The Open University

Groundbreaking discovery could signal life on Venus

14 September 2020

Scientists from across the globe, including Dr Helen Fraser of The Open University, have detected a rare gas – phosphine – in the clouds of Venus. The landmark discovery could point to extra-terrestrial ‘aerial’ life on the planet. For decades, the scientific community has speculated that high clouds on Venus could offer a home for […]

Academic insight: Behind the mask

14 September 2020

This year has seen the world change in ways we never could have imagined: socially distancing from friends and loved ones, remote working implemented across the UK, washing and sanitising our hands for more than 20 seconds, and now wearing face coverings in supermarkets and shops. But how will this new measure affect the way […]

Paramedic Lyn shares her journey to becoming a non-medical prescriber

8 September 2020

As a qualified paramedic, the non-medical prescribing (NMP) programme has enabled Lyn to take on additional responsibilities in assessing and prescribing medication for patients within her role. Extending prescribing responsibilities to paramedics and other qualified healthcare professionals has benefits for both the NHS and service users, such as making better use of healthcare professionals’ skills […]

Academic insight: Will handwashing impact the development of early years?

3 September 2020

This week saw the return to school for many children in the UK. But, with COVID-19 still a widespread risk to our health, can handwashing be implemented in the routine of early years without disrupting their development? Dr Jackie Musgrave, Programme Leader in Early Childhood at The Open University shares her thoughts. I have to […]

OU partners with University of Oxford to improve support for older people with learning disabilities

1 September 2020

The Open University and The University of Oxford have been awarded £900,000 by the National Institute for Health (NIHR) to investigate how to improve support for older people with learning disabilities and their family carers. The project is funded through a specific call issued by the NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research (HS&DR) programme for […]

Prescribing the ‘cherry on top’ of a successful nursing career

1 September 2020

Non-medical prescribing (NMP) enables nurses, midwives and other allied health professionals to take on additional responsibilities to prescribe medicines for patients. NMP has several benefits for the NHS, including better utilising the skills of healthcare professionals and improving care for service users. Claire started her nursing journey in Glasgow where she completed her training, before […]

OU and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime join forces on learning

28 August 2020

The Open University’s Open Justice Centre and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are continuing their partnership to deliver the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative. E4J has been developed to prevent crime and promote lawfulness – by supplying integrity and ethics education resources for schools, colleges and universities around the world. The original, […]

Open University students join Freedom Law Clinic Race and Policing Forum project

27 August 2020

Ten students from The Open University’s Open Justice Centre are taking part in a Freedom Law Clinic project exploring race and policing in the UK and the USA. The project has been launched following recent events in the USA, namely the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and subsequent response. The incident […]

The key to language is universal psychology, not universal grammar

24 August 2020

Dr Paul Ibbotson, lecturer in Developmental Psychology at The Open University explains how psychology shapes our language. What makes language special is part of what makes us special, so understanding what language is made of and how we learn it brings us closer to our human nature. Is language special because it runs on its […]

Jo hopes to “make a difference” with place on student panel

21 August 2020

An OU English Literature undergraduate, grandmother and former student advisor has been appointed to serve on the student panel for the Office for Students. Jo Barlow from Cornwall was one of ten people selected for the year, after an initial pool of nearly 900 applicants for the posts. The Office for Students (OfS) is the […]

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