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Health, Sports & Psychology
Applying to study for a PhD in psychology
This free OpenLearn course is for psychology students and graduates who are interested in PhD study at some future point. Even if you have met PhD students and heard about their projects, it is likely that you have only a vague idea of what PhD study entails. This course is intended to give you more information.
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History & The Arts
A freelance career in the creative arts
A freelance career in the creative arts is a free badged course which lasts 8 weeks, with approximately 3 hours’ study time each week. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you have more time one week, there’s nothing to stop you pushing on and completing another week’s study. This course has a specific focus on the creative arts, looking at how you can develop your ideas in the cultural industries and the particular issues related to creative freelance careers. The course is pitched at beginner level, for individuals who already have a creative idea but limited knowledge of freelancing and business. You’ll start by enhancing your understanding of what freelancing and running your own business actually means, learning from the experiences of others in your situation through case studies included throughout the course. You’ll reflect on your current position, analysing the advantages and disadvantages of choosing this career path and considering where you want to get to in the future. You’ll learn how to identify your audience and markets and develop your networks and partnerships, exploring innovative ways to promote yourself and create interest and potentially investment in your business. Finally, you will have the opportunity to identify goals and develop an action plan. Throughout the course, you’ll be encouraged to reflect on your experiences and learning through a series of short activities.
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Money & Business
Using data to aid organisational change
This free course explores how to use data to inform a change you would like to make within your business or organisational context. It looks at the type of evidence you can gather to inform your proposed change, and how to evaluate data with a view to using it as part of this transformation. Specifically, you will learn about internal and external sources of secondary information and how to evaluate them. You will also examine how to negotiate access to different types of information in a work context. Finally, you will obtain hands on experience in collecting and using secondary sources of information in the context of researching and making this organisational change. Transcript
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Money & Business
Exploring evidence-based policing
This course, Exploring evidence-based policing, examines the basic elements of evidence-based policing and gives insight into how more evidence-based approaches can inform better policing practice.This course was produced by The Open University in association with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
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Money & Business
Business models in strategic management
In this free course, Business models in strategic management, you will be introduced to the theory and practice of business models as they have developed in strategy literature. In particular, you will explore the emergence of the business model idea, types of business models and how business models can be designed. Inherent in this course is the idea that, despite being more frequently used in business, business models are not limited to the business context. Neither are they meant for strategic planning in organisations only. Rather they may have wider applications in our lives. For instance, you will see how they can be applied to build strategies of your professional development and career growth.
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Languages
Getting started with Chinese business culture essentials
Business dealings with China are on the increase. As a result, more and more organisations and business people are realising the need of doing more than just adhering to the rules of Chinese etiquette (such as presenting business cards with both hands) or the ‘dos and don'ts’ (such not opening gifts in front of your hosts) to have successful business meetings. What is needed is the understanding of the much broader context of Chinese culture and values that permeate Chinese business contexts so as to engage in enduring business relationships. This short course is designed to introduce some core Chinese cultural beliefs and values, highlight some potential challenges and bring in stories and reflections from Westerners who have lived and worked in China. A perfect introduction to doing business with China. This OpenLearn course is an extract from the beginning of the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures short course, LXC050 Chinese business culture essentials. After completing this free course, you may wish to register for the full course to continue your learning!
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Money & Business
Justice, fairness and mediation
This free course, Justice, fairness and mediation, considers the concepts of justice and fairness from various perspectives but mainly focuses on effective policing and community empowerment. This course was produced by The Open University in association with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
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Money & Business
Decision trees and dealing with uncertainty
This free course introduces basic ideas of probability. It focuses on dealing with uncertainty in a financial context and explores decision trees, a powerful decision-making technique, which can help you to simplify and formulate business decisions. The course also includes videos that introduce the key ideas and guide you through numerous examples.
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Science, Maths & Technology
UPDATE Part 1 - Succeed with Maths (DO NOT USE)
If you feel that maths is a mystery that you want to unravel then this free course is for you. It will guide you through how numbers are put together, give you confidence with using percentages, fractions and negative numbers and provide you with problem solving skills for your everyday life and the wider world.
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Money & Business
Engaging with children and young people
This free course, Engaging with children and young people, explores how police engage with children and young people and how this can be approached differently.This course was produced by The Open University in association with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
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Money & Business
Understanding your customers
This free course, Understanding your customers, is a short introduction to understanding customers. The course underlines the relevance of understanding customers as individuals, members of society and members of organisations. It clarifies some key marketing concepts and terminology and highlights some differences between consumer and business-to-business marketing. The course is suitable for a variety of learners, including small business owners and those working in small businesses with limited access to specialists, as well as marketing professionals and those thinking about pursuing a course of study to become a marketing professional. This free course is an adapted extract from the Open University course B206 Understanding customers355. Transcript36
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Money & Business
Companies and financial accounting
This free course, Companies and financial accounting, introduces you to the legal characteristics of limited companies and how limited companies raise finance through ordinary shares and loan capital. It also introduces the interests of company stakeholders, and looks at three different perspectives on companies and their role in society. Finally, it introduces the formats of company financial statements in comparison with those of sole traders. This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course B293 Financial accounting in context. Transcript
