The Open University

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 […]

It’s tough going for UK businesses, finds the OU’s 2022 Business Barometer

29 June 2022

According to The Open University’s Business Barometer 2022, published in partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce, UK organisations are experiencing the knock-on effect of ongoing skills shortages and recruitment challenges. The OU’s annual report provides a temperature check on the UK skills landscape and found more than three quarters (78%) are seeing reduced output, […]

Joy for academic on news of her OBE in Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours

27 June 2022

An academic from The Open University’s Business School has just learned she is to receive an OBE for her work promoting Black history and heritage. Joyce Fraser (Joyce King to her OU colleagues) founded the Black Heroes Foundation in memory of her late husband ‘Flip’ Fraser, the first editor of The Voice newspaper (a publication […]

OU academic joins international team of experts to advise on samples to be returned from Mars

27 June 2022

A select group of researchers from across the world – including a STEM academic at the OU –will investigate the scientific potential of Mars rock and sediment samples gathered by space explorations. The Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group has been established by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) to bring together 16 researchers who […]

New BBC/ OU series explores the unheard voices of the AIDS crisis

24 June 2022

On Monday (27 June), an innovative three-part documentary series starts on BBC 2, which tells the story of the British AIDS crisis as it’s never been told before. Co-produced by the BBC and The Open University, AIDS: The Unheard Tapes begins 40 years ago when a mysterious disease first appeared in Britain’s gay community. A […]

The trailblazing women in engineering

23 June 2022

It’s no secret that the engineering sector has traditionally seen more men than women climbing the ladder. Despite this, science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) industries have come a long way in encouraging and supporting women into historically ‘male’ education and career paths. To celebrate this and mark this year’s International Women in Engineering Day […]

Our daily bread – how craft bakers fared during the pandemic and what happens now

22 June 2022

As the cost of living continues to rise researchers at The Open University (OU) are looking into how craft bakers are faring in an uncertain future. Emma Bell, Professor of Organisation Studies at the OU, has launched a survey to see how they are responding to today’s challenging market and what kind of support they […]

Greenwashing: how ads get you to think brands are greener than they are – and how to avoid falling for it

21 June 2022

Brands have several tricks up their sleeves to convince ad viewers their products are sustainable. Here three academics from The Open University: Morteza Abolhasani, lecturer in marketing, Gordon Liu, Professor of Marketing Strategy and Zahra Golrokhi, Lecturer in Engineering, give their views. Ads are ubiquitous in many people’s lives, whether on billboards across our cities or […]

OU News