Outstanding scholar, social researcher and writer dies
Dr Paula Tibandebage, an Open University Visiting Research Fellow who conceived and developed a series of health research projects which are central to a whole strand of the OU’s collaborative research, has died aged 65.

Flagship international project closes in solidarity with people of Myanmar
The Open University-led TIDE programme is wrapping up early, and another project is suspended, following recent events in Myanmar.

IDII-SRA researcher wins bid for GCRF funding for education project in regions terrorised by Boko Haram
Dr Margaret Ebubedike’s Global Challenges Research Fund grant will initiate a search for alternatives to the classroom for children in Africa’s Lake Chad region denied schooling over fears of violence and abduction.

WELS to launch new Centre for the Study of Global Development
The new CSDG will create a unified space for multi- and interdisciplinary research from across the entire faculty, focused on the reduction of poverty and inequality and the improvement of health, education and job opportunities and expressed in its tag line Human wellbeing for a better world. An official launch with seminars, workshops and other events is planned from week beginning Monday 21 June. Further information from Kwame Akyeampong or Alison Buckler.

Become a ‘safeguarding specialist’ with new dedicated course for international aid sector
A course on how to lead, develop and implement a strong safeguarding policy in your aid organisation has been created by Open University experts for the free learning platform Futurelearn.

WELS to launch new Centre for the Study of Global Development
Dr Frangton Chiyemura was selected to participate in a researcher writing workshop organised by The China-Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC, in October 2019. This resulted in a number of articles, including his, being published as part of a China-Africa series in the Washington Post. He says the article has generated interest and wide discussion in China-Africa circles ‘with some comments suggesting that the article busts some of the myths including the one that Chinese companies do not employ Africans’. Read the full article via this link.