The Open University

New TV series unlocks the Languages Of Ulster

8 November 2017

A fascinating, new three-part documentary series, co-produced by The Open University and BBC Two Northern Ireland, Languages of Ulster begins on Sunday 12th November at 10pm. It explores Ulster’s unique linguistic traditions – Irish Gaelic, northern Hiberno English and Ulster-Scots – and the relationship between them. The Concise Ulster Dictionary will guide us as […]

Open University statement on U.S. sanctions against Cuba and other countries

8 November 2017

The Open University received legal advice that, due to various operational links with the United States, it should comply with US comprehensive sanctions against a number of countries, including Cuba. Taking into account the relevant regulations, the legal advice and after a careful assessment of risk, the OU reluctantly decided that it should suspend […]

Is Marie Skłodowska Curie still a good role model for female scientists at 150?

7 November 2017

Sometimes I’m glad I’m old(ish) and have made it up the career ladder. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a young woman trying to become established today. Not only are they likely to be saddled with a large debt from university tuition, they must also contend with discrimination and harassment, no […]

The internal ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus could be old enough to have evolved life, finds study

7 November 2017

We recently bade farewell to the Cassini spacecraft, which after 13 years of faithfully orbiting Saturn and its moons was directed to plunge into the giant planet’s atmosphere. The reason for the “grand finale” was to guard against the possibility that Cassini might crash into one of Saturn’s moons – in particular Enceladus. With its […]

Online cheating: new resource to support those affected

6 November 2017

In the light and shade of today’s internet, there are some who blame the world wide web for creating more relationship problems and increasing online cheating. Whilst there is currently no clear research evidence to suggest that internet infidelity is on the rise, the rapid growth of the internet and social networking means there are […]

11 top tips to become a financially savvy teen

3 November 2017

According to research from by the OU’s True Potential Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance (PUFin) a staggering one in seven 18 year olds is already in debt. Almost two-thirds (60%) of them admit they owe money to payday loan companies – £168 each on average. Excluding more traditional student borrowing, the research found that these […]

OU graduation stories: ‘The most extraordinary moment of my life’

2 November 2017

Here we tell the incredible story of John Spence from Cardiff who has recently achieved his dream of gaining a BSc Honours degree, thanks to the OU. John has disabilities and severe dyslexia, and says he was mocked at school by his peers and told he would “amount to nothing” and “did not deserve to be […]

£3 million mission to understand the dangers of space weather

1 November 2017

A team of international scientists, including academics from the OU, have been awarded £3 million to develop an instrument to research how the Earth’s atmosphere responds to powerful solar winds. The funding, which is from the UK Space Agency, will support academics collaborating on SMILE (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer), a European Space […]

Blue Planet II academic consultants on the message that humanity cannot afford to ignore

31 October 2017

As expected, the first episode of Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II has been greeted with rapturous applause. But alongside the gasps of delight at the beauty of the natural world, the programme came with an urgent message for viewers which we can no longer afford to ignore. Produced by the BBC’s Natural History Unit […]

Catalonia declares independence – and Spain enters uncharted territory

30 October 2017

Shortly after Catalonia’s parliament in Barcelona voted to declare independence from Spain on October 27, the senate in Madrid voted to trigger Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, removing Catalonia’s autonomy. In his speech to the senate requesting that deputies approve the proposal, the Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy justified his request in the face […]

OU News