The Open University

At chocolate time, we’ve discovered what the brands that score best on child labour and the environment have in common

29 March 2023

What distinguishes a company that makes “good” chocolate (chocolate untainted by child labour, modern slavery, deforestation and the overuse of agrichemicals) from one that merely makes chocolate? Our annual Chocolate Scorecard investigation, which is a collaboration between Be Slavery Free, Macquarie University, The University of Wollongong and the Open University, suggests it might be a mission that goes beyond making food and […]

New study finds water on the Moon is stored in ‘beads of glass’

27 March 2023

Glass beads formed from the cooling of melted material ejected by and found strewn across the Moon could store substantial quantities of water, according to a study supported by OU academic, Professor Mahesh Anand. These findings, published in Nature Geoscience, were a result of analyses of samples from China’s Chang’e-5 mission (one of the lander […]

Four ways the UK economy is being hampered by the private sector

27 March 2023

Alan Shipman is a senior lecturer in economics at The Open University. Here he talks about ways the private sector is hampering today’s UK economy and points to four ways it is doing so. The UK government has decided to go ahead with a rise in corporation tax in April 2023. The move is a […]

How world sport got into a mess over trans athletes – and how it can get out of it

23 March 2023

Jon Pike, The Open University World sport has been convulsed over the past few months – indeed years – by questions about trans athletes, especially trans women, competing in their acquired gender. Most recently, World Athletics announced its “preferred option” of a reduced 2.5nmol testosterone limit for trans women to compete, with a final decision […]

The OU and The Arab Open University celebrate twenty years of partnership

23 March 2023

The Open University (the OU) hosted the (pandemic-delayed) bi-annual partnership conference with The Arab Open University (the AOU) at the OU’s campus in Milton Keynes, which coincides with twenty years of this valued educational partnership. At the two-day summit, senior leaders discussed further ways to strengthen their partnership through innovation in teaching, curriculum development and […]

The Open University’s scholarship fund supporting injured or disabled veterans is open for applications

22 March 2023

The Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund (DVSF) provides free education at The Open University (OU) for veterans injured or disabled during military service. There are 50 places available to start study in Autumn 2023. Since it launched in 2018 the fund has awarded 262 scholarships to study at the OU and has helped veterans from a […]

Wild Isles: starling murmuration in BBC documentary reveals as much about people as it does about birds

21 March 2023

Samuel Shaw is a lecturer in art history at The Open University and a self-confessed fan of the BBC/OU co production, Wild Isles. Here he talks about how fascinating and significant he finds the way humans look at nature – the art of birdwatching. I’m sitting on the sofa, watching starlings. There are thousands of […]

How to tackle diversity in social work courses in HEIs – academic comment

21 March 2023

Paulette Johnson is a social work academic and The Open University’s academic Lead for Access Participation and Success. Here she shares how the OU is tackling inclusivity within the sector from the inside out. As a former practising social worker, now academic helping to shape the lives of social-work students, I’ve spent 20 years gaining […]

Well, beat that! Drummer Roy Holliday, 96, collects accolade

20 March 2023

Drummer Roy Holliday has spent decades making people happy playing in bands with the great and good in major ballrooms throughout the country plus major venues in London including the Royal Festival Hall. Now, at the age of 96, with his drumming days long behind him, thanks to arthritic hands, the Milton Keynes resident is […]

Brickies is back for a second series

20 March 2023

Brickies – the real-life documentary that follows the trials and tribulations of a group of bricklayers – is back! Expect a lot of fun and laughter from the brickies as they get on with the serious business of getting on with the job but we see a different side, too: just how much the cost […]

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