The Open University

You teach me and I’ll teach you Pokémon

25 July 2016

With the global success of Pokémon Go, the world has been introduced to the next generation of augmented reality experiences on their mobile phones. Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Education and Technology (IET), and author of Augmented Education, Dr Rebecca Ferguson, considers augmented reality as a tool to support learning; could augmented reality, with its power to engage […]

Vice-Chancellor’s reassurance welcomed by International Community Network

21 July 2016

In the week that has seen Lord Nicholas Stern, President of The British Academy calling for “clear reassurance” to be given to EU researchers in the UK of their future in Britain, at a House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. A staff-organized Network has been announced at The Open University to provide support for […]

Earthquake reveals the problems with Ecuador’s famous ‘good life’ policy

21 July 2016

Disasters have a way of revealing the gap between what a government says it wants to do and what it actually does. As Oxfam’s Duncan Green put it, disasters can bring to light some of the tensions, contradictions and strengths of a country’s political and development agenda. So it went after Ecuador’s recent earthquake, which […]

What does Brexit mean for UK housing?

20 July 2016

Britain’s housing market is in a sorry state. With house prices forecast to fall, house building grinding to a halt and buyers pulling out of purchases amid job security fears, post-Brexit uncertainty has been worsened by the contrasting “visions” that won the vote. These opposing visions are now evenly represented in Theresa May’s cabinet. The […]

OU joins new search for water on the Moon

13 July 2016

A new mini robotic laboratory going to the south pole of the Moon to search for water could “enable a new wave of human exploration of the Moon and beyond” according to Open University scientist Dr Simeon Barber. The Open University has partnered with leading aerospace company Leonardo-Finmeccanica to develop ProSPA, a miniature robotic laboratory […]

Praise for ground-breaking OU/BBC series following refugees

12 July 2016

Last night saw the first episode of a new BBC2 series which follows the journeys of 70 refugees as they aim to leave conflict or persecution and make their way into Europe. Exodus: Our Journey to Europe was produced in partnership with The Open University, with three leading OU academics acting as consultants on the […]

TV series sheds light on real life journey of refugees

11 July 2016

The subject of refugees and their often dangerous journeys into Europe has barely been out of the news in recent years. Now, a powerful new BBC series – produced in partnership with The Open University – is set to cast a new light on those directly involved. Exodus: Our Journey to Europe charts the journeys […]

‘Urgent action’ needed to protect adult education

6 July 2016

New report sponsored by The Open University calls for cohesive national strategy to protect adult education The first report commissioned by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education, sponsored by The Open University and conducted by the Institute for Employment Research (IER) at Warwick University, has called for a cohesive national strategy for adult education. […]

Three Open University soapbox scientists in their lab coats

Soapbox Science: Raising the profile of women in science

5 July 2016

A trio of female scientists from the OU will be sharing their love of science at the first ever Milton Keynes Soapbox Science event. Claire Batty, a researcher; Dr Julia Cooke, a lecturer in ecology; and PhD researcher Vibha Srivastava will each ‘stand on their soapboxes’ at Middleton Hall at thecentre:mk in Milton Keynes from […]

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament in London, England

Carers pay the heavy price of failing legislation

5 July 2016

A year on from the introduction of the Care Act 2014, a review by the UK’s largest charity for unpaid carers has found that the new act has made little or no difference to the 5.4 million carers in England. The review commissioned by the Carers Trust, led by former care minister Paul Burstow, involved […]

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