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OpenNews

Welcome to the August 2016 edition of your newsletter from The Open University

Latest news

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What do the Olympic medal tables say about your nation’s sporting priorities?

"Each time the Olympic and Paralympic Games come around, a small minority of nations tend to do well. On average, only 25 per cent of competing nations at the Olympics will win a gold medal – and they’re pretty much the same ones year in, year out.

"Intrigued, we dug into data spanning back to 1948 – derived from our colleagues at Gracenote Sport – to unravel how different countries approach sport, and how that affects their chances of Olympic success."

Read the full article by Ben Oakley, Head of Childhood, Youth and Sport.

Exodus: 'Most extraordinary television'

BBC Two's Exodus: Our Journey to Europe was produced in partnership with the OU, with three leading academics acting as consultants on the programme. It follows the journeys of 70 refugees as they aim to leave conflict or persecution and make their way into Europe, armed with little more than a smartphone.

The series was warmly received with The Guardian calling it 'ambitious, necessary and devastating documentary-making' and The Telegraph said it was 'astonishingly intimate'.

Find out more about its impact. The series was first aired on Monday 11th July and you can catch up on iPlayer now.

'Urgent action' needed to protect adult education

A new report sponsored by the OU calls for a national strategy to protect adult education.

The first report commissioned by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education and conducted by the Institute for Employment Research (IER) at Warwick University, has called for a cohesive national strategy for adult education.

The report highlights a danger that national policy for adult education could disappear in just four years, by 2020.

Read the full story.

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How can Pokémon support learning?

With the global success of Pokémon Go, the world has been introduced to the next generation of augmented reality experiences on their mobile phones. Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Education and Technology and author of Augmented Education, Dr Rebecca Ferguson considers augmented reality as a tool to support learning; could augmented reality, with its power to engage and inspire, be a method for teaching real-world lessons? Find out more.

What does the solar system sound like?...

“In space, no one can hear you scream” was the tagline of the 1979 box office film success Alien. And it’s true. Sound waves propagate mechanically as a vibration and therefore need a medium – solid, liquid or gas – to travel through. Although interplanetary (and interstellar) space is not completely empty, gas molecules and dust grains are so sparsely distributed that they do not form a continuous medium that would enable sound waves to be transmitted directly."

Read the full article by the OU's Professor of Planetary Sciences, Monica Grady.

...and are the colours of the planets real?

"These days, we’re used to seeing pictures of planets sent back by spacecraft. Some pictures look colourful, others less so. But do they show what each planet really looks like? The short answer to this is 'sometimes', because some planets are genuinely quite colourful. Others are surfaced by rock that is almost entirely grey, and if you come across a picture of these looking colourful you can be pretty sure that the image has been manipulated in some way."

Read the full article by Professor of Planetary Geosciences, Dave Rothery.

What does Brexit mean for UK housing...

"Britain’s housing market is in a sorry state. With house prices forecast to fall, house building grinding to a halt and buyers pulling out of purchases amid job security fears, post-Brexit uncertainty has been worsened by the contrasting 'visions' that won the vote," writes Alan Shipman, Lecturer in Economics.

Read the full story.

 

...or for nationals living abroad?

"Some are retired, some are studying and some are working. Up until now, they have been entitled to the same rights as any other EU citizen. That includes access to healthcare in any EU member state and access to certain child benefits. They also have the right to support when seeking work or for housing."

But then Brexit happened. Law Lecturer Anne Wesemann shares her thoughts.

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Rio Olympics 2016: How do athletes become champions?

In this collection of eight videos, sporting legends outline the techniques they used to chase gold.

Do you think you could guide a budding athlete from childhood promise to championship success? Try Medal Quest, an interactive game on OpenLearn.

After Bernie Sanders: how progressives can actually change America

"Bernie Sanders may have endorsed Hillary Clinton, but politics as usual has had its day. It's time for progressivism to move fast."

Peter Bloom, Lecturer in Organisation Studies, writes about the primaries in America for The Conversation.

Don't miss the deadline!

If you're planning further study in October 2016, you'll need to get everything in place by early September. Qualification registration is now open for courses starting in October 2016, February 2017 and April 2017 and we recommend you apply as early as possible, especially if you need to apply for a loan from Student Finance England.

Learning

Discover a range of free online courses on FutureLearn. Here's what's coming up...

MOOC: Basic science - Understanding experiments

This practical, hands-on course aims to help you start thinking like a scientist by carrying out experiments at home and making scientific observations. It runs for three hours per week for four weeks and starts on 8th August. 

MOOC: Management and leadership: Leading a team

Develop a business plan and build a team with one of two courses in the Management and Leadership programme. It runs for three hours per week for four weeks and starts on 8th August.

MOOC: Spanish for beginners 1: Meeting and greeting

Learn how to greet people, and talk about where you live and what you do in the first Spanish for Beginners courses. It runs for four hours per week for four weeks and starts on 8th August.

MOOC: Business fundementals: Effective communication

Gain a practical grounding in communication to boost your personal effectiveness, save you time and reduce your stress levels. It runs for three hours per week for four weeks and starts on 15th August. 

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Free badged open course: Returning to STEM

This course is here to help you get back to work in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics. The course is intended for anyone who wants to get back into STEM work after having a break, whether to care for family, because of redundancy or for other reasons. Enrol now or take a look at our interactive toolkit to help reboot your STEM career.

Discover a range of postgraduate modules...

Introduction to corporate finance

This module provides a grounding in the core areas of corporate finance and enables you to gain a basis on which to build the specialist financial expertise that you will develop through your MSc in Finance. 20 credits.

Nonlinear ordinary differential equations

Relevant to scientists and engineers as well as mathematicians, this introduction to basic theory and simpler approximation schemes covers systems with two degrees of freedom. 30 credits. 

New postgraduate loans now available

A new postgraduate loan is now available to help you fund your masters degree and achieve your learning goals. You may be able to get a loan of up to £10,000* 

You only start repaying the loan when you’re earning more than £21,000 a year and, even then, it’s split into small, manageable repayments – this could mean a monthly repayment of only £20.* Find out more.

* Eligibility criteria applies. Take a look at the website for full terms and conditions.

What's on

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Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead sees historians Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn re-live the golden age of steam and explore how the Victorian railways created modern Britain.

The first episode was shown on BBC Two on Thursday 21st July 2016. If you missed it, catch up on iPlayer now.

Discovery: The Truth About Success And Failure In Medicine

In a new four-part series for BBC World Service and The Open University, broadcaster and medic Dr Kevin Fong explores what healthcare can learn from other organisations that succeed and fail.

The programme was first aired on Monday 11th July 2016 on BBC World Service. Catch up now on iPlayer Radio.

Get involved

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Meet The Scientists - The Open University at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh

Scientists from the OU are bringing a Space Science Showcase to Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on 12th and 13th August. 

You can meet space scientists from the OU who are involved in major Solar System exploration missions including Cassini-Huygens, Stardust, Genesis and Rosetta.

Come and see models of the Rosetta spacecraft and a half size replica of the Philae Lander, as well as space hardware and spares from various space missions. Find out how scientists investigate other terrestrial planets, the Moon, asteroids and comets. You’ll also be able to try your hand at remotely operating the OU Open Science Observatory take a look through a special solar telescope. 

Drop-in between 10am and 4pm on both days, admission is free to Dynamic Earth, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS.

Student Hub Live: Join the discussion

Student Hub Live hosts regular interactive online events, giving OU academics, students and alumni a chance to engage over key topical and study-related issues. Following a compelling discussion around the outcome of the EU Referendum (available on catch-up), we will return for an ‘Olympics Special’ on Friday 19th August, from 12pm to 2pm.

Each Monday in September, from 12pm to 2pm, we will host a series of boot camp sessions focusing on the skills necessary for study success. This will be followed by a Freshers’ Fair between 26th and 28th September. For programmes, catch-ups and to join the events, visit the Student Hub Live website.

OpenMinds 2016

Our annual alumni magazine, OpenMinds, has recently been produced which showcases topical news, views and academic research from the OU. As we look to the future and with our 50th Anniversary in 2019 in mind, this edition also gives you a sense of how the University is preparing itself for the next 50 years.

If you have not received your free copy and would like to have a read, take a look at our website to download your own copy.

Share your summer study survival tips

With summer upon us, how will you be juggling study as well? Or if you're an alumni, how did you survive all those summers of study? We'd like to hear your summer study survival tips so we can share some on social media to help inspire others. Email us and let us know your suggestions.

Deals and offers

The deals and offers page gives OU alumni access to a range of discounts (you need to use your OU username and password to access this site).

Keep your glasses somewhere nice

You never need to worry about losing your reading specs or mislaying your shades ever again thanks to a unique piece of functional jewellery. Find out more and get 15 per cent off.

Book with villas4you and get 10 per cent off

Villas4you offer more than just a promise of a great holiday. They offer over 1,600 villas which have been personally handpicked in favourite destinations, plus all your holiday extras. So you can book happy, fly happy, arrive happy and stay happy.

Careers and Employability Service

Whether you're a career starter, changer or developer, we are here to help throughout your studies and beyond. We can offer advice and guidance in areas such as: 

  • Planning, developing or changing your career
  • Deciding what type of work would best suit you
  • Completing application forms, CVs or covering letters
  • Preparing for an interview
  • Looking for employment
  • Getting involved in voluntary work 

To find out more about the services we offer, how to get in touch, or just keep up with the latest careers news visit our website.

You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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