The Open University

Conservative leadership election: who might battle it out?

13 July 2022

As the voting gets underway in the Conservative Party leadership election, we asked three of our regular politics commentators to share their thoughts and predictions on how this race might run and which two candidates could ultimately battle for victory in September and succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister: Dr Richard Heffernan, Reader in Government […]

‘I changed my life through the OU – now I’m running my own business’

11 July 2022

Business owner Rhiannon is proof that with determination and the right support, anything is possible. After falling pregnant at 16, Rhiannon left school with only a handful of GCSEs. Fast forward to today, and she’s not only turned her own life around but is helping others to do the same through her business. She puts […]

Inflation, recession fears and tax cuts: any new UK chancellor faces an unenviable in-tray

8 July 2022

Alan Shipman, Senior Lecturer in Economic at The Open University and Phil Tomlinson, Professor of Industrial Strategy at Bath University, talk about the range of ministerial resignations in Boris Johnson’s government and the unenviable job of the new chancellor. The flood of ministerial resignations from UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s government in recent days started […]

Female noise and vibration engineer oversees student testing vibrations through software

Future of education is identified in the OU’s Innovating Pedagogy Report 2022

7 July 2022

‘Dual learning scenarios’ and ‘influencer-led education’ feature among the top 10 approaches to learning and teaching in this year’s landmark edition of the Innovating Pedagogy Report from The Open University. Every year academic researchers at the OU’s Institute of Educational Technology explore new advancements in pedagogy and how they can be effective in different learning, […]

National Student Survey results 2022 – Full update

6 July 2022

The results of the National Student Survey (NSS) 2022, commissioned by the Office for Students (OfS) have been published, with The Open University (OU) ranking sixth amongst 175 participating degree-awarding providers. The OU achieved an overall satisfaction rating of 86% across the UK, which remains well above the sector average of 74%. As the only institution in the […]

“Learning is a lifeline” says veteran Sarah

5 July 2022

When veteran Sarah had to leave her dream Royal Air Force (RAF) role, she didn’t know what her future would hold. She’s now working towards a new career, all thanks to The Open University’s life-changing Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund. During her time serving in the RAF, Sarah rose to the rank of Avionics Technician, at […]

Nasa considers sending swimming robots to habitable ‘ocean worlds’ of the Solar System

5 July 2022

David Rothery, The Open University Nasa has recently announced US$600,000 (£495,000) in funding for a study into the feasibility of sending swarms of miniature swimming robots (known as independent micro-swimmers) to explore oceans beneath the icy shells of our Solar System’s many “ocean worlds”. But don’t imagine metal humanoids swimming frog-like underwater. They will probably […]

Campaign to help change lives through education

4 July 2022

The Open University (OU) stages its second annual Giving Day this week and is encouraging people to help transform the lives and rewrite the futures of current and future students. By making donations over a 36-hour timeframe from 9am on Thursday 7 July to 9pm on Friday 8 July in support of the OU’s Open […]

New study reveals Atlantic Ocean abyss was once as warm as the Mediterranean, highlighting the astonishing impact of climate change

1 July 2022

A new study of ancient ocean temperatures, published today in Science, shows that the abyssal Atlantic Ocean was once a truly balmy 20 °C – warmer even than the surface of the modern Mediterranean Sea. Scientists, including Dr Philip Sexton of the OU, say the new data, spanning the last 60 million years, show the […]

RAF image courtesy of Crown Copyright 2011

Finding a new purpose after the Forces

30 June 2022

Stuart Lawson had served in the Army for 19 years when a terrible accident turned his world upside down. It was while undergoing gruelling rehabilitation that Stuart set himself a new goal to work towards – becoming a History teacher. With the help of an Open University scholarship for disabled veterans, Stuart is now on […]

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