WELS news

Results are in for the annual Open University Graduate School ‘Bake Your Research’ competition… and WELS has bagged the top spot for a second year running.

The Faculty of WELS welcomes two new Research Fellows based in Scotland. This is a significant moment as the faculty becomes the first at the OU to have a research presence in the four nations where the OU is based. 

Dr Sarah Vicary has been promoted to Professor of Social Work and Mental Health, within the OU’s Faculty of WELS.  

Dr Natalie Canning, Co-Director of The Open University’s Children’s Research Centre, launches the Empowerment Framework, a new tool for childhood practitioners to analyse children’s play and activities. Based on Dr Canning’s research into Early Childhood contexts, the tool supports the understanding of child development through an empowerment focus.

The OU's global development project, SAGE – Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education – was recently visited by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) who praised the initiative for its positive impact on women and girls in Zimbabwe.

The OU has secured funding of £5.8m from the Office for Students (OfS) to develop extended reality studios, Open XR Studios, to expand its teaching and learning with augmented and virtual reality.

On 23 November 2022, academics specialising in education and technology met online to discuss their research, evidence, and recommendations to help inform the UNESCO 2023 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report on technology and education. 

Dr Lina Adinolfi joins researchers at the OU and across Europe to develop skills in integrating augmented reality into language learning.

With limited local opportunities to train as a nurse available on the Isle of Wight, the IOW NHS Trust decided to grow its nursing workforce locally by partnering with the OU to provide Nursing Associate and Registered Nurse Degree apprenticeships. 

On 10 October 2022, the Centre for the Study of Global Development (CSGD) held its first cross-hub seminar event to mark World Mental Health Day, where three guest speakers shared their research that aims to support the mental wellbeing of distinct groups across the life course. The presenters spoke to the CSGD’s core belief of the importance of tackling societal challenges through an interdisciplinary lens, and that by working across disciplines we can enhance understanding and create more inclusive and robust solutions.