The Open University

The Open University is the largest university in the UK with 175,718 students, 1,090 full-time academic staff and 961 research students. As a world class distance learning university we have students based in numerous countries globally. Our vision is to reach more students with life-changing learning that meets their needs and enriches society. The OU ranked first for student satisfaction with assessment and feedback at 87% in the 2019 National Student’s Survey. In addition The OU supports a vibrant research portfolio and fosters research teams who compete with top ranked institutions in the UK and worldwide securing around €20.5million of research income annually. It enjoys an international reputation for the quality of its research in many fields. In the latest UK Government Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) an impressive 72% of the University’s research scored as 3-4 star demonstrating the OU's world-leading or internationally excellent research.

The Open University actively engages in Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe. Much of the research undertaken aims at addressing policy areas associated in helping to contribute towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through research linked to the Europe 2020 Strategy for growth and jobs and the European pillar of social rights and globally through the EU’s European development policy. The EU Cohesion Policy the Strategic framework in Education and Training align with our strategic priorities in additional to the Digital Agenda for Europe and Innovation Union. The OU also engages with ERASMUS+ and EURAXESS. The Open University is member of the Athena SWAN Charter, which promotes good employment practice for women working in science, engineering and technology in higher education and research and demonstrating our engagement with the Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality which is further realised when coupled with our ethos and vision for increased access to truly open education. The Open University has a leading role in the continuing long term growth and development of higher education, and as such a number of our H2020 research projects address key priorities within Europe 2020. The Open Universities' provision of distance learning especially in a COVID-19 impacted world allow Science, technology, engineering and mathematics education along with the arts and humanities to be delivered remotely in new and effective ways. Our ongoing partnership with the BBC and through our Open Learn courses and Futurelearn platform can enable citizens to develop new skills and also play a more active role in the Research and Innovation process and to make informed choices to engage in a democratic, knowledge-based society. Our engagement with the European development policy is realised through our education strategy evidenced through our International Development and Inclusive Innovation strategic research area and our global educational reach through our internationally recognised education programmes TESS-India (Teacher Education through School-based Support) and TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa). The OU’s goals and research also align to the 2030 climate and energy policy framework with water and energy based projects e.g. Waste2Fresh and the EU Biodiversity strategy with our citizen science work with Treezilla and iSpot websites. The OU is an active member of the two major European distance education networks - EADTU (European Association of Distance Teaching Universities) and EDEN (European Distance Education Network) - which provide excellent sources of fruitful partnership in addition to the European University Association. We are also members of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the International Council for Open & Distance Education.

http://www.open.ac.uk

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