UCISA Competitors

The Open University is an expert in flexible higher education that fits around your working life. We don’t make you choose between a degree and a salary – more than 76% of our students are in full or part time work, while 86% FTSE 100 companies have funded staff on OU courses. Employers including IBM, The Metropolitan Police, Unilever and many more recognise the value for money we provide, while students appreciate the range of affordable routes we offer. As a result, we are the largest academic institution in the UK, with nearly 180,000 current undergraduates, postgraduates and students on validated programmes - plus almost 1.8 million who have studied with us since our foundation in 1969. When you join the OU, you gain a vast international network of support from university staff, alumni and fellow students (including more than 15,000 overseas) with a truly global reach. Wherever you are based, we offer flexible study with structure and support and we have been rated in the top ten UK universities for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey since its foundation in 2005. Our commitment to distance learning and access to education enables us to cater for the widest range of students - not only those who are in paid work but also the retired, those returning to education, registered carers, single parents and more disabled people than any other UK-based university. Flexible, affordable, respected and connected. Don’t take our word for it: Listen to what our students say at www.youtube.com/user/OUlife or click on the ‘Recommendations’ tab at the top of this page.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is keeping the UK at the forefront of international science and tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security. The Council has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar. STFC has 5 main UK sites: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), Daresbury Laboratory (DL), UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC), Chilbolton Observatory and Boulby Underground Laboratory. STFC operates or hosts world class experimental facilities including: • In the UK; ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, the Central Laser Facility and RAL Space. STFC is also the majority shareholder in Diamond Light Source Ltd. • Overseas; telescopes on La Palma and Hawaii STFC enables UK researchers to access leading international science facilities by funding membership of international bodies including European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). STFC is one of seven publicly-funded research councils and is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It is an independent, non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Jisc: for the future of education and research For more than 30 years, Jisc has pioneered digital solutions for UK education and research, transforming how knowledge is created, shared and used. As a not-for-profit membership organisation, we deliver value in four key areas. We provide digital, data and technology solutions to meet sector-specific needs; we save our members money through sustainable shared services; we build communities for shared learning; and we offer intelligence on emerging trends to future-proof our members. At our core is the world-class Janet Network, the UK's national research and education infrastructure. We provide secure, high-speed connectivity, along with cyber security and identity services, to 18 million users in universities, colleges, schools and research bodies throughout the UK. Guided by our values of leadership, responsibility, connection and progress, we’re working with our members to build a better digital future for education, research and innovation. - Jisc social channels are a place to bring together our customers to build up a connected and engaged online community. We want to be accessible and within reach of anybody who needs our help or simply has general enquiries about our products and services. We encourage open discussion and welcome feedback. We aim not to remove posts where possible, however we will remove anything that is deemed to be: - irrelevant, spam, self–advertising of products and services - harassment towards Jisc partners, members and/or employees - profaneness or general hatefulness For the online safety of our community, we also do not allow personal details or information to be shared publicly on our wall. Any messages containing this type of material will be removed. Jisc also reserves the right to limit the activity of fans and/or remove them completely from the page without warning, should they violate these guidelines.