The Open University

Analyst by day and student by night, Abiola shares his story with Gemma Cairney

22 January 2021

An inspiring data analyst from Greenwich, South East London, is the latest guest on a brand-new podcast series starting this month, hosted by broadcaster Gemma Cairney. Life … On Our Terms is an eight-episode podcast series from The Open University (OU) discussing a range of topics about life and the routes to success taken by […]

Will Trump loom large over Biden’s early days?

20 January 2021

A very different US presidential inauguration happened in Washington on Wednesday January 20th 2021, as Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States. Historian Dr Sinead McEneaney, lecturer and staff tutor at the OU, talks about the day and indeed what to expect from the next 100 days from both President Joe Biden […]

OU-funded research to tackle social isolation in hospice settings

12 January 2021

It’s no secret that Covid-19 is having a devastating impact on the lives of patients in care homes and hospices. The threat of the virus has forced providers to keep patients isolated from loved ones for their own safety, but this has led to a decline in mental health, an increase in anxiety and even […]

Pandemic prompts rise of creative ambition, OU survey finds

8 January 2021

Six in ten of us took up something creative in 2020 Most popular activity was reading for pleasure (30%) Nearly 20% found ways to learn a new subject Turning to study proved popular among those aged 18-34 Results reveal motivation to give things a try in lockdown Reading, writing, DIY or watching online videos, it […]

New report highlights trends in online and blended learning

7 January 2021

‘Enriched realities’ and ‘Using chatbots in learning’ are two of the top ten new approaches to learning and teaching in this year’s Innovating Pedagogy report from The Open University. The ninth edition of the report launched in January 2021 was produced by leading educational researchers at the OU’s Institute of Educational Technology (IET), in collaboration […]

Return of ‘The Truth About’ spotlights Covid concerns

5 January 2021

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the OU/BBC partnership and New Year kicks off with a return of the series ‘The Truth About’’, with three special episodes focusing on issues around coronavirus. This popular and informative co-production starts on Wednesday 6 January at 9pm on BBC One with The Truth About Boosting Your Immune […]

OU academic named in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours

31 December 2020

Mark Brandon, Professor of Polar Oceanography, at The Open University has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year 2021 Honours for services to Polar Science. Mark has been at The Open University for 20 years and has been Professor of Polar Oceanography since 2018. He is also the Associate Dean of Enterprise and […]

2020: an award winning year for OU/BBC TV and Radio

21 December 2020

It’s been another award-winning year for OU/BBC co-productions. Our co-produced content received four nominations at the BAFTAs, with Blue Planet Live winning the ‘Live Event’ category, BBC Ideas won a Webby and we had five nominations at the Broadcast Awards. Here we look back at some of the highlights of the OU/BBC co-productions from the […]

Game your way into a new cyber career

21 December 2020

Most would agree that cyber security is no child’s play, but an Open University (OU) course is keen to borrow the latest gaming techniques to teach adults new skills in the field. OU tech experts have developed a new, FREE course teaching the basics of cyber security to beginners using game-based assessments, making the subject […]

A Perfect Planet: far reaching series set to air in New Year

19 December 2020

Can we really live in a perfect world? A Perfect Planet is a new, five-part natural history series co-produced by The Open University and the BBC, which explains why the Earth is just right for life, so long as we look after it. The series, set to air from Sunday 3 January 2021 at 8pm […]

OU News