The Open University

By extending the remit of PCCs, the government is playing with fire

25 September 2015

The UK government has proposed to extend the remit of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to cover other emergency services, including fire and rescue. The system has been called a “failed experiment” by the Independent Police Commission, and has continued to attract criticism since its inception in 2012. So why widen the remit of PCCs, […]

Refugees walking along with their belongings. Image credit:Thinkstock

OU and British Council ensure Syria’s refugees don’t leave education behind

25 September 2015

Classes set up by The Open University and The British Council are helping displaced Syrian refugees continue with their studies and develop new skills which will help with their resettlement. Around 3,000 Syrians and disadvantaged Jordanian students are accessing English, French and German lessons in Jordan and Lebanon and 300 of the highest achievers can progress […]

Is this the answer to ending extreme poverty?

16 September 2015

Internationally-renowned statistician Professor Hans Rosling asks whether it’s possible to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030 in a one-hour BBC programme made in partnership with The Open University. Don’t Panic: How to End Poverty in 15 Years considers whether the goal set by the United Nations (UN) of wiping out ‘extreme poverty’ for almost one billion people […]

CGI image of baby in a womb. Image credit: BDH for The BBC

The story of how human life is made

14 September 2015

100 Trillion cells. 280 days. One human life. The person you are was decided before you were even born. Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You is a fascinating new three-part BBC series produced in partnership with the OU, telling the thrilling story of how human life is made. The way you smile, the […]

People at a music concert. Image: Thinkstock

Why Ibiza club music at a classical concert is a clash we should embrace

12 September 2015

London’s Royal Albert Hall has seen a lot this summer: a performance of Beethoven’s Sixth from memory, a concert reflecting the supposed tastes of Sherlock Holmes, a concert telling the “Story of Swing” and Jarvis Cocker leading an “underwater dream” with music ranging from Echo & The Bunnymen to Debussy. But it was the Ibiza […]

Polluted host cities are putting our champion athletes at risk

10 September 2015

At the recent Athletic World Championships in Beijing, not only did the athletes have to train for heat and humidity, they were also faced with competing in one of the world’s most polluted cities. Unfortunately, coping with poor air quality is nothing new for the world’s top athletes. As the world looks forward to next […]

TV series lifts the lid on ancient world’s greatest philosophers

28 August 2015

Genius of the Ancient World follows historian, Bettany Hughes, on her quest to explore the wisdom of the three greatest philosophers of the ancient world: Buddha, Socrates and Confucius. These three celebrated philosophers, who lived during a period of intense intellectual development (600 – 500 BC), were trailblazers. They were the first individuals to apply […]

The trouble with teenagers: it stems from what they learn about friendship in school

28 August 2015

I visited a Norwegian secondary school a couple of years ago and met a young man who had been identified as having profound and multiple emotional, physical and behavioural difficulties. In the summer, as part of his school day, this teenager would go swimming, cycling and climbing; in the winter, he went skiing. He had […]

Law graduate wins scholarship to Harvard

27 August 2015

Created in 1965 following the death of President Kennedy, the scholarship provides full funding to a British citizen who is a graduate of a British university, enabling them to take up study at Harvard University, or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This year, OU law graduate Amy Woolfson has scooped the accolade. Amy is The […]

Row of university graduates holding their scrolls. Image: Thinkstock

Are more poorer students going to university?

20 July 2015

The OU’s Vice-Chancellor, Peter Horrocks, looks at the numbers behind claims in the Budget that more students from poorer backgrounds are going to university. This blog post was originally written for Universities UK. Standing at the dispatch box to deliver his budget yesterday, the Chancellor made a significant statement about student numbers. We were told that […]

OU News