Research

The Open University is widely respected for the quality of its research.

The UK’s latest Research Excellence Framework places us in the top third of UK higher education institutions by ‘research power’ ranking, and assesses 72% of the research we submitted as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.

Our research has practical implications for industry. For example:

• The Open University is one of the top three university space science centres in the UK in terms of research power. Our space scientists play key roles in explorations such as the Rosetta Mission and technology such as the Philae Lander. This expertise informs our collaborations with UK company e2v. To date, we’ve helped it to increase its business in international space missions and secure UK government grant financing for many new jobs.
• Our Institute of Education is a centre of expertise in educational technology.  Its research (and major learning initiatives including The OpenScience Laboratory, OpenLearn and OPAL) enable us to deliver workplace training that is innovative and impactful.
• We seek to address industry skills gaps through our research.

The range and quality of our research, particularly in the field of education, ensure that we can develop and deliver first-class L&D services and solutions.

Being able to apply over 40 years’ worth of Open University research to our organisation was invaluable.

Diana Gerald
Chief Executive, Book Trust

Learn about our partnerships with other organisations, and our consultancy expertise.