News

Two young entrepreneurs from two of the fastest growing sectors in Northern Ireland are helping BBC TV and Radio 1 presenter Gemma Cairney take the helm of a ‘business’ this week as part of The Open University’s challenge to inspire young people to ‘Unlock Your Inner Boss’.

Ronan Keating has received an honorary degree from The Open University in recognition of his philanthropic contributions to charities over the past 25 years, particularly to improve cancer care.

The Dublin-born musician, songwriter and presenter of BBC ONE’s The One Show, stepped up to receive the accolade for his charitable work following the loss of his mother to breast cancer in 1998.

The Open University (OU) has launched a raft of measures aimed at helping students and Ukrainians fleeing the war and arriving in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

These include financial support and assistance for existing OU students, a funding lifeline to potential students from Ukraine now living in the UK, as well as free online learning and partnerships with wider support networks.

The Open University in Northern Ireland has welcomed the Department for the Economy’s Skills for a 10x Economy Strategy but says a funding model that works for part-time higher education ‘is essential’.

The Open University, Northern Ireland’s leading provider of flexible, online higher education, has welcomed the Department for the Economy’s Skills for a 10x Economy Strategy published at the end of March.

The Open University’s new report into public sector skills, Embracing Flexibility: How can Learning & Development service new hybrid working and learning models in the public sector? highlights a desire for more flexibility and learning and development opportunities

One of the largest recent UK wide public sector employee surveys, published in partnership with Public Sector Executive, revealed 8 in 10 public sector employees in Northern Ireland cite learning and development as key to job satisfaction.

On the 22 March 2022, The Open University launched its vision for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The manifesto, entitled ‘The Future is Flexible’ calls for the embedding of a culture of lifelong learning in society with part-time, flexible higher education at its heart.