The Open University

PCF9: Tackling the global education crisis

13 September 2019

As the ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum closed, there was a renewed sense of urgency about the global education crisis. The next 10 years is critical in order to meet the UN’s sustainable goal 4 – education for all. PCF9 provided the platform on which partnerships have been forged, commitments made and a reinforced understanding of the […]

Sarah Brown calls for innovative financing for education

11 September 2019

A packed Pan-Commonwealth Forum 9 was treated to an engaging and inspirational address by Sarah Brown during which she called on governments and NGOs for more innovative thinking to finance global educational efforts. The challenge of providing education to displaced people, children and girls was also high on the agenda and mirrored many of the […]

Law students make prison radio series

23 August 2019

Open University law students from around the UK have collaborated with prison learners to record a series of radio programmes for broadcast on prison radio, as part of a pioneering project by the University’s Open Justice Centre. The success of the pilot, which resulted in a radio programme called Castaway, means it is expected to […]

Clearing 2019: OU offers a positive choice

13 August 2019

A-level results day is looming and with it a wave of emotion across the UK as the Clearing process reaches high intensity. The Open University continues to provide a positive choice, offering an alternative route to a degree for many young people and one which is open to all. Increasingly attractive choice In the National […]

“Current mobile phone laws are outdated”

13 August 2019

Tougher restrictions on driving while using a mobile phone and stricter enforcement of the law could prevent deaths and serious injuries from related crashes on the roads, says new House of Commons report. In Road Safety: driving while using a mobile phone, the Transport Committee says the evidence is clear: using a mobile phone while […]

Research reveals depths of plumbing system of ocean volcanoes

12 August 2019

An Open University scientist is among those to have revealed the true extent of the internal “plumbing system” that drives volcanic activity around the world. Dr Frances Jenner is co-author on a new study published in Nature, which has challenged existing knowledge of the structure of ocean volcanoes. The study involved an examination of pockets […]

Tardigrades: we’re now polluting the moon with near indestructible little creatures

8 August 2019

Monica Grady, The Open University writing for The Conversation An Israeli spacecraft called Beresheet almost made it to the moon in April. It took a selfie with the lunar surface in the background, but then lost contact with Earth and presumably crashed onto the lunar surface. Now it’s been revealed that the mission was carrying […]

Moon landings: what the future holds

20 July 2019

As the world remembers the day 50 years ago that astronauts stepped on the Moon for the first time, the OU’s Dr Mahesh Anand, considers the future of space exploration and establishing a Moon base, with the challenges this could involve. Dr Anand is a renowned lunar scientist and Reader in Planetary Science and Exploration, […]

Enceladus, NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

OU receives £6.7 million to expand Astrobiology research

13 June 2019

The Open University (OU) has received £6.7 million to expand its Astrobiology Research Group to address fundamental questions about life beyond the Earth. The grant is awarded under Research England’s “Expanding Excellence in England (E3) 2019-2022”. The funding was announced today by Universities and Science Minister Chris Skidmore, as part of 13 government backed projects […]

A urinal in a Scottish pub reveals why toilets matter in international politics

6 June 2019

If you wanted to see international politics in action, where would you go? Maybe the UN headquarters in New York to see diplomats debating resolutions of global import? Or drop in on one of the world’s many financial hubs, where trading shapes international markets and determines the success or failure of nations. But you probably […]

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