For the past 50 years we’ve made it our mission to open up education for all. As the largest UK uni we’ve empowered over 2 million students across 157 countries to transform their lives through learning – helping make the impossible, possible.
Happy 50th birthday to us!
#OU50
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Open to people, places, methods and ideas. The Open University provides high-quality university education to all.
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“To anyone with a dream, please hold on to it, because you are the gold dust of the future. Don’t let anyone take that dream away from you!” 🙌
Welcome to the #OUfamily 🎉 We’re so proud to have you as part of the OU!
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For anyone who needs educating on flavour combinations, we're open to all.
From one national treasure to another...
Happy birthday Sir David Attenborough! 🥳
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Happy 2019 from all of us at The Open University - the year we celebrate turning 50!
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#OU50 #HappyNewYear
Thanks to our students and alumni for reminding that Open University degrees are achieved while working, raising families, being carers and so much more. No mean feat.
So here’s a shout out to members of the #OUfamily – you’re amazing 🙌
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Hi @itvcorrie, just wanted to let you know that @OpenUniversity degrees are no different to any other degrees x
Happy birthday to us! 🥳 Sadly, there’s no cake, but today we’re still celebrating 5️⃣ 4️⃣ years since the OU was established by Royal Charter.
Huge thanks to all members of the #OUfamily – we wouldn’t be here without you!
#OUCharterDay
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A landmark OU/BBC co-produced series begins at 9pm on BBC Two this evening.
'Earth' hosted by , revisits Earth's most epic moments to tell the incredible story of our planet.
Visit connect.open.ac.uk/science-techno for exclusive content and information on the series.
Happy birthday to us! Sadly, there’s no cake, but today we’re still celebrating 51 years since the OU was established by Royal Charter.
Massive hat tip to all members of the #OUfamily – we wouldn’t be here without you 💙
#OUCharterDay
🎂 🎁
We're saddened to learn of the passing of Her Majesty The Queen and express deepest sympathy from the #OUfamily to the Royal Family.
ounews.co/around-ou/her-
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No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no
'This picture captured every single human being alive.
Except for the photographer, Michael Collins'
Jaw-dropping stuff 😲
#8DaysToTheMoonAndBack
Lovely message here from top classicist and all round good egg . Thank you Mary, and here's to 50 more years! #OU50
This is it - you've made it! Huge congratulations and welcome to the #OUfamily. We're so proud to have you with us. 💙
This week is dedicated to celebrating you and all of your achievements, so let's get it started! Who's celebrating with us? 🎉
ow.ly/1mvd50Bpkak
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The Queen granted The Open University our Royal Charter in 1969 and visited the Milton Keynes campus with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1979.
Huge day for today in Manchester! Just listen to Antony's story...
Care leaver, turned big achiever! 🙌
#OU_Ceremonies
Today marks 50 years since the first OU courses were launched 🚀 - kicking-off at 11am in 1971 with the very first 'Open Forum' programme on .
⁉️ Question - what were those first 4 courses?
open.ac.uk/library/digita
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Hey @OpenUniversity, can you make it easy for us to sign up to some courses that start immediately while we are all isolating?
We might be changing our logo back, but our message remains unchanged.
Open to people, places, methods and ideas. Every day for the last 50 years. We are The Open University.
Keep celebrating! 🌈
#OU50
Amazing new research suggests that there was once large seas on the surface of Mars and that it had a water cycle similar to Earth.
Read more here:
For over 50 years (52 if you're counting) we've made it our mission to open up education and make the impossible, possible for so many.
It may be our birthday, but we're spending it celebrating YOU - our amazing #OUfamily. We're so proud of you. Here's to the next 52 years! 💙
It's our birthday! 🥳
On this day in 1969, The Royal Charter's creation was approved by Her Majesty The Queen.
We'd like to say a huge thank you to the more than two million #OUFamily members who have studied with us in the past 53 years.
Now, where's that cake...
🎉Happy results day OU! 🎉
Join the celebrations today with #OUResults and you could win an OU hoodie!
💙We think you're all amazing 💙
Congratulations to everyone receiving their results this week!
Bear with us while we think of a grrrrreat pun. 😉
Okay, it’s a few minutes past midnight so it’s officially OUR BIRTHDAY! 🎉
Join us via #OU50 for a day of celebrations.
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With lots of you receiving your course books recently, we thought we'd share a 'behind the scenes' photo to show you where they've come from! Here they are being packed up at our warehouse in Wellingborough, ready to be posted to your front door!
Our #OUfamily stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they bravely defend their rights and democratic freedom:
ounews.co/around-ou/vice
#StandWithUkraine
#OnThisDay in 1983, actress Julie Walters visited our campus in #MiltonKeynes for a pre-premiere of the film Education Rita! She's pictured here with University Secretary, Joe Clinch. 🤩
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The moment we've all been waiting for! Here's to making education open to people, places, methods and ideas for AT LEAST the next 50 years 🎉
#OU50
The Open University - where legends come to study...
🚴♂️🔥🔥🔥
Whoop whoop 🙌
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Yayyyy 210-140 - Fantastic result Team Open
@OpenUniversity @OUstudents
For anyone that needs some motivation today.
Picture this moment - how will it make you feel? 💙
Huge congratulations to everyone receiving their results today!
We're SO proud of you all 💙
Join the celebrations with #OUResults and you could win an OU hoodie!
Waiting for your results? 😅
We've got 8 OU hoodies to give away tomorrow! All you have to do is join in using #OUResults...
We can't wait to celebrate YOU!
This is great news! Along with Oxford and Cambridge, the OU has been awarded funding for almost 400 new doctoral places in arts and humanities 🎉
Well, here's a lovely thread ❤️
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See a lot of slagging of the Open University going off when it's an excellent way for people who cannot go to uni full time to get a degree. You can be angry about your uni not supporting you enough without taking swipes at what is a lot of people's only route to higher education
Who's registered to study with us in autumn? Tell us what you're going to be studying & why below.
Remember, registration closes 14th Sept!
At a time when flexible, open education has never been more important, we’re looking firmly to the future, opening up new possibilities for students, employers and society.
#TheFutureIsOpen
Huge round of applause from the #OUfamily to our NHS heroes 🙌👏We appreciate all that you do, now more so than ever 💙
#ClapForOurCarers
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At 23 had a psychotic breakdown and was sectioned. Thirty years on he pieces together what happened and explores the misconceptions around psychosis in this incredibly personal film.
Catch #PsychosisAndMe on Thursday, 9pm on
open.edu/openlearn/tv-r
“This is a day when dreams come true...”
An absolute pleasure to welcome former tutor, Rt Hon. Gordon Brown, back to the #OUfamily. Thanks for joining us ! 👏
OU alumni and absolute legend, Sir , has sent our entire Class of 2020 this awesome message.
Huge congratulations to everyone that's celebrating with us this week. 🎉
ow.ly/60iz50Bplph
#OUfamily
👏 It’s official – we’re double award-winners!
Our #OU50 campaign, celebrating 50 years of incredible OU students, staff & alumni, has won a Circle of Excellence Award!
Thanks to all the #OUfamily for being part of this!
ow.ly/BJ1M50A45RA #CASECOE
A HUGE and well-deserved congratulations to for receiving an OBE! 💙
John, who embodies the OU mission, has been recognised for improving the lives of many, with energy and commitment.
Let's hear it for a special member of the #OUFamily 👏
There's beating all the doubters, then there's doing THIS at your graduation ceremony 🤩🙌
#OU_Ceremonies #OUStudents
In 'Our Dementia Choir' starting tonight at 8pm on BBC One, takes a deeply personal look at the extent of music’s power to help fight dementia.
We asked her what she hoped the outcomes might be. Click below for her full interview👇
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Tonight brings the concluding part of 'Our Dementia Choir'. Here's with another snippet from our exclusive interview on why you should watch this wonderful programme, tonight at 8pm on BBC1.
Watch the full interview here:
socsi.in/WaMpm
What a fabulous year it's been! Thank you for joining us in celebrating #OU50, and here's to many, MANY more celebrations! 🎉
Let's end the year as we started - with a BANG! 🎆
Congratulations to our new honorary graduate
To all of our new graduates, Eddie had this to say:
‘We have one life, live it. Do things that scare the hell out of you. Challenge yourself.’ #OU_ceremonies
Today we’re officially celebrating #OUCharterDay – 49 years since the OU was established by Royal Charter in 1969.
As the theme of the day is pride... massive tip of the hat to members of our OU community – we’re very proud of you.
What’s YOUR proudest OU moment?
"Lifelong learning simply cannot be beaten and that is what The Open University is all about."
Well, we're not going to argue with ...
#OU50
Happy Birthday Sir David Attenborough. It's been a pleasure working with you over the years. #Attenborough90
Paying tribute today to our former Chancellor Baroness Betty Boothroyd, who “epitomised the spirit of The Open University, persevering, challenging boundaries and dedication to the cause of education for all”.
ounews.co/around-ou/the-
#OUfamily
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As the only UK university dedicated to distance learning, we have over 50 years of experience to draw upon.
When online learning is more important than ever, why settle for anything less?
Start your OU journey by downloading our OU 2021/22 prospectus: open.ac.uk/request/prospe
We're back with another amazing co-pro! Join as we journey across the vastness of time and space revealing epic moments of sheer drama that changed the Universe forever.
📺: Wed 27th Oct | 9pm | BBC Two
Find out more here:
connect.open.ac.uk/theuniverse
#Universe
You may have heard that this year we turn the big 50! 🎉
As part of the celebrations we wanted to look back on some photos of the last 50 years and here's the first one! A behind-the-scenes pic of the filming of an Open University TV programme from 1970. 📺
#throwbackthursday
Join our Twitter campaign and show your support for part-time education #PartTimeMatters socsi.in/hUD7L
We won!!!! ⭐️ Big thanks to our students and alumni, we couldn’t have done it without you!
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Congrats to @OpenUniversity for taking home Best Audience Engagement Campaign with - The Open University's #iwas Campaign #SomeComms
Gripped by #Civilisations? Don't miss out on your FREE poster to go with our new series - so much info crammed into one cleverly folded piece of paper:
socsi.in/mbD7F
The BBC is marking a half century of The OU with a new, hour-long documentary capturing our journey over the last 50 years.
'Happy Birthday OU: 50 Years of the Open University' is narrated by comedian, actor and OU alumni Sir Lenny Henry:
Let's start the day with a little bit of OU history...
#Onthisday in 1973 we held our first ever degree ceremony in Alexandra Palace, London.
It's was broadcast live on BBC Two! 📺
Our Secure Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), which provides digital access to study materials for students in secure environments, has won the widening access and outreach category at tonight’s awards.
Just brilliant - 👍 to all involved! 🎉#GdnUniAwards
🎉Happy results day OU! 🎉
Join the celebrations with #OUResults and you could win an OU hoodie!
💙We think you're all amazing 💙
Congratulations to our #Graduates crossing the stage today, don't let rain dampen your celebrations!
Presenter and OU alumnus himself, is here with a big congratulations for everyone graduating this year!
We're so proud to have you all as part of the #OUfamily 💙
"A great independent university which does not insult any man or any women whatever their background by offering them the second best. Nothing but the best is good enough."
#OU50
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When Jennie Lee launched the Open University, the Times Educational Supplement described it as "socialists at their most endearing but impractical worst." How wrong they were. tribunemag.co.uk/2019/01/the-pe
Congratulations @DrAliceRoberts for being awarded an honorary degree tomorrow afternoon at #OU_Ceremonies in Exeter!
We’re finalists in the #FertilisetheFuture Fund and could secure funding that’ll help restore 100,000 hectares of all-important floodplain meadows.
Please RT and like to help win as every interaction counts! 💚
#TheOpenUniversityxEcover #letsliveclean
Access to part-time education is SO important. Don't just take our word for it...
socsi.in/UkYFJ
#LifelongLearning #PartTimeMatters
RT this if you've got your #OUResults!
You're also more than welcome to use this GIF on your tweets to help celebrate 🥳
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We won TWO awards 🥳
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This year, inspiring work took place at universities across the UK. You can read all about the projects that won and were shortlisted for Guardian University Awards in our ideas bank
theguardian.com/education/seri
Congratulations to everyone celebrating their results today! You can book your ceremony via #OU_Ceremonies here:
css2.open.ac.uk/students/cerem
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🥳 We've been ranked 6th out of 89 Higher Ed institutions for overall postgraduate research student satisfaction! 🎉
Ground-breaking discovery alert! ✨
Today, we’re announcing three, new, nearby planetary systems discovered by three OU astronomers. This is VERY exciting news:
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Wait a minute... 🤔
Is that our cat?
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How does music affect the brain? Tonight brings together a choir of people living with dementia, to discover how music-therapy can help 🎶
Catch #OurDementiaChoir tonight at 8pm
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'Government must urgently address decline in part-time and mature learners', says report from .
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#ValueForMoney #PartTimeMatters #EarnAndLearn
Good morning #OUFamily 👋
Join us in welcoming back our new and returning students ➡ what's your advice to those following in your footsteps? 🎓
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