The Open University

OU plays role in making space research a public affair

20 November 2018

The Open University and European partner institutions are creating a way to open up science research to all to get involved. This will include citizen science projects among other initiatives. The European Science Cluster of Astronomy & Particle Physics ESFRI Research Infrastructures (ESCAPE) will launch its first phase in early 2019, as part of the […]

Bibliotherapy: how reading and writing have been healing trauma since World War I

19 November 2018

Bibliotherapy – the idea that reading can have a beneficial effect on mental health – has undergone a resurgence. There is mounting clinical evidence that reading can, for example, help people overcome loneliness and social exclusion. One scheme in Coventry allows health professionals to prescribe books to their patients from a list drawn up by […]

Young people with life-threatening conditions need to talk about sex

15 November 2018

How do young people facing life-limiting or life-threatening conditions handle relationships and talk about sex? Making friends, exploring sex and developing relationships are an important part of becoming an adult. But young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions have limited opportunities to learn about relationships and sex. Family, carers and health practitioners can feel ill-prepared […]

OU scientists among international team to find new planet

14 November 2018

Scientists from The Open University are among an international team which has discovered a new planet orbiting the closest single star to the Sun. The discovery features in a paper due to be published on Thursday 15th November in Nature, co-authored by three OU astronomers: Professor Carole Haswell, Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr John Barnes and former […]

New BBC series delves into unseen world of the British Foreign Office

14 November 2018

The Open University has partnered with the BBC to co-produce a three-part documentary, which explores the strange, secretive and fascinating world of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Inside the Foreign Office begins on Thursday 15 November at 9pm on BBC Two. Filmed over 12 months, the fly-on-the-wall series follows diplomats, ministers and senior […]

Catalonia: a year on, political prisoners go unnoticed by the rest of the world

13 November 2018

After an unofficial referendum in October 2017, the pro-independence political parties in the Catalan parliament unilaterally declared independence from Spain. In response, the Spanish government invoked Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution which effectively suspended the region’s autonomy. More than a year on from these events, ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont remains in exile in […]

Grenfell Tower film wins national award

13 November 2018

A film about the Grenfell Tower tragedy, created by Dr David Scott, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, has won an award at the British Documentary Film Festival. Winning in the ‘Life Changing Award’ category, the film – called ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder‘ includes powerful testimonies from survivors and families of the bereaved. Dr Scott said: […]

Hyperspectral images taken by Teledyne e2v CCD55-20 sensor.

OU renews partnership for space detector technologies

29 October 2018

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 […]

OU welcomes recommendations to provide more flexible study

26 October 2018

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 […]

Julia Gillard honoured by The Open University in Wales

22 October 2018

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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