The Open University

OU OpenStem Lab Team at THELMA Awards 2017

“Highly deserving” OU OpenSTEM Labs win at Higher Education awards

23 June 2017

The OU’s OpenSTEM Labs project has won the Outstanding Digital Innovation of the Year trophy at this year’s Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards (THELMAs). This incredibly exciting project enables OU science students to connect online to technical equipment such as microscopes, robots and robotic rovers, telescopes, lab-bench experiments and analytical instruments. This means that […]

Want a career in engineering? Here’s 10 top tips for you

23 June 2017

With 5,000 engineering students at the OU, and a third of these studying to change careers, here’s some advice on gaining experience in the sector from careers adviser Catrin Davies. Take a look at sites like Gradcracker, TargetJobs and the OU’s own JobZone to see if there’s any work placements that might work for you. 2. […]

Centenary Sir Arthur Clarke Awards Ceremony_Stars

OU shortlisted for two awards for its contribution to international space science

1 June 2017

This week, academics from the Faculty of STEM are celebrating Space Science at the OU by supporting the UK Space Conference 2017. In addition, they are eagerly awaiting the Centenary Sir Arthur Clarke Awards Ceremony, for which the OU has been shortlisted for two categories. Space Achievement – Academic Study/Research The Centre for Electronic Imaging […]

Could an App replace a trip to the Doctor?

26 April 2017

With news of a healthcare smartphone app which could diagnose medical conditions and aid GP services, expert in digital healthcare Professor Shailey Minocha weighs up the pros and cons of technology becoming an integrated part of our wellbeing: Q. Can we trust our data with Apps such as this? “The app and underlying systems will […]

OU brings ‘Internet of Everything’ to everyone with free online course

26 April 2017

There has been considerable interest in the Internet of Things (IoT) recently, and whether connecting data, people, processes, and things is beneficial or a risk to data protection. Either way, the IoT is here to stay and our society needs to develop the skills to process the vast amounts of data being generated. The OU […]

Saturn moon Enceladus is able to host life – it’s time for a new mission

13 April 2017

Ever since studies started suggesting that chemical reactions between water and rock on Saturn’s moon Enceladus could provide enough energy in the water to feed microbial life, scientists have been searching for proof that the right sort of reactions really do occur. And during its last dive through the icy plumes that Enceladus erupts into […]

Crumbling comet? The great debate about whether Rosetta rock 67P is breaking apart

21 March 2017

It is almost six months since the Rosetta spacecraft completed its operations in a controlled dive onto the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimanko. The landing, after which Rosetta could no longer communicate with Earth, may have marked the end of data collection from the comet – but not the end of news about 67P. The archive […]

Image of Mercury from the NASA Messenger Mission

OU PhD student names a crater on Mercury after Irish poet

21 March 2017

OU PhD student, Jack Wright has been given the honour of naming a 120km diameter crater on Mercury which he identified through his mapping of a section of the planet. Named ‘Heaney’ after the late Irish poet, author and Nobel Prize winner for literature, Seamus Heaney, the official announcement was made today (21 March) by […]

OU students invited to represent young scientists across the UK at Parliament

14 March 2017

Three PhD students from the Faculty of STEM have been invited to participate in a Science Question Time with Members of the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee. Voice of the Future 2017, which is being hosted by the Royal Society of Biology on behalf of the science and engineering community, will provide young […]

OU awarded funding to make education more inclusive

9 March 2017

The OU has been awarded funding of £480,000 by the Higher Education Funding Council in England (HEFCE) to address barriers to student success. Led by the OU in collaboration with the University of Leeds and Plymouth University, the two-year project, Embedding and sustaining inclusive STEM practices, aims to share and promote inclusive educational practices in […]

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Category: Science, maths, computing and technology