All news and blog posts

Dr Clare Jones Senior Law Lecturer at the Open University writes about the benefits of using virtual worlds in education.

Online learning is the future of education, (Designing digitally, 2020). Here at the Open University this is what we have been doing since our inception in 1969, but technology is allowing us to design more and more immersive educational spaces. Academics and industry alike are striving to create the best possible online learning environment for our students.

Christmas is almost upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with the Open Justice Advent Calendar 2020?

From Monday 13 December, we’ll be treating you to a daily festive-themed blog. For 12 days, you’ll be able to read seasonal contributions to this very special blog series by seasoned OU lecturers, new OU colleagues, OU students and Open Justice Centre staff.

Highlights in the seasonal series include a Christmas Eve piece in which Open Justice legal advice is offered to Father Christmas, who finds himself at the centre of a worrying elf employment dispute.

The disruption caused by Covid-19 has had far reaching impacts and required all of us to adapt to life’s challenges under lockdown. University law clinics are no exception and law academics and clinic supervisors have had to act fast and think creatively to keep their clinical programmes running. 

Olivia Leeper and Heidi Key are the joint winners of the ‘Outstanding individual contribution to Open Justice’, with Neil Burlinson as runner-up in this year’s awards.

Joint winner – Olivia Leeper

Olivia took part in the Freedom Law Clinic (FLC) project and has been offered a training contract in a law firm in Norfolk. After obtaining an MA in English Literature in 2004, she worked in publishing and the voluntary sector before studying for the LLB while raising her three children. 

The ‘Outstanding team contribution to Open Justice’ saw a group of five win in this year’s awards, with the runners-up part of the Street Law project.

Winners: Rawtenstall pop-up law clinic project – Daniel Doody, Elizabeth Walker, Jack Brown, Kelly Louise Martin and Lilly May Seddon 

Hugh McFaul, Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of The Open University’s Open Justice Centre, was highly commended in the Most Innovative Teacher of the Year category at The Times Higher Education (THE) Awards last week. The THE Awards recognised outstanding work and exceptional performance across the higher education sector for 2018-19. 

Ellie Lewns is currently studying her A-levels at Parkstone Grammar Sixth Form. “I am planning to go on to university next year to study Law and hope to eventually become a practising solicitor. I engaged in the OpenLearn course on ‘Pro Bono Work and Social Justice’ to further my knowledge in this area of law, as I particularly enjoy looking at charitable work and the reasons we often feel such a need to provide this help to those unable to access it independently.

Pip Allen is currently a second year Law and Sociology student at the University of Warwick. Pip was inspired to write this blog post after completing the Pro Bono and Social Justice online course, which has tied neatly in with her current work in an Exceptional Case Funding Clinic. Pip hopes to continue this line of work and in the future, go on to pursue a career in social welfare based areas of law. 

This report offers a summary of these pro bono and public engagement activities over the past 12 months and outlines their awards and research outputs.

Dr Andrew Gilbert from the OU Law School shares his findings on 'Wigs, Websites, Women and Whiteness' in our latest blog post.