The Open University

Ukraine war: Putin announces annexation of four regions, but his hold on them may be flimsy

3 October 2022

Dr Precious Chatterje-Doody is a lecturer in politics and international studies at the OU and an expert on Russian foreign and security policy, with a particular interest in the interplay of communication, perception and security. Here’s her take on Putin in the wake of the recent annexations of Ukraine territory. Vladimir Putin has formally signed […]

Star Wars sustainability research: definitely not out of this world

23 September 2022

Creators of props and costumes from the Star Wars film franchise are being invited to help the film industry go greener. It’s those props from the iconic films such as Stormtrooper uniforms to other equally ubiquitous items that are the key focus of a new sustainability study, led by an Open University academic. Dr Rebecca […]

Our State funerals and how they’ve changed

21 September 2022

It’s estimated that 4 billion people around the world watched Queen Elizabeth’s funeral with many royal commentators and, no doubt, the public marvelling at the planning that went into the pageantry of this historic event. It was with much precision and practise, decades of practise we are told, that the Queen’s coffin arrived at Westminster […]

UK interest rate rise: what the Bank of England’s historic hike means for your money

4 August 2022

Jonquil Lowe is a Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance at The Open University. Here she writes for The Conversation and predicts how households will feel the effect of rate rises as the Bank of England tries to slow inflation. The Bank of England has raised its base rate by 0.5 percentage points, the […]

A guard in front of 10 Downing Street in London

Tory leadership race: Sunak and Truss

3 August 2022

The Conservative Party leadership election is gathering momentum, with Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss making it through to the final round of voting amongst party members. The pair have faced one another in TV debates and have traded arguments and polices to win over their voters, ahead of the final announcement in early September. Here […]

The OU to grow its curriculum through acquisition of the Open College of the Arts (OCA)

25 July 2022

Following positive discussions with the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), the Open University (OU) is pleased to announce an agreement has been reached that will see the OU acquire the Open College of the Arts (OCA). The OU was set up in 1969 to bring life-changing learning that enriches society to millions who otherwise […]

Moving the Maasai: Tanzania is repeating Kenya’s colonial past

22 July 2022

Lotte Hughes, Honorary Associate at The Open University writes for The Conversation about the Massai community being forcibly moved from their homes in Nairobi. Images of distressed members of the Maasai community being forcibly moved from their homes, beaten and harassed by police and the army in northern Tanzania in June set social media alight […]

Being in a couple can negatively affect women’s savings – here’s how to make nest eggs more equal

21 July 2022

Jerome Monne, ESSCA École de Management; Ariane Agunsoye, Goldsmiths, University of London; Dimitris Sotiropoulos, The Open University, and Janette Rutterford, The Open University Growing job insecurity, financial market volatility and rising prices have created an extremely uncertain environment for UK savers. The country’s welfare provisions are among the lowest of all OECD countries and the […]

Conservative leadership election: why tax cuts are an economic gamble

15 July 2022

Alan Shipman, Senior Lecturer in Economics at The Open University, writes for The Conversation about tax as a leverage in the Tory leadership race. Always keen to be identified as the party of low taxation, the Conservatives won the 2019 general election on a promise not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance. So […]

Conservative leadership election: who might battle it out?

13 July 2022

As the voting gets underway in the Conservative Party leadership election, we asked three of our regular politics commentators to share their thoughts and predictions on how this race might run and which two candidates could ultimately battle for victory in September and succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister: Dr Richard Heffernan, Reader in Government […]

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Category: Arts and social sciences