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Open University Computing Department

Welcome to Computing at the Open University




Head of Department: Dr Michel Wermelinger

We are a large, thriving department with an active research programme and a deep commitment to teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level. In keeping with the Open University's position as the world leader in distance education, we see the Department's development in the context of international excellence in research and teaching using Supported Open Learning and Distance Teaching techniques.

The Computing Department is part of the Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology, and comprises over 42 central academic members of staff and 10 academic staff based at regional centres around the UK. It is also home for a number of research fellows, visiting researchers and both full-time and part-time research students.

The main interests for both teaching and research currently lie in the areas of software engineering, human-computer interaction, intelligent systems, and informatics education and computational linguistics.

Cost of study - England
If you are resident in England, you might like to review our 'Ways to pay' website which sets out the various options for paying for your study towards an Open University qualification.

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ViewSeminars and Events
30 May 2013
Introduction to the Aldebaran Robotics NAO Humanoid Robot
Robotics is an exciting, energetic and fast growing industry and indeed one that perfectly illustrates the symbiotic relationship between Science, Technology,
3 June 2013
CRC PhD Student Conference 2013
Details to Follow
4 June 2013
CRC PhD Student Conference 2013
Details to Follow
6 June 2013
Exploring Inductive Logic Programming to support Automatic Marking
Automatic, online assessment is valuable for students, who can receive immediate feedback on their progress.
13 June 2013
Examination of Computer Implemented Inventions (CII) and Business Methods Applications at the European Patent Office (EPO)Examination of Computer Implemented Inventions (CII) and Business Methods Applications at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Software and Business Methods constitute a controversial field with respect to the type of intellectual property protection that inventions in this area should, or not, be granted.
27 June 2013
Transitions in Kitchen Living : the Past, the Present and The Future
Across the life course, the kitchen can be a central hub of activity. Long discussed as a gendered space, in ageing populations, the kitchen provides a perfect case study for re-considering press-competence,
18 July 2013
"Site Reliability Engineering and Data at Google"
In this talk we look at the problem of storing user data when you need to scale to hundreds of millions of users across the planet but respond within a quarter of a second to a query.
25 July 2013
Stefan Foell
Abstract to Follow
3 October 2013
Scaling Agile Methods to Regulated Environments: An Industry Case Study
Agile development methods are growing in popularity with a recent survey reporting that more than 80% of organizations now following an agile approach. Agile methods were seen initially as best suited to small, co-located teams developing non-critical systems.
6 February 2014
"The uptake and use of digital technologies in two schools working in a 1:1 computer initiative".
he uptake and use of digital technologies in the classroom is studied in Unos Umeå, a joint One-to-One (1:1) project between Umeå University and the municipality of Umeå in Sweden. The aim of this 1:1 project is to observe, illustrate and examine how learning practices are affected by the uptake and use of digital technologies.
© The Open University 2004-2013