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WELS research shortlisted for THE 2019 awards

WELS technology designed to boost student retention has been shortlisted for the Times Higher Awards 2019.

OU Analyse, an innovative tool which produces predictions on a weekly basis as to whether or not students will submit their teacher-marked assignments and presents outcomes to teachers in a colour-coded dashboard, has been shortlisted in the Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year category.

Led by Dr Christothea Herodotou, Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Educational Technology (IET) and implemented at the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi), OU Analyse has been recognised by the Higher Education Commission as one of the few analytics implementations available on improving learning at a large scale. OUA has been extensively piloted and now used by more than 1,180 teachers. It has also been piloted in other UK universities and the Czech Technical University calculated that the number of students retained by its use brought them an additional income of around £464,000 over two years.

Other members of the OU Analyse team are Avinash Boroowa, Dr Martin Hlosta, Prof Zdenek Zdrahal and Prof Bart Rienties.

The Open Arts Objects (OAO)  project, which has used OU research into Art History to broadcast to 13.7 million viewers, has also been shortlisted in the Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year category.

And Dr Barbara Kunz, a research project officer (technician) at The Open University’s Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics has been shortlisted in the Outstanding Technician of the Year category. 

Biggest celebration of higher education

The winners of this year’s Times Higher Awards will be announced on Thursday 28 November.

Commenting on this year’s shortlist, THE Editor, John Gill said:

"The THE Awards hold a place in the hearts of many in UK higher education and have now been a fixture in the its calendar for well over a decade. This year we decided to incorporate the complementary strengths of our THE Leadership and Management Awards, so that the range of categories better reflects the reality of how universities operate today, and the interwoven nature of so much of what they do. This will be the biggest celebration of higher education that we have ever hosted.

I am delighted to say that the ‘Oscars of higher education’ go from strength to strength. With 23 categories this year, we’re also showcasing more exceptional stories than ever before, and it’s a real honour for us to shine a spotlight on all those who have made it as far as these shortlists – their stories deserve much wider circulation."

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