The Open University

Open University lab final destination for extraterrestrial samples that could reveal secrets of the Universe

21 July 2021

Scientists from The Open University have today taken delivery of pristine samples from an asteroid which could reveal the secrets to how our Solar System formed. The spacecraft ‘Hayabusa2’ launched by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in December 2014 travelled over 5 billion kilometres before flying past the Earth in December 2020 to deliver its […]

More secrets revealed at the museum

20 July 2021

Five-inch-tall little Tommy Tittlemouse is 111 years old and for 50 of those years he’s been on display and looked after by curators at the world-famous Victoria & Albert Museum. In the latest OU/BBC co-production and second series of Secrets of the Museum, we see the teddy bear undergoing a ‘condition check’ before being packed […]

Five ways emojis have reflected COVID culture

16 July 2021

Written by Dr Philip Seargeant, Senior Lecturer in Applied Statistics at The Open University. Over the past decade, emojis have become an integral part of the way we communicate, and have attracted attention from scholars in subjects ranging from linguistics to psychology. Just as the pandemic has impacted so many other parts of everyday life, […]

Hand choosing happy smile face paper cut

OU ranked third in National Student Survey

15 July 2021

The results of the National Student Survey (NSS) 2021, commissioned by the Office for Students (OfS) have been published, with The Open University (OU) ranking third amongst 174 participating degree-awarding universities. This is a significant improvement from 17th in 2019, when the university last met the threshold for publication of its results. The OU maintained […]

New free-floating planet population spotted by “elderly” telescope

6 July 2021

Tantalising evidence has been uncovered for a mysterious population of “free-floating” planets, planets that may be alone in deep space, unbound to any host star. The results include four new discoveries that are consistent with planets of similar masses to Earth, published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The study, led by […]

UK scientists join NASA’s first steps back to the Moon – and onward to Mars

6 July 2021

A team of scientists from The Open University (OU) and RAL Space are collaborating with ESA and NASA to investigate the occurrence and behaviour of water on the Moon. Led by the OU’s Dr. Simeon Barber, the UK team has developed a sophisticated analytical instrument known as the Exospheric Mass Spectrometer (EMS) under a contract […]

OU student entrepreneur Erin at home in Loch Lomond

The OU student entrepreneur tackling climate change on two wheels

1 July 2021

Erin Charters, 24, from Loch Lomond was inspired to start her electric bike hire business during an Open University (OU) module on renewable energy. The young entrepreneur and mum is using her degree in Environmental Science to power her business and spark sustainable change within her community. “I started Cycle Luss with the idea of […]

Opera star Laura Wright backs the Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund as application deadline looms

28 June 2021

Applications for this year’s Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund (DVSF) are due to close on July 9th and the DVSF’s new ambassador, mezzo-soprano Laura Wright, is calling for eligible veterans to apply before the deadline. Laura became one of the decade’s biggest selling artists after she won BBC Chorister of the Year in 2005. She is […]

Gender Critical Research Network – A message from the Vice-Chancellor

24 June 2021

Our University is not only a place of open debate but should be an exemplar of how to have these debates, bringing the standards of inquiry we have as an academic institution not just into our own conversations but taking them out into wider society. This, however, needs to be governed by clear rules that […]

‘Being different makes the best stories’ – author Shereen shares her tips for aspiring writers

23 June 2021

“I get really emotive about an issue and it inspires me to write about it,” says British Palestinian author Shereen Malherbe, who made her writing dream come true while studying for an English Literature and Creative Writing degree with The Open University. Shereen published her debut novel while studying part-time and used the chapters she […]

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