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Partnerships

Partnerships


Whether you're a business, a charity or a not-for-profit organisation, we would love to create a bespoke partnership supporting the work of the OU. Get in touch with us today.
 

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Corporate Partnerships

We work closely with corporate donors across many sectors and fields, creating mutually beneficial partnerships to tackle some of the world’s most pressing economic and social problems. Combining companies’ experience and specialisms with The Open University’s scale and expertise, allows us to achieve solutions and innovations that neither could accomplish alone.

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Non-Profit Organisations

We work closely with a wide range of non-profit organisations, to achieve the shared goal of opening up the future for millions of individuals worldwide. From international foundations working in specific areas to smaller charitable trusts providing wide-ranging help to students, we value the support of every one of these important institutions.

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Partnership Success Stories

Our partnerships have led to the development and implementation of some of our most innovative and effective projects.

Programmes and Projects
 

Disabled Veterans' Scholarships Fund

Our ambition is to harness the potential of the UK’s veterans by supporting the educational development of the 1 in 5 veterans discharged due to disabilities. Disability amongst veterans is unsurprisingly higher than amongst the non-veteran population. It is estimated that 24% of veterans will suffer an illness or disability that limits their physical activity, compared to just 13% of the non-veteran population. Unlike colleagues who make plans for retirement, their unexpected discharge from service life is also likely to mean that these individuals are less prepared for a new life outside of the military.

The Black Students' Support Fund

For over fifty years, The Open University’s (OU) open access policy and unique distance learning model has helped to break down the barriers that prevent so many students from achieving their ambitions. Yet there is still much more progress to be made. Year on year, evidence demonstrates that for certain groups of students, especially Black students, the playing field is simply not fair. Inequalities still exist across higher education and unless action is taken now, the Degree Award Gap, which puts Black students at a stark disadvantage, will only widen.

Making studying while caring a reality

Around 6.5 million people in the UK currently care for a friend or family member, saving the economy £132 billion per year. Many miss out on education, take lower skilled jobs and put their own lives on hold to care for their loved ones. As a result they can endure higher levels of poverty, ill health and isolation than their peers. By supporting The Carers Scholarships Fund you will give the opportunity of education to those whose lives revolve around the people they care for. They give so much to their loved ones and society as a whole, they deserve to get something back.

Sanctuary Scholarships

People arriving into the UK seeking refuge from threats to their lives face many challenges, but they also have the opportunity to build a new life and a hopeful future for themselves and their families. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency statistics, at the end of 2020 there were 132,349 refugees, 77,245 pending asylum cases and 4,662 stateless persons in the UK. When a person has both the ambition and the chance to succeed, impossible dreams can become a reality. The Open University believes education should be open to everyone.

Conserving a rare and unique natural habitat: The Floodplain Meadows Partnership

For hundreds of years, floodplain meadows have been an integral part of Britain’s natural landscape. At one time they were a cherished resource, managed and shared by the community, today they are home to a diverse range of flora and fauna and provide beautiful places to walk and explore nature. Sadly, during the 20th century Britain lost 97% of its flower-rich meadows and now the total land area of floodplain meadow remaining is the size of London’s smallest Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In 2006, the Floodplain Meadows Partnership, led by academics from The Open University, began a ground-breaking project to conserve floodplain meadows. In the intervening years they have made a great deal of progress and the Partnership is recognised as a leading conservation project. They have visited sites, advised landowners and site managers, and shared their expertise to ensure that meadows are maintained, restored and preserved from damage.

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