OU News

Funding for OU project to support young people being scientists

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:33:00 GMT

The Open University's nQuire project is one of eleven technology ventures that will share funding of over £1million from the Nominet Trust.

nQuire will develop new tools to enable young people to be scientists by taking part in genuine scientific practice through an online open science laboratory. They will broaden their understanding of science, co-design investigations, and learn through inquiry and experience the thrill of finding things out.

Mike Sharples, Professor of Educational Technology at The Open University, said: “nQuire will really bring science to life. Working on actual scientific issues, students will be able to ask questions, investigate and share in a way that traditional approaches can't support. The OU's OpenScience Laboratory provides online access to data from real physical instruments and equipment, and students will be able to work on current science issues or propose their own experiments.”

nQuire will support the development of inquiry, reasoning and problem-solving skills used by scientists and in other disciplines. There will be opportunity to capture scientific information from local sources and it will encourage discovery.

Nominet Trust is committed to championing digital technology for social good. The funding for nQuire (£119,178) is through the Digital Edge investment programme, which specifically seeks out projects that aim to improve opportunities for young people. The funded projects all demonstrated a bold vision and deep understanding of how technology can be used to address social challenges, such as youth unemployment or social care provision.

Editor's Notes
The OpenScience Laboratory is an online laboratory for practical science teaching. Guided by rigorous research, the laboratory will inspire students and transform access to the world of science. As well as housing existing Open University practical science applications, new applications using cutting-edge technology are being developed.

Some of the experiences available will include
1. Remote access to laboratories and observatories: students can operate real physical equipment controlled remotely – a method already established in astronomy
2. Virtual laboratories and instruments, such as the virtual microscope: interactive screen experiments will include photo-realistic recordings of physical experiments and replicate the behaviours of real specimens
3. Online field investigations: these can involve electronic access to a conventional field trip or offer a virtual experience using satellite-borne and remotely-operated sensors
4. Citizen science: a distributed way of gathering data, where non-professionals collect or process data as part of a scientific enquiry. This data can be combined to offer new insights.

OU Business School alumnus scoops prestigious business award

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:56:00 GMT

The Open University Business School is extending its congratulations to one of its Alumni, Chris Lima, Managing Director of Simon Hegele Logistics, who has won the Institute of Directors regional Chairman's Award for Leadership in Corporate Responsibility.

The award recognises the efforts made by Simon Hegele Logistics to engage with its local community. All the employees are able to take an extra day holiday each year to work with a charity, school or community organisation of their choice. The company has engaged with local schools and colleges, supporting students with learning difficulties by running workshops and supporting A level students in applying theory into practice as well as organising events to raise funds for charities.

Chris Lima, Managing Director of Simon Hegele Logistics said, “We are a small company with only 64 employees. So our ethos, in regards to engagement with social activities, is like dropping a pebble into water, we try and generate the maximum effect with the few resources we have. We recognise the need to balance financial profit with social profit and contribute to our local community where we can. Winning the award from such a prestige organisation was a very humbling experience for me, but great recognition and a proud moment for our HR manager and all the other staff that have contributed to the company's CSR efforts.”

Chris joined Simon Hegele Logistics in 2007 following the successful completion of his MBA. Chris recalls that when he arrived at Simon Helege he was greeted with an unhappy customer banging on the table, a failed quality audit, a high turnover of staff and a loss making business.

The business today looks very different and Chris attributes a lot of this to the OU Business School, as he explains, “The OU Business School and its alumni has been a major influence on the turnaround of the business primarily through the application of principles learnt during my MBA. But also through the development of skills learnt by attending regular alumni events, bringing my team along to OU workshops as part of their development and further developing my own education with an accounting for strategy course.”

Having left school at 16 with a few CSEs Chris decided to join the army. Twelve years later after serving in the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland, the first gulf war and Bosnia, he left the military but stayed in Germany and got a job with a German company.

“It was whilst I was working with this German company I recognised that my civilian career would benefit from some formal qualifications. After carrying out substantial research into different providers of management training, both German and English, I started studying with the OU in 2001. The OU was a clear choice both from the quality of their presentation, the materials and the accreditations and reputation that came with OU qualifications.”

As a regional winner Chris will go forward to represent London and South East in the UK Director of the Year Finals, taking place in October 2013.

Feynman: His life and the Challenger conspiracy

Tue, 07 May 2013 09:35:00 GMT

Broadcast: 12 May, 8pm on BBC 2
The life and work of iconic US physicist Dr Richard Feynman will be portrayed in both a factual drama and documentary, produced by The Open University in partnership with the BBC.

In the factual drama, The Challenger, William Hurt plays Richard Feynman, who was instrumental in exposing the truth behind the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight, and a presidential commission was immediately formed to explore what went wrong. Richard Feynman, who had won the Nobel Prize for his breakthroughs in quantum physics, was an independent investigator who applied his scientific knowledge to investigate the disaster. His work helped to make the US space programme safer.

Dr Ivan Horrocks, Senior Lecturer in Technology Management and Principal Academic Consultant said: “Feynman's role in the investigation of the Challenger disaster is a fascinating story of dogged determination, politics and intrigue. But the factual drama also illustrates how important it is for people to be able to speak out when they suspect wrongdoing. And the subsequent investigation highlighted the value of independent regulation, transparency and openness in guarding against the failings that lead to such disasters. In the light of the banking crisis, doping in sport or the horsemeat debacle, these are lessons that remain as important today as they were then.”

The documentary, The Fantastic Mr Feynman, will tell Richard Feynman's life story, using extensive archive footage. Richard's father instilled his thirst for knowledge and by the age of 15, he had taught himself trigonometry, advanced algebra, analytic geometry and calculus. This drive to question things and learn for himself set him apart. He studied every physics course on offer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the quest to receive his PhD. His theories of quantum electrodynamics revolutionised the field of physics. Although he was honoured with a Nobel Prize, he hated the award. He famously said: “The prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out.”

Outside of work he played the bongos, and even composed a ballet based on bongo music. He died in 1988 of a rare form of cancer.

Dr Tony Nixon, Senior Lecturer in Information Systems, said: “Richard Feynman loved science and exploring. His work resonated beyond physics, including forensic engineering, technology management and ethics. In the programme, some of today's leading scientists will share how his legacy lives on and how he inspired them.”

The Challenger, first broadcast on 18 March, is due to be repeated on 12 May 2013, 8pm on BBC2. The documentary, The Fantastic Mr Fenynman, will be broadcast straight after at 9:30pm.

Editor's Notes
Programme credits: The Challenger was made in partnership with the BBC and the Science Channel.
Executive Producers for the BBC are Mark Hedgecoe and Cassian Harrison.
Head of Broadcast Commissioning for The Open University is Dr Caroline Ogilvie; Academic Consultants are Dr Ivan Horrocks, Senior Lecturer in Technology Management (The Challenger) and Dr Tony Nixon, Senior Lecturer in Information Systems and Robert Lambourne, Professor of Educational Physics (The Fantastic Mr Feynman).
The Media Fellow is Bernie Clark.

To continue the learning journey with The Open University, visit OpenLearn (links right) for an interactive quiz to test your reactions to a number of difficult scenarios in the world of technology management; read blogs from academic experts; and access courses and free extracts.

OU Law students win a second national mooting tournament in a month

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:26:00 GMT

Open University (OU) law students Catherine Flint and Dr Fathi Tarada won the prestigious ICLR (The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales) National Mooting Tournament on Monday 29th April.

The final, held in the hall of Gray's Inn in London, one of the four Inns of Court, was against students from Leeds University Law School.
32 teams entered this tournament in the autumn of 2012 and The Open University Law School students progressed through four rounds to the final. Along the way they have beaten mooting teams from Coventry, Exeter and City universities.

Keren Bright, Law Programme Director, OU Law School said: “OU Law students have only entered the ICLR national mooting tournament in the last four years. They have reached the final in three of those years and won twice. This is a truly exceptional achievement by truly exceptional students.”

The moot judges were Mr Justice Mitting and Mr Justice Turner, who are High Court Judges. Mr Justice Mitting commended both mooting teams for their 'very high levels of advocacy', but reserved the highest praise for OU senior counsel Catherine Flint, describing her advocacy as 'outstanding'. Catherine said: “I never for one moment thought I would have made it through to the final of such a prestigious competition. And to actually win is amazing.

To receive such words of praise from senior members of the judiciary has made me even more certain that a career at the Bar is what I want. It's been an incredible learning experience and a real team effort. Getting involved with The Open University Law Society and mooting has provided an excellent opportunity to meet and work with other students, and their support and encouragement has been invaluable.”

The case concerned acts of sadomasochism between a consenting husband and wife. Whilst sadomasochism in itself is not unlawful, there is a threshold between criminal and non-criminal activity. The Crown appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the husband could not consent to injuries that amounted to actual and grievous bodily harm; and that in a democratic society it is necessary to criminalise sadomasochistic practices for the protection of health and morals as permitted by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Catherine and Fathi, acting on behalf of The Crown in the moot court, submitted that there is an existing threshold between criminal and non-criminal activity and any attempt to redraw the boundaries of the criminal law elsewhere would create insuperable difficulties.

The subject matter of the case inevitably gave rise to flashes of humour. In her submissions Catherine made reference to 'many shades of grey' and Mr Justice Turner spoke of the '50 shades of Gray's Inn'.

At the end of March, OU Law students Amy Woolfson and Marie Morton won the Welsh National Mooting Tournament.

Mooting involves a great deal of time spent in legal research, preparing skeleton arguments and legal submissions. OU finalist and junior counsel Dr Tarada said: “I was making my entry to the Bar conditional on today. I received some excellent career advice from Justices Mitting and Turner after the moot, and they had some really kind words to say about my performance, which was very encouraging. In addition, many OU students gave their time freely to support Cat and myself in preparing our skeleton arguments and submissions, and we are indebted for their contributions. This exchange of ideas made our preparation for the moots so much more interesting and made me feel part of a community.”

In the photo from left to right: Mr Justice Mitting, Dr Fathi Tarada, Keren Bright (OU Law School), Catherine Flint and Mr Justice Turner.

Editor's notes

A moot is designed to resemble a case heard before a judge in court and originally they were a teaching tool for apprentice barristers in the Inns of Court. The moot judges are looking for persuasive legal argument that is and clearly structured and well presented.

About The Open University Law School

The Open University is one of the top three UK universities for student satisfaction. The mission of the Open University is to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. Embedding the core values of inclusiveness, innovation and responsiveness, the OU has enabled many hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to achieve their academic study goals via supported part-time study.

The Open University Law School has over 6,000 students studying law modules each year and leads the Higher Education sector in England & Wales in part-time distance learning in Law. The Law School offers amongst its programmes an LLB (Hons) – a qualifying law degree in England and Wales – and a master's degree in law (LLM).

For more information, please see the Law School's website at: www.open.ac.uk/business-school/law

OU Library Services wins prestigious award for Being digital

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:22:00 GMT

The Open University's (OU) Library Services have won the Credo Reference Digital Award for Information Literacy for its Being digital site and accompanying Digital Information Literacy (DIL) framework.

The award recognises innovation in digital resources for information literacy, and was contended by other nominees from the universities of Leeds, Sheffield, and Oxford.

Nicky Whitsed, Director of Library Services at the OU, said:

"We are tremendously pleased to have received this prestigious award which is a great acknowledgment of the quality of the work of the Open University Library Service. Digital Literacy is rapidly growing in importance and makes a significant contribution to the development of key employability skills and attributes - such as self-management, critical thinking, problem solving, communication and team-working in a virtual environment."

The Being digital initiative aims to provide people with skills for life online. The collection of easy-to-follow activities teaches a person how to manage their digital identity, enhances their ability to find, use and share information, and educates on who and what can be trusted online.

Jo Parker, Library Services Manager (Information Literacy) at the OU, said:

"We work very hard on behalf of our students to provide support and resources to help them in their studies. We hope that as Being digital is freely available to all, people will refer to it, use it with their students, tell their friends and family about it and support digital awareness whoever they are and whatever their circumstances."

SMEs embrace mobile and cloud-based computing

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Smaller firms are turning to third-party 'cloud-based' providers to run 'back office' services like invoicing, business planning and customer relationship management.

The Quarterly Survey of Small Business in Britain* produced by The Open University Business School (www.open.ac.uk/quarterly-survey), examined the use of mobile and web-based services and found that more than 21% of respondents are now using 'cloud-based' providers to run their back office services, compared with two years ago when just 8% of respondents reported using them.

SMEs are also showing the way by embracing mobile internet technologies but security, privacy and technology are still major challenges in moving a higher proportion of business activity online.

The report, sponsored by Barclays Bank and ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) found that the most popular business activities conducted via static internet are 'general communication' with existing customers and suppliers (85%) and checking bank account balances (85%). It also showed the highest reported usage of mobile internet technologies is among relatively small firms (in the £100,000 to £250,000 band).

Other Special Topic findings include:

• More than half of respondents (56%) only use personal computers or laptops with static internet access, while a very small minority (2%) only use smartphones or tablet computers with mobile internet access. This leaves just over a third of firms (36%) able to use the internet in both its static and mobile forms.
• The business services sector, which includes firms such as accountants and management consultants, has the highest reported levels of usage of static internet (96%) and is also amongst the highest (44%) for mobile internet.
• More than a third of respondents with mobile internet access (39%) are using it to check business bank account balances.

Dr Richard Blundel, of The Open University Business School, said:

“These new communications technologies are enabling SME owners and managers to make radical changes to the way they do business. “One of the most striking findings in our report is that the smallest firms are often among the most innovative in this arena, particularly in their willingness to adopt mobile internet and cloud computing.”

He added: “Our research also highlights some fairly major obstacles, most notably privacy and security concerns, that service providers will need to overcome before firms in the UK are going to feel confident enough to move a much larger proportion of their business activity onto these new mobile and web-based platforms.”

Sue Hayes, Managing Director of Barclays Business Banking said: “The research and our experience show us that the way businesses interact with their bank is evolving. Improvements in technology will enable small firms to spend less time worrying about their finances and more time focused on their business.

“Innovations like Mobile Banking and faster payments are not replacements but additions to a typical business's resources, designed to make it easier for them to access information about their finances. The rapid rate of take-up shows how many are seizing these opportunities,” she said.

Commenting on the report findings, Manos Schizas, Senior Economic Analyst at ACCA said: "Entrepreneurs need to keep in mind what level of responsiveness and inter-operability their clients expect. The Open University findings suggest that larger businesses, as well as those in B2B sectors, take such technologies for granted."

Meanwhile the responses to the regular questions in the Quarterly Survey of Small Business in Britain showed there are some signs of optimism in the UK economy.

Stronger sales in manufacturing and hotel and restaurant sectors and improved employment performance were reported, while SMEs in construction, manufacturing, health, education, leisure and retailing were more upbeat about future sales.

SMEs anticipate a stronger overall improvement in sales performance in the first quarter of 2013, as compared to a more stable picture over the previous two quarters, while firms in London, the North East of England, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber were the most optimistic about sales in the first quarter.

However the state of the economy and the associated negative impact on demand remained by far the most commonly reported problem for SMEs, irrespective of size or sector, ahead of cash flow, payment and debtors. Government regulations retains its third place overall.
Retail firms report negative sales and employment balances while agriculture, forestry and fisheries saw the weakest sales performance.

Construction performed worst in employment terms and two thirds of SMEs reported no overall change in the number of people they employ.

OU reveals dog-tech research to improve owners' lives

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:59:00 GMT

Canine-friendly technologies which enable dogs to support their owners around the home will be developed by the Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI) team at The Open University (OU).

The team, part of The Centre for Research in Computing, is collaborating with Dogs for the Disabled to develop the technology. Currently, the charity trains dogs to assist their disabled owners with a wide range of tasks, from operating light switches and door handles to loading and unloading washing machines.

However, the dogs can face difficulty interfacing with household technologies as these are designed for humans rather than animals.

Research Fellow Dr Clara Mancini, head of the ACI team, said:

"These technologies will be designed for and with the active participation of the dogs. And the idea is that they will work in a variety of environments where the dogs are required to operate. When the dogs move from the training facility to their new home, instead of being faced with a different set of devices which they have to learn from scratch, they would bring their own 'toolkit' of plug-on appliances with them."

The research began two years ago, when a team in the Computing Department of The Open University launched the first systematic research programme in ACI to create technology designed for and by animals.

The principle behind ACI is to involve the animals as active participants and contributors to the design process, which is being applied to other areas of research.

"We are collaborating with the charity Medical Detection Dogs, who train dogs to detect traces of cancer cells by sniffing biological samples," explained Dr Mancini. "We aim to develop interactive devices which the dogs could use to help humans better interpret the dog's findings; and dog-friendly alert systems that the dogs could use to summon help for their assisted humans."

The team is also preparing to start a project aiming to develop interactive games for humans and wild animals, for example allowing resident elephants and human visitors to play together in wildlife parks. They believe ACI has potential in areas ranging from feeding pets to improving the life of farm animals.

Dr Mancini added: "The challenge is developing user-centred methodologies for someone who doesn't speak the same language or think the same way we do. In the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) toolbox are several methods which are not based on self-report, for example naturalistic observation, user-testing in the lab, bio sensing or the use of ergonomic principles. We can begin by adapting these to try and understand how animals see the world and invite them to re-design the future with us to build a more sustainable society for everyone."

A video presenting the approach is available at: http://youtu.be/w2-sVBYLbkY

Dr Mancini will present a paper on the significance of the ACI approach for addressing global issues such as sustainability at ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, the leading international conference on HCI, in Paris on 1 May 2013.

A copy of Dr Mancini's conference paper, Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI): Changing Perspective on HCI, Participation and Sustainability is available here: http://bit.ly/15Pd8fR

It's “Happy Birthday OU” as The Open University marks Charter Day

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:48:00 GMT

The Open University (OU) wished itself a “Happy Birthday” yesterday by marking Charter Day – the day the University was bestowed its Royal Charter and came into existence 44 years ago on April 23 1969.

The event brought together staff, students and local invited guests from business and public services to mark Charter Day – a day to both review the years past and look forward to the future of the OU.

The day also heralded the launch of the Students' Charter – developed jointly by the University and the OU Students Association. This charter - setting out the responsibilities expected of both parties in terms of values and working together – is designed to allow students to achieve their full potential.

In his speech at the event, Vice-Chancellor Martin Bean said that over the years the OU still upheld its same original values, even amidst the recent changes and challenges in Higher Education.

He said: “Today we mark our University's 44th birthday, and we remember the awarding of our Royal Charter. But more than that, we remember 44 years of teaching, learning, researching and evolving. Forty four years of regularly achieving the improbable, the incredible and the seemingly impossible. Forty four years in which we proved, time and time again, that we are the innovative university, that we are the supportive university and that we are, and always will be, The Open University.”

The day included a question and answer session with four OU Alumni, talking about their study experience and their advice to newcomers. Later students and guests, including OU staff, were able to have a browse across more than 35 stalls at the University Showcase, covering aspects from the history of the OU and its archives to a cross-section of faculties and future developments.

The occasion was open to all staff and promises to become an annual event.

Notes to Editors

Charter Day was hosted by Lucian J. Hudson, Director of Communications, The Open University.

About The Open University

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 250,000 current students, including over 15,000 overseas.
The OU is rated the top university for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey, and has been in the top three universities every year since the survey began in 2005. In 2010/11 it had a 93% satisfaction rating. Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.

In the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) The Open University was ranked in the top third of UK higher education institutions. More than 50% of OU research was assessed in the RAE as internationally excellent, with 14% as world leading.

Regarded as Britain's major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast 'open content portfolio' includes free study units on OpenLearn, which has had more than 26.7 million visits, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded more than 60 million downloads. The OU has a 41 year partnership with the BBC which has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to prime-time programmes such as Frozen Planet, Bang Goes the Theory, James May's Big Ideas and The Money Programme.

OU success in Welsh National Mooting Competition

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:53:00 GMT

Open University (OU) Law students have won the 2013 Welsh National Mooting Competition that took place at Swansea University on Saturday 23rd March.

The winning OU team was comprised of Amy Woolfson (senior counsel) and Marie Morton (junior counsel).They beat teams from five other Universities, including Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Bangor and Glamorgan, to reach the final against Swansea University.

The case in the moot final was a criminal one, in which Amy and Marie acted on behalf of the Crown. The legal argument concerned the definition of the mens rea for murder (that is, the state of mind required for criminal conviction). The legal argument also concerned the principle of causation and ultimately whether the jury in the criminal trial had been properly directed. The moot final was heard by His Honour John Diehl QC, a retired circuit judge and Recorder for Swansea. This is only the second time The Open University has entered this prestigious event and the first time it has won it.

Speaking after the event Amy Woolfson said, "I am so incredibly pleased to have been able to win this for the Open University. Many of the other teams had benefitted from formal advocacy coaching, whereas OU law students run their team through the student law association. I had never met my junior before, although we had talked on the phone many times. I was senior counsel for The Open University in last year's competition where we missed out on the final by one point. So it was particularly satisfying to go back and win against last year's victors on their own patch. We had a thankless case to argue in the final, but the judge praised us for our highly persuasive arguments."

Keren Bright, Director of the Law programme at The Open University Law School, said “This is a truly fantastic achievement which demonstrates the determination, independence and will to succeed shown by many of our students. Those who choose to study Law with the OU find themselves far better prepared for real challenges in the legal environment, just like Amy and Marie.”

A moot is designed to resemble a case heard before a judge in court and originally they were a teaching tool for apprentice barristers in the Inns of Court. The moot judges are looking for persuasive legal argument that is and clearly structured and well presented.

The Open University Law School has a successful history in mooting competitions. In 2011 the team of OU law students beat 32 other universities to win the ICLR National Mooting Tournament and in 2010 were runners-up. The Welsh National Mooting Competition in 2014 will be hosted by The Open University in Wales.

Left to right in picture: Marie Morton and Amy Woolfson

Research finds second source of potentially disruptive Icelandic volcanoes

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:50:00 GMT

New research by The Open University and Lancaster University discovered another type of Icelandic volcanic eruption that could cause disruption. Published in Geology (February 2013), the team found magma that is twice as 'fizzy' as previously believed, which increases the likelihood of disruptive ash clouds from future eruptions.

Many of the largest explosive eruptions in Iceland involve a viscous, high-silica magma called rhyolite, and are driven by volcanic gases (mostly water and carbon dioxide). It is these gases that give a volcanic eruption its fizz. At depth these gases are dissolved within the magma, but as the magma rises towards the surface during an eruption, the gases expand dramatically, causing the magma to froth and accelerate upwards as a foam. The viscous rhyolite foam breaks down into tiny ash fragments which form the ash clouds.

Drs Jacqui Owen and Hugh Tuffen (Lancaster University) and Dave McGarvie (The Open University) analysed pumice and lava from an eruption at Iceland's Torfajökull volcano some seventy thousand years ago. Within these samples they found tiny pockets of magma, called melt inclusions, which trapped the original gas. By measuring how much gas was dissolved within the melt inclusions, they could determine how fizzy the magma was.

Previously scientists had thought that Icelandic magma was less fizzy than those from Pacific Ocean volcanoes and expected much less explosive eruptions by comparison. However, this new research suggests some Icelandic volcanoes could produce eruptions just as explosive as those in the Pacific Rim.

PhD student Jacqui Owen said: “I was amazed by what I found. I measured up to five per cent of water in the inclusions, more than double what was expected for Iceland, and similar in fact to the values for explosive eruptions in the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'. We knew the Torfajökull volcanic eruption was huge – almost 100 times bigger than recent eruptions in Iceland - but now we also know it was surprisingly gas-rich.”

The finding helps explain why thin blankets of fine ash from older powerful Icelandic eruptions are found in peat bogs and lake beds across the UK and Europe. By accurately measuring the original gas content of Icelandic explosive eruptions for the first time, the research shows how Icelandic volcanoes have the power to generate the fine ash capable of being transported long distances and cause disruption to the UK and Europe.

Dr Dave McGarvie, Senior Lecturer, Volcano Dynamics Group at The Open University, said: "We know that large explosive eruptions have occurred at infamous volcanoes such as Hekla and Katla, but it is important also to appreciate that large explosive eruptions are also produced by less well-known Icelandic volcanoes such as Torfajökull and Öraefajökull."

Dr Hugh Tuffen, Royal Society University Research Fellow at Lancaster University, said: “The discovery is rather worrying, as it shows that Icelandic volcanoes have the potential to be even more explosive than anticipated. Added to this is the view of several eminent scientists that Iceland is entering a period of increased volcanic activity. Iceland's position close to mainland Europe and the north Atlantic flight corridors means air travel could be affected again.”

The research highlights the importance of greater understanding of Icelandic volcanoes to improve forecasts and prepare for the next major explosive eruption.

To arrange an interview with Dr Dave McGarvie, please contact Liezel Tipper at The Open University. Dr Jacqui Owen can be contacted through the University of Lancaster press office (details right).

Stark findings about poverty in the UK revealed in Open University collaborative report

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:55:00 GMT

Findings of a new report into poverty and social exclusion make grim reading of the extent of deprivation and financial difficulties faced by people in the UK.

The Poverty and Social Exclusion (PSE) Project published its first report The Impoverishment of the UK, produced in collaboration with The Open University (OU) and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and is one of the largest and most authoritative studies of poverty and deprivation ever conducted in the UK.

The first results from this study will be broadcast on ITV at 7.30pm this evening in a special Tonight programme called Breadline Britain.

Some of the findings are:

• Over 30 million people (almost half the population) are suffering some degree of financial insecurity.
• Almost 18 million people cannot afford adequate housing conditions.
• Roughly 14 million cannot afford one or more essential household goods.
• Around 4 million children and adults are not properly fed by today's standards.
• Around 1.5 million children live in households that cannot afford to heat their home.

The PSE approach – now adopted by the UK Government and by a growing number of rich and developing countries - identifies people falling below a publicly-determined minimum standard of living. This method of measuring poverty was pioneered in 1983 and repeated in studies in 1990, 1999, 2002/03 and 2012. The project thus provides detailed, robust and definitive trends over 30 years.

Joanna Mack, Learning and Teaching producer at the OU, devised this new way of measuring poverty in 1983, together with Stewart Lansley, senior project officer at the OU. Joanna was the Principal Investigator on the 1983 and 1990 research studies and she is one of the lead investigators for the current research. The OU developed The Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK website, which is an integral part of the overall project and which provides a major resource on poverty and social exclusion, used extensively.

Joanna said: “Levels of deprivation today are worse in a number of vital areas – from basic housing to key social activities - than at any point in the past thirty years. These trends are a deeply shocking indictment of 30 years of economic and social policy and reflect a rapid growth in inequality. This has meant that, though the economy has doubled in size during this period, those at the bottom have been increasingly left behind.”

Professor David Gordon of the Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research in Bristol and head of the project said: “The results present a remarkably bleak portrait of life in the UK today and the shrinking opportunities faced by the bottom third of UK society. About one third of people in the UK suffer significant difficulties and about a quarter have an unacceptably low standard of living' said ' Moreover this bleak situation will get worse as benefit levels fall in real term, real wages continue to decline and living standards are further squeezed.”

Today 33% of the UK population suffers from multiple deprivation by the standards set by the public. It was 14 % in 1983.
For a significant and growing proportion of the population, living conditions and opportunities have been going backwards. Housing and heating conditions, in particular, have deteriorated rapidly.

There is widespread public agreement on what constitutes a minimally acceptable diet. Over 90% agree that, for children, this means: three meals a day; fresh fruit and vegetables; and meat, fish or a vegetarian equivalent at least once a day.

• Yet well over half a million children live in families who cannot afford to feed them properly.

The study found that, in households where children go without one or more of these basic food necessities:

• In 93% at least one adult skimp on their own food 'sometimes' or 'often' to ensure others have enough to eat.

Significant proportions of the population find it difficult to cope on their current incomes:

• One in four adults have incomes below what they consider is needed to avoid poverty
• More than one in five have had to borrow in the last year to pay for day to day needs
• One in three can't afford to save
• One in four can't afford to replace or repair broken electrical goods (12% in 1999).

To download the full report click here: http://www.poverty.ac.uk/pse-research

For further information contact:
David Gordon: Dave.Gordon@bristol.ac.uk
Joanna Mack: J.Mack@open.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

• 20% of OU students come from the 25% most disadvantaged communities in the country
• The Open University has invested over £4 million to communicate the new loans system to mature and poorer prospective students.

The PSE: UK research was financed by the Economic and Social Research Council for £3,798,315, more details here:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/my-esrc/grants/RES-060-25-0052/read

It is a major collaboration between the University of Bristol, Heriot-Watt University, The Open University, Queen's University Belfast, University of Glasgow and the University of York working with the NatCen and NISRA.

The full Living Standards questionnaire can be downloaded from the PSE website: www.poverty.ac.uk.

Double win at Royal Television Society Awards for OU/BBC co-productions

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:40:00 GMT

Two Open University/BBC co-produced programmes won prestigious awards last night presented by Royal Television Society (RTS). The Secret History of Our Streets won the history category and Protecting Our Children won the documentary category.

The Secret History of Our Streets a series on BBC2 in May last year, returned to six archetypal London streets ranked by Charles Booth in the 1886 Survey of London to discover how their fortunes have changed over the last 125 years. The lead academic consultant for the series and writer of the accompanying Open University guide was Lecturer in Politics Dr Georgina Blakeley.

The three-part documentary Protecting Our Children, appeared on BBC2 in January 2012 and followed the work of Bristol's child protection teams and the challenging role social workers face and how changes over the last 10 years have impacted on them and their duty to safeguard children.

Dr Barry Cooper and Dr Lucy Rai, both Senior Lecturers in Social Work in the Faculty of Health and Social Care, were consultants on the series and worked with the production team for over a year giving advice on social work practice and policy development. Debbie Stringer, Senior Lecturer in Law, also provided support as part of the module team.

The Royal Television Society is Britain's leading forum for television and related media. Held annually, the RTS Programme Awards aim to recognise the work of exceptional actors, presenters, writers and production teams, as well as celebrating the programmes themselves.

Notes to Editors

Programme credits: Protecting our children was made in partnership with the BBC.
Executive Producer for the BBC is Julian Mercer.
The Open University academic consultants for the series were Dr Barry Cooper, Lecturer, Social Work and Dr Lucy Rai, Senior Lecturer, Social Work.

Programme Credits: The Secret History of our Streets was made in partnership with the BBC.
Executive Producer for the BBC is Simon Ford.
The Open University academic consultant for the series was Georgina Blakeley, lecturer in politics.

Royal Television Society Awards: http://www.rts.org.uk/rts-announces-winners-programme-awards-2012

About The Open University

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 250,000 current students, including over 15,000 overseas.
The OU is rated the top university for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey, and has been in the top three universities every year since the survey began in 2005. In 2010/11 it had a 93% satisfaction rating. Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.
In the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) The Open University was ranked in the top third of UK higher education institutions. More than 50% of OU research was assessed in the RAE as internationally excellent, with 14% as world leading.

Regarded as Britain's major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast 'open content portfolio' includes free study units on OpenLearn, which has had more than 26.7 million visits, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded more than 60 million downloads. The OU has a 41 year partnership with the BBC which has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to prime-time programmes such as Frozen Planet, Bang Goes the Theory, James May's Big Ideas and The Money Programme.

Top international experts form taskforce to advise NHS on keeping patients safe from harm

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:23:00 GMT

Professor Jean Hartley, Professor of Public Leadership at The Open University Business School is one of the world-class panel of experts invited to join the Berwick Advisory Group which will advise the Prime Minister and the NHS on how to keep patients safe from harm.

Following the Francis Report on the crisis at Mid-Staffs Hospital, world experts in the cultures and processes of keeping people safe have been asked to advise the NHS in England on how to prevent patients being harmed while receiving healthcare.

The National Advisory Group on the Safety of Patients in England will be chaired by Professor Donald Berwick, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, an organisation that Prof Berwick co-founded and led as President and CEO for 18 years.

Members of the international group have been invited for their areas of expertise and interest covering all aspects of the culture and processes of minimising patient harm, healthcare management and nursing to sociology, psychology and the mobilisation of change.

Professor Hartley's contribution will be on public leadership and on creating and learning from organizational change and innovation following her extensive research in these fields.

Speaking about her appointment to the Berwick Advisory Group Professor Hartley said, “I feel very privileged to be working with this panel of world-class experts in improvement of public services. This is a real opportunity to improve patient safety. We have seen several reports about what went wrong at Mid-Staffs NHS but the Berwick Advisory group goes well beyond this. Our collective aim is to advise on how problems can be prevented in the future, to enhance quality of care for patients and families, and to create a culture for staff that is focused on learning and continuous improvement.”

Prof Berwick, who will be leading the Group, was asked by the Prime Minster David Cameron to set up the advisory group following last month's final report into the devastating breakdown of care at Mid-Staffordshire Hospitals. The team of 12 includes recognised experts from the US and the UK.

Prior to his service in 2010 and 2011 as President Obama's appointee to head the US Medicare and Medicaid programs, Prof Berwick was a paediatric consultant, Professor of Health Care Policy and the Harvard Medical School, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is world-renowned for his expertise in patient safety, and advised NHS Scotland in the development of its first national patient safety approach.

Prof Berwick said: “Assuring patient safety and high quality care is never automatic. It requires the constant attention of leaders and continual support to the workforce. I have read, and been deeply affected by, the harrowing personal stories of individuals and families who were so badly injured when this commitment flagged at Mid-Staffordshire Hospitals.

“Our group will do whatever it can to recommend how the NHS in England take serious and profound action, learning from this tragedy to make patient care and treatment as safe as it can possibly be, and ever safer. Indeed, there is no reason why English health care cannot aspire to be and become the safest health care in the world.

“Making patient care as safe as it can possibly be, at all times, is a major challenge in any health care system. It involves leadership, training, staff culture, organisational structures, systems and processes, data capture and analysis, regulation, deep patient and family involvement, and much more.

“It is important to remember that England is in many ways an international exemplar in patient safety, but Mid-Staffordshire shows us that there is still a great deal of work to do. The national group includes English experts as well as some from the US, and with such formidable knowledge and talent on board, I am confident we will be able to set out clear, practical advice and leave a legacy of safer care in the NHS.”

The group will build on the work of Robert Francis QC, advising the NHS on how to deliver real change, based on the best available scientific evidence from across the NHS and from other industries and health services from around the world.

They will report their findings and advice to the NHS Commissioning Board and the Department of Health at the end of July.

Mature learners must be given opportunity to transform their lives through higher education, says The Open University

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:24:00 GMT

In its report into the impact of the 2012 changes to the Higher Education, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) reveals a “significant decline” in part-time entrants at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels (a 40 per cent fall for part-time undergraduates since 2010-11 and a 27 per cent drop for postgraduates).

The Open University's Director of Government & External Affairs Rajay Naik said:
“The Open University strongly supports the concerns raised by Sir Alan Langlands, Chief Executive of HEFCE, regarding the fall in recruitment to part-time courses and the drop in mature learners.

“This is a clear signal that, despite government support to entice older students to study in HE, there is an urgent need to do more – so that mature learners of any age, method of study or background – are given the opportunity to change their lives through education.

“We need to buck this downward trend and safeguard the study opportunities of such a major and valuable sector of the adult population.

“Addressing the impact of the 2012 fee changes can only be done by focusing efforts not just on young people entering higher education, but by concentrating efforts on those mature students who can re-skill, upgrade, secure new employment or gain qualifications to give them a better chance of success and of benefiting from the power of learning.”

Notes to Editors:

• The OU invested over £4 million to communicate the new loans system to mature and poorer prospective students in 2012/13.
• 71% of OU undergrads have no previous HE qualifications.
• In the past five years, OU part-time enrolments for students aged 25 and over increased by more than 17%, compared to a 23% decrease at other institutions.

About The Open University

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 250,000 current students, including over 15,000 overseas.

The OU was rated the top university for student satisfaction in last year's National Student Survey, and has been in the top three universities every year since the survey began in 2005.

In 2010/11 it had a 93% satisfaction rating. Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.
In the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) The Open University was ranked in the top third of UK higher education institutions. More than 50% of OU research was assessed in the RAE as internationally excellent, with 14% as world leading.

Regarded as Britain's major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast 'open content portfolio' includes free study units on OpenLearn, which has had more than 26.7 million visits, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded more than 60 million downloads. The OU has a 41 year partnership with the BBC which has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to prime-time programmes such as Frozen Planet, Bang Goes the Theory, James May's Big Ideas and The Money Programme.

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission provides funding for OU students in Uganda and Kenya

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:43:00 GMT

The Open University has secured £235,000 of funding from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission to support 15 students from Uganda and Kenya on the MSc in development management. The cohort will start studying in November 2013.

This announcement follows previous awards sponsored by the Department for International Development since 2008. The Open University (OU) has strong links with Uganda and Kenya because of its working partnership with the Kulika Trust in Uganda, a charitable trust specialising in the provision of educational scholarships for students in East Africa.

Before awarding the funding the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission's Distance Learning Committee looked in depth at a variety of criteria including the use of technologies; recruitment and targeting of students; success rates of previous cohorts; data of course completion rates for 'developing' country students; and the intended development impact of course activities as well as subsequent career information of alumni.

Richard Pinder, Development Management Qualification Director at The Open University (OU) said, "This continued funding highlights the commitment to providing educational opportunities to people in East Africa. Our aim is to enable those who study with the OU to engage with the challenges of global development and equip them with the knowledge to address and implement development strategies.”

The importance of such opportunities for students in Uganda and Kenya is evident by the feedback from those who have completed the MSc in Development Management.

“Obtaining a MSc Development Management opens higher positions in the development field as I am able to compete favourably with other peers in the field and my employer values me and already they have committed to take me on as a Program Manager as a replacement of an expat who will be leaving.”(Extract from the 2008 cohort feedback).

“Initially I was recruited as a project manager but three months after my recruitment I was promoted to a senior manager upon recognition of the way I engaged with issues which basically is as a result of the interaction with The Open University course materials.” (Extract from the 2009 cohort feedback)

“A direct example [of my qualification] is my involvement in several tripartite negotiations and discussions between the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP), local grain traders/businessmen and the rural smallholder farmers in Northern Uganda. In 2010, I worked as a senior program assistant in the Purchase for Progress project that the UNWFP was funding and implementing to boost rural incomes and strengthen smallholder farmer organizations and institutions. I contributed my efforts training the rural farmers and helped build their grassroots organizations to enable them market their grains directly to WFP and increased their negotiation power given that they were often cheated in the open markets by the grain traders. This is a direct benefit to local development from my studies.” (Extract from the 2008 cohort feedback).

The MSc in Development Management, with Development Policy and Practice, was launched in 1996. It now has more than 1,000 alumni. To date students in more than 100 countries have studied the OU's development management modules.

Higher Education policy and funding must reflect the breadth and diversity of the nation, says The Open University

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:30:00 GMT

The Open University (OU) has welcomed an interim report to ministers on the National Strategy for Access and Student Success but highlights the urgent need to adequately support mature and part-time learners.

The report, published yesterday (Thursday 7 March) by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), is the latest stage in the Government's consideration of future investment in widening participation in England.

The OU - a leader in widening participation in HE - applauds recommendations for greater outreach and communication with more disadvantaged groups. However, the institution argues that more needs to be done to reflect the fact that a third of all undergraduate students in the UK study on a part-time basis and most of these are adults rather than school leavers.

The OU, which has almost 250,000 students and has an “open to all” policy, says that though progress has been made the common perception of a modern student still needs to be broadened.

Director of Government and External Affairs at the OU, Rajay Naik, said:

“We warmly welcome the focus on ensuring that investment in widening participation makes the best possible impact. It is absolutely correct that we must provide support for young people to enter higher education and reach their potential. However, of equal importance is the need to help individuals re-skill for new industries, up-skill to gain new roles, or gain qualifications to secure employment. Therefore we must ensure that we also widen participation amongst mature and part-time learners.

“The introduction of student loans in England for the third of students who study part-time was monumental but we must ensure those learners get the support they require to make informed choices.

“We must collectively ensure that any reforms enable all people - regardless of their age, method of study or background - to have the opportunity to transform their lives through the power of learning."

The report to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills comes ahead of a final report of recommendations to Ministers in Autumn 2013. Some 20% of the OU's newest undergraduates come from the 25% most disadvantaged communities in the country and 37% of our students have one A-level or less when they join the university.

-Ends-

For more information or to access an Open University spokesperson contact Christine Drabwell on
T: 01908 858 673 M: 07990 827 027 E: christine.drabwell@open.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

About The Open University and Widening Participation

• 37% of OU students have one A-level or less
• 7% of our students declare a disability
• 12% of students come from black and minority ethnic backgrounds
• 18,000 students have accessed higher education through our targeted access, taster and Openings programmes
• The OU invested over £4 million to communicate the new loans system to mature and poorer prospective students
• 71% of OU undergrads have no previous HE qualifications
• In the past five years, OU part-time enrolments for students aged 25 and over increased by more than 17%, compared to a 23% decrease at other institutions

About The Open University

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 250,000 current students, including over 15,000 overseas.
The OU was rated the top university for student satisfaction in last year's National Student Survey, and has been in the top three universities every year since the survey began in 2005. In 2010/11 it had a 93% satisfaction rating. Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.

In the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) The Open University was ranked in the top third of UK higher education institutions. More than 50% of OU research was assessed in the RAE as internationally excellent, with 14% as world leading.

Regarded as Britain's major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast 'open content portfolio' includes free study units on OpenLearn, which has had more than 26.7 million visits, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded more than 60 million downloads. The OU has a 41 year partnership with the BBC which has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to prime-time programmes such as Frozen Planet, Bang Goes the Theory, James May's Big Ideas and The Money Programme.

British Council to join Futurelearn: Announced as partners visit Middle East

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 09:11:00 GMT

The first free, open, online platform for courses from multiple UK universities has announced a partnership with the British Council, the international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.

Futurelearn was founded by The Open University (OU) in December 2012 and now has 19 partners including the British Council. Today's announcement comes as the OU participates in Going Global 2013, the British Council's conference for leaders in international education, taking place in the Middle East.

Also taking part in the conference, the Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts said:

"I'm delighted that the British Council has become a partner of The Open University's Futurelearn project. Alongside 18 of the UK's top universities, the British Council will help to ensure that the UK is at the forefront of education technology. This will allow the UK to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by technology to widen access to higher education and meet the global demand for UK courses."

The OU Vice Chancellor and Chair of Futurelearn, Martin Bean said:

“Like Futurelearn, the British Council is dedicated to sharing the best of British education with students from around the world. The British Council's experience and expertise add great value to Futurelearn, and I look forward to working with them to deliver high-quality online courses for all.”

The British Council's Chief Executive, Martin Davidson said:

“We're very pleased to be announcing our collaboration with FutureLearn. The British Council has been bringing the UK's education sector to people around the world for almost eighty years, so it's very exciting that with Futurelearn we're able to expand that to millions more people through the MOOC platform. We hope that our recognised experience in English language learning and delivering assessments and examinations in nearly a hundred countries will contribute to making FutureLearn even more attractive for ambitious learners around the world”

Futurelearn Launch CEO, Simon Nelson said:

“Our vision for Futurelearn is to deliver learning experiences for people across the world that delight and inspire them. With its long track record of creating educational opportunities for people on a global scale, the British Council is a tremendous addition to the Futurelearn family. They join 17 of the UK's top universities and the British Library who are already working with us to deliver the best free open online courses available for students everywhere”.

The first Futurelearn courses will be delivered later in 2013.

Notes:

1. About Futurelearn: Futurelearn Limited is a private limited company incorporated in England under registration number 8324083

2. About the Open University: The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 250,000 current students, including over 15,000 overseas.The OU is rated the top university for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey, and has been in the top three universities every year since the survey began in 2005. In 2011/12 it had a 93 per cent satisfaction rating. Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses. In the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) The Open University was ranked in the top third of UK higher education institutions. More than 50% of OU research was assessed in the RAE as internationally excellent, with 14% as world leading. Regarded as Britain's major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast 'open content portfolio' includes free study units on OpenLearn, which has had more than 23 million visits, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded over 56 million downloads. The OU has a 41 year partnership with the BBC which has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to prime-time programmes such as Frozen Planet, Bang Goes the Theory, James May's Big Ideas and The Money Programme.

3. About the British Council: The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. It is a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK's international organization for educational opportunities and cultural relations. They work in more than 100 countries, and our 7000 staff – including 2000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year through Englishm arts, education, and society programmes. The British Council earns over 75% of its annual turnover of £739 million from services which customers pay for, education and development contracts we bid for and from partnerships. A UK government grant provides the remaining 25%. The British Council matches every £1 of core public funding with over £3 earned in pursuit of their charitable purpose.

4. The term “partner” in this news release does not constitute a partnership in the legal sense and the Parties shall not have authority to bind each other in any way. The term is used to indicate their support and intent to work together on this project.

5. For media enquiries please call emma.thwaites@open.ac.uk +4(0)7990 804805 or liezel.tipper@open.ac.uk on +44 (0)1908 654573 or +44(0)7990 795055

Trio of broadcasting awards for OU/BBC co-production Protecting Our Children

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:57:00 GMT

An Open University/BBC co-produced documentary series which looked at the challenging role of social workers has won three accolades in the Royal Television Society Awards, West of England. The awards, presented this week were for Best Documentary, Best Director and Editing.

The three-part documentary series Protecting Our Children, featured on BBC2 last year, was produced with the expert insight of three Open University academics.

Dr Barry Cooper and Dr Lucy Rai, both Senior Lecturers in Social Work in the Faculty of Health and Social Care were consultants on the series and worked with the production team for over a year giving advice on social work practice and policy development. In addition, Debbie Stringer, Senior Lecturer in Law provided support as part of the module team.

The series followed the work of Bristol's child protection teams over the course of a year and observed their jobs first-hand, exploring how the crises of the last decade had impacted on their ability to safeguard children.

Commenting on the awards Dr Rai said: “Working on Protecting Our Children was a fantastic opportunity to work closely with the BBC and social workers in Bristol to present the public with a rare insight into the everyday work of child protection social workers. The series created a challenging, emotive but very honest reflection on the profession and will be of great benefit to students learning about this area of work.”

Protecting Our Children also won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary in 2012.

Editor's Notes:
Programme credits: Protecting our children was made in partnership with the BBC.
Executive Producer for the BBC is Julian Mercer.
The Open University academic consultants for the series were Dr Barry Cooper, Lecturer, Social Work and Dr Lucy Rai, Senior Lecturer, Social Work.

Open University appoints new Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning & Teaching

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:50:00 GMT

The Open University (OU) has appointed Professor Belinda Tynan as new Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Learning and Teaching.

Belinda, who takes up her post on Monday 15 April, joins the OU from the University of Southern Queensland, where she was Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Learning, Teaching and Quality. Prior to this, she held the role of Academic Director in the Faculty of The Professions at the University of New England, where she remains an adjunct Professor.

Belinda's research, presentations and competitive funding has had a focus in open and distance education, academic practice and the use of technology in learning and teaching.

Welcoming Belinda to The Open University, Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor, said: “Belinda has a long record of pioneering innovation in her work, and I'm absolutely thrilled that she will be joining us. Her passion for improving the student experience and her total belief in our core principles will make her a valuable addition to the University family, and I look forward to working with her in the months and years ahead.”

Belinda said: "I am proud to be joining The Open University. It is an exciting opportunity because the OU has been such a pioneer of innovation for learners across the globe who, for a variety of reasons, cannot attend a campus to pursue informal, formal and professional learning options. Being part of the team that creates ways in which to enable those opportunities and supports those learners is going to be humbling.”

Martin Bean also paid tribute to the outgoing Pro-Vice-Chancellor (PVC), Learning and Teaching, Alan Bassindale, saying: “Alan stepped up at a critical time for the University, and his work as Pro-Vice-Chancellor has been incredible. He led the way on crucial projects such as the launch of OU Anywhere and the restructuring of the PVC portfolios, both of which will keep delivering for the OU and its students long into the future.”

Editor's Notes
1. Belinda completed her AMusA (Associate Diploma in Music, Australia) in Flute while studying at the Sydney Conservatorium. Her first academic position was at the School of Music at The University of Western Australia.

2. OU Anywhere, launched on 30 January 2013, is a free app for OU students starting level 1 and 2 modules, giving the option to download and access their core module textbooks, videos and other materials through mobile devices.

The NHS Leadership Academy appoints the OU in its largest ever leadership programme

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:56:00 GMT

The NHS Leadership Academy has today announced who it will partner up with to offer the largest and most comprehensive approach to leadership development ever undertaken.

Following an eight month process, the Academy has chosen internationally-renowned academic institutions and high preforming firms to work together to roll out foundation, mid and senior level leadership programmes for up to 25,000 NHS staff. The three programmes join other Academy programmes such as Top Leaders to form a wider approach to leadership development covering entry to executive level roles.

The Academy is teaming up with leading distance learning provider The Open University and global management consulting firm Hay Group to design and deliver the foundation level programme. The programme is for all NHS staff aspiring to a role which involves leading others.

The mid-level programme, which is for those who manage teams and services, and senior level programme, for experienced individuals who aspire to executive level roles, will be designed and delivered by the Academy and global firm KPMG, in partnership with leading academic institutions Manchester Business School and the University of Birmingham. The partnership will draw on its links with other world-renowned organisations, such as Line communications, Harvard University, Erasmus, University of Pretoria, Microsoft and BT, in the design of the programmes.

The partners were chosen through a competitive and rigorous tender process, which saw more than 30 organisations bid to be part of the consortium.

The three programmes will be centered on the patient perspective with the support of charities organisation National Voices and patients themselves. Leading clinicians and managers in the NHS will also support the partnership in designing the programmes.

The three programmes will see thousands NHS staff each year - including doctors, nurses, Allied Health Professionals, healthcare scientists, HR, and finance staff– learn how to lead their teams and /or services to achieve better patient care.

Karen Lynas, Deputy Managing Director of the NHS Leadership Academy, said: “This is probably the most impressive partnership I have ever come across in the realms of leadership development. The Academy will be working with globally respected academic institutions and high performing organisations with a history of leadership development to design and deliver three exceptional leadership programmes.

“Our goal is for patients, carers and families to be treated with compassion, dignity and respect, and this cannot be achieved if we don't have appropriately-skilled leaders and decision makers at every level.

“The programmes will not only cultivate the leadership skills and expertise required for the NHS, but will also develop role models and inspirational leaders for the next generation of NHS professionals.
“This is about shifting outstanding leadership practice from a GP practice, a ward, a hospital, a home or a community, to an 'everywhere' model.”

More about the three programmes
The Academy's three programmes will for the first time create a cadre of appropriately skilled leaders at every level and from every professional background.

The emphasis in all three programmes will be on helping leaders in the NHS support their staff in delivering caring and compassionate services.

The foundation and mid-level programmes will have an academic award; a postgraduate certificate, diploma or master's degree. Participants will undertake the programmes on a part time basis, alongside their existing roles.

The programmes and the Academy's other development work form the largest leadership development approach in the world, in terms of reach.