The Open University

Institute of Coding marks its first anniversary with the OU

28 January 2019

The Open University (OU) is celebrating its partnership with the Institute of Coding (IoC), created in January 2018. In just 12 months, IoC partners have successfully signed-up over 5,000 people onto its leading tech courses at universities across the country. To date a total of 5,875 people enrolled onto courses, with 175 staff members employed across […]

New Research Network to support the UK’s Food Manufacturing Digital Economy

31 July 2018

A new project has been launched to examine how the Internet of Things (IoT) could transform the food industry through innovations such as ‘smart’ cooking appliances, data-driven supermarket refrigeration networks and enhanced food traceability systems. The Internet of Food Things (IoFT) Network Plus will bring together data and computer scientists, chemists, and economists to investigate […]

Medical Detection Dogs at Buckingham Palace

Scientist, and dogs who “sniff for cancer”, meet Her Majesty The Queen

8 June 2018

A group of incredible dogs who detect cancer cells in biological samples accompanied one of the leading animal-computer interaction scientists to meet Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Head of The Open University Animal-Computer Interaction Lab and Senior Lecturer in Computing and Communications, Dr Clara Mancini, was invited to Buckingham Palace to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the […]

Where you ask the questions – BBC and OU launch new ‘citizen inquiry’ website

24 May 2018

The Open University has partnered with the BBC for Tomorrow’s World to develop a new ‘citizen inquiry’ website – nQuire – where members of the public can take part in surveys and experiments about their everyday life and the world around them. The first survey focuses on the use of personal data, linking into the new […]

Police in hi-visibility jackets policing crowd control at a UK event

Exploring technologies to improve how citizens and the police work together to keep us safe

26 April 2018

Researchers at The Open University (OU) have received a £1 million Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) grant to improve the way members of the public and authorities such as the police work together. This will support them to better investigate and reduce potential or actual threats to citizen privacy, safety, and security. The […]

7 things you should know about cyber security

6 April 2018

When we think of cyber security many of us think it only relates to big organisations. But our computers, modern TVs, smart phones, tablets, and even some of our household utilities all connect to the internet enabling potential access to our personal data. Knowing how to protect yourself against a cyber-attack can seem overwhelming. Senior […]

Research recommends united action to attract more women into IT leadership

20 March 2018

An OU research project finds there are continuing barriers to overcome to get women better represented in highly-skilled positions in UK Information Technology (IT), with lessons to be learned from their counterparts in India. The global IT sector is characterised by low participation of women, with the UK being no exception. Many attempts have been […]

Open University helped Nathanial get his dream job in IT

24 January 2018

‘’When I started my degree I was asked by a colleague what my dream job was, well my dream job is actually the job I’m doing now and there’s no way I would have got it without my OU degree.’’ Working full time, 34-year-old Nathanial Lawrence had set his sights on a networking and […]

7 amazing things digital wearable devices are helping us do

5 December 2017

For the past 15 years Professor Blaine Price has sported every smartwatch and digital health wearable device imaginable, earning him the nickname of ‘Inspector Gadget’ at home. He has always been active but found that since coming to the UK, he had gained a little bit of weight. Using his personal data from the past […]

How websites watch your every move and ignore privacy settings

27 November 2017

Hundreds of the world’s top websites routinely track a user’s every keystroke, mouse movement and input into a web form – even before it’s submitted or later abandoned, according to the results of a study from researchers at Princeton University. And there’s a nasty side-effect: personal identifiable data, such as medical information, passwords and credit […]

OU News

Category: Computing