The Open University

Honouring Jennie Lee’s Vision: “Arts for Everyone, Everywhere”

21 February 2025

Culture Secretary, Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP, gave the inaugural Jennie Lee lecture– Arts for Everyone – on Thursday 21 February which marked the 60th anniversary of the first ever arts white paper. Below, Professor Josie Fraser, Interim Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, took the moment to reflect on this remarkable women and what she […]

Set of electronic/online devices showing a heart. Image credit: Thinkstock

Ahead of Valentine’s Day criminology expert shares top tips to stay safe when online dating

13 February 2025

It is estimated that 11 million people in the UK are dating online and with Valentine’s Day approaching, it could prompt people to try online dating apps hoping to find love. There is, however, a dark side to online dating, and according to a survey by the BBC, 33% of people aged between 18 to […]

OU academic awarded Accelerator grant from the Wellcome trust

11 February 2025

OU academic Dr Jenny Douglas has been selected for a prestigious Accelerator Award from the Wellcome Trust. The grant of £ 153,273 will fund research into improving Black women’s health and wellbeing in the UK. The Wellcome Trust Accelerator Awards support researchers of Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage in the UK to undertake activities that […]

OU’s win for ‘Zelensky Story’ at prestigious Broadcast Awards gala event

8 February 2025

A three-part Open University/BBC documentary about Volodymyr Zelensky – comedian, actor and president – has won the Best Specialist Factual Programme category at the 2025 Broadast Awards. The powerful documentary featured interviews with his close friends, allies, wife Olena Zelenska, and, before the war, Zelensky in his previous entertainer role, interposed with Ukraine’s current reality […]

The Open University produces an award-winning film that challenges perceptions of youth violence

5 February 2025

The Open University has developed an award-winning film and a thought-provoking interactive quiz that challenges perceptions about knife crime and youth violence. Available on OpenLearn, which is the OU’s free learning platform, ‘Exploring Youth Violence: What would you do?’ aims to provide a better understanding of the complex lives and situations of young people who […]

New treasures emerge from Pompeii in an OU/BBC TV programme

17 January 2025

For the second time Open University academics have been working with programme makers for the BBC on the latest exciting finds in Pompeii: The New Dig, House of Treasures. The broadcast is due to air on Monday 20 January at 9pm on BBC Two and iPlayer. It will show the results of an archaeological excavation […]

An OU/BBC Radio series examines how the UK’s major issues could be rethought

14 January 2025

A new Open University/BBC radio series called Rethink examines the emerging issues in society, economics, technology and politics in relation to the UK’s standing in the world. Simon Usherwood, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the OU, is a consultant to the programme makers who show how we might approach those issues differently. The […]

New series of Inside Health

14 January 2025

A new fourteen-part OU/BBC radio series of Inside Health starts today, Tuesday 14 January, and runs weekly on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. The series airs at 9.30am each week and will explore a wide variety of health-related topics to bring clarity to conflicting health advice and separate fact from fiction There will be […]

New series of The Bottom Line begins

10 January 2025

The popular OU/BBC radio series The Bottom Line, bringing a weekly look at business, money tips and strategy, takes to the airwaves for a new nine-part series on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds at 12:04pm from Thursday 9 January. Each week presenter and OU Honorary Graduate Evan Davis hosts the lively business discussion show. […]

Expand the mind this New Year with free learning from OpenLearn

6 January 2025

Those looking for a New Year’s resolution to expand the mind and create a fresh challenge can dive into OpenLearn – The Open University’s free educational platform – which has the answer. Whatever the interest, OpenLearn is likely to have a short free course on the subject and they’re not all the traditional academic subjects […]

OU News

Category: Around the OU