Open University in Munich

Any Toytowners studying with the Open University? Any Toytowners thinking of studying with the OU? Add your thoughts and comments here.

I've been studying with the OU now for 7 years and should finish my BSc in 'Information Technology and Communications' this year. Currently finishing TM424 'The T305 Project'.

I know that there are several hundred OU students in Munich / Bavaria, and that there is a regional officer, Matthew Hawkes, based here in Munich.

More information from the OU home site at:

http://www.open.ac.uk/

Joe
jpr33@student.open.ac.uk

I didn't realise you could study over here. I have read the ou website many times and didn't realise there was a regional officer in Munich. What are the costs like of doing a course at this distance?

Tewy

If you can convince the OU that you're either a UK resident over here for a short time or that you're still paying UK tax or that you're a dependant of a UK tax payer then you'll be charged the UK tuition prices.

If you can't manage any of the above then tuition costs can be a bit higher, although still excellent value given the quality of OU tuition.

If you're interested in checking out the various courses then go to this page:

http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?A01

Further advice on courses can be had from Matthew or myself.

Joe

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking for a bit, but thought I would register to out myself as an OU student. There are quite a few of us in Munich doing courses at the OU business school, 22 in my seminar group.

I just saw that Joe posted again. I agree with him that the course fees are good value for money, although I can only vouch for the business school.

Topsy

Topsy

As many as 22 in your Business group seminar!! Those Open University Adverts all over the U-Bahns must be doing the biz, so so speak

What are you studying currently?

Joe

Hiya, I'm nearly half way through my MBA. I was quite surprised that there are so many of us as well, but I suppose an MBA is something you have to do in English, so the OU is a good option. Most of the other students are German, but the course is in English.
Do you have tutorials over here for your BSc as well?
Topsy

Topsy

No tutorials here; my tutor for TM424 is based in Warrington in Cheshire.

Her indoors is currently studying for her BA in Business Studies with Law and her W200 tutor (Understanding Law) is based in Brussels (Lawyer with the EFTA)

Joe

Yeah problem with OU, I pay no UK tax, so damn expensive...

Otherwise I'd be on one of their Msc courses by now...

joy
P

Hi Pootle,
I pay tax here in Germany, so my fees are higher as well. I haven't done my tax return for last year yet, but I'm told by everyone else on the course (who are more organised than I am) you get a substantial chunk of the fees back from the German tax office. In order to get the tax back, the course you're studying has to be relevant to your career, but I guess an MSc would fall into that category?
topsy

The OU is very much international. There are many thousands of German students currently studying (and Americans, Aussies, Spanish, Italians, Russians etc, etc, etc). The teaching language of the OU is however English and all students must be able to complete University level work in the English Language.

The members of the yahoo group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Munich-OU , probably represent about 1/3 to 1/4 of the current Munich / Bavaria student body (so about 200 to 300 total). Multiply that by the number of Bundeslande and you probably have a German OU student total of around 4000 - 6000; of which a large fraction will be UK nationals currently living and working in Germany, the rest will be mostly German nationals. There is an official directory of all OU students in Germany but that is covered by the data protection act.

As for English speaking exchange students currently in Munich. They will, typically, be studying joint honours languages (including German) and somthing else. This will require them to spend several terms (semesters) at a partner university, in this case Munich University, The Technical University or the University of the Buneswehr in Munich. I don't think there exists any formal networking function for all these students, so Toytown could provide a very useful function for them. If you want to contact these students then contact the German language departments of each university and ask about their exchange programmes.

Joe

Out of the 22 in my group here, two of us are Brits. Other than that, there is a French person and a Swiss person, the remaining 18 are Germans. But the language of study is English, as Joe says.

Pootle / Topsy

I claim all my OU tuition against tax and have never had a problem claiming anything. languages = job related, technology = job related, business studies = job related, you get the idea. It shouldn't matter either whether you're studying for BSc, BA, MBA or PhD since all of these study programmes are broken into individual (claimable) courses.

And another bonus is that as you study you also obtain what all German companies crave most... (Drumroll...) Diplomas!

I've obtained a Diploma in Computing and a Diploma in Information Technology during my studies for my BSc. Armed with these pieces of paper I've been able to obtain higher rates of pay at work thereby ensuring that the courses I've studied have more than paid for themselves already.

i too am studying for an MBA with the OUBS here in munich. i have found the course to be very useful and the material to be pretty good (B823 Managing Knowledge is a notable exception, though). what drew me to the OU was the relatively slow pace of study: if i'd done an 18-month exec course there's no way i would have stood for the amount of study required and i'd have thrown the books in the isar before the first month was out. the OU requires commitment, sure, but it does not mean giving up your whole life.

fees and other expenses (e.g. travel to residentials) can be set against tax, so the price comes down accordingly...

Latecomer

How long have you been studying, and how much longer will your MBA take?

I'm completing the final project for my Information/Technology BSc this year and planning something a little different next year, 'En Rumbo: A Fresh Start in Spanish' http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?C01LZX140_1_41

Joe

Joe, if all you want to do is speak better Spanish, why not simply go to the Volkshochschule? I can understand taking degree courses from the OU, but not a refresher language course.

i must admit the management course look pretty interesting, thing is though how much time do you need to set aside a week in order to do them??? i have a pretty fuck off full week as it is and can not give maybe more than 6/8 hours max before i fall apart.

Showem

The advantage of taking a language course through the OU is that you continue to earn study credits (30 points in this case) which can then be counted against, for instance, a Diploma in Spanish or a 'named' degree such as 'BA (Hons) or BSc (Hons) European Studies', or any BA or BSc degree tailoed to my specific requirements (rather than the above named degree with set compulsory courses).

Being able to count this study against an achievable target such as a Diploma or a degree is a huge incentive to continue studying and also to study well.

Joe

Gideon

As a general rule of thumb a 30 point course witll require 7 hours of study per week,usually starting February and ending September/October.

A 60 point course will require 14 hours study per week.

Full time study (120 points of courses in a single year) requires 28 hours per week.

Joe

i'm over 2/3 of the way now. i did B800 from may 2002 to may 2003, then B820 to nov 2003, B823 to may 2004 (scraped the exam thankfully) and am currently doing B822 (Creativity and Innovation)

they say allow 8 hours a week for studying, i found i did that amount on B800 but since then its dropped a bit. i'm probably close to 3-4 hours a week on B822 and my TMA scores reflect that! have to knuckle down... you'd think this shitty weather would help

i did some language courses, mainly german thru the o.u a few years ago..as much as i found it pleasurable and satisfying (generally).. i also found it fuckin expensive back then...and i am sure their fees aint got any cheaper since then.

but you pays your money...

but bottom line is.. in my opinion it aint worth doing a german course (with the o.u) if you are actually living there in the land of teutonic pleasures.

living, seeing and doing..that's the only qualification that matters. desk jockeys hr people (wankers) who say you've gotta have this bit of paper and that qualification
dont know the half of it.

ho hum.

@ Flogger - it's not too expensive if you can claim your tax back here in Germany

@ Gideon - I do about 8 hours a week on average. it's not too time-consuming.

@ Latecomer - I'm only half way through B820 Strategy, so still have quite a way to go. A colleague of mine is currently doing Creativity here in Munich, he says it's rubbish, what do you think?

it is too expensive, even allowing for boxhead tax rebates.

If anyone has any problems with convincing any authorities on the status of the Open University, or the validity and quality of its teaching then point them at the following:

http://www.ifos.de/anabin/scripts/SelectLa...tAliasnamen.asp

This page is on the Anabin web-site http://www.anabin.de/ which is maintained by The German Ministry for Culture and Education, and shows that they recognise the Open University as an educational and research institute of equal standing to any German University.

Joe

I've been thinking about doing an MBA with the OU for a while now, but having been to the open day, will probably settle for doing the one year certificate. (as an intro)

Has anyone else done it. Would be interested in finding out how useful it actually is in the 'real world' and any general feedback.

How intensive is the studying involved? I really don't want to give up my social life, but am prepared to sacrifice a little!

My background is engineering, so am looking for a bit of a change...

Cheers,

Satish

Satman

If you don't get an answer to your question here then try the yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Munich-OU

The members of this group are OU students, tutors and administrators in and around Munich; at least one of them should be able to answer your question.

Joe

topsy: creativity is better than managing knowledge, which says it all really. i think there's some good stuff in there but its not on an equal footing with strategy, which was much more interesting and useful

flogger: aye it is expensive. but doing an MBA in any case is expensive and the pace suits me fine.

i agree that if you are wanting to learn german then the best way is not the OU but try a Volkshochschule course, or just try to get stuck into it with the people you work with, it takes a long time to convince most germans that its worth speaking german to you (rather than giving them a chance to practice their english), but once you reach that level you will make rapid progress

as for how much the certificate will help you (can't remember who asked this), i'd say that it will help you in your job, but it may not be enough to help you get a better job - so it depends what you are looking for in that respect!

Thanks to Joe for asking whether there are any OU students out there.

Just to confirm that I am the local OU coordinator, based in Munich,

email m.hawkes@open.ac.uk

If anyone does want to discuss their ideas of studying - bearing in mind the cost and the time that would need to be dedicated to this - then please do get in touch.

Oh, I've just been reading msgs on the OU students' forum for an English course:
believe it or not, there are some, seemingly sane, people taking 2 courses (30 hours study time) as well as doing their 40 hour-a-week job (to pay for the courses). They do admit to having a lot of support and understanding from spouse and children (!!!). I suppose the advantage is that after 3 years you've got a first degree... and can then move onto the Masters.

Hi all

Just joined the Elixia Gym http://www.Elixia.de on Lenbachplatz and as a student with the Open University was able to get monthly membership fee of 74 Euros instead of 120 Euros. Not a bad saving.

This discount (600+ Euros for the entire year) is more than my tuition fees this year, which means the gym membership alone has paid for my OU course this year.

Work out in a gym AND do a course with the OU...

mens sana in corpore sano

...and for a translation see the OU course "Reading Classical Latin" A297

Hi all

More Open University student discounts.

If you get tickets to The Deutsches Theatre you can get a 20 euro per ticket discount with an Open University Student card.

Joe

p.s.

Healthy mind in a healthy body

That's the quote of the Carlton Aussie Rules football club...

There's so much more to the OU for you to know?

From space missions, research projects, OU/BBC programmes to discounted festival tickets, book clubs and study tips? you can find out about all these and more by taking two minutes to install the Sesame Screensaver.

Whether you're at home or work get the most out of being an OU student with this innovative news and information service. It's free and once you install you need do nothing more, as it updates each time you go online.

Hi all

So after the advice I received advising against languages I decided instead to study Understanding Law next year.

I've decided to continue my studies for a Qualifying Law Degree with a view to moving into Tecnology/IP/Patent Law.

Anyone else out there studying in this area already?

some people were interested in the OU MBA, so may be interested that they have just been granted accreditation by the AACSB, which is the US accreditation. they already had UK and European accreditation, so it's good news for them and their students.

I also learned last weekend that Munich is now the biggest center for the OU MBA outside the UK: again, good news for students, because we get a lot of support over here from tutors.

Hi everyone,

I have been toying around with the idea of joining OU for a while. I have a degree in Computer Science but I would like to also do a bachelor's degree in Physics. I was wondering if it is worth doing it. Would it be possible for me to pursue a Master's degree in physics at a regular univeristy after that?

Any suggestions and advise are greatly appreciated.

Best always,

Xargon

The OU degrees are today supposed to be valued the same as a normal UK degree, so it's no problems. The OU also do masters degrees.

not just supposed to be but are the same as a "normal" degree. many employers value them higher cos it is much harder to do your degree that way

Not true in all fields. I looked into doing a graduate degree in physics at OU and at the time even just their bachelors degree was a joke. I'm not sure how it is now. I spoke to several physics professors who said that they'd definitely not look as highly upon a degree from OU as they would a normal university. I imagine the same would likely go for any hard science degree.

The OU office for Germany south is in Ottobrun, but it that time again when they run all the open days. As my girlfriend is doing an OU degree, I can find out when they are, and post here.

Hi, I think the reputation of the degree depends on the subject of the degree.
Most unis have varying reputations depending on the department.
But the OU has accreditation in the UK for all their degrees, so there's no reason why it wouldn't qualify you to go on to study a masters in the UK at least. Not sure what the situation would be elsewhere in the world.
Check out with the office - one of the coordinators is actually a TTer, you can check out his details Open University in Munich.
I'm doing a degree with them at the moment as well, and really enjoying it
Happy studying

On the subject of reputation, recognition and acceptance of The Open University degrees: I would endorse the idea that some Faculties are likely to be more highly regarded than others, this is true of all universities.
The Open Business School has just joined a select band of MBA providers (9 out of 100 in the UK) which are accredited by AACSB , Equis and AMBA. It is the also the first exclusively Distance Learning institution to gain the AACSB International accreditation.
If you want to check on the details of this and another News Release about the OU being ranked 5th out of 95 in a league table of UK universities then have a look at the website http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/news-releases/index.asp#3897.

Best wishes
Matthew

Hi everybody

on the last Saturday of January - the 29th - we shall be having the annual
get together of Muich-based students

The programme will be much the same as ever. We'll start at 14:00 and go
on until about 17:00.

This is an important meeting for new students to give them a launching pad
for the study year. It is extremely useful for me to speak to you and get
a feel for how your studies are progressing. There must be a number of
students now approaching (or having past) graduation with a BA or BSc.

I hope you will be able to access the Germany Newsletter via Sudent Home -
the Country Link form is there if you want to sign up for that.

jivedancer pp
Matthew Hawkes
OU coordinator south Germany

can we turn up and say how horrible and snooze-inducing the financial strategy course is?
or are we only allowed to come if we say nice things, nicely?

@ Topsy

If you think it will be of interest to other fellow students, tutors, lecturers etc you can say anything you like (within the limits of common decency and slander of course ).

You never know, there may be some masochistic insomniacs who like that sort of thing?
If you can help someone make a better choice when selecting an OU course it can only be a good thing.

in a similar vein does anyone know if it is possible to study for the ATT exam over here and if it is recognised over here.

There will be an Information Event at the Gasteig room 0.131 on Thursday 15 September 18:00-20:00.

This is mainly for new students and enquirers to have a chance to look at a small selection of OU Course materials. It also gives current students a chance to come and check on their choices for their next course.

If you can, casually, drop it into the conversation, please let your friends and relatives know of this event.

Joe pp
Matthew Hawkes
Open University Coordinator, South Germany

http://www.open.ac.uk

Will there be someone there to ask more detailled questions?

@DDBug

You can always send requests for information to me or to Bianco (Matthew Hawkes) who also posts on this thread.

Joe

Just want to let people know that the Open University will be having a set of info session in and around Munich this week. for instance:


for more info see: http://www3.open.ac.uk/contact/events.aspx (select "Germany (South)" from the non-UK drop-down box and then click "Go").