The new academic year is here, and so is our September e-newsletter. This month, we hope you'll join us to welcome back all our returning students and give a very warm greeting to those just beginning their academic journey with us. We're also celebrating a new group of graduates who will be joining our alumni family in the coming months.

This issue is packed with exciting news and stories we hope you’ll enjoy. We're shining a spotlight on some incredible collaborations between The Open University and the BBC - get ready to see Freddie Flintoff inspiring the next generation of cricketers, hear from Michael Rosen as he explores the fascinating world of words, and tune in for engaging discussions on everything from politics to technology.

We'll also introduce you to our award-winning professors who have recently received a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship. Plus, you'll be inspired by two of our students who share how their degrees helped them find success in their careers.

We hope you enjoy this edition of OpenMinds e-News. Thank you for your continued support and for being a valued member of the OU family.

Best wishes

Jane Dudeney

Alumni Engagement Manager

The Open University

Two Open University academics win prestigious teaching award

Two Open University academics have been honoured with a National Teaching Fellowship from the Advance HE Teaching Excellence Awards 2025.

Diane Butler, Professor of STEM Education, and Professor Carlton Wood, Head of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems, have both received National Teaching Fellowships, in recognition of their outstanding impact on student outcomes and advancing teaching in higher education.

Professor Josie Fraser, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, says: “As sponsor of the OU Teaching and Learning Plan, I’m delighted to celebrate our colleagues’ continued success in winning these prestigious teaching excellence awards from Advance HE. Diane and Carlton’s work exemplifies the OU’s dedication to inclusive, innovative teaching that transforms lives. Their achievements reflect not only personal excellence but also the collective strength of our teaching community and it’s inspiring to see the OU’s impact recognised once again. Most importantly, these awards represent the passion and hard work that colleagues across the OU invest every day to help our students thrive.”

There are over 1,198 National Teaching Fellows, with only 55 new awards made each year, making it a significant achievement for all colleagues involved in the highly competitive scheme. 

HomeGrowth vs Green and Inclusion Goals: The balancing act for UK business leaders

A new survey from The Open University reveals a growing dilemma for UK businesses: almost all leaders (96%) see growth as central to their strategy, particularly in the context of the UK Government’s priority mission in achieving strong, secure, and sustainable economic growth by 2035. Yet nearly three in four admit it often comes at the expense of workforce diversity and inclusion goals (72%) and sustainability and net zero efforts (71%).

A new online roundtable event by The Open University, available on demand, examines how organisations can navigate these pressures, and how upskilling and reskilling can play a vital role in delivering growth that is both inclusive and sustainable across the public and private sector. The series features two roundtables covering people and the planet, bringing together thought leaders from organisations such as the NHS, Capgemini, Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology, Grant Thorton, and the John Lewis Partnership.

Scientists simulate the Solar System’s ‘ice volcanoes’ in OU’s Milton Keynes lab

A team of international scientists, including researchers from the Atmospheric Research and Space Exploration group at The Open University (OU), have recreated the extreme conditions found on icy moons in deep space and revealed the unstable behaviour of water.

In the near-zero pressure environment of space, water reacts very differently from how it does on Earth. It simultaneously undergoes both boiling and freezing.

The icy moons are covered in an ice exterior with liquid oceans existing below the ice crust. Just as lava through volcanic activity reshapes the Earth’s surface, water reshapes icy moons through a process called cryovolcanism.

To understand how the altered behaviour of water might be driving geologic change on the icy moons, researchers from the OU, University of Sheffield and the Czech Academy of Sciences used a specially constructed low-pressure chamber at the OU in Milton Keynes to create the near-vacuum-like icy conditions found on Europa (a moon of Jupiter) and Enceladus (a moon of Saturn).

The findings have been published in the journal Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters. The research was funded by the Czech Science Foundation and the UK Space Agency. The paper can be downloaded here.

The Open University partners with Anatolia to launch Anatolia American University in Greece

The Open University (OU) is proud to announce its strategic partnership with Anatolia College in the establishment of Anatolia American University, a newly licensed non-profit, non-state university in Greece.

This milestone marks a significant advancement in international education and reflects the OU’s commitment to expanding access to high-quality learning across borders.

OU research newsletter hits 100k subscribers

Launched in early 2025, The Open University’s research newsletter on LinkedIn has just reached an incredible milestone: over 100,000 subscribers!

This monthly, bite-sized ‘magazine-style’ bulletin showcases the breadth and impact of research across the University – from using AI robots to improve hospital efficiency and safety, to rethinking and decolonising education. Each edition features a mix of stories from all OU faculties and nations, including highlights from our Open Societal Challenges initiatives (follow OSC on LinkedIn) and our brilliant academics and postgraduate researchers behind OU research.

If you haven’t already, check out the latest edition (5 September) on LinkedIn – and don’t forget to hit subscribe!

OU/BBC co-pro ‘Freddie’s Field of Dreams’ returns

In this new four-part series, sporting hero Freddie Flintoff is back with ambitious plans to create several new cricket teams made up of local teenagers across his home turf of Northwest England.

The series kicked off on Sunday 7 September at 8.10pm on BBC One (excluding Northern Ireland) and will be available on iPlayer if you missed it. The first episode sees Freddie head to Liverpool to persuade local kids to give cricket a try – but he faces a tough crowd.

In Blackpool he meets a more receptive group of girls but finds himself out of his comfort zone, having never coached females before.

Visit our Broadcast & Partnerships site, OU Connect, where you can discover the pioneers and trailblazers who changed the game for women’s cricket.

OU/BBC radio series Word of Mouth returns

On Thursday 4 September a new OU/BBC radio series of Word of Mouth returned to BBC Radio 4, airing weekly at 15:30 until Thursday 2 October. It is available to catch up on through BBC Sounds.

The series is presented by celebrated author Michael Rosen and explores the world of words and how we use them.

Michael explores various areas of language throughout the series, from examining the effects of certain conditions on the way we communicate to considering legal terminology used within courtrooms.

Dr Philip Seargeant, Senior Lecturer in English Language and Applied Linguistics, alongside Dr Zsuzsanna Barkanyi, Senior Lecturer in Spanish, were academic consultants for the series.

They said: "We’re delighted to be partnering with the BBC’s Word of Mouth again for a second series, and to be able to again feed expertise from Languages and Applied Linguistics into the programmes. We received great feedback from our first collaboration with them, and hope that this proves equally as engaging for listeners."

Rethinking our national and international issues

The fourth series of the BBC/Open University radio show Rethink has begun, which discusses issues from politics to technology, economics and beyond and poses how we might approach them differently in the future.

This latest series airs at 4pm on Thursdays, and began on 4 September on Radio 4, and runs for five episodes. It is available on BBC Sounds, covering a wide range of topics including discussions about terrorism, flying, nightlife and winners and losers.

Academic consultant to the series Simon Usherwood, Professor of Politics and International Studies, said: 

“Rethink continues to delve into topics, big and small, taking the less obvious path to gain new insights. Whether it’s getting beyond the language of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, questioning whether we should be flying or how nightlife is changing our cities, the mix of cutting-edge research and lateral thinking offers a chance to reflect, learn and engage with the world around us.”

Law grad Krishangi makes history once again

Our youngest ever OU Law graduate Krishangi Meshram is in the record books again – qualifying as the youngest solicitor in England and Wales in recent times.

Still only 21, Krishangi recently qualified as a lawyer and had her history-making milestone featured in The Law Society Gazette (bottom of page 11).

The young scholar-turned-solicitor, who lives in UAE, began her studies with The Open University at just 15 years old. Three years later she gained a First Class Honours Degree in Law, aged just 18.

It was during her Year 3 practical modules in Law that Krishangi considered what she wanted to do in the future, she says, and when she realised that becoming a lawyer was truly going to be “her thing”.

‘My OU qualification landed me my most recent role’

Even before Jake, 26 from Gosport, had completed his degree in BSc (Honours) Psychology, he was already making an impact in the probation service and progressing his career. Studying with The Open University (OU) meant he could gain a qualification while earning an income and valuable experience. Jake shares how online study has helped him make significant strides in his profession.

“My interest in psychology started when I watched my first true crime documentary at 14. I couldn’t stop thinking about what had led the person to carry out such an act and what could have changed the outcome. I became fascinated with how our brains work,” says Jake.

Just before the COVID lockdown hit, Jake discovered the OU, which was the answer he’d been looking for.

As Jake progressed with his degree, he encountered some challenges but was able to overcome them with the backing of his tutors, study peers and employer.

We would love to know what inspired you to become a student. Did you have any extraordinary moments while studying? Has completing your qualification changed your life or helped you discover a new self-confidence?

We want to hear from all OU alumni of different ages and experiences, identities and backgrounds, diverse ethnicities and cultures, abilities and disabilities, mental and physical health conditions and intersectionalities.

Please get in touch and share your story with the rest of the OU community.

Free online resources to promote a safer use of AI in legal settings

A new suite of free resources spearheaded by The Open University is launched today (Wednesday 6 August 2025) to both embrace AI and recognise its challenges for the legal and access to justice sector.

The rapid advance and integration of Generative AI (Gen AI) has brought huge changes and a myriad of ethical challenges for the legal sector.

Lawyers and members of the public – many of whom are representing themselves to save costs – risk paying a high penalty for using misinformation in court obtained from Gen AI tools. There is a lack of free trusted resources to address both the limited knowledge in the profession and to educate the general public searching for legal advice.

To solve this, the Open University’s (OU) Open Justice Centre is leading a new initiative to provide free resources: called the AI, Law and Legal Training project, it’s a collaboration with the University of Lincoln and Citizens Advice, the latter supports the public with legal information and guidance in person, by phone and via online support.

The free courses as part of AI, Law and Legal Training will provide eight engaging and open access online learning materials which will provide ethical and responsible knowledge of – and skills to use – Gen AI.

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Have you visited your alumni website recently? If not, why not have a look today? Here you will find information on events and ways to keep in touch.

Here's a reminder of your PI number if you would like to register: 

Time to treat yourself?

Our OU Students Association shop has a range of OU merchandise for you to enjoy and proudly own as one of our alumni, from clothing, accessories, home and leisure, to stationery and jewellery.