{"id":13857,"date":"2019-10-01T07:30:57","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T06:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=13857"},"modified":"2019-10-01T07:30:57","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T06:30:57","slug":"the-ou-is-a-movement-for-a-better-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/around-ou\/university-news\/the-ou-is-a-movement-for-a-better-world\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The OU is a movement for a better world\u2019\u202f\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m truly thrilled and honoured\u202fto\u202fbe The Open University\u2019s\u202fVice-Chancellor<\/a>\u202fand to be back at the OU, especially\u202fin this\u202four 50<\/a><\/span>th<\/span>\u202fanniversary\u202fyear.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And what an anniversary!\u202f There\u2019s been so much to celebrate: thousands of successful graduates, ground-breaking innovations in learning and teaching, and research that\u2019s advanced the frontiers of what we know and understand.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/span>Of course, I\u2019m not a newcomer to the university. I served as the OU\u2019s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Quality from 2011 to 2015 so it\u2019s only fitting that I start my new role in OU Research\u00a0<\/a><\/span>Month, a month-long celebration of\u202f50 years of research here, showcasing milestones from across the past five decades as well shining a spotlight on what’s yet to come, including a focus on our PhD students.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The vision for the OU\u202fhas inspired\u202f<\/span>millions\u202f<\/span><\/i>of people. At the heart of that vision is being open to people, places, methods and ideas.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/span>For me, being open isn’t just about our values. It\u2019s a practical commitment to learning being enriched by the diversity of experience among our students and to an education that\u2019s life transforming.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More than just a great university<\/h2>\n

The\u202fOU is\u202fa\u202f<\/span>great<\/span><\/i>\u202fUniversity but\u202fit\u2019s\u202falso a\u202fmovement\u202ffor a better\u202fworld.\u202fThe motto on our shield, Learn and Live,\u202fis\u202fa call to action;\u202faction in a\u202ffast-changing\u202ftechnological age.\u202f<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m immensely proud of how we\u202fuse technology to\u202fenable\u202fpeople\u202fto put\u202ftheir\u202f<\/span>human<\/span><\/i>\u202fabilities to better use\u202f-\u202fthe ability to learn, to apply that learning and to enjoy\u202fit.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But\u202ftechnology\u202fbrings\u202fthreats too: new social divides,\u202fethical\u202fand security\u202fconcerns,\u202fand huge environmental challenges.\u202fWe should\u202fand do\u202ftake\u202fon\u202fthese issues\u202fthrough\u202four\u202fresearch and\u202fteaching, and\u202fby\u202fusing\u202fmultiple channels to\u202fpromote\u202finformed\u202faction\u202famong our students and wider publics.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s\u202fwhy<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>growth\u202fis a priority<\/span>\u00a0for me<\/span>.\u202fWithout growth\u202fwe\u2019ll be failing\u202fin our mission.\u202fAnd<\/span>\u202f<\/span>we<\/span>\u202f<\/span>can grow in a way that\u2019s both inclusive and sustainable.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/span>To\u202fdo that\u202fwe\u202fneed to be the world’s experts\u202fat\u202fcreating\u202fengaging courses\u202fwith\u202flearning designs that work\u202fbetter than anyone else’s and\u202fa flexibility that fits around our\u202flearners\u2019<\/span>\u202f<\/span>lives.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f\u2018We\u2019re already changing lives\u2019\u202f\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

More students\u202fwill need support t<\/span>o\u202fmake the right\u202fstudy choices, studying\u202ffull\u202for\u202fpart time,\u202fat\u202fdifferent\u202flevels, as apprentices\u202for\u202fwork\u202for\u202fhome-based students;\u202fwhether returning to or continuing their education.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/span>Our courses\u202fwill increasingly\u202fbe\u202fjudged\u202ffor the careers they\u202fenable\u202fand\u202four ability to\u202fdo\u202fthat\u202fat scale,\u202fmaking optimal use of scarce expertise\u202fin ways other institutions can\u2019t.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>Our partnerships will matter more;\u202fwith\u202f<\/span>FutureLearn<\/span>, the BBC, colleges and other universities,\u202fthe public and private sectors,\u202fand\u202fgovernments in our four Nations and around the world.\u202fTogether\u202fwe can reach further.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two\u202fmillion people have studied with\u202fThe Open University\u202fin its history, each one of them\u202fpart\u202fof\u202four OU\u202ffamily<\/a>.\u202fAs a community,\u202fwe\u2019re already changing lives;\u202ffor ourselves\u202fand our careers,\u202ffor our society, and for our world.\u202f\u202fThere is lots to be excited about, not least presiding over the Cardiff degree ceremony in November, where I relish the opportunity to talk to our newest graduates and hear their amazing stories. \u202f\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To help celebrate the OU\u2019s 50 years, and my first 50 days in post, you can follow my #OU50FirstDays on Twitter<\/a>.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m truly thrilled and honoured\u202fto\u202fbe The Open University\u2019s\u202fVice-Chancellor\u202fand to be back at the OU, especially\u202fin this\u202four 50th\u202fanniversary\u202fyear.\u202f\u202f\u00a0 And what an anniversary!\u202f There\u2019s been so much to celebrate: thousands of successful graduates, ground-breaking innovations in learning and teaching, and research that\u2019s advanced the frontiers of what we know and understand.\u202f\u202f\u00a0 \u202fOf course, I\u2019m not a newcomer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[2233,2357],"class_list":["post-13857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-university-news","tag-tim-blackman","tag-vice-chancellor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}