The Open University

£1million to research care of child migrants

18 March 2019

A researcher who travelled to ‘the Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais to see how unaccompanied child migrants lived has secured £1million of funding from the Economic and Social Research Council to study the care of lone child refugees. The new research project, which is co-led by The Open University and University College London, will investigate […]

Today’s immigration laws have teeth, and their bite is toxic for people seeking asylum

26 October 2016

As a dock city, Liverpool has served as a gateway to the sugar trade, slavery and global transport for hundreds of years. It has long been a city of immigrants from Ireland, India and Pakistan to Somalia, Ethiopia and Jamaica. It boasts the oldest Chinese community in Europe, and the largest Chinese arch outside of […]

Praise for ground-breaking OU/BBC series following refugees

12 July 2016

Last night saw the first episode of a new BBC2 series which follows the journeys of 70 refugees as they aim to leave conflict or persecution and make their way into Europe. Exodus: Our Journey to Europe was produced in partnership with The Open University, with three leading OU academics acting as consultants on the […]

TV series sheds light on real life journey of refugees

11 July 2016

The subject of refugees and their often dangerous journeys into Europe has barely been out of the news in recent years. Now, a powerful new BBC series – produced in partnership with The Open University – is set to cast a new light on those directly involved. Exodus: Our Journey to Europe charts the journeys […]

Former Zimbabwean refugee on the transforming power of education

24 June 2016

Alice Chigumira came to the UK in 2002 as a refugee from Zimbabwe where she’d worked for the Minister of Foreign Affairs for 12 years. She grew up during a time of social upheaval and distress, eventually forced out by political instability, to settle in Reading. As a widow with two small children, Alice adjusted […]

What does the UN want to achieve from the first World Humanitarian Summit?

23 May 2016

In 2016, nearly one in five of the 7.4 billion people on our planet live in fragile situations. This represents the highest level of suffering since World War II – and numbers are set to increase as conflict, violent extremism and natural disasters continue to cause massive global disruption. In response to the escalating crisis […]

OU research reveals smartphone hazards for refugees en route to Europe

16 May 2016

The lives of refugees travelling from war-torn Syria and Iraq to Europe are made more perilous due to a deficit of vital news, Open University research has found. What they need is timely, relevant and reliable information and news, the report learned. The research also found that the smartphones carried by refugees pose both a […]

Occupying Turin: refugees breathe life into abandoned buildings of Olympic village

4 April 2016

Arriving at the Olympic Village in Turin, the stage for the 2006 Winter Olympics, it is easy to guess which buildings have been maintained as student houses and youth hostels, and which have been occupied by refugees. The peeling blue and grey paint is visible evidence of Olympic enthusiasm turned to detachment. Since 2013, four […]

Refugees walking along with their belongings. Image credit:Thinkstock

OU and British Council ensure Syria’s refugees don’t leave education behind

25 September 2015

Classes set up by The Open University and The British Council are helping displaced Syrian refugees continue with their studies and develop new skills which will help with their resettlement. Around 3,000 Syrians and disadvantaged Jordanian students are accessing English, French and German lessons in Jordan and Lebanon and 300 of the highest achievers can progress […]

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