News

Director of The Open University in Wales, Rob Humphreys, was at Harvard University last week at the NAASWCH (North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History) Conference. As part of the event Mr Humphreys launched ‘Hafan’ a new interactive online portal which showcases Wales’ diverse culture and people.

Open University student James Harris was crowned Adult Learner of the Year at the Inspire! awards in Cardiff on 22 May.

James, from Merthyr Tydfil, spent half of his adult life in prison after he was handed two sentences in 2008 and was jailed for 76 months. But instead of hitting rock-bottom, James - who was 23 when he was first sent to prison - decided to turn his life around and dedicated his time to learning new skills.

The Open University’s Dr Geraint Morgan was at the National Assembly in Cardiff on 24 May to take part in the annual Science and the Assembly event.

Organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, on behalf of, and in cooperation with, the Welsh science and engineering community, the theme for this year's event was Planetary and Space Science.

The Open University in Wales has been presented with three Wales TUC Quality awards for the learning it delivers in workplaces across Wales.

Professor Trevor Herbert, Emeritus Professor of Music at The Open University, and Rob Humphreys, Director of the OU in Wales, have been elected Fellows of The Learned Society of Wales. They are the first from The Open University to be accorded this status.

The Open University has launched a new course which will give learners an insight into Welsh culture and help them to learn basic Welsh language skills.  ‘Discovering Wales and Welsh’ is a new short online course produced by the department of languages and designed for anyone with an interest in finding out more about Wales and learning some Welsh.

With Assembly elections on the horizon, The Open University is urging Welsh politicians to take action to tackle a decline in part-time student numbers in Wales, and avoid making the same mistakes as their English counterparts.

Despite offering benefits to individuals, businesses and the Welsh economy, there has been an 11 per cent decline in the number of part-time students in Wales since 2009/10 and fewer courses are being offered.