News

If you want it more than you fear it then you can do it!

This was Michelle’s mantra throughout her studies with the OU. Michelle is one of our incredible students and her story is inspiring.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (Ireland) recently held their first ever Creative Writing Competition and were delighted to announce the winners at a virtual prize giving ceremony held on 30 June, 2020.

The event was chaired by coordinator Dr Jennifer Shepherd (Department of English and Creative Writing), who thanked students for their enthusiastic support of the event, including participation in the writing master-classes offered in the run-up to the contest deadline.

UK organisations anticipate that it will take 18 months to fully recover from the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent social distancing measures, with small businesses leading the way back to “normal”.

A survey of business leaders and managers by The Open University has found that SMEs expect to recover to their pre-COVID status in 15 months, with larger organisations trailing behind by a further 6 months¹.

11-year-old Tiernán Eviston from County Meath has been using his time in lockdown very wisely. Tiernán hasn’t stopped learning and has already completed 11 online courses from The Open University’s free learning site OpenLearn ranging from ‘An introduction to sustainable energy’ to ‘Square roots and powers’.

The Open University’s campaign to mark its 50th birthday has been announced as a winner in the Chartered Institute of Public Relations 2020 excellence awards.

The Open University’s campaign, #OU50, took the title in the Education category, beating off stiff competition from universities, including Swansea University, University College London, and University of Oxford to win this prestigious award.

SMEs are currently facing unprecedented challenges; it has never been more difficult to run a local business and more support is needed than ever before to help them through these tough times. The world-leading and flexible online learning institution, The Open University, has partnered with Invest Northern Ireland to provide local SMEs with free training and the learning resources they need to re-power their businesses.

The Open University has joined forces with MoneySavingExpert to produce a new free course that will give people the skills and knowledge to master their finances.

The course covers key aspects of personal finances such as how to be savvy when spending money, budgeting, getting ready for retirement, borrowing, saving and much more.

Did you know you can train to be a nurse with The Open University! Not many people do – so we’re trying to spread the word.

Here are some facts about OU student nurses.

Health Minister Robin Swann MLA has confirmed that Executive funding is in place to secure an additional 65 nursing undergraduate places with The Open University in Northern Ireland this year, bringing the total to a new all-time high of 185.

‘New Decade, New Approach’ set out a key priority of providing a further 900 pre-registration nursing and midwifery training places over a 3-year period, commencing in 2020/21.  This priority was reiterated in the framework agreement that led to the end of the recent Agenda for Change industrial dispute.

The Open University in Northern Ireland has worked in close partnership with the Department for the Economy to produce an initial suite of free online courses for furloughed workers and others who have lost their job as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Launched by the Economy Minister Diane Dodds MLA, the courses cover digital skills, employability and essential skills. The options include digital literacy, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship, leadership, communication, mathematics and English.