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Martin George Bean (born 26 October 1964) is an Australian education administrator. He served as the
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
of the
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia.
Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering cla ...
(RMIT), from 2015 to 2021. He was
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
of
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
from 2009 to 2015.
Education and early career
Born in Melbourne, Australia on 26 October 1964, Bean has a bachelor's degree in adult education from the
University of Technology, Sydney.
As a student, he served as president of
AIESEC
AIESEC is an international youth-run, non-governmental and not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership development, cross-cultural internships, and global volunteer exchange experiences. The organization focuses on em ...
—the largest student run organization. Bean worked at companies including
Novell,
Sylvan Learning
Sylvan Learning, Inc. (formerly Sylvan Learning Corporation) consists of franchised and corporate supplemental learning centers which provide personalized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills, homework support, and test pre ...
,
Thomson Learning Thomson may refer to:
Names
* Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin
* Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson
Businesses and organizations
* SGS-Thomson Mi ...
and
New Horizons Computer Learning Centres before joining
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
, where he became general manager responsible for product management, marketing and business development in the Worldwide Education Products Group.
University career
Bean's appointment as vice-chancellor of the Open University was the first time a non-academic had been chosen to head the university. He stated his aim was to use technology in order to provide an education to anyone at low or no cost.
This included the university's iTunes U downloads.
In December 2012, Bean launched
FutureLearn
FutureLearn is a British digital education platform founded in December 2012. The company is jointly owned by The Open University and SEEK Ltd. It is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)ExpertTrack microcredential and Degree learning platform ...
, an online initiative supporting a Massive Open Online Course (
MOOC) platform, led by The Open University in partnership with 11 other UK universities. Since its launch, FutureLearn has partnered with 15 other universities in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
,
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
and
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
In 2013, Bean oversaw the release of OU Anywhere, an app which allows students to access OU undergraduate course materials using smartphones and tablets. Bean also oversaw the launch of the Teacher Education through the school-based support in India project (TESS-India), a program in collaboration with the Indian government to bring distance learning teacher education resources to educators in India.
Under a program of reforms spearheaded by Bean, the Open University has dismantled its presence in mainland Europe. This drew criticism from
University and College Union
The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union in further and higher education representing over 120,000 academics and support staff.
UCU is a vertical union representing casualised researchers and teaching staff, "permanent" ...
, who claimed this would have a negative effect on OU students based outside the UK.
[Changes to Employment Arrangements in Continental Europe]
– Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
Bean's last controversial move was the announcement by the vice-chancellor's executive that the Open University's south-east regional centre in East Grinstead is to be closed, and that the status of the other English regional offices is to be "reviewed". In a letter to The Guardian, Open University staff claim that overall, some 700 jobs could be at risk, almost a fifth of the OU's full-time workforce.
On 10 July 2014 he was appointed
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
and President of
RMIT University, and took up the appointment in February 2015.
He was appointed CBE in the
2015 New Year Honours.
Board positions
Bean is on the Board of Trustees of the British Council, the Board of the
Commonwealth of Learning
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an intergovernmental organisation of The Commonwealth headquartered in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Working collaboratively with governmental and nongovernmental organizations and other institu ...
and the British Museum’s Digital Advisory Group. In addition, he has served as a member of the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board and the National Board of Directors of Jobs for America’s Graduates as well as advising the US Senate on the importance of IT in the Workforce Investment Act.
He was also part of U.S. Department of Labor delegations to the US/EU Seminar on Local Employment Development, and to the Economic and Employment Development Seminar in Hanoi, Vietnam.