News

Reverend Robin Roddie, historian, researcher, and archivist has been awarded the Honorary degree of Master of the University by The Open University in Belfast on Friday 11 March 2022.

For nearly twenty-five years, Reverend Roddie has served as the Archivist for the Methodist Historical Society of Ireland, and he has been honoured for this pursuit. Committed to recording, analysing, and promoting accounts of Methodist life in Ireland, the Reverend has made an invaluable contribution to religious and secular histories across this island of Ireland and beyond.

The Open University’s (OU) free learning site, OpenLearn is celebrating a milestone after clocking up 100 million visitors in the 15 years since it was launched.

Established as a trailblazing open educational resource, OpenLearn has successfully broken-down barriers to education, with over a thousand courses and 15,000 hours of educational interactives, videos and articles.

In the last two years, over 200,000 visits came from Northern Ireland, bolstered by a surge in traffic during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

The UK skills shortage is being felt across every sector, region and nation of the UK. In Northern Ireland, 69 per cent of employers report a skills shortage in their organisation, with nearly half (46%) saying their biggest challenge over the next five years will be their ability to find staff with the right skills.

The Open University is hosting a unique event at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) as one of several initiatives to mark its commitment to responding to the climate crisis.  

The Open University (the OU) has welcomed a visit from the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Kate Nicholl, locally to their Belfast Office.

Speaking on the visit, John D’Arcy, Director of The Open University in Ireland, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Kate Nicholl to meet with our committed staff and students. Kate has been a wonderful ambassador for Belfast since taking up the post."

Peter is a Technical Leader in Mass Spectrometry with Almac Sciences based in Craigavon. 

He chose to study with the OU due to the flexibility on offer as you study.    

The Open University’s annual Business Barometer 2021 report reveals nearly three quarters (69%) of Northern Ireland businesses believe there is a skills shortage in their organisation. That’s the highest % of any region of the UK (67% in England, 60% in Wales, 63% in Scotland).

The Open University in Northern Ireland has welcomed a visit from the Minister for the Economy, Gordon Lyons MLA.

Following the NIO announcement of £23million worth of skills funding, people across Northern Ireland are being offered a choice of free study course options with The Open University delivering £1.8million.  

The Open University has launched a new online hub called ‘Transition to Higher Education in Northern Ireland’ to provide support for new students moving into higher education in Northern Ireland this year regardless of where they are studying.