The Open University

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Is the productivity drive hurting employers as well as employees?

23 June 2016

Productivity is supposedly at the heart of any successful enterprise. We are told that we are in a global race to grab our share of the 21st century marketplace. Countries, nations and even individuals all must constantly enhance their performance if they are going to survive, let alone prosper. It is not without its cost. […]

Still deciding on the EU Referendum? Start with your own place in the world

22 June 2016

The question of whether Britain should remain in or leave the European Union has become one of identity. Does Britain see itself as part of this project or is it different? So it makes sense for anyone still undecided on which way to vote to ask themselves a similar question. In our research, we’ve found […]

Professor Jacqui Gabb with her research impact award

OU professor wins research impact award

21 June 2016

The OU’s Professor Jacqui Gabb has won a research impact award for work completed on the Enduring Love? project, a study into the way couples sustain their long-term relationships. The inaugural Evelyn Gillan Research Impact Prize was presented by the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships in memory of the centre’s late colleague Evelyn […]

OU urges focus on skills for older workers

21 June 2016

The Open University has issued a call to businesses to ensure their workforce has the skills they need to remain competitive throughout all stages of their careers. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s flagship Today Programme, the OU’s Director of External Engagement Steve Hill told listeners that, with around a third of the UK workforce aged […]

Call for better digital information for refugees

20 June 2016

As the UK marks the start of Refugee Week (20-26 June), one of the OU’s leading academics has identified a serious gap in the provision of trustworthy, relevant reliable and timely news and information which could be putting lives at risk. Professor Marie Gillespie has been conducting research into this issue, and argues that the […]

Urban heat loss ‘major influence on climate change’, concludes OU study

20 June 2016

A study led by The Open University has concluded that man-made heat loss is one of the main contributing factors to national temperature variations. Published in the American Geophysical Union (AGU) journal, Earth’s Future, and developed in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, ‘From Urban to National Heat Island’ has established a strong correlation between […]

International Space Station experiment journeys back to Earth with Tim Peake

17 June 2016

British Astronaut, Tim Peake, returns from a six-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS). We spoke to Lecturer in Ecology, Dr Karen Olsson-Francis, about an experiment supported by the OU that is on the journey with Tim back to Earth. What is the experiment that the OU has supported? “The BIOMEX (Biology and Mars […]

Three OU students who are all members of the same family (daughter, husband and dad)

‘Dad kept saying why not do the OU? So I did’

17 June 2016

Yvonne Quaintrell had a rough time and school and didn’t do well. But it wasn’t until she became a parent that she found herself so motivated by her dad that she decided to sign up too. And now it’s become a family affair. Yvonne was inspired to study with the OU by her father Harry, […]

Bettany at Berlin Wall - East-side Gallery

Meet the geniuses of the modern world in OU/BBC programme

16 June 2016

Three of the greatest minds of the modern world are explored in a three-part series, presented by broadcaster and historian, Bettany Hughes. Broadcast on BBC Four at 21:00 from Thursday 16 June 2016, Genius of the Modern World considers the lives of three men born in a 19th century world – a period dominated by […]

Etruscan Stele, which was discovered by archaeologists at an ancient temple near Florence, Italy

Ancient inscription offers insight into extinct language

15 June 2016

A team of archaeologists has recently discovered a 2,500 year old stone on which is an inscription in an ancient, extinct language. We spoke to one of the academics leading on the project, Professor of Archaeology, Phil Perkins, about the impact of this on our understanding of the past: What is the ‘Etruscan Stele’? “Basically, […]

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