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Applications open for fresh ideas and business creators
The Open University’s support for entrepreneurs lifts off this month with the 2025 launch of its fund awarding grants towards setting up a business, open to students and alumni. Called the Open Business Creators Fund the initiative offers grants of up to £1500 to support OU students and alumni as they start and progress on […]
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Spring statement: defence spending boosted as further disability benefit cuts announced
Not even six months on from Labour’s first budget, and the world is a much-changed place. Geopolitical tensions and uncertainties, already high last year, have risen further, and with them the cost of the UK’s debt, while economic growth has stalled. As such, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confronted an array of unpalatable choices – notably […]
From hempseed gruel to CBD: the curious history of cannabis as a health product
The cannabis-derived product CBD has been hailed “the wonder drug of our age”, offering potential health benefits without the high, says Dr Lauren Alex O’Hagan, Research Fellow from the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at The Open University. Writing in The Conversation she says: From juices and coffee to truffles and ice cream, CBD […]
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Why the social pain of welfare reform overshadows any economic gain
The UK government is calling it the “biggest shakeup to the welfare system in a generation” – prompted by what the Prime Minister described as the “devastating” cost of sickness and disability benefits. Alan Shipman, Senior Lecturer in Economics, writing in The Conversation, says planned reforms to cut those costs are designed to save £5 […]
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Five things you need to know about: releasing trapped pension surpluses
In a bid to fuel-inject the economy and provide opportunity for growth, the UK Government is intending to announce plans to make it easier to tap into the surplus funds lying in corporate pension schemes. Following an earlier heads-up about this intention, we can expect the Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reveal more in the coming […]
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OU celebrates neurodiversity week
To mark neurodiversity week, 17th -23rd March, The Open University has created a hub of resources on its free online learning platform, OpenLearn, designed to educate and inspire neurodivergent learners, allies, educators, and employers. The OU has a long history of teaching neurodivergent learners, such as those with ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, autism, dyspraxia, Tourette’s syndrome, […]
New Professor of Education, Policy and Practice
In 2018, there were only 25 Black women professors in the UK, compared to 12,500 white men (WHEN, Women’s Higher Education Network). Today, that number has risen to 74, with the promotion of Dr Carol Azumah Dennis, SFHEA, to Professor of Education, Policy and Practice, within The Open University’s Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language […]
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Reducing reoffending rates: Open University awarded UK government contract to provide education in secure environments across England and Wales
OU has been awarded a contract to continue delivering transformative HE education Education is a key aspect of rehabilitation to help end cycle of reoffending Evidence highlights the correlation between education and reducing reoffending The Open University (OU) will continue to deliver life-changing education to those serving in prisons, after successfully securing a new contract […]
Athol Fugard: the great South African playwright who captured what it means to be human
I was shocked to learn that the famous South African writer Athol Fugard had passed away. I had known his age to be 92 but somehow I never expected him to die. He was always a survivor, says Dennis Walder, Emeritus Professor of Literature at The Open University. When I think about Fugard, the first […]
Miscarriage bereavement leave: five things the Employment Rights Bill should consider
The Employment Rights Bill is going through the UK Parliament and is looking at workers’ rights as employees; to better protect them and ensure any changes improve these rights. Professor Jo Brewis leads a research team studying early pregnancy endings and the impact on people in the workplace. Her team welcomes the fact that the […]
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