The Open University

Double award win for BBC/ OU co-productions

15 November 2022

Two programmes co-produced by The Open University and BBC have won accolades at this year’s Grierson Awards. The Green Planet: Tropical Worlds secured ‘Best Natural History or Environmental Documentary’. The landmark natural history series, presented by Sir David Attenborough was an immersive portrayal of an unseen, inter-connected world, full of remarkable new behaviour, emotional stories […]

Famous astrophysicist passes but his equation for alien intelligence is more important than ever

12 September 2022

David Rothery is a Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University and here he talks about the passing of American astrophysicist Frank Drake and the legacy he left the universe. First published in The Conversation. How many intelligent civilisations should there be in our galaxy right now? In 1961, the US astrophysicist Frank […]

Prehistoric Planet: TV show asked us to explore what weather the dinosaurs lived through

27 May 2022

Robert Spicer from The Open University; Alex Farnsworth from University of Bristol and Paul Valdes from University of Bristol write for The Conversation about the new TV series, Prehistoric Planet. When conjuring up images of when dinosaurs ruled the planet we often think of hot and humid landscapes in a world very different from our own. However, the new […]

Young graduate Bryan completed his OU Business degree aged 18

‘I’ve always loved to learn’ says graduate who started degree aged 16

17 May 2022

Audit professional Bryan Steinauer credits his Open University Business Management degree – which he began at the age of 16 – with landing him where he is today. He’s working for one of the global ‘big four’ accountancies, where he’s on track to become a Swiss Certified Public Accountant (CPA). “My Open University studies have […]

Asteroid sharing Earth’s orbit discovered – could it help future space missions?

4 February 2022

David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University writes for The Conversation about the asteroids that share Earth’s orbit. Research has shown that the Earth trails an asteroid barely a kilometre across in its orbit about the Sun – only the second such body to have ever been spotted. It goes round the […]

Local MP meets with TreeView Research Team at Milton Keynes campus

1 February 2022

Ben Everitt MP visited The Open University campus in Milton Keynes to meet with the STEM academic team behind TreeView. As MP for Milton Keynes North, the OU campus is located within Mr Everitt’s constituency and he met with academics to discuss the TreeView project in more depth last week (28 January). TreeView aims to […]

Full moon against a dark black night sky

Moon: crashing rocket will create new crater – here’s what we should worry about

28 January 2022

David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University writes for The Conversation about the impact of a new cater on the Moon. It’s not often that the sudden appearance of a new impact crater on the Moon can be predicted, but it’s going to happen on March 4, when a derelict SpaceX Falcon 9 […]

OU graduate Ali shows where he achieved his degree through supported distance learning

‘Distance learning works – even miles away in the lab’

18 January 2022

Geochemist Ali always knew he wanted to study science, but it wasn’t by design that he studied with The Open University in Scotland. When Ali realised he could apply his learning direct to his job – and right away – the OU turned out to be the best possible choice for his career. “I’ve always […]

The OU and BBC Bitesize collaborate on new campaign to help young people imagine a more sustainable world

10 January 2022

The Regenerators campaign is designed to help young people think about and shape their future careers for sustainability, with a series of digital videos launched today January 10th on the BBC Bitesize website. The aim is to equip children, teenagers and young people with the tools and skills to understand the most important environmental issues […]

PhD student’s part in the excavation of the Rutland ‘sea dragon’

10 January 2022

Open University research student, Emily Swaby was at the centre of an exciting excavation – which has unearthed the largest, most complete marine reptile skeleton ever found in Britain, at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve. She describes the uncovering of the skeleton, the fossilised remains of a 10m-long sea predator called an ichthyosaur which is […]

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