Our head start in adapting to the new reality
Recent weeks have seen a whirlwind of activity across The Open University as we adapt to the new reality of lockdown and social distancing.
Being a distance learning institution, powered by online and mobile technologies, has given us a considerable advantage.
Together with the hard work and ingenuity of staff, it has enabled our students to carry on studying, and our academics to carry on their research and to turn their skills to supporting government, the NHS and citizens in dealing with the crisis.
Researchers in International Development at the OU have been part of all this activity, and the range of our academic interests is reflected in the diverse insights into the impact of COVID-19 featured in this issue.
One focus for this activity is a new section of our website, called Social Scientific Research in the time of COVID-19, launching today. It employs the disciplines of social science and global studies to help us all better understand the unprecedented situation we face, and what may come out of it.
Alongside this, we’re happy to report that normal activities continue too: including another new free course, new research publications, and new opportunities. We hope that our readers will find some inspiration here in these challenging times.
ID@OU
News and research round-up
How is COVID-19 changing our world?
Do conspiracy theories actually have some value? How has the construction industry evaded lockdown? Researchers in The Open University's School of Social Sciences and Global Studies (SSGS) have launched a website probing the pandemic from multiple angles. Read more…
‘A twin economic and human development crisis that standard economic thinking is not well suited to’
Existential threats to our systems are not as rare as we thought, warns Professor Paul Anand in this LSE blog, and economists need to be better prepared. Read more…
Advice to BRI watchers: keep a close eye on developments in Pakistan
Political and International Studies Lecturer Filippo Boni details how COVID-19 has impacted on relations between China and Pakistan, where nearly $20 billion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative projects are located. Read more…
Lifetime achievement award for Professor Jean Hartley
The Professor of Public Leadership and champion of Ibba Girls School in South Sudan has been honoured with an international award for her outstanding work. Read more…
An international education response to COVID-19? This is how we do it
Dr Alison Buckler and colleagues in International Development describe some of The Open University’s successful distance-learning initiatives in Africa, and the lessons they hold for other educators trying to adapt to the current situation. Read more…
New free course employs a ubiquitous garment to explore global supply chains
Economist Dr Lorena Lombardozzi is the academic behind The secret life of T-shirts, a new short course on the OU’s free learning platform OpenLearn. Read more…
What the digital divide now means for people’s livelihoods in Kenya
Measure to control the current pandemic are devastating for the many whose access to internet and digital technologies are limited, says Politics and International Studies research student Anna Colom. Read more…
Re-Imagining The Global Health Agenda : What Role can India Play?
Watch SSGS Professorial Research Fellow Smita Srinavas’ presentation at this topical live-streamed virtual event organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (starts at 42:59). Watch…
Travelling the globe with just a trolley bag and a message of peace
Nitin Sonawane discusses his incredible, Mahatma Gandhi-inspired peace walk across 50-plus countries, with Professor of Energy Technology Satheesh Krishnamurthy. Watch…
Burundi’s elections take place despite coronavirus rise
Development Policy and Practice lecturer Dr Astrid Jamar is quoted in this article on the website of French news outlet rfi. Read more…
New publications
Unpacking state-led upgrading: empirical evidence from Uzbek horticulture value chain governance
This paper by Dr Lorena Lombardozzi is published in the Review of International Political Economy. Read…
Can self-sufficiency policy improve food security? An inter-temporal assessment of the wheat value-chain in Uzbekistan
This paper co-authored by Dr Lorena Lombardozzi is published in Eurasian Geography and Economics. Read…
The gendered employment gains of investing in social vs. physical infrastructure
Dr Jerome De Henau and Professor Susan Himmelweit describe this research in progress in a new IKD Working Paper. Read…
Opportunities
Consultancy: Lead author to develop a mass-scale online course on Safeguarding
The Open University is looking for a consultant to work on a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Introduction to Safeguarding in conjunction with DFID, BOND, the CHS Alliance, and others. Closing date for applications 15 May. Read more…
Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Intercultural Communication
This role is in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS). Closing date for applications 18 May. Read more…
Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Environmental Geography
This role in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is part of a team presenting and producing learning resources, focusing on environmental concerns in the context of Global Challenges. Closing date for applications 19 May. Read more…
Lecturer in Geography
This 12-month lectureship in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is an opportunity for an early-career geographer. Closing date for applications 19 May. Read more…
GCRF 'Conflict Intersections' Global Partnership Development Awards
This call has a particular focus on addressing the needs of vulnerable and at-risk groups facing multidimensional, intersecting and compounding risks and challenges, including those which cross borders and/or are multi-scalar and multi-temporal. Closing date 3 June. Read more…
Events
Development Studies Association annual conference DSA2020
17–19 June, Online
DSA2020 will go ahead on a virtual platform. Last opportunities to sign up for live demos of the event software platform Shindig are on 4, 5 and 6 May. Early bird registration has been extended to mid-May. Read more…
