We are a large, thriving department with an active research programme and a deep commitment to teaching. 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.

The Department is part of the Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology, and comprises 50 central academic members of staff and 16 staff tutors 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.

The Department is a constituent member of the University's Centre for Research in Computing.