The Open University

Black History Month: how the OU will be celebrating

30 September 2020

This October, the nation will be recognising Black History Month (BHM) – an annual celebration of the history, achievements and contributions of black people across the world. The Open University will be marking the occasion by sharing inspirational stories and experiences of our black students, alumni and staff. In the coming weeks, we’ll be publishing […]

Mars: mounting evidence for subglacial lakes, but could they really host life?

29 September 2020

David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University, discusses the discovery of subglacial lakes on Mars and if this could lead to finding out if there was, or is, life on the planet. Venus may harbour life some 50km above its surface, we learned a couple of weeks ago. Now a new paper, published in Nature Astronomy, […]

Open University provides more free courses to boost UK Government’s skills push

29 September 2020

The Open University is adding a dozen new free skills-based courses to The Skills Toolkit, the UK Government’s website dedicated to helping people build skills in the wake of the pandemic and aid vital recovery efforts among employees and employers. The new courses from the OU will appeal to a broad set of learners who […]

OU Language School launches beginner short courses

25 September 2020

The Open University’s School of Languages and Applied Linguistics (LAL) have launched a collection of new 16-week short courses in beginners French, German, Spanish, Italian, Welsh, Chinese and Chinese Business Culture Essentials for leisure, work, professional development and academic study. With European Day of Languages this weekend – a day to celebrate linguistic diversity and champion […]

OU joins forces to launch hub to collate stories of people with learning disabilities through the pandemic

23 September 2020

The Open University has partnered with Three Ways School, learning disability charity, Generate and independent consultant and researcher, Dr Nicola Grove to launch a project to collect and archive the stories of people with learning disabilities through the pandemic. Surviving Through Story content hub will gather stories, artwork, video, photos and tributes to better reflect […]

Attention to mental health is thrust of OU’s latest online short course

18 September 2020

The latest in a suite of short online courses to help get learning and teaching online has been launched by The Open University (OU) on its FutureLearn platform. Teacher Development: Embedding Mental Health in the Curriculum follows hot on the heels of two earlier short accredited courses – called microcredentials – by the OU which […]

OU research could improve mobility of Huntington’s patients

17 September 2020

A case study conducted by The Open University (OU) has found that wearable haptic devices – technology similar to a mobile phone vibrating at a set rhythm – could improve the mobility of people living with Huntington’s Disease. OU PhD student Riasat Islam and former OU PhD student Dr Theodoros Georgiou, used haptic rhythmic cueing […]

Open University report shows key skills gaps remain as businesses plan for recovery

16 September 2020

Since 2017, The Open University Business Barometer has provided detailed insights into the UK skills landscape, looking at the impacts across regions, nations and sectors. This year’s report, which is released in a completely new business context, is based on a survey of 1,000 business leaders representing organisations of all sizes. The report found that […]

Venus: could it really harbour life? New study springs a surprise

15 September 2020

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, at The Open University speaks on the landmark discovery of phosphine, a rare gas, on Venus and whether this latest discovery could point to extraterrestrial life on the planet. Earth’s sister planet, Venus, has not been regarded as a high priority in the search for life. Its […]

Groundbreaking discovery could signal life on Venus

14 September 2020

Scientists from across the globe, including Dr Helen Fraser of The Open University, have detected a rare gas – phosphine – in the clouds of Venus. The landmark discovery could point to extra-terrestrial ‘aerial’ life on the planet. For decades, the scientific community has speculated that high clouds on Venus could offer a home for […]

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