Melete Scholarships Scheme 2025/26

Melete was founded in 2019 by John & Kitty Chisholm. The Melete Scholarships Scheme’s mission is to seek out and support talented PhD students as they become the next generation of visionary entrepreneurial innovators driven to create significant societal impact.

Do you have ideas that you can put into practice to create self-sustaining social good, to nurture ideas that can turn into enterprises that have the potential to benefit those who are disadvantaged in any way?  The Melete Scholarships Scheme will provide the opportunity for exceptional people to have the extra financial freedom that a scholarship provides to create space to realise their talents.


Up to two scholarships are available in 2025/26 to PhD students studying at the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi), or co-supervised by KMi staff, within the Open University. Successful students will be awarded a scholarship of £5,000 in support of the objectives outlined in their application.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply for the scholarship, you’ll need to meet the following criteria:

  • You are currently studying towards a PhD at The Open University
  • You are studying within the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) unit, or co-supervised by KMi staff.

How to apply

The Melete Scholarships Scheme is now open for applications for the 2025/26 academic year. To apply you’ll need to download the scholarship application form and send it together with a letter of application of no more than 1,500 words.

Once completed, email your application and supporting evidence to our Student Fees team. You’ll find their contact details on the first page of the application form.

Applications close at midday 16 May 2025.

Interviews held during w/c 9 June 2025

Outcomes being announced by the 30 June 2025

Melete Foundation

We founded Melete in 2019 because our life experience told us that motivated and inspiring people are absolutely the basis of positive change in the world. Our vision is to seek out such people and help them create the credibility that will enable the realisation of their talents.

We are looking for people with ideas that they can put into practice to create self-sustaining social good, to nurture ideas that have the potential to benefit those who are disadvantaged in any way and give an opportunity for exceptional people to have the extra financial freedom that a scholarship provides to create a space to realise their talents.

Our aim is to seed innovative approaches which have the potential to take root and blossom into self-sustaining enterprises. We also want to encourage the networking of amongst an innovative community dedicated to social good such that each member gains insights from fellow collaborators ad together have the potential of being far more than the sum of their parts.

John and Kitty Chisholm

https://melete.foundation/

Our Previous Scholars

Teresa Sides

Teresa is a dedicated researcher and experienced professional with a career spanning over two decades in the civil service, the NHS and academia. Her research focuses on the transformative impact of emerging technologies, particularly addressing barriers to their adoption in primary care. Building on her master’s degree in 2020, which explored reducing missed appointments in primary care. Teresa’s current PhD...

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Ángel Pavón Pérez

Identifying and Addressing Bias in AI: Towards Fair and Ethical Systems 

Ángel Pavón Pérez began his academic journey at the University of Córdoba, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Software Engineering. He then pursued a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, where he researched...

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Vaclav Bayer

Bridging academic research into real-world applications through innovative technology 

Vaclav Bayer is a part-time PhD student at the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) of The Open University, where his research explores how Learning Analytics can support more equitable educational outcomes. His journey into the world of Research &...

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Shuang Ao

AI transformation of pictures in children’s stories to haptic interaction

Shuang Ao is currently a Ph.D. student studying at KMi, The Open University. She received a master’s degree in linguistics from the National University of Singapore. Afterward, she worked as a linguistic specialist for three years in Singapore to design curricula based on...

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Joseph Kwarteng Photograph

Joseph Kwarteng

The computational redefinition of intersectional hate speech in the context of misogynoir

Joseph Kwarteng began his career in 2017 as a teaching affiliate in the ICT Department at the University of Education Winneba after completing his Information Technology undergraduate degree. After a year as a teaching affiliate, he was offered a role as a...

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