News

Ronan Keating bestowed with honorary degree from The Open University for charity work

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.

17th May 2022

OU Launches Support Package To Help Ukraine

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.

16th May 2022

REF 2021 recognises 82% of OU research impact as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent.’

The Open University (OU)’s commitment to research and societal impact is recognised today (Thursday 12 May), with 82% of its research impact assessed to be ‘world-leading’ (4*) or ‘internationally excellent’ (3*) by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

12th May 2022

A picture of Noleen stood against a plain wall in her OU student nurse uniform

Open University student nurse, Noleen Curran, shortlisted for HSC Student of the Year

Student Nurse and Support Worker in Community Mental Health at the South Eastern Trust, Noleen Curran from Downpatrick was in the running for Student of the Year at the 2022 Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Awards in Belfast.

Her nomination was driven by her intuition, compassion, and listening skills but also her response to dealing with an on-the-job disclosure case. She managed the situation with a professional and empathetic approach, ensuring she upheld the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Professional Conduct.

27th April 2022

University calls for a funding model that supports part-time higher education and a culture of lifelong learning

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.

13th April 2022

Report reveals flexible learning is key to public sector job satisfaction

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.

11th April 2022

Megan Fearon, Policy Manager, and John D'Arcy, Director of the OU in Ireland, holding a sign reading 'The Future is Flexible'

Calls for the introduction of a Lifelong Learning Bill and increased support for part-time students in new manifesto by The Open University in Northern Ireland

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.

21st March 2022

Over 100 Health Trust Staff celebrate becoming nurses at OU degree ceremony

It has been a difficult few years for those working in our Health Care Trusts across Northern Ireland but Friday 11^th March 2022 will be a day of celebration for over 100 of those staff as they cross the stage as registered nurses at The Open University’s Degree Ceremony in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.

These nurses have succeeded in the face of an incredible period of hardship.

15th March 2022

Voluntary Methodist Church Archivist receives Honorary Degree

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.

15th March 2022

A turtle swimming under water with the words OpenLearn above it

The Open University's free learning site turns 15 and reaches 100M visitors

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.

11th January 2022

Page 7 of 18

Subscribe to News

For media enquiries please contact:

Christine Murphy, Communications Manager

Tel 028 9053 6219

You are here