Behind every good idea there are people who have spent many hours and lots of energy to develop and refine it.
It is the task of the research unit to strengthen the research capacity of the specialists in the different programmes and units on South Campus.
While they find high-quality and innovative ways to make open and distance learning (ODL) programmes and other learning opportunities available to students otherwise unable to gain access to higher education, the Research Unit supports their academic work by:
- Organising workshops and research days
- Facilitating collaborative research projects related to Open Distance Learning
- Disseminating research on research topics and South Campus projects through publications, conference papers, and online reports
- Regularly hosting lunchtime reading-group discussions
- Enabling Postgraduate studies on Access and Open Distance Learning as a field in Higher Education Studies through the Faculty of Education
Our research focus centres on two broad areas
- Open Distance Learning – exploring ways to expand access to higher education and developing innovative blended and online programmes
- Comparative and International Education highlighting contemporary education issues within international education systems.
Another resource available to South Campus researchers is the Neville Alexander Library. Library staff offers the general services such as dealing with subject-specific research enquiries, inter-library loans.
In line with the principles of ODL the library offers
- Online training sessions on using electronic resources
- Off-campus access with a full-text download option
- Resources academic writing and research
- Facility to order books that are not in the current collection
- Assisting the Research Unit reading group and events
For more information contact