they see ghosts while others don’t? It seemed to me that learning more about psychology would increase my understanding of the processes involved and so I studied DSE202 Introduction to psychology followed by the other three core psychology modules (ED209 Child development, D317 Social psychology, and D309 Cognitive psychology). I rounded off my studies in 2004, covering all the bases with A103 An introduction to the humanities, and graduated with a first class BSc (Honours) in Psychology.
Did you always want to be a writer? And how did your OU studies help you?
I suppose I did always want to be a writer, yes. I’ve certainly always seen writing as something I could do, from as far back as being in primary school, and I’ve always been drawn towards scribbling away in one form or another. One particular teacher at my middle school – Mrs Whitman – went out of her way to encourage me to write and I owe her a debt of gratitude.
More recently, my OU studies have definitely helped me in several ways.
To begin with, understanding more about psychology has helped me to appreciate that much of my favourite subject matter (ghosts, legends, and the “fortean”) cannot adequately be understood in black and white terms of whether or not such and such an event really did occur. There are all sorts of subtleties involved, such as the ways in which people perceive and recall events and the ways in which they then describe what they experienced, and the ways in which all of these factors feed back into each other. And that’s before you even get to the question of whether or not “ghosts” are supernatural manifestations – on which subject I remain stubbornly agnostic.
Secondly, I’ve found that my OU studies trained me to think more critically about things in general, and that is a very useful ability as regards researching and planning writing projects.
Also, the simple self-discipline that’s so necessary in studying with the OU is invaluable when it comes to sitting down and forcing yourself to write on those days when you’d rather do anything but!
You have written several books relating to London’s ghost stories and legends. Where does your interest in this area come from and where do you get your inspiration from?
I’ve always been interested in ghost stories, mysteries, and all manner of weird goings-on, and am probably a bit too curious for my own good, so I wanted to look more deeply into what was causing the sort of reports I enjoyed reading about. This was many years ago and at the time I naively thought that it would just be a matter of visiting “haunted” locations and waiting for something to happen. It soon became apparent that this was too simplistic.
After a lot of long, eventless, and often very cold nights in allegedly haunted houses I came to realise that, regardless of whether or not the ghosts supposed to haunt these places were real, the stories told about them definitely were. Those stories were things I could actually find out more about.
Have you ever seen a ghost?
No, although it’s not for want of trying! There’s no doubt whatsoever that “ghosts” exist, but considerable doubt as to whether or not ghosts are spirits of the dead, as in the popular conception. The more you look into the matter, the more you realise that ghosts represent a more complicated concept than most people realise.
All sorts of different experiences get labelled as a ghost, including feeling cold or nauseous, catching a whiff of an unexpected scent, hearing a creaking sound at night, taking a photograph that shows an odd-looking effect, and so on. Actually, this illustrates another benefit of studying psychology – it has helped me to appreciate how we impose artificial categories on the world, and how those categories often have very fuzzy boundaries.
How important is research?
For what I write about, it’s absolutely vital. For one thing, understanding the historical background of a ghost story enables me to put that story into its appropriate context. For another, research can sometimes reveal deep problems with a story that has passed into popular mythology. There is, for example, an oft-repeated tale about a phantom monk that haunts Buckingham Palace. The monk is supposed to have died after being locked up in a punishment cell of a priory that stood on the site long ago, and which was destroyed after the dissolution of the monasteries in the mid-sixteenth century. When I tried to find out further information about this priory from the Museum of London, I learned that no priory or monastery had ever existed on the site. The closest religious establishment had been the leper hospital of St James, which stood on the site of the present-day St James’s palace. So perhaps the phantom monk has a connection to that hospital, or perhaps this ghost only exists within the story told about him.
Who are your favourite authors?
There are so many, but to pick two who have been among my favourites for as long as I can remember, I would have to say Stephen King and Michael Moorcock.
As a writer and proof reader, what have you found the most challenging things about your career?
Writing is a very solitary pursuit and I know a lot of writers would say that the enforced isolation is a challenge, and I guess that would go for proof readers too. To be honest, though, I rather enjoy that aspect of it!
However, coupled with the isolation is the problem of staying motivated without colleagues around to push you on. That can be a real challenge, but I suppose that’s why God invented deadlines.
You write a column in ‘The Morton Report’ – can you tell us more about this?
The Morton Report is an online pop-culture magazine based in the US but with a worldwide readership. The Morton in question, by the way, is the famous celebrity biographer Andrew Morton.
I was contacted by the magazine shortly before their launch earlier this year. The launch was timed to coincide with the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton and the editors were looking for someone to write an article about ghost stories connected with locations such as Clarence House and Westminster Abbey. They must have been reasonably pleased with the result because they subsequently asked me to contribute a regular column.
My column is now one of The Morton Report’s featured columns, under the title “Notes from a Weird World: Pondering the paranormal, the unexplained, and the just plain odd”. My articles appear every Tuesday (Tuesday evening in the UK) and your readers are more than welcome to visit the site for a weekly dose of weirdness!
What else would you like to achieve in your writing career?
My next specific objective is to see our book about the Battersea poltergeist in print. It’s an incredible tale – certainly one of the most bizarre real-life stories I’ve ever read about, let alone had the opportunity to look into. (James has recently co-authored a book with Shirley Hitchings about the poltergeist that troubled Shirley's family in Battersea, south London, for a number of years beginning in 1956.)
Thinking long-term, I would love to get paid to write fiction one day (I write fiction solely for my own pleasure at present) but for the moment I’m happy to continue using writing as an excuse to explore strange stories, strange behaviour, and strange ideas.
What advice would you give OU students who want to become published authors?
Write. There’s no point in just planning your book, or reading articles about how to write – you have to do it, and you have to keep on doing it, in much the same way that athletes have to continually keep up with their training. Luckily, a writer’s training also involves reading a lot, and as any good writer must necessarily love reading that has to be good news.
For many people, I think joining a writers’ circle would be a good way of getting useful feedback. Personally, though, that’s not for me – I’ve never been much of a social animal!
Finally, I heartily recommend a book by Stephen King called On Writing. Part memoir and part practical advice, it’s the most inspiring book on the subject I’ve ever read. In fact, I rather fancy reading it again now.
Platform recently caught up with James Clark: the winner of the Published authors competition. His prize was a Q&A about his book and OU studies.... What and when did you study with the OU? I started my studies in 1999 with S103 Discovering Science, because I wanted to refresh and expand my knowledge of general science. At the same time, I was researching my first ...
Home school teenager starts OU degree at 15
Raphael Price is celebrating after winning a university place – aged 15.
The home-school teenager, who lived in a homeless hostel for more than a year, has been awarded a grant to study for a full degree in computing, IT and design with The Open University.
Raphael Price is celebrating after winning a university place – aged 15. The home-school teenager, who lived in a homeless hostel for more than a year, has been awarded a grant to study for a full degree in computing, IT and design with The Open University. Eventually, he hopes to set up a computer company and design software for gaming. Read the full article in the Camden New ...
Fancy a career as a fungal taxonomist?
What do people think a fungal taxonomist is?
I suspect people wouldn’t really know. I’m very specialised actually; I work on just a single group of organism: the fungi that form Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (their formal name is the Glomeromycota). These fungi are so specialised that they can’t live without their plant partners. They are essential to plant growth and they assist plants to take nutrients up to the soil. It’s a mutual thing so they get carbohydrates from the plant. But a fungal taxonomist is someone who names and classifies fungi.
What did you study at the OU and what was your experience like as a student?
I did all the foundation courses. I had a Foresters certificate and a few O Levels but that was all my qualifications at the time. The OU gave me the opportunity to do a degree which otherwise would not have been an option.
I did Maths and Science which were terrific and went on with Sciences. I did Electronics but never understood much about it (though I managed to scrape a pass). That got me the basic Bachelor’s degree. It was a very rewarding time, even though it was hard work. I really felt like a pioneer in this new educational experience, and will always be grateful for the opportunity.
I was about to start on my Honours when I met at work an American Scientist (the late Prof. Sande McNabb) who was on sabbatical (a tree pathologist). He was interested in my work on Dutch Elm disease and offered me the opportunity to go to America for four years and study a PhD at Iowa University. However, when I arrived in America, the funding for Dutch Elm disease had run out so I had the opportunity to work in a new area of interest: mycorrhiza.
I discovered most of the fungi I was finding didn’t have proper names (or names at all) and the names given to some of them were ’pre-Linnean’ – that is, they were more or less just described as ‘little yellow spores’ or ‘white spores with a bulb at the base’. I got interested in naming them and separating the different species and it went from there.
There are only three or four who work on taxonomy in the world. I suppose quite a few more describe ‘new species’ by comparing them with anything that already exists but that doesn’t interest me so much as the classification (placing them in a natural order).
Is it all lab based or do you go into the field?
Sometimes I do go into the field and collect, but much of what I do is either through high powered microscopes, or (in cooperation with a colleague in Germany) with DNA analysis. These particular fungi are difficult things to work with. Because they mostly develop underground, they are the sort of things few would know about or see but we are pretty sure that plants would not have evolved from aquatic conditions without the help of these symbiotic fungi. So plants with roots co-evolved with the ancestors of these fungi.
Do you have any advice for OU students hoping for a career in Science?
If you’re looking for fortune, academic science isn’t the place to go but, if you’re looking for a very satisfying life with constant interest Science is the place. Work hard, develop an interest and find something that nobody else is doing, but most of all, throw yourself into it with enthusiasm and a sense of discovery.
Christopher Walker is an OU pioneer, part of the very first intake of OU students in 1971. He studied whilst working as an entomology forester for the Forestry Commission Research Division, and has enjoyed an unusual career as a fungal taxonomist. What do people think a fungal taxonomist is? I suspect people wouldn’t really know. I’m very specialised actually; I ...
Our man in Mauritius has an OU MBA
Nick is the British High Commissioner to Mauritius and admits an MBA is not an obvious qualification for someone in his role.
But, he told the Guardian website’s public leaders’ network, it has given him the confidence to deliver on all aspects of his job while addressing challenges strategically.
“What’s more, studying for an MBA while working, has trained me to tackle a brief fast.
“Murphy’s Law says that whenever I have a deadline is when a crisis hits in the office!
“I have had to plan my delivery carefully, absorb volumes of information, produce concise reports quickly and adapt at speed as situations arise – an MBA is fantastic training for that,” he said.
When Nick Leake says his OU MBA has helped him develop new skills for his job he is being diplomatic – because that is his job. Nick is the British High Commissioner to Mauritius and admits an MBA is not an obvious qualification for someone in his role. But, he told the Guardian website’s public leaders’ network, it has given him the confidence to ...
The Law is no longer a pipe-dream for plumber Jeremy
An unhappy result in court following a road accident inspired a plumbing and heating engineer to pursue a new career as a lawyer.
And thanks to the OU Jeremy Vernall is well on his way after picking up a law degree.
Jeremy, aged 50, of Choppington, Northumberland, received his degree at a ceremony at Sage Gateshead in June.
He was driving home from work several years ago when another driver pulled out and collided with the side of his vehicle.
The other driver denied careless driving and after appearing in court was cleared.
The experience left Jeremy vowing to join the legal profession, he told the Newcastle Journal,
“In the hope that one day I could make a difference if I was on the other side of the fence.”
He did an OU social sciences course before the four-year LLB (Hons) law degree.
Jeremy hopes to gain further qualifications to become a trainee solicitor.
He said: “I have nothing but praise for the OU law degree course and would recommend it without hesitation to others who want to study while working.
“The bonus of distance learning was the accessibility of the tutors, who were a massive encouragement and nothing was a trouble,” he said.
An unhappy result in court following a road accident inspired a plumbing and heating engineer to pursue a new career as a lawyer. And thanks to the OU Jeremy Vernall is well on his way after picking up a law degree. Jeremy, aged 50, of Choppington, Northumberland, received his degree at a ceremony at Sage Gateshead in June. He was driving home from work several years ago ...
Arts degree for Emily, 89
At 89, Emily Chapman is proof that it's never too late to learn - after graduating with a degree from The Open University.
Mrs Chapman, who will be 90 next month, collected her Bachelor of Arts certificate at Ely Cathedral in June 2011 after studying since 2002.
She said: “The Open University have a wonderful system and help is always there. It is one of the finest institutions for education that I know of.”
And while she's not considering using her degree to get a job, she does hope to be an inspiration to her great grandchildren.
Read her story in the Bury Free Press.
Posted: June 2011
At 89, Emily Chapman is proof that it's never too late to learn - after graduating with a degree from The Open University. Mrs Chapman, who will be 90 next month, collected her Bachelor of Arts certificate at Ely Cathedral in June 2011 after studying since 2002. She said: “The Open University have a wonderful system and help is always there. It is one of the finest institutions for ...
Award for Dr Phebe Mann's work to boost women in engineering
Open University associate lecturer Dr Phebe Mann (pictured) has been named a Women of Outstanding Achievement for breaking new ground for women in engineering.
Dr Mann is the first and only woman to hold five professional engineering qualifications concurrently in the UK. She is a Chartered Civil Engineer (CEng MICE), Chartered Surveyor (MRICS), Chartered Builder (MCIOB), Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) and European Engineer (Eur Ing).
Dr Mann is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Ambassador, taking every opportunity to encourage girls to consider civil engineering as their career. In her award citation she says her most rewarding achievement has been to support students who have to overcome great difficulties in order to be successful in these areas. She is a tutor in Fundamentals of interaction design (M364), Research project and dissertation (M801), and Design and designing (T211).
The Woman of Outstanding Achievement awards are given by the UK Resource Centre which is dedicated to promoting greater gender equality in science, engineering and technology. It was presented in a ceremony at the Royal Academy of Engineering.
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Woman of Outstanding Achievement Awards 2011
Open University associate lecturer Dr Phebe Mann (pictured) has been named a Women of Outstanding Achievement for breaking new ground for women in engineering. Dr Mann is the first and only woman to hold five professional engineering qualifications concurrently in the UK. She is a Chartered Civil Engineer (CEng MICE), Chartered Surveyor (MRICS), Chartered Builder ...
A219 tutor wins top US award for academic paper
Dr Amanda Wrigley, an associate lecturer on A219 Exploring the Classical World in the Open University's South Region, has won the Philadelphia Constantinidis Essay in Critical Theory Award 2010 for publishing a chapter of her thesis.
The prize is awarded by the (American) Board of the Comparative Drama Conference for ‘the best comparative essay on any aspect and period of Greek drama or theatre published in English in any journal’.
Dr Wright wins a plaque and $1,000 for her article 'A Wartime radio Odyssey: Edward Sackville-West and Benjamin Britten’s The Rescue (1943) in the academic journal Radio Journal - International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media.
She completed her PhD part-time in the Open University's Department of Classical Studies in 2009, on the topic ‘Engagements with Greek drama and Homeric epic on BBC Radio in the 1940s and 1950s’.
Useful Links
Dr Amanda Wrigley, an associate lecturer on A219 Exploring the Classical World in the Open University's South Region, has won the Philadelphia Constantinidis Essay in Critical Theory Award 2010 for publishing a chapter of her thesis. The prize is awarded by the (American) Board of the Comparative Drama Conference for ‘the best comparative essay on any aspect and period ...
OU grad helping to educate the women of Cameroon into better life
Tabea Müller is an OU graduate who studied in Hamburg, Germany. Keen to use her degree in the field, Tabea now works in a development role in Cameroon and writes regularly about her experiences for well-known German weekly newspaper Die Zeit...
More than 10 years ago Tabea Müller completed her BSc (Hons) with the OU. After digging into the theories of gender, development, environmental policy and social psychology she now works with women in Cameroon who hope to make better lives for themselves through education.
“After a hard working day on their farms or in the market, three dozen women aged between 30 and 75 still have an important date. Two to three times a week they go to their literacy course. They try to catch up on what they missed out on when they were younger, when their families had no money for education or it was simply not seen as important that a girl goes to school. The women are participants of the Women’s Economic Empowerment and Literacy Project (WEELP) of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) which we carry out in the north-west of the country, sponsored by Mission 21.
“It’s 8am. My Cameroonian colleague and I find a taxi and squeeze ourselves next to a number of other people into an old car. Muddy roads lead us through amazing landscapes. White morning clouds hang halfway between the clear, green mountains. Waterfalls rush down from the shiny rocks. What a beautiful country! On the roadside, women have already started to prepare their fish rolls and puff-puffs which swim in hot oil over a small fireplace. Our destination today is a small Sunday school house in a village in north-western Cameroon. The group of women greets us with stormy embraces, joyful voices and small dances.” Some hours later we find ourselves in discussions about the best food for pigs, current market prices as well as health issues of the newborn piglets,” says Tabea. “Women share their experiences, ask questions, learn together and try out new ideas. All of them are self employed farmers, small producers or traders who feed their families with their own small farms, animal rising or small market activities. What have they all come for?
“The women want to know: how can I improve my business performance? How can I stop hand-to-mouth living and overcome poverty? How can I gain independence and power over my own life and decisions?
“With WEELP, we use and update the various abilities and experiences women are already equipped with. We counsel and accompany women on their different journeys to make their dreams come true. We work with self employed women of all religious backgrounds and ages who have not be able to get much in the way of education so far.”
Through workshops and training the women gain new knowledge and confidence. The project puts emphasis on sustainable production methods to protect the health of the women and their families, to protect the environment and secure long-term use of natural resources. The women are encouraged to exchange their experiences, to learn from and support each other. And not at least, WEELP offers courses on adult literacy.
“We believe that with economic power, women will also gain more social power and self-esteem which can help to make the world a better place,” says Tabea. “It’s amazing to see how the project has changed women’s lives over the last two years. Little things, small initiatives can and do make a difference. The project is still very small scale and has a low budget. But many raindrops make an ocean. We are close to the people, work together with them, at their speed, according to their needs.”
Tabea has been living in Cameroon for two years now to manage the WEEL Project as well as to conduct training sessions and counsel the staff of the Women’s Work Department of the PCC.
“Beside my work here it’s wonderful to be embedded in this lively Cameroonian community, to be close to the people, to be embraced by their joy and sorrows, songs and dances, celebrations and laughter.”
But what lead Tabea to help improve the lives of women and their families in Cameroon, so far away from her native Germany?
“More than 10 years ago, without even dreaming of it, I laid the foundation stone of this mission when I completed my BSc (Hons) with the OU. After deeply digging into the theories of gender, development, environmental policy and social psychology, I now (sometimes even literally) dig with the women in the African soil and find myself faced with all the various, diverse, contradictory aspects I had studied – but now in the middle of the field!
“Empowering people, enriching lives, learning and discovering new things and improving living conditions are processes which never end and build bridges between different people and cultures. Out of my personal experience, the OU functions as such a bridge builder, together with the various study centres like the one in Hamburg, my former bridge to the OU.”
Tabea Müller is an OU graduate who studied in Hamburg, Germany. Keen to use her degree in the field, Tabea now works in a development role in Cameroon and writes regularly about her experiences for well-known German weekly newspaper Die Zeit... More than 10 years ago Tabea Müller completed her BSc (Hons) with the OU. After digging into the theories of gender, ...
How Danny's using business studies to change career
Danny Rowe joined the Army when he was just 16 and a few years later started studying with the OU to prepare him for civilian life.
A business studies student, he's now using his skills to run a taxi company, "bringing it into the 21st century" as well as returning home each evening to study towards completing his degree.
Danny Rowe joined the Army when he was just 16 and a few years later started studying with the OU to prepare him for civilian life. A business studies student, he's now using his skills to run a taxi company, "bringing it into the 21st century" as well as returning home each evening to study towards completing his degree. Watch the video
Just over a year to go before Nikki, 23, achieves her degree
Nikki, 23, is studying towards an Open Degree with the OU, after first dipping her toe into life at a traditional university and deciding it wasn't for her.
Here she talks about what she's studying, how she's finding life with the OU, her forthcoming tutorial at the Tate Modern and the OU's grading system...
Nikki, 23, is studying towards an Open Degree with the OU, after first dipping her toe into life at a traditional university and deciding it wasn't for her. Here she talks about what she's studying, how she's finding life with the OU, her forthcoming tutorial at the Tate Modern and the OU's grading system... 2.5 Average: 2.5 (10 votes)
Semantic web wizard wins award
Dr Mathieu d'Aquin, a research fellow in the Open University's Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) has been named as a rising star of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the prestigious 'AI’s 10 to Watch' list, compiled by the IEEE Intelligent Systems magazine.
The award, given every two years, recognises 10 young researchers in artificial intelligence who promise to be the leaders of the field.
Mathieu (pictured) is director of the LUCERO project which is pioneering the use of Linked Data at the OU. Linked Data, a term coined by web pioneer Tim Berners-Lee, allows machines to explore and make connections between data on the internet, and greatly increases the power and flexibility of information access on the web.
The OU is the first UK university to provide public data as Linked Data, which is a key building block of the next stage of web evolution, the semantic web. This will effectively turn the entire worldwide web into one huge database.
The potential of Linked Data is very exciting, said Mathieu. "Linked data principles are intended to transform the web into a single, distributed and open data space, where for example, course material from the OU can be related to relevant audio and video material, research data, and even connected and compared to other universities courses. Semantic Web technologies allow us to make use of this large data space to build more intelligent applications, serving students, teachers and researchers."
Read more about Mathieu's award and work here.
Dr Mathieu d'Aquin, a research fellow in the Open University's Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) has been named as a rising star of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the prestigious 'AI’s 10 to Watch' list, compiled by the IEEE Intelligent Systems magazine. The award, given every two years, recognises 10 young ...
An interview with Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson
Born with spina bifida, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a wheelchair user, one of the UK’s most successful disabled athletes and three times BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Open University. In an interview in 2010 she talks to Platform’s Robyn Slingsby about London 2012, the challenges of being a mother, discrimination, her heroes and skiing.
She’s just turned 40 and although she no longer trains to compete at world-class level, Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson certainly has her hands full. While she admits that not having to watch her weight anymore is a huge relief, she’s a huge advocate of the fact that exercise fuels the brain. She still does a lot for sport since retiring in 2008 – with 16 Paralympic medals to her name - but confesses that her biggest challenge yet is being a mum.
“Winning the 100 metres in Athens for me, as an athlete, was the best thing I did. It was probably the closest thing to perfection in terms of any race I did, technically and in terms of my preparation. The trouble with me is I’m never ever happy with what I’ve done, I’m really self critical so for most of my athletics career I didn’t think I’d done enough, and then at the point I didn’t think I could do any more, I retired.
“But, to be honest, having Carys, my daughter, has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Being a mother is way harder than any of the work stuff I do because it changes every day. One day she eats peas, the next day she refuses to eat peas and she’ll sit there and say she’s never eaten peas in her life. We’ll be in a shop and I’ll buy her an outfit she says she likes and then you get home and she won’t wear it. It changes every day.
“I was in Beijing for two months last year and before we went, Carys went into school and told the teacher that I was making her going to the Olympics . We had tickets to the opening ceremony and she asked if there would be fireworks, that’s all she was interested in. But once she was there she loved it.”
Permanent state of chaos
Tanni juggles a lot of commitments and has to manage her diary carefully so she spends enough quality time with her husband Dr Ian Thompson and daughter Carys, seven, at their home in Eaglescliffe. How does she do it?
“We live in permanent state of chaos, and that’s fine. There’s a lot of guilt put onto mothers that you have to be perfect mother who cooks, cleans, washes and can hold down a job. I just think that’s nonsense, it’s about not beating yourself up over things and I don’t feel guilty if I give my daughter cheese on toast for tea, even though my own mother would have thought it was dreadful. It’s about not feeling guilty about the stuff you can’t change.
“I really enjoy my work and do lots of different things and I love it, and that has consequences on my husband and daughter but you try and balance it the best you can.
“When I was little my mum stopped working when my sister was born – she’s two years older than me – and went back to work when I was 19, and the world’s not like that anymore. Very occasionally Carys will ask me why I’m away – usually because she wants something out of me. I’ve learned from right back when she was really little that children are amazing at making you feel guilty.
As well as her charity work, Dame Tanni has been involved in the bidding for and planning of the Olympics in London in 2012 – and she’s very excited about it.
Tall poppy syndrome
“London will do an amazing job, when you look at the bid process the team were really professional and did their homework. There’s a bit of a tall poppy syndrome within UK culture, we do sometimes see the negative. This is the best opportunity in sport to showcase what we do and show the world what we’re good at.”
What about disabled access?
“I joined the board at Transport For London (TFL) last year, and going into it my view was why can’t we make all underground stations accessible? But then you look at putting a lift into a tube station and find out you don’t get much change out of £150 million. A lot of work has gone into making the newer stations accessible, but there are issues about air conditioning on the tubes, line upgrades, platform rebuilds, health and safety, and access is one part of it so it all has to go in the melting pot that is the TFL budget and it’s a hard balancing act.
“Every single London bus is wheelchair accessible, every taxi is, so we’re starting off at a much stronger point than any other Olympic or Paralympic city has for quite a while and, for me, the key is educating people. Not a lot of people will know this but there’s a really cool underground map which shows the accessible stations, so the ones I can’t use are in pale grey so they don’t cloud my view of where I can travel. So for me the key is education and we’ll have amazingly well trained volunteers at Games times to help people get to where they want to go. Education is key.
“2012 can be a platform to try and make London more accessible in a wider sense to everyone - mums with prams, wheelchairs, blind people.”
Discrimination
Dame Tanni has no problem getting around but says disabled people do suffer discrimination and things like access to higher education are more challenging.
“The reality for disabled people is that education is harder. So whether they miss school time because of illness or they’re in hospital of if they’ve missed things because of their impairment, I sometimes think that higher education isn’t seen as an option.
“When I was in school I’d just sat my O Levels and the careers teacher told me he could get me a nice job answering phones. I said I wanted to go to uni and he basically said ‘Don’t be so silly, what do you want a degree for, it’ll be difficult and won’t help you because you’ll probably end up answering phones anyway.’”
As it turned out my first job was working for British Athletics and part of my job was in fact answering phones, and I really enjoyed it. But lots of people look at impairment and it starts off as inherently negative and if someone tells you that you can’t do something then it’s very easy to believe that. The beauty of the OU is that people come back when they feel they’re ready to but they also have the flexibility, which makes a real difference.”
So, if Dame Tanni could study an OU course, what would it be?
“Law, I always wanted to do law. I went to Loughborough University, which didn’t offer law so I did politics. It was something I was interested in and actually it’s been incredibly useful. I always thought there wasn’t politics in sport and then you get involved and realise there’s loads.”
Self belief
And what about trying a new sport, what she go for?
“Skiing, but I hate the cold and the wet and being out and going downhill doesn’t appeal to me. I like the concept of skiing and saying that I will ski one day, but I don’t think Ill ever actually go skiing.”
Dame Tanni is an inspiration in her own right, but who does she admire?
“I was at the Young Sport conference, to look at what you can do beyond sport to help people, and Desmond Tutu was there and he was just so cool. His charisma and his personality and the way he talked about Africa was just incredible, so I’m a huge fan of his.
“My mum, who has passed away now, was stroppy and stubborn but just an amazingly strong person to have around, she was really cool. We used to argue a lot but she brought me up to have a lot of self belief.
“And Gareth Edwards. I was brought up by mother to believe that he is the closest thing to perfection that will ever walk this earth and it was the way he played, he knew he was good but he wasn’t arrogant and you listen to some of his stories and he was a really cool bloke. I still get awe struck when ever I meet him.”
Born with spina bifida, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a wheelchair user, one of the UK’s most successful disabled athletes and three times BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Open University. In an interview in 2010 she talks to Platform’s Robyn Slingsby about London 2012, the challenges of being a mother, ...
Footballer scores a first class law degree
Sheffield Wednesday footballer Richard Hinds has achieved a first class honours degree in Law from the OU.
The League One defender has juggled his studies alongside the demands of full-time football and also while battling back to fitness after a badly broken left leg.
More recently Richard became a dad for the first time - and daughter Abigail’s arrival coincided exactly with him sitting his final OU exams!
Although often finding his days off and spare time eaten up by study commitments, he remains an advocate of the notion that it is better to prepare for a future away from football while you are still in it.
"Football’s really a very short career and it can end at any moment. It might be a bit of a cliche, but it really struck home when I broke my leg a couple of years ago," he says.
"At the time I’d already started my Law degree and to be honest it just cemented my view that you should retrain for the future while you’re still playing.
"If I’d had to finish playing at that time I’d have been two or three years off finishing the course and that would’ve been time wasted in terms of not being qualified, having no job and having no income coming in."
With the Professional Footballers' Association keen to encourage more current players to re-train for the future, the OU is becoming a popular route for many due to the flexibility of their programmes.
"The OU offers lads who are playing the opportunity to go out and get a degree while to a certain extent allowing you to work at your own pace," adds Richard.
"They were great with me, to be honest, and the level of support and quality of online support they’ve provided has been different class. It’s just a case of building on that good work now and looking at the next phase which will be a Legal Practice course."
Ever wondered which sporting stars have studied with the OU? Well...
- Jillie Cooper, badminton
- Footballer Craig Brown, Rangers, Dundee, Falkirk and former Scotland Manager
- Dave Sexton, West Ham, and former manager of Chelsea and Manchester United
- Vikram Solanki, Worcestershire and England cricketer
- Mark Mayerhofler, former All Black and rugby union player
- Fabrice Muamba, Arsenal, Birmingham and Bolton Wanderers footballer
- Jason de Vos, Canada and Ipswich Town footballer
- Derek Stillie, Dundee United (and others) goalkeeper, also did an OU Law degree
- Michelle Sole, downhill skier
- Katie O'Brien, tennis player
- Footballer Espen Baardsen, Watford, Tottenham Hotspur, Norway. (Got a BA Hons in Social Sciences with Economics in 2003)
- Rugby player Tyrone Howe (rugby)
- Racing driver Damon Hill
- Footballer John Curtis, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers
Sheffield Wednesday footballer Richard Hinds has achieved a first class honours degree in Law from the OU. The League One defender has juggled his studies alongside the demands of full-time football and also while battling back to fitness after a badly broken left leg. More recently Richard became a dad for the first time - and daughter Abigail’s ...
Winner of Cyber Security Challenge announced
Dan Summers beat 25 other finalists during the final task which was a simulated corporate security scenario devised by Hewlett Packard and security company Cassidian.
The trial for Dan was to develop security policies and advise decision-makers on training requirements, while protecting the company's network from a barrage of cyber attacks.
“This was the most intense and rewarding experience of my life,” he said. “I'm just so glad I did this. I'll be looking closely at all the opportunities that have developed as a result of my involvement with the challenge.”
Dan was awarded a range of prizes worth more than £37,000, including an Open University course, and received his award from Minister of State for Security and Counter Terrorism Pauline Neville-Jones (pictured).
The Cyber Security Challenge UK was designed by leading security, education and government organisations in response to the worrying shortage of skilled professionals in the cyber security sector.
Read more about the event at Computer Weekly.com
Useful links
A postman from Wakefield has been named as the winner of the inaugural Cyber Security Challenge, the UK competition to discover the best of amateur computer security talent. Dan Summers beat 25 other finalists during the final task which was a simulated corporate security scenario devised by Hewlett Packard and security company Cassidian. The trial for Dan was to develop ...
OU MBA: No regrets
Studying for an MBA is a big commitment at the best of times. For US-based Michael Linss, 40, he had to study while travelling all over the world on business trips but he has no regrets about studying with the OU.
In an interview with BusinessBecause, German-born but US-based Michael said “This [studying for an MBA with the OU] was the best choice I'd ever made. As soon as I embarked on learning about Financial Strategy and Knowledge Management, I used it every day in my business projects.
Most of the time you learn by doing. When you combine this with higher education you learn faster.”
Michael's tutor is based in London, while classmates include a British Army officer in Afghanistan, someone from the British Consulate in Jamaica, and others in Russia and India.
Michael has spent the last 10 years working for Atlas Copco, a mechanical engineering multinational which employs 30,000 people and has operations in more than 70 countries.
Read the full interview at BusinessBecause
Useful links:
Studying for an MBA is a big commitment at the best of times. For US-based Michael Linss, 40, he had to study while travelling all over the world on business trips but he has no regrets about studying with the OU. In an interview with BusinessBecause, German-born but US-based Michael said “This [studying for an MBA with the OU] was the best choice I'd ever made. As soon as I embarked on ...
From fighter pilot to Open University Business School tutor
Formerly a fighter pilot, Open University Business School tutor Jo Salter tells Platform how she still applies the skills and experiences she learned in the RAF in her day-to-day work...
Many an aspiring talent has been labelled a ‘high flier’, but Open University Business School tutor and graduate Jo Salter is the real thing.
Jo was the UK’s first female fast-jet pilot when only five other women in the world held the same status. A member of the legendary 617 Dambusters squadron, while studying for her MBA she once asked her tutor "can I have an extension because I’m policing the no-fly zone in northern Iraq?”
Jo initially joined the RAF at 18 to train as an Engineering Officer. But in 1989, the year she graduated, the ban on women pilots was lifted. Jo decided to have a go at the pilot aptitude tests, and uncovered a hidden talent. “It wasn’t until I actually flew my first trip that I found I loved it.”
Her experiences taught her a lot about decision making and coping with stressful situations – like the occasion when enemy missiles locked on to her Tornado GR1 fighter plane. “It’s something you’ve been trained very well for, and you’re surrounded by other people who are doing the same thing. You know what your mission is, you know what you have to achieve. You do it in a very controlled manner.”
She still applies what she learnt in the RAF in her work. “Experience and skills we learn are transferable: they become part of our character, part of our make-up and the way we behave in our future life.”
The most useful skills are the ability to cope with a number of things going on at once, handling stress and getting the right focus, she said. “When you’re flying, you need to look out a lot, as well as focusing on a target; similarly in business, sometimes we need a ‘scattergun’ approach, while sometimes we really need to narrow things down and pinpoint what we have to do.”
After serving in Iraq, Jo went on to become an RAF flight instructor but left in 1999. “It was a transformational time for the RAF. They were having women in the front line for the first time, which was a cultural change of quite mammoth proportions,” she said.
“Being at the forefront of change is exhausting. I knew I didn’t want to be in it for the long term.” And the birth of the first of her two daughters in 1998 changed her priorities. She continues to fly at weekends, teaching air cadets and university air squadron students in the RAF’s Air Experience Flights (training units).
Jo studied with The Open University Business School and achieved her MBA just six months after leaving the air force. She went into e-commerce, until the birth of her second daughter precipitated another lifestyle shift to the portfolio career she now has: a mixture of management consultancy, public speaking engagements, writing, teaching and “making things happen”.
Jo is an Open University Business School tutor in the OU’s South region (Region 2) working on the online courses Managing 1: organisations and people (BZX628) and Managing 2: marketing and finance (BZX629).
Formerly a fighter pilot, Open University Business School tutor Jo Salter tells Platform how she still applies the skills and experiences she learned in the RAF in her day-to-day work... Many an aspiring talent has been labelled a ‘high flier’, but Open University Business School tutor and graduate Jo Salter is the real thing. Jo was the UK’s first female fast-jet ...
MBE for Modern Literature Academic
Susheila Nasta, Professor of Modern Literature, was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List for services to Black and Asian literature.
Professor Nasta (pictured) is a critic and literary activist, editor and broadcaster. She is founding editor of the internationally distinguished literary magazine, Wasafiri, one of the first magazines to promote African, Caribbean and South Asian writing. She initiated some of the first courses in the UK in the postcolonial literatures, and currently contributes to Open University modules A430 Post-Colonial Literatures in English: Readings and Interpretations, A215 Creative Writing, A300 Twentieth Century Literature: Texts and Debates, and the MA in English.
Find out more about Literature at the OU here.
Susheila Nasta, Professor of Modern Literature, was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List for services to Black and Asian literature. Professor Nasta (pictured) is a critic and literary activist, editor and broadcaster. She is founding editor of the internationally distinguished literary magazine, Wasafiri, one of the first magazines to promote African, ...
Deborah Regal: a top businesswoman and an OU student for life
Deborah Regal is an OU student and successful businesswoman - named in Management Today as one of the UK´s top 35 women under 35 in 2009. But she says learning to fail is all part of achieving success. Here she talks to Platform about study, careers and her passion for volunteering…
Deborah Regal (pictured) is not afraid of hard work and that’s perhaps why she gets on so well as an OU student.
“I have embraced every opportunity the OU has to offer, dipping into arts and science courses. I plunged in to study with a Level 3 course, and sank quickly! I then went back to the drawing board, and chose again, selecting a 10 point course, so I could regain my confidence.
“I have continued to study throughout the births of both my sons. I have taken the books with me abroad and, like everyone else, I try my best to get assignments in on time, but of course, I don´t always manage it.”
Deborah gained a degree at City University Business School, London, and dips in and out of OU study to update her skills.
“Throughout my degree, I worked part-time, often turning up to lectures in my uniform from the shop where I worked the till. I also took on evening work at one of the banks, preparing bond market research. I often stayed until 2am or 3am, walking back through the streets of London when the city was still and quiet.
Prioritise my dreams
“I have a number of points with the OU now but not traded them in and nor do I want to advocate the need to study purely to get degrees. I´d like to wave the flag for the OU as a means of continually updating skills, widening horizons and as it being an inclusive education provider.”
So perhaps it’s no surprise that Deborah’s hard work paid off and she excelled, working for 10 years in the financial markets with Bloomberg and JP Morgan. In 2009 she was named in Management Today as one of the UK´s top 35 women under 35 in 2009.
“I was over the moon and really proud when my dad opened The Sunday Times the weekend before its appearance in Management Today and there I was!”
But Deborah doesn’t put her success or career choices down to good careers advice at school.
“I was asked what I wanted to do, but I think the more pertinent question is what I wanted to do first. Careers can develop over a lifetime, although some people have a very clear view about what they want to do. In my view, it would have been more helpful to have huge encouragement to take a risk, and to prioritise my dreams. It’s feasible to have more than one career in mind. Plus, part of living is experimenting. It´s okay to try out different things. Importantly, I believe careers advisers should be promoting voluntary work as a means to gaining experience.
Life-long OU student
“I fundamentally believe the OU helped me so much to have faith and confidence to keep learning, to give things a go and to invest in myself. I have always felt that finishing education at 16, 18, or 21, is misguided, because life is a learning experience. I think as soon as you close the door on learning, you stop evolving. I also feel that the OU teaches you to be disciplined. I still have a lot to achieve, and I believe that I will be a life-long OU student.”
Aside from working, studying and raising a family, Deborah is passionate about volunteering, something she believes she inherited as a child.
“Voluntary work is really important to me. I believe whatever abilities I have, that I should use them to benefit society. I feel morally obligated to do something to help people, whatever it might be.
“When I was a child, I witnessed my father, who was a London firefighter, pull in at the roadside to help victims of car crashes ahead of the arrival of the emergency services. He was also a St John´s Ambulance volunteer. He received a commendation for his role as a rescuer in the Moorgate tube disaster in 1975. I feel I have public service in my blood.”
I fail more often than I succeed
Her voluntary work to date has been wide-ranging: “I read to primary school children in my lunch hour, I taught law to young people in local sports club, I wrote about the need to provide legal access to those who can least afford it, and I became a custody visitor in my local borough visiting detainees post-arrest to ensure their rights were not violated by police. I became a trustee of a charitable theatre production company and directed MPs towards the free legal services available to support the less well-off facing difficulties.”
Deborah was appointed Independent Member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, chaired by Boris Johnson, in 2008, and was named by the Attorney General as ´Pro-Bono hero´ in 2008 for her legal charity services work. Her latest project is volunteering for hospital radio.
But, for someone who has experienced so much success, how does Deborah handle failure?
“Like anybody else, I find failing painful. I´d like to say I´ve always been successful but time and time again I have not. I fail more often than I succeed. I try and suss out what I´m good at and build on that, at the same time as addressing my weaknesses. A good education should, in my view, tell you what works for you, and what does not. It´s an active process. I accept that I am going to fail many more times in the future.”
Recent achievements
Deborah is now the the practitioner adviser to the academic publisher Emerald (which many OU students use in their research). She has also been granted Freedom of the City of London in 2011, reflecting many years commitment to living and working in the city of London.
Deborah Regal is an OU student and successful businesswoman - named in Management Today as one of the UK´s top 35 women under 35 in 2009. But she says learning to fail is all part of achieving success. Here she talks to Platform about study, careers and her passion for volunteering… Deborah Regal (pictured) is not afraid of hard work and that’s perhaps ...
Student Carys is on the 'write' path...
Carys Bray graduated from The Open University with a degree in Literature after three years of study and while raising four children. Now she’s putting her study to good use – she’s been named this year’s MA Creative Writing winner in the Edge Hill University Short Story Prize 2010 and is currently talking to agents…
After the hard slog of an OU degree course, Carys enjoyed the creative writing element so much she wanted to continue the learning process, with one eye on a career in teaching, so is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University in Lancashire.
“I enjoyed the creative writing parts of the Open University BA so much that I didn´t want it to end so I accepted a place at Edge Hill because of the theoretical component of the course. I was beginning to think about teaching and I knew that the Edge Hill course examined writers´ poetics - their writings about writing - something which it seemed important to understand if I was hoping to teach writing one day. Additionally, the Edge Hill staff reminded me of the Open University staff, they were friendly and approachable and while I was slightly intimidated by the idea of post-graduate study, I wasn´t at all intimidated by the people who were there to guide me through it.”
And she’s clearly breezing through the MA, having just been named winner of the MA Creative Writing section in the Edge Hill University Short Story Competition 2010. Carys, 34, from Southport, won with her short story Just In Case.
“I was very excited to find out that I´d won. When I received the phone call I tried to sound calm and sensible, but I did have a bit of a dance around the kitchen during the conversation,” she says.
“I got my idea for the story from a blog about a man who found a suitcase in his mother´s loft after she passed away. There was a baby´s skeleton in the suitcase. The blogger referred to it as a ´baby skeleton´ as if it might grow up into an ´adult skeleton.´ I wrote down my idea for the ´Just in Case´ story straight away. Other stories develop out of funny things that people say, odd thoughts I have or things that my children do.”
I gave up television
After a decade of part-time work and consumed with motherhood, Carys wasn’t too confident about returning to study and started with the 10-point ´start writing fiction´ course. But she enjoyed it so much she decided to pursue a degree in Literature and was chuffed to discover she could study creative writing as part of it, graduating in 2009.
“I really enjoyed studying with the OU. I had very supportive tutors on every course and I very much wanted a degree. It was important to me to prove that I could achieve it, so I worked hard and made it a priority.
“Apart from some flexible and sporadic work for my husband, I wasn´t working during my studies with the OU. My four children were between the ages of eight and two in 2006 so they required regular attention but my life was my own every evening after 7pm when the children went to bed.
“I gave up television. I learned to cook the dinner while holding a book, which was actually easier than cooking the dinner while holding a child! I stopped caring if the house was a bit untidy. I ignored finger prints on the glass doors. On Saturday nights I made my husband watch OU DVDs and in September 2008 my youngest child started school and that meant I had a significant amount of extra study time.”
PhD or write a novel?
Carys’ hard work paid off as she achieved grade one passes for all her assignments. What’s her secret?
“It´s something I´m very proud of. I regretted not doing my degree when I was 18. I think the force of that regret ensured that I took study with the OU seriously. There wasn´t really a secret to it as such, it just became a priority for me and I always did my best.”
What’s next for Carys is the end of her MA course and the prospect of a publishing deal should agents fall in love with her short stories. Beyond that, she has to choose between a PhD or writing a novel but would one day like to teach for The Open University.
“I´m currently completing my collection of short stories. As a result of winning the prize I´ve had some agents read my work. I´ve had positive feedback and promises to read a novel should I write one; it´s difficult to be successful with short stories because they aren´t commercially attractive to publishers.
“After I hand in my MA manuscript I´ll send each of the stories off and hopefully some of them will be published. Then I´ll have to decide if I´m going to forge ahead with a PhD proposal or begin a novel.
“Eventually, I would like to teach for the Open University. I think of myself four years ago, a harried mum embarking on a 10 point writing course, and I feel immeasurably grateful to the OU for introducing me to the pleasure of writing. It would be fabulous to be a part of providing new OU students with the same life-changing experience.”
Update to Carys' story (December 2012) - find out what she's up to and about her debut collection of short stories.
Useful links
- Read Carys’ blog
- More about Carys’ Short Story Award
- Study with the OU – BA in Literature
- Study with the OU – Start writing fiction
- Study with the OU – Creative writing
- Study with the OU – Advanced creative writing
Carys Bray graduated from The Open University with a degree in Literature after three years of study and while raising four children. Now she’s putting her study to good use – she’s been named this year’s MA Creative Writing winner in the Edge Hill University Short Story Prize 2010 and is currently talking to agents… After the hard slog of an ...
