Skills Minister visits The Open University

Posted on 12 June 2025 • Around the OU, University news

Baroness Smith of Malvern, Minister for Skills, visited The Open University (OU)’s Milton Keynes campus to meet with students and to hear about how the OU is breaking down barriers to opportunity and widening access to higher education.

The Minister, who oversees Higher Education and adult education in England, was welcomed by the OU’s Interim Vice-Chancellor, Professor Josie Fraser. Their discussions focused on the current policy landscape for part-time and online distance learning, and the unique role the OU plays in this space.

The focus of the visit was the chance to hear directly from OU students and graduates, including apprentices and scholarship recipients. Each shared their stories about their motivations for studying, the reasons behind wanting to study flexibly and their aspirations for the future.

Concluding the visit, the Minister toured the Jennie Lee Archive, which has been curated by the OU. Jennie Lee was instrumental in the foundation of the OU during her time as Minister for the Arts in the 1960s. On display were photos and newspaper clippings, Lee’s Ministerial red box and the original Government papers setting out the creation of the OU.

Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said:

“The Open University has helped millions of students across the UK to access life-changing higher education since Harold Wilson and Jennie Lee created the ‘University of the Air’ in 1969.

“So I was delighted to visit the Milton Keynes campus to hear how students will use the skills and experience they are gaining, and how we can support them by breaking down barriers to opportunity through our Plan for Change.”

Professor Josie Fraser, Interim Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, said:

“It was fantastic to welcome the Minister to our Milton Keynes campus to demonstrate the work The Open University is uniquely able to do in widening access to quality higher education at scale.

“Our students are the greatest advocates for the power of lifelong education, and I was pleased that the Minister got to hear first-hand from them. Their life journeys, the barriers that they have broken down and the new opportunities that have opened up to them thanks to their study at the OU, are truly remarkable.”

Main pic: Baroness Smith visiting The Open University and meeting students. Copyright: OU