OU News

News from The Open University

OU’s innovative learning earns global awards

OU’s innovative learning earns global awards

The Open University is celebrating after winning top awards for its innovation and open education learning, both internationally and in the UK. The OU was named winner in four categories in the highly-competitive 2016 Awards for Open Education Excellence, presenting accolades for excellence to sites, courses and projects across the world in the field of […]

Read more about OU’s innovative learning earns global awards

Why New York-style rent controls would not work in London

Why New York-style rent controls would not work in London

Unaffordable rents have put New York City’s fabled diversity and creativity at risk. They have forced artists, small businesses and lower-income households out of the central areas, leaving them a monocultural wasteland of bankers and businessmen. Those who stay are crammed into ever more cramped and unsanitary accommodation, while those who now commute from distant […]

Read more about Why New York-style rent controls would not work in London

Dr Manish Patel in the recording studio.

Ground control to Major Manish. OU academic to record single for space mission

There has been Band Aid, USA for Africa and Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band. But today a new name is being added to the list of legendary charity single artists. Manish Patel, Senior Lecturer in Space Science at The Open University, is putting aside his academic research and picking up the microphone to record […]

Read more about Ground control to Major Manish. OU academic to record single for space mission

Saturn family image by NASA

Saturn’s moons may be younger than the dinosaurs – so could life really exist there?

Saturn is home to more than 60 moons – from the massive Titan and the crater-riddled Phoebe, to Enceladus with its geysers. Enceladus in particular has been put forward as a good candidate for harbouring microbial life, thanks to its warm internal ocean. After all, if intelligent life could evolve on Earth in a few […]

Read more about Saturn’s moons may be younger than the dinosaurs – so could life really exist there?

Who cares about Batman v Superman? Wonder Woman finally steals the show

Who cares about Batman v Superman? Wonder Woman finally steals the show

Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice has received a frosty critical reception, to say the least. Despite this, I found myself coming away from the cinema filled with hope. Certainly not for either of the titular characters – who have never been less inspiring. Instead, the future finally seems bright for superwomen. Although Wonder […]

Read more about Who cares about Batman v Superman? Wonder Woman finally steals the show

Artist and Empire: a belated revisiting of our colonial history

Artist and Empire: a belated revisiting of our colonial history

Artist and Empire, the major exhibition showing at Tate Britain, has been well received by art critics and audiences alike. Aiming to unite art and a reckoning with Britain’s imperial past, it is a noteworthy venture – but why has it taken so long for such a show to be hosted by a major British […]

Read more about Artist and Empire: a belated revisiting of our colonial history

Mature female student with books in library

Access to higher education: ‘it’s not just for 18-year-olds’

The Government is on course to miss targets to open up access to higher education, according to new research. And “they cannot afford to focus their efforts solely on 18 year-olds.” The Government has ambitious targets for widening participation in by 2020. It aims to double the number of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds going into Higher Education. But research by […]

Read more about Access to higher education: ‘it’s not just for 18-year-olds’

Why child trafficking spikes after natural disasters – and what we can do about it

Why child trafficking spikes after natural disasters – and what we can do about it

When a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal in April 2015, it killed well over 8,000 people and turned much of the country into a disaster zone. 17 days later, as recovery operations were getting established, a 7.3 magnitude quake caused further destruction.  In the desolation, chaos and widespread panic that followed, a surge in child […]

Read more about Why child trafficking spikes after natural disasters – and what we can do about it

The Open University Chancellor Asa Briggs addressing the audience at a graduation ceremony.

Asa Briggs on his secret passion for writing poetry

Former OU Chancellor Asa Briggs will always be remembered as one of the most important historians in Britain, world-renowned for his work in social history, culture and communications and a ‘towering figure’ in the world of education. Much less well known is that he was also a writer of poetry. Just a fortnight before his […]

Read more about Asa Briggs on his secret passion for writing poetry

Woman opening her arms up in happiness on top of a mountain. Image credit: Thinkstock

How happiness is challenging GDP as the measure of a country’s health

Denmark reclaimed its place as the happiest country in the world, according to the latest annual World Happiness Report. Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland followed in quick succession at the top, while Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi languished at the bottom. The nations that top the usual measure of a country’s health – its […]

Read more about How happiness is challenging GDP as the measure of a country’s health

Page 224 of 240