The Open University

Learning links around the world thanks to OU and FutureLearn

22 April 2020

A free course to help teachers and instructors move learning online during the pandemic has attracted a huge following around the globe on The Open University’s part-owned FutureLearn site. How to Teach Online: Providing Continuity for Students is a three-week course that is attracting massive audiences and great engagement from all across the world, united […]

“Remember that you are a person as well as a carer” – applications remain open for the OU’s Carers Scholarships Fund

20 April 2020

With a reported 6.5 million people providing unpaid support for a family member or friend, it’s important now more than ever that we recognise the incredible work of the caring community. Last month, The Open University opened applications for its Carers Scholarships Fund, which offers the opportunity for 50 current or recent carers to study […]

OU leads the way with £1 million software engineering project

20 April 2020

Researchers from The Open University (OU) spearhead a £1 million project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), to change the culture of software engineering. The socio-technical resilience in software development project, also known as STRIDE, will challenge the focus of software engineering on automation and new technologies, to put people at […]

New, Earth-sized planet found in habitable zone

15 April 2020

A team of scientists from around the world have discovered an Earth-size exoplanet orbiting in its star’s habitable zone, the area around a star where a rocky planet could support liquid water. Scientists from The Open University, NASA, University of Texas, SETI Institute and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics discovered a new planet, called Kepler-1649c, […]

Acting together in isolation: the “paradox” of life in the pandemic

15 April 2020

Dr Cristina Chimisso considers the constraints placed on all of us across the world to live in isolation and confinement and keep a social distance, yet the paradox philosophically of needing to act together. She draws on the writings of Hannah Arendt in discussing what it might mean today to ‘act in concert’ and the […]

Lockdown lessons from the history of solitude

9 April 2020

David Vincent, Professor of History at The Open University writes for The Conversation about this history of solitude. When the poet John Donne was struck down by a sudden infection in 1623 he immediately found himself alone – even his doctors deserted him. The experience, which only lasted a week, was intolerable. He later wrote: […]

Turning to Easter eggs to get through these dark times? Here’s the bitter truth about chocolate

7 April 2020

Cristiana Bernardi, from The Open University joins Stephanie Perkiss, University of Wollongong and John Dumay, Macquarie University in writing for The Conversation about the importance of buying ethically sourced chocolate over Easter. The coronavirus might make Easter celebrations a little subdued this year, but that doesn’t mean going without chocolate eggs. In fact, South Australia’s […]

OU partners with The Young Foundation to launch coronavirus citizen science project

7 April 2020

The Open University has partnered with UKRI accredited Independent Research Organisation, The Young Foundation to launch a landmark new project to capture the social impact of coronavirus on individuals and communities across the UK. Delivered on the OU’s citizen science platform, nQuire the project aims to understand how this generation-defining moment impacts the future of […]

OU academics cast doubt over accuracy of fertility and pregnancy planning apps

6 April 2020

New findings, published by Open University academics suggest there are gaps in the reliability of popular apps used by many to estimate fertility and for pregnancy planning. Academics from the OU have put together an evidence review looking at menstruation and fertility apps. Published today in the BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health journal, the findings […]

Coronavirus is a once in a lifetime chance to reshape how we travel

3 April 2020

James Warren, The Open University and Marcus Enoch, Loughborough University write for The Conversation about how coronavirus gives us the chance to change the way we travel. The transport sector has been impacted as much as any by the coronavirus. This isn’t a normal period of disruption, which is usually caused by failures in supply […]

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