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The Scholarship Centre for innovation in online Legal and Business education (SCiLAB)

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SCiLAB

Welcome to SCiLAB – a centre for pedagogical research and innovation in Business and Law.

Established in 2018, the Scholarship Centre for innovation in online Legal and Business education (SCiLAB) sits at the heart of business and legal scholarship at The Open University. 

Each faculty within The Open University established its own Scholarship and Innovation Centre following the adoption of a university-wide Scholarship Plan in October 2018.

The Scholarship Centre for innovation in online Legal and Business education (SCiLAB) sits at the heart of business, law and policing pedagogy. Based in the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL), SCiLAB works at the intersection of teaching, research and innovation, collaborating closely with both the Business and Law Schools to drive teaching and learning excellence within the organisation and external to the University.

Our aims are to:

  • Promote equality, diversity and inclusion in our activities, operations and partnerships
  • Champion and encourage sustainable innovations which lead to improvements in teaching and learning
  • Support practitioner-led, evidence-based research into online teaching and learning which informs our teaching and enhances student outcomes and experience

 

SCiLAB is the Scholarship Centre for innovation in online Legal and Business education. We are based in the Faculty of Business and Law at The Open University.

As experts and thought leaders, we research and promote cutting-edge developments that examine the theory and practice of online teaching and learning, in business, law and policing.

Our funded research helps create a better experience for students, by providing vital insights into teaching and learning methods, and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion.

SCiLAB projects have led to improvements in our induction and student support, as well as the creation of belonging projects and peer mentoring programmes for students.

Findings have also influenced the design of both new and existing course content in our programmes including gamification, virtual reality, and much, much more.

Our work features regularly in industry-leading blogs and journals as well as education events and conferences, both nationally and internationally.

We welcome collaboration with external partners, for example through partnering on scholarship projects, external speaking, participating in knowledge exchange events and providing expertise on online teaching pedagogies.

We also work closely with other higher education institutions, industry bodies and funders to further the scope and impact of our research and findings.

To discover more about our research and scholarship projects, or to discuss how we could work together, visit our website or contact us at [email protected]

Blog posts

  • From classroom to clinic: Scaling Clinical Legal Education through simulation and AI9th October 2026
  • Beyond apprenticeships: six lessons we shouldn't leave behind for leadership development24th September 2026
  • Once I felt safe, I could focus on taking part14th September 2026
More blog posts

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