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News from The Open University

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Government must urgently address decline in part-time and mature learners, says report

Maintenance grants for part-time students, expansion of degree apprenticeships and credit transfer are just some of the recommendations aimed at addressing the decline in part-time and mature learners in the Education Select Committee’s report Value for Money in Higher Education. The report published today has been strongly welcomed by The Open University for recognising the […]

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Vegans: why they inspire fear and loathing among meat eaters

Food critic William Sitwell has resigned as editor of Waitrose’s in-house magazine following a row over his astonishingly hostile response to a freelance journalist who proposed a series of articles on veganism. A statement from the food retailer said that John Brown Media – which produces the Waitrose & Partners Food Magazine – had announced […]

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Gwyneth Paltrow

Goop: a classicist’s take on the ‘power’ of ancient remedies

Lifestyle company Goop – founded and run by actor and businessperson Gwyneth Paltrow – was fined US$145,000 (£112,000) for making unscientific claims about products on its website: specifically, that its jade and rose quartz eggs, intended to be inserted vaginally, could help to balance hormones and regulate menstrual cycles. In a recent interview with the […]

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Hyperspectral images taken by Teledyne e2v CCD55-20 sensor.

OU renews partnership for space detector technologies

A new five-year partnership has been agreed between The Open University (OU)’s Centre for Electronic Imaging (CEI) and innovative technology company Teledyne e2v. Together the collaboration will advance imaging detector technology for space science and earth observations. Specifically the partnership will continue to develop “space hardened” CCD and CMOS detector technologies from x-ray, ultraviolet, to […]

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OU welcomes recommendations to provide more flexible study

A generation of ‘lost learners’ are missing out on the chance to develop the skills at university that employers and the UK economy need, because of the cost and time it takes to study part-time. This is one of the main findings of a project set up by Universities UK (UUK) and the Confederation of […]

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Julia Gillard honoured by The Open University in Wales

The former Prime Minister of Australia was honoured alongside Welsh graduates at The Open University in Wales degree ceremony in Cardiff.  At the Wales Millennium Centre, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was presented with an honorary degree from The Open University in Wales for her contribution to public service. Born in Barry, Julia Gillard, […]

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Some like it hot – OU scientist explains the mission to Mercury

Some like it hot – OU scientist explains the mission to Mercury

The BepiColombo spacecraft blasted off into space, bound for Mercury in the early hours of Saturday 20th October from French Guyana and travel 9 billion km to reach Mercury in 2025. The hope is that its findings will help uncover the mysteries of the least explored planet in the inner Solar System and the closest […]

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Game of Thrones: imagined world combines romantic and grotesque visions of Middle Ages

Take the dragons and the zombies away from the television adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s epic A Song of Ice and Fire novels and you are left with the seemingly authentic portrayal of a pseudo-medieval world. Indeed, Martin was inspired by historical events such as the Wars of the Roses, the Crusades and the Hundred […]

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“The single greatest gift that study gave me was hope” – how the OU changes prisoners’ lives

“The single greatest gift that OU study gave me was hope” says John, an ex-offender who spent six years in prison. CJ went from serving nine-and-a-half years in prison for drug trafficking to gaining a first class Law degree, confidence, and employment. And Stephen, jailed for importing drugs, says that starting with the OU was […]

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On the death of a baby: Parents experience of grief and loss

Dr Kerry Jones is a Lecturer in End of Life Care and researches bereavement across the whole life span. In this article, she debunks some common misconceptions and outlines ways to support parents who are going through this loss. “ It doesn’t matter how many babies we do or don’t have, you can’t ever replace […]

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