Open Societal Challenges

immensely proud of our partnership with Alan Gow and Age Scotland Doug Anthoney Fiona Cross Adam Stachura driving change together #TakeFivetoAgeWell Open Societal Challenges The Open University in Scotland Keith Robson Chart.PR, MCIPR Katie Davis Gaia Cantelli Helene Murphy

Open Societal Challenges has funded a nine-month research initiative with Bournemouth Foodbank that will provide vital insights into the pressing issue of food poverty, which has been exacerbated across the nation by the ongoing cost-of-living and energy crises. Read about the project, led by Dr Alessandra Marino, here: https://lnkd.in/e2G-v4-7

A ground-breaking OSC initiative, led by the Welsh Refugee Council in collaboration with the OU’s Professor Marie Gillespie, has secured £25,000 in OSC funding to break down barriers for refugee women in Wales. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eUS3zz8U

A fantastic Open Societal Challenges research project 👏

Some take homes from The Open University first Open Research Week webinar by Alice Fleerackers. Join us for more webinars: https://lnkd.in/e5jZ_zYh

How can traditional #floodplain meadow landscapes deliver solutions to improve our #environment? This course, based on an OSC, will help 👇 ✅ increase your #ecological knowledge ✅ develop your skills in critical reasoning ✅ contribute to future research priorities. https://lnkd.in/eDvkEaMV

Curating Our Digital Cultural Heritage: What’s Next? To close our series of blog posts on our OSC ‘Pelagios: linking online resources through the places they mention’, we reflect on some of the challenges we’ve faced in our work to annotate and visualise cultural heritage data. We consider how these might be addressed through future development efforts and further research, before looking forward to the next project on the horizon.   Find out more in our latest blog 👇 https://lnkd.in/efsibwuk

Yesterday, I had the privilege of visiting The Open University, Milton Keynes, where a delegation from Uganda Christian University (UCU), Uganda, was warmly hosted by Professor Devendra Kodwani, Vice Chancellor's Delegate-International. Together with Professor John Kitayimbwa (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic Affairs) and Professor Angela Napkol (Director for Academic Affairs) of UCU, we explored potential collaboration between UCU and The Open University, particularly in Open Learning approaches and student-centred teaching and learning expertise. We also greatly benefited from insights into The OU’s innovative teaching and learning model, shared by Dr. Charles Mbalyohere (Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management), while Gaia Cantelli (Senior Manager, OSC, PVC-Research Office) provided valuable perspectives on the collaborative Open Societal Challenges and OU’s approach to research and knowledge exchange. We further had the opportunity to learn about OU’s industry-leading curriculum production and library services, led by Jo Dyer (Director of Learner Discovery Services) and Gary Elliott-Cirigottis (Director of Library and Knowledge Services), before concluding our tour by visiting the OpenSTEM Labs under the guidance of Dr Trevor Collins (Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics). It was particularly special to return to my alma mater, reconnect with my former PhD supervisor, Professor Kodwani, and catch up with my former PhD peer, Dr. Mbalyohere. A truly inspiring visit with exciting possibilities ahead! #HigherEducation #OpenUniversity #AcademicCollaboration #StudentCentredLearning #OpenLearning

Dr. Jill McGarry - Sleep expert talking right now about the importance if sleep and fatalities and implications of poor sleep! Rachel Turner Age UK Milton Keynes will follow with boosting our brain function with Maintenance Cognitive Stimulation Therapy #AgeingWellPublicTalkSeries #FivePillarsforAgeingWell Gráinne O'Connor Dr Sinead Eccles CPsychol, SFHEA Open Societal Challenges The Open University The Open University in Ireland The Open University in Scotland The Open University in Wales The Open University in Northern Ireland

Yesterday marked a historic day for regenerative and sustainable cattle farming in Peru. IMPERATIVE Peru S.A. had the honor of welcoming his excellency, Minister Angel Manuel Manero Campos, and senior MIDAGRI officials to Madre de Dios, where they witnessed firsthand the transformative potential of regenerative cattle farming. While producers often approach the state with problems, our cattle farmers are bringing solutions—and showed the Minister the power of using ecosystem engineering to sustainably intensifiy a practice considered the anithesis of forest conservation, and through regenerative practices we can demonstrate cattle farming in the Amazon can: ✅ Promote reforestation & biodiversity conservation ✅ Restore soil fertility ✅ Improve carbon sequestration ✅ Enhance climate adaptation & mitigation ✅ Support diversified livelihoods ✅ Improve hydraulic management In a time of increasingly erratic climate events—from prolonged droughts to devastating wildfires—conventional practices are struggling to keep up. Regenerative cattle farming offers a nature-based solution that ensures long-term productivity while restoring the Amazon's fragile ecosystems. We are very grateful to Ministerio de Desarrollo Agrario y Riego for the visit, to Angel Manuel Manero Campos for his visionary leadership and commitment to Peru’s agricultural sector, to MIDAGRI’s entities, the cattle farmers of Madre de Dios and all of the allies who have helped drive this transformative project and change. This milestone is a testament to the collaborative efforts of IMPERATIVE Peru S.A., AGRAP - Alianza por la Ganaderia Regenerativa en la Amazonia Peruana, The Open University, The Old Dart Foundation, and Open Societal Challenges, who are working together to drive real climate action in the Amazon and empowering local communities with positive solutions for change. 🔥 It’s time for climate action. It’s time for regenerative solutions. It's time for AcClima Amazonia. 🌎🌱 #GanaderíaRegenerativa #RegenerativeAgriculture #ClimateAction #Amazonia #Peru #SustainableFarming #MIDAGRI #AGRAP #AcClimaAmazonia #ImperativePeru #OpenUniversity #OpenSocietalChallenges