Three OU projects shortlisted in THE Awards 2025

The Open University (OU) has been shortlisted for a research-led international collaboration of the year project, innovative teaching and widening participation in this year’s Times Higher Awards.

International Collaboration of the Year

Our expertise in collaborative programme development, research, and policy impact has led to the SAGE programme in Zimbabwe (Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education) being shortlisted in the International Collaboration of the Year category.  

With the research strand led by Professor Alison Buckler in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, the UK-aid funded SAGE programme (Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education) has combined pioneering OU-led research and pedagogical expertise with the deep local knowledge and the national-level reach of NGO partners to design, implement and evidence a highly successful community-based, non-formal education pathway for Zimbabwe’s most marginalised girls.

Most Innovative Teacher of the Year

Dr Cora Beth Fraser in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has been shortlisted as Most Innovative Teacher of the Year for The Relaxed Tutorial Project. She developed novel ways of making her online tutorials in classical studies more welcoming to autistic and neurodivergent students. In the process, she found that her “relaxed” tutorials improved the experience of students with anxiety and chronic illnesses, students who were carers, and students who were in full-time employment.

Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year

Dr Patrick Murphy and colleagues in the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, have been shortlisted in the Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year for their work on developing more inclusive science education research projects where students enjoy working with community stakeholders and producing creative, innovative and impactful real-world outputs. Demand for this mode of research project has been high, and training has been delivered for other universities to offer this mode of project to their students.

Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

The OU also collaborated with Kingston University to co-design a toolkit for end-of-life care planning with people with learning disabilities, funded originally by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and more recently by Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end-of-life charity, which has been shortlisted in the Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Professor Mark Brandon, Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Innovation at the OU, said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted in categories that align so well with the OU’s mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas and which celebrate our teaching and research excellence.”

The Times Higher Education Awards celebrate and promote the very best work taking place in higher education. This year’s winners will be announced and presented on 13 November 2025 at Edinburgh International Conference Centre.