The Open University

Stormy weather and flying fish – my OU journey through hell and high water

13 December 2017

The incredible story of OU modern languages graduate, Tracy Thorpe, who studied for her degree whilst working as professional crew on yachts. Whilst at school Tracy wasn’t inspired to stay on to do A-levels so she left at 15 after getting a handful of O-levels and went straight into work. She eventually found herself working […]

“Online study worked for me – I doubled my salary”

6 December 2017

Five years ago, Ryan Peddie from Newcastle was working as an IT Manager – but when his company started to face financial difficulties and approached a stage of restructuring he realised his job could be in jeopardy. He took stock of his career and decided to shift his horizons and ambitions into a career in […]

Age is no barrier to OU success as new graduates prove

13 October 2017

From age 18 to 81, this year hundreds of our students – at all stages of life – have celebrated achieving their degrees. The wide range of ages shows the OU welcomes everyone to study, at any age and time of life. Teenager celebrates degree Among the delighted graduates this year was 18-year-old Imran Nasim from […]

Celebrating the success of our students on a global scale

6 October 2017

The OU is pleased to congratulate its students, who have achieved honours in a global undergraduate competition. The Undergraduate Awards (UA) Programme is the world’s largest international academic awards programme, and 27 OU students have achieved honours in the 2017 awards. The UA programme recognises innovation and excellence at undergraduate level. For the first time this […]

Top tips for moneywise students

21 August 2017

If you’re heading off to university this Autumn or considering studying flexibly with The Open University, you will no doubt be examining your finances. Here’s seven tips to help you manage your money, from Senior Lecturer in Personal Finance and Economics, Jonquil Lowe. 1. Choose your account carefully There are special bank accounts for students, […]

OU student achieves career dream and wins Inspire! Award

20 June 2017

A student from the OU in Wales has received recognition at the Inspire! Awards for his determination and resilience in pursuing his studies through distance learning. Shafiq Mohammed, from Cardiff, started studying with the OU in 2010 and is due to complete his BA (Hons) Humanities in summer 2017. His goal has always been to improve […]

Full-time carer and “superhero student” achieves dream degree

13 June 2017

Caring full-time for her grandfather with Parkinson’s disease, 26-year-old Danielle Haigh-Wood was convinced that she’d never achieve her dream of getting a degree. However, after taking the plunge with a short history course, she was hooked on OU life and began studying for a joint humanities degree in philosophy and history, graduating at Bridgewater Hall, […]

OU grad’s study inspired by humanitarian work

10 December 2016

Open University graduate Ines Katic-Vrdoljak, from Sarajevo, saw first-hand the difference humanitarian aid can make when she worked on deliveries to those impacted by the Bosnian War in the mid 1990s. Supporting the OU’s focus on Human Rights Week, Ines explains how the volunteer work she undertook led her to study both a BSc and […]

glasses and book on background bookcase close up. Thinkstock

Meet the OU’s youngest ever law graduate

18 October 2016

Completing her degree at the age of just 18, Zahra Alidina is The Open University’s youngest ever law graduate. Zahra left school at the age of 13 to pursue law related subjects at GCSE and A-Level through home education. Completing her A-Levels at just 15, she found it difficult to get into traditional universities because […]

OU research student on how to make it in space, without actually going there

4 October 2016

Vibha Srivastava has always wanted to be an astronaut and work in space science, which wasn’t straightforward as a young women from North East India. Before joining The Open University (OU) as a PhD Researcher she studied Aeronautical Engineering at Gujarat University, and a Masters at the International Space University in Strasbourg in France, including […]

OU News

Category: Student stories