The Open University

OU/BBC Hospital: a harrowing second series

16 June 2017

Following critically acclaimed first series, earlier this year, the cameras return to Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust for the second series of Hospital. The second four-part series, the first episode of which is due to broadcast on BBC Two on Tuesday 20 June 2017, 21:00, provides an even deeper insight into the ever-increasing demands on the NHS with unique […]

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, […]

Open University announces radical reinvention

13 June 2017

The Open University, approaching its 50th anniversary, is launching a radical overhaul to ensure its readiness for the next half century. The University is conducting a review of every aspect of its operations – from the student experience to its teaching and research. A major savings and reinvestment plan will recreate the University, making it digital […]

OU supports year-long BBC science and technology season

12 June 2017

The OU is supporting a year-long season of science and technology programmes that will bring science to life for millions. Launched under the banner Tomorrow’s World, the radio and TV programmes and online hub, will take science out of the lab and into peoples’ homes, addressing how science is changing peoples’ lives, reshaping the world, and […]

General Election produced “political earthquake” says academic

9 June 2017

In the wake of a memorable General Election, Richard Heffernan, Reader in Government in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, gives his academic observations on the results: “The one thing we have not got from this election is a strong and stable government. What we have instead is a weak and unstable minority Conservative […]

General Election means new life outside politics for some, says OU academic

8 June 2017

The General Election will almost certainly mean the loss of a parliamentary seat for many MPs, some of whom might only have been in the role for two years since 2015. Dr Jane Roberts, Research Fellow in Public Leadership at The Open University Business School, considers the situation now facing them, drawing on her extensive […]

How to settle social care funding once and for all

5 June 2017

Branding it a “dementia tax” was inspired – opponents of the Conservative Party’s election manifesto railed against its fundamentally unfair proposals for dealing with the social care costs of increasing numbers of old people with dementia. Theresa May’s U-turn took less than a long weekend. But there is still massive unfairness in the provision of […]

Centenary Sir Arthur Clarke Awards Ceremony_Stars

OU shortlisted for two awards for its contribution to international space science

1 June 2017

This week, academics from the Faculty of STEM are celebrating Space Science at the OU by supporting the UK Space Conference 2017. In addition, they are eagerly awaiting the Centenary Sir Arthur Clarke Awards Ceremony, for which the OU has been shortlisted for two categories. Space Achievement – Academic Study/Research The Centre for Electronic Imaging […]

Fact Check: do the police spend over a million hours a year fighting cannabis?

27 May 2017

According to the authoritative Crime Survey for England and Wales, 6.5% of 16 to 59-year-olds use cannabis. But fewer people are using cannabis than in 1996, when information first became available. While much of the debate surrounding cannabis use has focused on the extent of potential harm to users, recently demands for a change in […]

Antidote to crime dramas hits TV this week – The Met: Policing London

23 May 2017

Across London, twenty four hours a day, the Metropolitan (Met) Police is dealing with the demands and dilemmas of policing a city of eight and a half million people. Following on from the highly successful first series, a second series of The Met: Policing London, which begins on BBC One, 9pm on 24 May, lifts the […]

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