The Open University

New research finds the biggest predictors of future wealth

11 January 2023

Are you a saver or a spender? Do you plan financially for the future? According to new research, your planning capabilities and attitude towards money are two big drivers when it comes to accumulating wealth. Drawing on data from more than 90,000 UK adults, the paper titled Money attitudes, financial capabilities, and impulsiveness as predictors […]

OU to offer £280k to help EdTech companies develop new products

9 January 2023

The Open University (OU) has launched a new online start-up incubator to support businesses that produce educational technology to enhance the learning experience. The EdTech Foundry will give small to medium sized businesses access to the expertise of academics from the OU’s renowned Institute of Educational Technology, as well as a proportion of a £280,000 […]

Ways that can help you stop feeling blue about finances in 2023

9 January 2023

Jonquil Lowe is a senior lecturer in economics at the OU and specialises in personal finance. Here she provides some New Year tips for those likely to struggle in 2023 and for others who could ease their load. Stats show over a third of UK households, that’s 10.8 million, are struggling or in serious difficulties […]

The clitoris – a brief history

5 January 2023

Helen King is an Open University Emerita Professor of classical studies – here she explores the history of the clitoris and shows just how much wasn’t known about it and how far science has come to understand it. “What’s the difference between a bar and clitoris? Most men have no trouble finding a bar.” […]

Tens of thousands of previously unseen galaxies made available for the public to classify

28 December 2022

Twenty thousand high quality images have been released to the public on the most popular citizen science project: Galaxy Zoo. Anyone in the world can help astronomers classify images taken with one of the most advanced instruments installed on one of world leading telescopes. The international collaboration between Galaxy Zoo, The Open University, University of […]

Start your degree in 2023

26 December 2022

If you want to change direction in 2023 but never thought of education before, an Open University degree could be just what you are looking for. A university degree can be lifechanging, ask our students. The Open University currently has 205,000, including 9,000 across the globe, and many who have achieved against the odds. Earlier […]

China’s increasing economic ties with the Gulf states are reducing the west’s sway in the Middle East

23 December 2022

Dr Emilie Rutledge is an economist at The Open University who has held research and consulting positions in the Middle East for 12 years. Here she talks about the increasingly close relationship between China and the Gulf states. At the end of November 2022, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak announced that the “golden era” between […]

Today’s winter wonderlands have roots in Jacobean and Georgian frost fairs

22 December 2022

Dr Clare Taylor is a senior lecturer in art history at the OU – here she gives an insight into the origins of winter wonderlands and tells us how they became so popular. Skating rinks, funfairs and booths serving hot food and drink spring up across many cities in December. But these festivities aren’t a […]

Alicia Herbert OBE, FCDO Director of Education, Gender and Equality and Loyce Nhandara, SAGE District Coordinator

Zimbabwe project to improve education of women and girls receives FCDO praise

22 December 2022

The Open University’s global development project, SAGE – Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education – was recently visited by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) who fund the project through UKAid. The initiative was praised for its positive impact on women and girls in Zimbabwe. SAGE, which began in 2018, seeks to address the barriers in accessing […]

OU degree is ‘on pointe’ for Scottish Ballet star

21 December 2022

An acclaimed Scottish Ballet dancer shares how she achieved her first-class Open University degree alongside a full-time career as a professional ballerina. Constance Devernay-Laurence is used to wowing audiences as a Principal dancer in Scottish Ballet. She’s now added another achievement to her bright career by completing a degree in Sport, Fitness and Coaching. “It’s […]

OU News