The history of the UK’s pioneer distance education university: the Open University An interview with Martin Weller

Abstract

In his interview, Professor Martin Weller explains the origins of the Open University, the UK’s pioneer distance education university, and describes the different contexts in which the Open University has had to navigate through in the last 50 years. The interview focuses on showing how the Open University’s mission (to be ‘open to people, places, methods and ideas’) has been at the heart of the institution’s developments, and how the concept of openness has evolved throughout the changes and the challenges of the recent years.