News Story

The OU on iTunes U: Opening education to the world

Thursday 26 Mar 2026

This article is part of a special series celebrating KMi’s 30 years. Over the past three decades, KMi has been at the forefront of pioneering research and innovation in knowledge technologies, shaping the way information is created, shared, and understood. In this series, we revisit some of the most impactful projects that have influenced academia, industry, and society, highlighting their significance and legacy.

Back in 2008, when podcasting was still a novelty, The Open University (OU) took a bold step: launching its own channel on iTunes U. Developed by KMi in collaboration with Learning and Teaching Solutions, this wasn’t just a new way to share lectures, it was a revolution in how education could reach global audiences.

Rather than uploading long recordings, the OU curated bite-sized, concept-driven media from active courses, covering everything from globalisation to robotic cow milking. Learners could download content to their iPods or iPhones, making study portable and accessible anywhere. This approach aligned perfectly with the OU’s mission of openness and reflected KMi’s commitment to innovation in pedagogy and technology.

The impact was extraordinary. Over 2,000 days, the OU channel achieved 65 million downloads, attracted 9 million unique visitors, and reached audiences in more than 100 countries, 87% of traffic came from outside the UK. With 449 collections, thousands of audio and video tracks, and nearly all content accompanied by transcripts, the initiative set a benchmark for accessibility and inclusivity.

Beyond numbers, the OU on iTunes U helped shape the future of digital learning. It paved the way for MOOCs, informed best practices in podcasting through projects like STEEPLE and iCoper, and integrated with other open platforms such as OpenLearn. Its legacy is clear: by embracing open access and modular content, the OU demonstrated how technology can democratise education on a global scale.

For KMi, this was more than a technical achievement, it was a reaffirmation of the OU’s founding principle: to be open to people, places, methods and ideas.