The Open University

“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 […]

Open University renews learning agreement with Unison

6 December 2017

The Open University has renewed its learning agreement with UNISON to benefit workers across the UK’s public services. UNISON’s relationship with The Open University first began in 1997. Since then around 7,000 public service employees who belong to the union have enrolled upon a wide range of accredited courses, right up to degree level. Many […]

7 amazing things digital wearable devices are helping us do

5 December 2017

For the past 15 years Professor Blaine Price has sported every smartwatch and digital health wearable device imaginable, earning him the nickname of ‘Inspector Gadget’ at home. He has always been active but found that since coming to the UK, he had gained a little bit of weight. Using his personal data from the past […]

Scientists solve mystery of missing methane source in Amazon Rainforest

4 December 2017

Environmental scientists from the OU have discovered that trees growing in the Amazon floodplains surrounding the Amazon River emit as much methane (CH4) into the atmosphere as all of the world’s oceans. These trees growing in seasonal wetland areas of the Amazon contribute between 15.1 and 21.2 million tonnes of CH4 to the atmosphere every […]

2017 degree ceremonies: it’s been memorable

4 December 2017

Our 2017 degree ceremony schedule drew to a close a couple of weeks ago at Gateshead, and what better note to end on than this photo of Matthew who was so happy he could fly! Matthew, a steelworker and now proud owner of a BA (Honours) in English Language and Literature, said: “When I left […]

English in Action project scoops top award for international impact

1 December 2017

English in Action (EIA), an inspiring OU-led project to transform English language teaching in Bangladesh has won a prestigious Times Higher Education Award for International Impact. The Award recognises projects which have had a significant, demonstrable impact on the world at large. “innovative and pragmatic “ The judges said that the programme was a “clear winner […]

#Iwas social media campaign wins second award

30 November 2017

A campaign celebrating the stories of the OU’s diverse student community won a UK-wide social media award. The #Iwas campaign was announced as winner of the Best User-Generated Content category in the The Drum’s Social Buzz Awards. In October the campaign won Best Audience Engagement Campiagn category at the UK Social Media Communications Awards. The campaign […]

No Royal Wedding bank holiday: Why that’s probably a good thing

28 November 2017

With the feel-good factor of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement, many of us were crossing our fingers that we’d get an extra bank holiday in the Spring of 2018 to help them celebrate. But on average, a bank holiday costs the UK economy £2.3billion in lost economic output – so maybe we’ll all be […]

Why a blockchain startup called Govcoin wants to ‘disrupt’ the UK’s welfare state

27 November 2017

The UK chancellor’s recent Budget reminded us that systemic problems continue to plague the government’s delayed roll-out of universal credit – a single monthly welfare payment that will replace six separate benefits. Philip Hammond also spoke of the UK government’s commitment to innovation, with the chancellor calling for a new tech startup to be founded […]

How websites watch your every move and ignore privacy settings

27 November 2017

Hundreds of the world’s top websites routinely track a user’s every keystroke, mouse movement and input into a web form – even before it’s submitted or later abandoned, according to the results of a study from researchers at Princeton University. And there’s a nasty side-effect: personal identifiable data, such as medical information, passwords and credit […]

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