All news and blog posts

photograph of Walton Hall, Open University campus

OU academic responds to Lord Blunkett chaired Police Leadership Commission

The blog highlights Dr Jennifer Norman of The Open University’s strong support for the Lord Blunkett-chaired Police Leadership Commission report, praising its evidence-based recommendations to strengthen leadership across all levels of policing through greater investment in professional development, lifelong learning, workforce recognition, and partnerships with higher education.

9th July 2026
an image of a football game

OU research to help transform understanding of football crowd dynamics

The Open University has secured £201,665 in SNSF funding to research how football crowds, police and stadium authorities interact, helping improve safety at major matches across Europe.

3rd July 2026
image of BBC Morning Live presenters

OU and BBC Collaborate on Morning Live film series

Three short films co-produced by The Open University and the BBC will feature on BBC One’s Morning Live programme, Misogyny in Football, Solar Panels, and Project Vigilant, and showcase the academic contribution from The Faculty of Business and Law.

8th June 2026

Making a legal impact by addressing the AI literacy gap

The Open Justice Centre’s ‘AI, Law and Legal Training’ collaborative project has been recognised in the Digital Leaders’ AI Impact Awards.

2nd April 2026
hand holding phone

Centre for Protecting Women Online at The Open University responds to Government’s VAWG Strategy

The Centre welcomed the Government’s focus on online abuse in its VAWG Strategy but warned it treats digital abuse as secondary and relies too much on tech firms to self-regulate. It also flagged gaps in addressing adult women and racialised communities, calling for stronger accountability.

22nd December 2025
child and adult at an airport

Parental child abduction: why extending criminalisation is not the answer

Allison Wolfreys, Lecturer in Law at OULS, examines a proposed crime and policing bill that would make failing to return a child after a holiday a criminal offence, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to seven years.

15th December 2025

Triple Triumph: Mum and twin daughters graduate together from same university

There was no mistaking the joy on the faces of Sarah Chappell and her twin daughters Megan and Abbey Douglas-Chappell when all three donned cap and gowns and celebrated their graduation from The Open University recently.

6th November 2025

OU leads research on Scotland’s Fair Access landscape

A team of researchers from The Open University has been appointed to lead a new national project mapping Scotland’s Fair Access landscape.

30th October 2025

Discover the human side of space exploration in new OU / BBC programme

A new four-part OU/BBC series, Once Upon a Time in Space, begins on BBC Two and iPlayer at 9pm today (Monday 27 October).

27th October 2025
photo of OU campus

Centre for Protecting Women Online Concludes Inaugural Annual Conference at The Open University

The Centre for Protecting Women Online (CPWO) held its first annual conference which brought together global experts, academics, practitioners, advocates, and partners to share insights and strategies for tackling online violence against women and girls (OVAWG).

22nd September 2025
Subscribe to News