The Open University

Major new education partnership for police recruits

1 October 2019

New police recruits can now earn while they learn and gain a degree at the same time thanks to a major new partnership which will enhance policing across North Yorkshire. North Yorkshire Police and The Open University have (today) announced a new collaboration delivering specialist education for police officers from July 2020. This follows the […]

‘The OU is a movement for a better world’ 

1 October 2019

I’m truly thrilled and honoured to be The Open University’s Vice-Chancellor and to be back at the OU, especially in this our 50th anniversary year.   And what an anniversary!  There’s been so much to celebrate: thousands of successful graduates, ground-breaking innovations in learning and teaching, and research that’s advanced the frontiers of what we know and understand.    Of course, I’m not a newcomer […]

Georgina Blakeley wins CEU’s European Teaching Award

27 September 2019

Dr Georgina Blakeley, Director of Teaching and Deputy Head of School in FASS at The Open University has been announced as the winner of the prestigious 2019 European Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Social Sciences and Humanities. The award is given by Central European University (CEU) and accompanied by the €5,000 Diener Prize. […]

Girls from poorest districts in Zimbabwe begin accelerated learning programme

27 September 2019

Girls from some of the poorest districts in Zimbabwe are beginning an accelerated learning programme that will transform their chances in life. They are the first cohort to join the innovative programme, which will offer more than 21,000 girls aged 10-19 the chance to ‘catch up’ their education at one of 132 community-based Learning Hubs […]

IPCC report paints catastrophic picture of melting ice and rising sea levels – and reality may be even worse

26 September 2019

Mark Brandon, Professor of Polar Oceanography at The Open University writes for The Conversation about the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the growing risk to the future of our oceans and cryosphere. The IPPC – the UN body responsible for communicating the science of climate breakdown – has released its […]

Action needed to widen pool of apprentices

26 September 2019

The OU has today (Thursday) published a new report Access to Apprenticeships. It calls for the UK Government to help businesses further attract and recruit more disabled apprentices, through its apprenticeship programme. It comes as fresh data from the Department for Education shows the number of people starting apprenticeships in England with learning difficulties and/or […]

What’s your motivation?

25 September 2019

As the new intake of OU students embark on their first modules (and others continue with the next one) it’s timely to look at what draws these hard-working scholars to study. Why do they put in the hours to pour over pages of reading material, analyse stats, share in online debates, do home science experiments […]

OU academic involved in Education Commission report to ensure inclusive and quality education for all

24 September 2019

The Education Commission has launched its latest report as part of the 74th United Nations General Assembly. Transforming the Education Workforce: Learning Teams for a Learning Generation – makes a case for teamwork as a key to educating the world’s children. Professor Freda Wolfenden, Professor of Education and International Development at The Open University has […]

‘Our cities cannot become age-friendly without considering technology’ – paper investigates the need for improvements in urban design

23 September 2019

Academics from The Open University and The Hague University of Applied Science have published a paper with recommendations for a new smart age-friendly environment for developed cities in the western world. Building on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) original model, the new proposed framework considers the rapid pace in which technology develops. According to the […]

Could humans live on Kepler 452-b?

23 September 2019

Professor Andrew Norton, Professor of Astrophysics Education at The Open University writes for The Conversation about whether life could be sustained on Kepler 452-b. Kepler-452 is the name of a star in the constellation of Cygnus (the swan). It’s a star that’s similar to our own sun, but it’s too faint for us to see from Earth […]

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