Category: Staff

The Open Programme and Employability: What exactly does a Careers and Employability Consultant (Learning and Teaching) do?

Claire Corkram is a Careers and Employability Consultant (Learning and Teaching) for The Open University, who supports the Open Programme team. She joined the OU in July 2018 from Northampton University and has also been a distance learning student. Studying a Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance & Development. 

So, what exactly does a Careers and Employability Consultant (Learning and Teaching) do and how do I support the Open programme? My role is a hybrid one where I provide specialist careers guidance and development to faculty staff and students. Fundamentally, my role is to support my colleagues in faculty with the integration and embedding of careers support into the curriculum by developing and implementing a range of career services which support student employability. It’s a busy, varied role which I really enjoy, and no two days are the same! Continue reading “The Open Programme and Employability: What exactly does a Careers and Employability Consultant (Learning and Teaching) do?”

The Open Programme: The first 50 years!

Jay Rixon and Gina Sharp, part of the Open Programme team, and Matthew Taylor, a  Library Archivist, share their reflections on creating an online exhibition to celebrate 50 years of The Open University’s innovative curriculum. Jay starts the conversation…

On the 22nd May 2019, my colleagues and I celebrated 50 years of the Open Programme in the year that The Open University celebrated 50 years – I’ll admit that seems like a long time ago now and so much has happened since then. However, that 50th birthday was a significant milestone for the Open Programme, and we did not want to let it pass without marking it in some way – so a few colleagues have been working on what you might call a passion project, and we now proudly present to you the Open Programme Exhibition, in partnership with The Open University’s Digital Archive. Continue reading “The Open Programme: The first 50 years!”

Different Perspectives: Exploring the big questions from different points of view

Andrew Webster is the Curriculum Manager for the Open Programme team. Here he shares his reflections on the Student Hub Live session, ‘Different Perspectives: Exploring the big questions from different points of view’.

 

The remote broadcast from Student Hub Live offered an opportunity for several Open Programme colleagues to discuss what they’ve learnt over the last year or so because of the Covid-19 restrictions, and why we need to look at the big issues from a variety of viewpoints to solve them. The topics covered were:

  • The environment
  • Food security and sustainability
  • Health and technology
  • Arts and wellbeing

Before the session, I considered some of the big questions faced both nationally and globally over the last year and the contrasting points of views from the media, since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK and the rest of the world. Continue reading “Different Perspectives: Exploring the big questions from different points of view”

Speaking about the bespoke: what the Open Programme offers students

Liz Vosper, an Open degree graduate and member of staff, reflects on a session which was part of Student Voice Week that explored what the Open Programme is; what it offers; how we create and support a sense of belonging and community; where to find resources to help; and how we can support students now and in the future. This session took place on the on 17th November, led by Jay Rixon, Qualification Manager for the MA/MSc Open. 

What the Open Programme is and what it offers

The Open Programme offers you the chance to study a range of subjects and create a bespoke qualification that reflects your personal or professional interests and aspirations. Think pick ‘n’ mix – you can savour the delights of the caramel swirl and avoid the coffee creams! Okay, probably not the best analogy I’ve used as it might need a little more thought than that, but you get the idea. And like pick ‘n’ mix, the Open Programme offers a great selection too! Continue reading “Speaking about the bespoke: what the Open Programme offers students”

What’s next? The series finale…

Helen Cooke is a Senior Manager in the Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation team in PVC Students and responsible for the day-to-day running of the Open Programme. She is a Senior Fellow of AdvanceHE, based on her work supporting multidisciplinary students in an online environment.

Way back at the end of March (remember those pre-lockdown days…?), our eminent Director of the Open Programme, Professor Martin Weller, sensibly suggested that we should run a weekly drop-in session for students in response to the disruption caused by COVID-19. Less sensible, we thought, was his suggestion that the focus of the conversation could be on toilet roll hoarding and stockpiling pasta… Continue reading “What’s next? The series finale…”

Four Famous Poems- A Reflective Discussion

Jay Rixon is a Senior Manager in Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation and responsible for the MA or MSc Open qualification. In this post, Jay reflects on a staff-student online drop-in session titled ‘Four Famous Poems – a literary discussion’ held on Tuesday 30th June 2020.

In the session, Jay was joined by Dr John Butcher, Director of Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation who led the discussion.

 

 

Our drop-in sessions were created as a response to going into lockdown.  They were intended to be an antidote to the challenging news at the time and an opportunity to explore and wallow in well-known topics and enjoy a community of people who value learning across a range of subjects. We have explored many topics in these online sessions, from music, film, books, TV and art among many others. For this occasion, the topic of poetry was selected, and four poems were chosen to be delved into, explored and examined. Continue reading “Four Famous Poems- A Reflective Discussion”