The Open University

🧠 Did you know fruit flies have surprisingly dramatic love lives?

Our new video series kicks off with a Dr Anood Sohail, Lecturer in Precision Medicine, revealing how these tiny romantics court each other. ✨

#DidYouKnow #OUresearch

"An OU degree is more than a qualification - it’s proof of your resilience, dedication, and belief in yourself."

Alex took the leap, invested in her growth, and achieved more than she ever thought was possible ⭐️

Read her story here: https://ow.ly/CLlm50UcJjb

Stijn Baes (left) and Professor Bart Rienties (right) receiving their awards from the Koninklijke Maatschappij tot Redding van Drenkelingen

OU academic Prof Bart Rienties has been honoured for saving a fellow athlete from drowning during the World Transplant Games triathlon this year!

Read more here: https://research.open.ac.uk/news/ou-professor-honoured-after-rescuing-drowning-fellow-transplant-athlete

The Open University

Did you know that @openuniversity.bsky.social currently works in over 150 prisons and supports around 2000 students a year in prison, secure units and under licence in the community?

Higher education changes lives. See more of the work The Open University are doing⬇️

www.open.ac.uk/blogs/news/b...

Dog activated. Human approved. 🐾

Our new Dogosophy Button allows your dog to switch home appliances on and off by nudging or pawing a blue pad tailored for their snout-level skills, all thanks to thanks research led by OU academic Professor Clara Mancini.
https://ow.ly/pp5C50XtCv7

There are three days left to vote for the OU's Open Societal Challenges (OSC) collaborative research platform in the Knowledge Exchange Awards 2025! ⏰

Learn more about the OU's research projects and cast your vote 👉 https://ke.org.uk/news/ke-awards-2025-public-vote-is-now-open/

#Research

Can poverty be eradicated without growth?

Professor Olivier De Schutter will present an alternative roadmap to current and previous approaches to this theme and put out a call for action rather than optimism 👉 https://research.open.ac.uk/events/eradicating-poverty-without-growth-can-it-be-done

Have you heard the news? 👀

We're thrilled to share that an OU-led project supporting the education of adolescent girls at the greatest risk of exclusion in Zimbabwe won the International Collaboration of the Year category at the #THEAwards 2025.

https://ow.ly/EO3I50XrEMp

Vote for the OU's Open Societal Challenges (OSC) collaborative research platform in the Knowledge Exchange Awards 2025! 🏆

OSC aims to tackle some of the most important challenges of our time through impact-driven research 🔬🌏

👉 https://ke.org.uk/news/ke-awards-2025-public-vote-is-now-open/

The Open University Open University research into the benefits of creative writing to support the wellbeing of staff working in busy hospital wards has led to the creation of a hospital Writer’s Nook.

One of our Open Societal Challenges' academics Dr Siobhan Campbell has developed research into creative writing to support the wellbeing of staff in hospital wards to create a hospital Writer's Nook at the University Hospital of North Tees. research.open.ac.uk/news/creativ...

Congratulations to OU academic Dr Angeliki Lymberopoulou, whose image has been selected as October's research image of the month.

Read the full article: https://ow.ly/xn5250XjQPe

Kent County Council is Reform’s ‘shop window’ – its leaked Zoom call implies chaos and poor leadership Research shows the swearing, shouting and enforced muting suggests deeper problems at the Reform-led council.

From managing disagreements to encouraging genuine engagement, OU academic Professor @lisalazard.bsky.social, shares how their recent research can provide guidance on how to have productive online meetings.

Read more here: theconversation.com/kent-county-...

Learning about different open research practices helps researchers understand what could work well in their context.

From AI to copyright - OU academics share ideas to help you to make your research processes and outputs more open:
https://research.open.ac.uk/open-research/helping

#OAWeek

What motivates young people to read? 📚

This weekend’s Affective Power of Reading for Pleasure conference brought together educators & literacy champions to explore just that.

Inspiring talks from Rob Biddulph, A. M. Dassu (Az) and the OU's Prof Teresa Cremin.

Thank you to everyone who joined us.

Open access is a start, but do we need to do more to maintain equity?

OU academic Dr Geetha Reddy discusses whether open access is enough, and what the next steps could be:
https://research.open.ac.uk/news/open-access-start-do-we-need-do-more-restore-justice-and-maintain-equity

#OAWeek

Open access is a start, but do we need to do more to restore justice and maintain equity?

OU academic Dr Geetha Reddy discusses whether open access is enough, and what the next steps could be:
research.open.ac.uk/news/open-ac...

#OAWeek

“It’s often difficult to know which cancer treatment to use to get the biggest benefit to the patient. To figure this out, different chemotherapies can be tried out on balls of cells, known as spheroids, grown from a tumour. At The Open University, we’ve developed tools for understanding tissue growth, and we want to establish how these tools can help us to improve the accuracy of identifying the best treatments.”

OU academics have joined forces with industry to develop a model that could make it possible to provide personalised treatments for cancer.

Researchers will simulate how cells organise in mini tumours and determine how well they have responded to treatments.

Read more: https://lnkd.in/eu9Ga_Pe

The Princess of Wales has recently spoke about her concerns surrounding the overuse of smartphones in family life.

OU Lecturer in Education, Dr Poppy Gibson explains how we might avoid this 👇

Discover Poppy's research: https://www.themomentmagazine.com/lifestyle/are-smartphones-rewiring-childhood/

Periods are political… and here’s the proof 🩸

Dr Sophie Doherty @sophiedoherty.bsky.social and human rights campaigner Jo Atkins-Potts are leading ‘Periods are Political: The Politics of Menstruation in Activism, Art, and Law’, from 13:00 – 17:00. Open to all, register here: bit.ly/4nAKUQd

A green lawn with people sitting out on a sunny day. A stately home in the background.

A green lawn with people sitting out on a sunny day. A cafeteria in the background.

A crowd of around 70 people standing in the foyer of a library, looking up and smiling.

A crowd of around 70 people standing in the foyer of a library, looking up and smiling. A gold tree made of Open University Shields is on the wall.

We're excited to welcome our Oct #OUGradSch25 PhD cohort to campus today! We can’t wait to hear about their research journeys.
On Fri, we’ll also welcome Professional Doctorate students.
Also welcome to the first PhD by Distance Learning cohort!
@oulibrary.bsky.social @openuniversity.bsky.social

Huge congratulations to OU academic Dr Katerina Alexiou, whose image has been selected as September's Research image of the month.

Read the full article: ow.ly/MkbX50X49fi

Image shoes a rocky and mossy path that runs through a mountain valley towards snowy mountain peaks and a blue sky with white clouds.

PhD researcher Elaine Hooton is shining a spotlight on geodiversity and calling for a shift in how we talk about the non-living foundations of our planet. Elaine shared this inspiring photo of geodiversity in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Read more 👉 research.open.ac.uk/news/giving-...

OU PolicyWISE Director, Dewi Knight, co-authored a new landmark report on the Council of the Nations and Regions, highlighting the opportunity for “collaborative territorial governance.”

Read more on the PolicyWISE website 👉 www.policywise.org.uk/about/inter-...

When patients understand their condition, treatments, and options, the outcomes improve and the risks decrease.

New research shines a light on the importance of clear communication and shared decision-making in cardiology services.

Learn more 👉 research.open.ac.uk/news/patient...

We are delighted that the OU has been awarded £4.9M by the UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) ESRC: Economic and Social Research Council to lead the delivery of an exciting new approach to research skills development in the social sciences.

Read more: research.open.ac.uk/news/ou-awar...

The Open University The Open University has been shortlisted for a research-led international collaboration of the year project, innovative teaching and widening participation in this year’s Times Higher Awards.

We are proud to have been shortlisted in three categories in
Times Higher Awards 2025 and the OU is a collaborator on a fourth
research.open.ac.uk/news/three-o...

Following the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, OU academic Prof Simon Usherwood reveals what this now means for PM Keir Starmer.

#UKPolitics #Government #Politics

We’re proud to share that 7 OU academics have been appointed to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029 sub-panels! This diverse and expert group will help assess the quality of research across UK higher education.

Discover who they are and what this means:
research.open.ac.uk/news/seven-o...

Working together with your child’s new school can make their first weeks easier Children experience a whole range of changes in their lives as they start school.

Starting a new school is a big step for both children and parents.

Lecturer in Primary Education, Dr. Poppy Gibson, explores how a collaborative approach between home and school can ease this important transition.

Read more here: ow.ly/4wNA50WQ6Rh

Last night one of our academics, Dr Amber Fensham-Smith, appeared on BBC's The One Show to give to explain why more families are choosing to homeschool their children, and the potential benefits of doing so.

💡Learn more: wels.open.ac.uk/research/childrens-research-centre @ajfenshamsmith.bsky.social