The OU has been awarded funding of £480,000 by the Higher Education Funding Council in England (HEFCE) to address barriers to student success.
Led by the OU in collaboration with the University of Leeds and Plymouth University, the two-year project, Embedding and sustaining inclusive STEM practices, aims to share and promote inclusive educational practices in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) disciplines across UK universities.
The project, which began on 1 March 2017 and will run to 28 February 2019, will focus on disability as a key factor affecting the outcomes of STEM students in Higher Education, particularly in relation to academic performance and professional employment.
Academic lead and Research Fellow in Technology Enhanced Learning at The Open University’s Knowledge Media Institute, Dr Trevor Collins, said:
This project unifies the institutional priorities of the partners to be inclusive and open, celebrating and encouraging diversity in education and research. It will enable us to compare effective practices and develop inclusive education that is suitable for everyone.
Using the successful developments in fieldwork, lab work and online learning that already exist at each institution, the project will work in partnership with staff and students to further embed the values and practices of inclusive education.
