The Open University

OU graduate awarded MBE for contribution to foster care

11 November 2019

Earlier this month, OU graduate, Judith Harper collected her MBE insignia from the Queen for her outstanding contribution to foster care over the last 25 years. Having fostered over 100 children with her husband, Judith was recognised for her role as a carer, helping siblings stay together as a family and giving children with additional […]

CSI: current research into the impact of bias on crime scene forensics is limited – but psychologists can help

30 October 2019

Dr Lee John Curley, Lecturer in Psychology at The Open University joins Dr James Munro, Psychology Researcher from Edinburgh Napier University to write for The Conversation about their research into why contextual information is important to forensic analysis. When a jury decides the fate of a person, they do so based on the evidence presented […]

Support for CBI report urging kickstart to lifelong learning

29 October 2019

The Open University (OU) has given its backing to a new hard-hitting report issued on Tuesday 29th October by the CBI on the need to revitalise lifelong learning. The report An upskill battle: the importance of lifelong learning in a modern economy” highlights the importance and challenges firms face in order to upskill and retrain […]

Autumnwatch returns to our screens and results from Springwatch survey

29 October 2019

Autumnwatch is back on BBC Two on Tuesday 29 October at 8pm for a new, four-part series co-produced by the BBC and The Open University’s Broadcast and Partnerships team. The week of special 60-minute programmes celebrate the very best of our UK wildlife, broadcasting live from the Dell of Abernethy in the heart of the […]

Rule change could support more prisoner learning

25 October 2019

Relaxing the regulations on student loans allowing more prisoners to learn could pay broad dividends, according to a policy paper from The Open University (OU) and Higher Education thinktank Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI). In a joint policy note published on Thursday October 24, the two organisations propose a change to the six-year rule, which […]

OU partners with Ministry of Education in Ghana to launch OpenSTEM Africa

24 October 2019

The Open University and the Ministry of Education in Ghana have launched a programme to promote the effective teaching of practical science in Senior High Schools. Open STEM Africa: Ghana, is aimed at improving practical teaching and learning of science and in particular providing support for under-qualified or inexperienced science teachers, in line with the government […]

“Education has changed my life”

13 October 2019

Mark began his journey with the OU whilst serving a life-sentence in prison. Through his studies he discovered a passion for learning and since his release has enabled him to turn his life around. Now he uses his own experiences to help other prisoners learn. We spoke to Mark to discover more about how the […]

How one NHS anaesthetist is fighting international medical research fraud

8 October 2019

Professor Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics at The Open University writes for The Conversation about fraud in medical research. John Carlisle is a consultant anaesthetist at Torbay Hospital on England’s south coast. Unless you’ve been one of his patients, you’ve probably never heard of him. But he’s a researcher too, and he’s developed statistical […]

OU probes new star mapping technology

4 October 2019

OU researchers have received £570,000 from the European Science Agency for the next phase of scientific devices for mapping stars and galaxies. Dr Nathan Bush and Dr Ben Dryer from the OU’s Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, will use this funding to develop a new type of scientific device for space imaging applications, such […]

If politicians are serious about tackling inequality they need to properly overhaul the tax system – here’s how

3 October 2019

Dr Hanna Szymborska, Lecturer in Economics at The Open University writes for The Conversation about inequality in the UK’s tax system. Inequality has shot to the top of the agenda across the political spectrum. Politicians, activists, and even billionaires increasingly call for more radical measures to tackle the problem. Britain’s Conservative government proclaimed the end to austerity in its […]

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