GBSN works with our member schools to offer opportunities for international exchange and development throughout our network of member schools. These member-led initiatives enrich faculty, students and campuses with cross-border collaborations and help spread best practice throughout the network.
Each year the Faculty of Business and Law at The Open University Business School in the United Kingdom makes available a series of International Fellowships to support faculty from GBSN member institutions in other countries to visit and collaborate with Open University faculty. These faculty fellows visit the institution for a period of 3 to 6 weeks to work and learn about the Open University approach to distance and online learning.
This year The Open University Business School has selected Ainura Kaldarova from Narxoz University in Kazakstahn, and John Olukuru from Strathmore Business School in Kenya as this year’s GBSN Faculty Fellows. They will learn about the Open University approach to online learning and will work with OUBS to create online learning materials. Ainura Kaldarova and John Olukuru started their faculty fellowships earlier this month and will spend the next few weeks at the OUBS campus in Milton Keyes.
Meet the 2019 Faculty Fellows
Ainura Kaldarova is a senior lecturer and quality assurance specialist at Narxoz University, where she teaches Accounting and Finance courses and works on a creation of Faculty Development Programme in the framework of quality assurance. She has successfully accomplished Erasmus+ CACTLE program on teaching and training, she has become a certified university teacher and trainer, which helped her to win the award of “The Best Teacher” in the department. Ainura also has solid experience of working in the financial market as she used to work as investment portfolio manager before entering education sphere.
Dr. John Olukuru is the Head of Data Science and Analytics at Strathmore University, Business School. He is also the Director, Risk Management Centre. He is working on a number of data science projects and trained data science programs for various companies including Kenya Airways, World Bank, KNBS, UBOS, among others. This is being done in collaboration with Oracle, IBM Kenya, SAS, SAP, Microsoft among others. He was influential in setting up two research groups at Strathmore University; Centre of Value Investing and Risk management Centre. He has been the Dean of the Strathmore, School of Finance and Applied Economics. He has been an Actuarial Science lecturer at Strathmore University for the past 6 years. He served as a Director, an Administrator and Assistant Lecturer at School of Accountancy, Strathmore University, Kenya, between 2003 and 2008, during which he was involved in starting the first ever CFA and CISA training in Kenya. John holds a PhD in Quantitative Finance from University of Glasgow. He has MSc Actuarial Science (Heriot Watt University Ð Edinburgh, UK) and MSc Statistics (University of Nairobi).
The Open University Business School is accredited by AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA and teaches through the medium of online and distance learning. A particular feature of its pedagogic approach is a practice-based focus for learning which uses students working context as a resource for learning and a context in which learning can be applied. OUBS pays particular attention to learning design and invests significantly in the creation of learning materials. Students are supported in small groups at a ratio of 16 to 20 students per tutor. The School uses its distinctive approach to deliver quality at scale supporting over 8,000 students (in terms of full-time equivalent) in around 80 different countries.
Mark Fenton-O’Creevy, Associate Dean of External Engagement at The Open University Business School, who is also the institution’s GBSN Ambassador, has spearheaded this member opportunity since 2016. Previous GBSN faculty fellows included professors from the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines, Strathmore Business School in Kenya and Lagos Business School in Nigeria.
Nicole Zefran is the Communications Officer at the Global Business School Network.