Dr Phebe Mann

OU Doctorate graduate, W111, W112, W202, W240, W302, W312, B351 and B353 Associate Lecturer, Dr Phebe Mann, is the first woman engineer of minority ethnic origin appointed by the Lord Chancellor to the Agricultural Land Tribunal for Wales, Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber (Transport Jurisdiction), Tax Chamber, General Regulatory Chambers (Transport, Information Rights & Estate Agent Jurisdictions). Phebe is also the first and only woman to hold eight professional qualifications concurrently in the UK. 

Phebe had assisted Paul Reed KC in the 2nd Edition of 'Construction Professional Indemnity Insurance' covering The Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022, which were introduced following Grenfell. Phebe Mann is a Visiting Professor of Construction Law, Management, and Engineering at Loughborough University. She holds multiple professional qualifications, including Chartered Civil Engineer (CEng MICE), Chartered Surveyor (FRICS), and Chartered Construction Manager (MCIOB). Notably, she was the first woman to chair both the Institution of Civil Engineers, London and the Chartered Institute of Building Leicester Centre. Her distinguished career combines engineering, law, and education, and she has been widely recognised for her leadership and contributions to diversity in engineering.

Phebe has been recognised with a Top 50 Women in Engineering Award (WE50) for her outstanding achievements in engineering. It is just one of the recent achievements and awards for Phebe, an outstanding engineer, innovative law teacher, and a great role model for young women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). She has previously been named a WISE Woman of Outstanding Achievement, Tomorrow’s Leader Award, was a Women in Housing Professional of the Year finalist, a Fellow of Bradford College and an Inspiring Woman celebrating the International Women in Engineering Day 2025. Phebe received an Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award for her PhD in collaborative design.

With seven undergraduate and post-graduate degrees to her name, ranging from law to computer science and engineering, she is an excellent role model and is dedicated to encouraging young women who strive to succeed.

Phebe feels that her most rewarding achievement is supporting OU students who have to overcome great difficulties to succeed. She has tirelessly supported OU students who were going through a difficult time, especially over the Covid-19 period. Some of them are NHS workers, essential or key workers or carers, some have mental health issues … She has supported a heavily dyslexic student to gain his OU Computing degree, a single mother to pass her final year computing module, a student in secure accommodation to attain First Class in his Open University Design course, and others.  Phebe said, “I feel that it is really rewarding, after all my effort, seeing my students do arrive at the end of their tunnel and excel in their studies. Students regularly expressed their gratitude for Phebe’s excellent marking, individual student support and engaging tutorials. Her support and guidance have directly influenced students’ success in their careers, securing positions as barristers, obtaining Training Contracts, or gaining admission to Cambridge and other prestigious institutions. In recognition of her excellence in supporting students in Practice-Based Professional Learning (PBPL), Phebe was awarded a PBPL Teaching and Learning Excellence Award from the Open University.

Phebe is an Accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). She has been involved in the Dispute Resolution aspects of W360, Virtual Mooting, and W800.

The methods for online tutoring Phebe has tried, on their own or in combination, are AdobeConnect, Forum, MSTeams, Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp, and Google Meet.

The Future: Dr Phebe Mann’s research on Real-time Online Tutorials and Virtual Mooting on AdobeConnect, MSTeams, Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp, Google Meet, and to support students with mental health issues.

Phebe has worked as an Associate Lecturer at the OU since 1995, teaching STEM, MBA, and Law modules.