The Open University Celebrates 50 Years of Transforming Lives in Northern Ireland

The Open University (OU) celebrated 50 years since its first Belfast degree ceremony on Tuesday 14 October, marking a rich history of providing accessible and inclusive education in Northern Ireland.

Over 300 local students, graduating in subjects ranging from Nursing to Forensic Psychology, crossed the stage at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, cheered on by family, friends, and one of Northern Ireland’s first ever OU graduates.

Since its foundation, The Open University has been a bridge in a divided society, enabling study through bombings, blackouts, curfews and most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic. Its commitment to widening access, inclusion and lifelong learning has transformed thousands of lives across Northern Ireland over the last five decades.

Amongst those joining this year’s cohort for the 50th anniversary celebrations was Jim Mullholand (84) a retired teacher from Lisburn, and a pioneering Open University graduate from the class of 1975.

Reflecting on what he says was a ‘very enriching’ experience, Jim said: “I was a physical education teacher, and The Open University enabled me to branch out and teach sociology… it kept me fresh. I would have become stale and a bit complacent without it.”

Graduating with a first-class honours degree in Social Sciences, and with newfound confidence, he later applied and was accepted for a Fulbright Teaching Exchange to Portland, Oregon, an adventure that remains one of his proudest achievements.

When he first enrolled with the OU in the early 1970s, Northern Ireland was a very different place. Back then, amidst the challenges of conflict and division, there was no Internet, no laptops, and distance learning meant mail order textbooks and BBC lecture broadcasts as course companions.

“With the BBC television programmes, you were able to listen to the top lectures from all around the world… top economists, top sociologists, seeing their perspective on the world. I remember the unit tapes dropping in through the letterbox with a clunk. The materials were exceptionally good.”

“I look at my grandchildren, and they're unbelievably competent in this new world. I find it quite strange,” admits Jim. “Not that long before I retired from teaching, they'd put a new computer suite into the school, and I remember standing there thinking, ‘My God, this is something from Star Wars.’ The world of chalk and talk has gone.”

In a digital age, learning at Open University has evolved, but at its heart, its founding principles endure. The OU Class of 2025 represents the diversity and determination that have defined The Open University for over half a century. From working parents and carers to those balancing full-time jobs and study, today’s graduates reflect the OU’s continuing mission to provide high-quality, flexible and inclusive university education to all.

2025 OU Graduates include:

· Maryette McFarland (90) from just outside Derry – the OU’s oldest Irish graduate this year – a widow who completed her degree in English Literature after learning to use a computer for the first time, with support from her family.

· Matthew McCarthy (31) from Holywood Co. Down, a mental health project worker, who balanced full time work, volunteering, and several big life changes [navigating the loss of close family members, a fitness journey, and meeting his fiancée] to earn a BSc (Hons) in Psychology, setting him on a path to postgraduate study, with ambitions to train as a Clinical Psychologist.

John D’Arcy, Director of The Open University in Ireland, said: “For over 50 years, The Open University has helped people in Northern Ireland achieve their ambitions, often in extraordinary circumstances. From the early days of delivering study packs through postal strikes and conflict to today’s digital classrooms, our mission has remained the same; to make higher education open to all. We’re immensely proud of the many generations of students, tutors and staff who’ve made this possible, and it is an honour to celebrate them all today.”

Over the last 50 years, The OU’s Belfast and Dublin degree ceremonies have recognised leaders in every sphere of public life, from peacebuilding and public service to the arts, education, sport and business.

At the event, community leader and language activist Linda Ervine MBE received an honorary doctorate in recognition for her outstanding contribution to education and cultural inclusion in Northern Ireland.

Former Irish presidents, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese are amongst those to have received honorary degrees from The Open University, alongside Oscar-winning filmmaker, Neil Jordan; sporting legends, Mary Peters and Mickey Harte; Snow Patrol frontman, Gary Lightbody; and prominent peacebuilders, Lord John Alderdice and Baroness Nuala O’Loan.