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News from The Open University

Disabled Veteran John studies for his Open University degree

‘My OU degree is giving disabled veterans like me a new future’

Veteran John Owens was at the top of his military career when a stroke left him hospitalised and facing an uncertain future. With support of The Open University’s Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund, he’s now working towards a new chapter in his ongoing recovery. After facing his own challenges, John, from Kilmarnock is determined to show […]

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RAF image courtesy of Crown Copyright 2011

‘I’m giving back to other disabled veterans thanks to an OU scholarship’

Veteran Roger Lees spent his military career literally putting his life on the line to protect others. So when the constant strain of combat missions left him unable to serve, he was left feeling lost and unsure what his future would hold. With the support of an Open University scholarship, Roger originally from Birmingham, now […]

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Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine

Paddy and Christine McGuinness explore autism in new BBC/OU programme

On Wednesday 1 December, a new programme, Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism, co-produced by the BBC and The Open University (OU) starts on BBC1 at 9pm. In this one-off documentary, Paddy and his wife, who have three children that have been diagnosed with autism, meet other parents, experts and people on the autism spectrum to discover […]

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Hands of an elderly man holding a stress ball, whilst a woman comforts him

Social care cap: how the new system will work and why it’s unfair – an expert explains

Janette Rutterford, Emeritus Professor of Finance and Financial History at The Open University writes for The Conversation about why means-tested support will impact those who are less well-off, as they will end up losing more of their assets to pay for their care. Boris Johnson’s proposed new cap on social care has moved a step […]

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Politicians join cross-party discussion on how to tackle gender-based violence

Politicians join cross-party discussion on how to tackle gender-based violence

Key politicians including Labour’s Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding, Jess Phillips MP, will join a cross-party panel at a free webinar hosted by The Open University to discuss what more should be done to prevent gender-based violence. One woman dies every three days at the hands of a man in the UK, and […]

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Misinformation about COVID-19 spreads faster on social media than fact-checking content

Misinformation about COVID-19 spreads faster on social media than fact-checking content

New research has found that the amount of misinformation related to COVID-19 is disproportionately higher than content produced by fact-checkers on Twitter. COVID misinformation also maintains attention and engagement for longer online than fact-based content. The research, led by Open University academics, aimed to examine misinformation about COVID-19 online as a means of improving the […]

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Drivers and hand-held mobile phones: extending the ban won’t solve the problem – here’s why

Drivers and hand-held mobile phones: extending the ban won’t solve the problem – here’s why

Written by Dr Gemma Briggs, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at The Open University and Helen Wells, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Keele Univeristy. The laws around mobile phone use while driving are to be tightened under new UK government plans to make any use of a hand-held phone illegal. From 2022, mobile phone law will be extended […]

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Open University academic wins prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Education Prize

Open University academic wins prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Education Prize

Michael Seery of the School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, has been named the winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Nyholm Prize for Education. Nominated by their peers, Professor Seery was chosen by the RSC’s prestigious panel of judges as one of the most inspirational, innovative and dedicated people in education. Having recently […]

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Fraser Woodburn

Tributes paid to OU’s former University Secretary Fraser Woodburn

It is with great sadness that we share news of the death of Fraser Woodburn, former University Secretary of The Open University, who died peacefully at home on 11 November. Fraser served as the OU’s University Secretary for 17 years from 1999 to the end of 2015, working with four Vice-Chancellors in that period. He […]

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Revision cards with a large black question mark drawn on the top card.

Series ponders how to gain better clarity of thought

Decision making can be a tricky business and it’s at the heart of a new BBC/OU co-produced radio series, aiming to help us all to become better thinkers. Professor Steven Pinker has spent his life thinking about thinking and invites listeners to join him in this new 12-part series. In Think With Pinker, Professor Pinker has […]

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