The Open University

Music and mental health: the parallels between Victorian asylum treatments and modern social prescribing

10 March 2023

Rosemary Golding is a senior lecturer in music at The Open University who reveals here her fascinating research in how music was used to help patients in Victorian asylums with their mental health. Music has a powerful effect on the listener. It is linked to better mental health, and it has been shown to alleviate […]

OU academics feature on popular BBC podcast discussing matters unique to women’s sport

9 March 2023

Four academics from The Open University are working with BBC Sport’s ‘The Sports Desk’ series in four unique specials, which launched to mark International Women’s Day. This week, the first BBC Sports Desk podcast episodes became available on BBC Sounds. The groundbreaking series is called ‘Women’s Sport Matters’ and will focus on some of the […]

Children and teenagers can carry out valuable wildlife research – here’s how

7 March 2023

Dr Maria Aristeidou is a lecturer at The Open University in technology enhanced learning – here she talks about the part children and teenagers can play in wildlife research through citizen science projects. The environment is in crisis. Young people are calling for environmental action and requesting more education about the environment and the climate […]

Lifelong Loan Entitlement critical to reskilling workforce, boosting growth and growing economy – OU

7 March 2023

The Open University, the UK’s largest university, has today welcomed the Government’s proposals for the Lifelong Loan Entitlement in England. This important reform will enable more people to train, retrain and upskill throughout their working lives. Over the last decade, there has been a damaging decline in undergraduate part-time study in England, particularly among those […]

See the British Isles like never before in new OU / BBC series, Wild Isles

7 March 2023

The highly anticipated natural history series, Wild Isles, presented by Sir David Attenborough, begins this Sunday (12 March) evening, taking viewers on a journey through some of Britain and Ireland’s most beautiful landscapes. The Open University (OU) and BBC co-production will begin on BBC One and iPlayer at 7pm on Sunday 12th March, informed by […]

The OU invites you to celebrate British and Irish natural beauty and #ShareYourWildIsles

7 March 2023

To celebrate the release of the highly anticipated Open University (OU) / BBC series, Wild Isles, the OU is inviting people to share their favourite British and Irish nature spots or species on social media, using the hashtag #ShareYourWildIsles. Simply head to The OU’s social channels and share your photo to get involved. If you’re […]

OU PhD student Emily Swaby awarded the prestigious Wollaston Fund by the Geological Society of London

3 March 2023

Emily Swaby of the School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences (EEES) at The Open University has been awarded the 2023 Wollaston Fund, presented by the Geological Society of London. The Wollaston Fund award is named in honour of William Hyde Wollaston (1766-1828) and has been bestowed annually since 1831. It is awarded to an […]

OU/BBC co-production goes behind the scenes of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

28 February 2023

Saving Lives in Leeds, a new BBC documentary, produced with the support of two OU academics, features the challenging work of doctors and surgeons at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHT Trust. The eight-part series airs on Wednesday 1st March, 9pm on BBC Two and shows the tough dilemmas that doctors face each day behind the scenes, […]

Delving deep into the history of Welsh music

28 February 2023

Welsh Open University Music academics lent not just their individual expertise but their origins to help inform programme makers about Wales, ‘the land of song’, and the history of Welsh music in a BBC / OU co-production. ‘Wales: Music Nation with Huw Stephens’ looks at aspects of the musical history of Wales and is presented […]