WELS news

A free online Ukrainian culture and language course has been launched, aimed at those working with Ukrainians in the UK. Alongside the new course, the OU has also translated into Ukrainian its package of free online resources for Ukrainian refugees. The course and the translated resources form the next stage in the package of support the OU is providing for Ukraine.

Dr Elizabeth Tilley was the academic advisor for Panorama: Will the NHS Care for Me?, a new OU/BBC programme that investigates why people with a learning disability are more likely to die from avoidable causes than the rest of the population.

The winner of the OU’s People’s Choice Award is a research project led by Dr Margaret Ebubedike from the Faculty of WELS, co-investigated by Dr Saraswati Dawadi from the Institute of Education Technology, looking at improving the lives of human trafficking survivors in Nepal and Nigeria.

The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2022, in association with The Open University’s Reading for Pleasure Community Coalition and the UK Literacy Association (UKLA), were announced on 1 October 2022. This year’s entries saw teachers at schools across the length and breadth of the UK united in a mission to get children and their families reading.

Dr Philippa Waterhouse has won the award for Postgraduate Research (PGR) Supervisor at The Open University’s third annual Research Excellence Awards held last week in London. Philippa has been recognised for the outstanding support and leadership she has provided.

Now in its third year, the Research Excellence Awards celebrates and recognises the achievement of research at The Open University. Among the winners was Dr Erica Seruset Borgstrom, winner of the Early Career Researcher award for her research into death and dying. 

Now in its third year, researchers at the Faculty of WELS walked away as winners and runner ups at The Open University’s annual Research Excellence Awards. The awards celebrate and recognise the outstanding achievement of the university’s research environment and WELS were no exception.

In an OU Research Excellence Awards first, one winner will be decided externally. The People’s Choice Award asks the public to choose the person or project they feel has made the most significant difference when addressing societal challenges. WELS Senior Lecturer Dr Jitka Vseteckova runs one of four nominated projects, and tells us how it feels.

In this article Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith, Associate Lecturer at The Open University for Master of Education, Professional Doctorate and BEd Education Studies programmes, explores some of the key staffing issues challenging schools and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and how the OU can help address this.

When An Nguyen began her PhD with the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at The Open University, she envisioned global field work to complete her research on English Medium Instruction. But then the Covid-19 pandemic happened and she found herself grounded. She tells us about the creative ways she’s navigated the issue, and the very personal experience behind her subject choice.