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Dr Nick Barratt

Executive Director of Student Journey

Nick has been Director, Learner and Discovery Services at the Open University (OU) since 2019, where he has overall accountability for a wide portfolio of services and change programmes, including the design, development and production of OU courses as part of the wider student learning experience.  He is also responsible for the library, digital archives and open research data platforms, the OU’s free OpenLearn platform and a range of student-facing services.

Prior to working at the Open University, Nick worked as Director of Senate House Library at the University of London and as Head of Medieval, Early Modern, Legal, Maps and Photographs Unit for The National Archives.  He is also a Teaching Fellow at the University of Dundee Centre for Archive and Information Studies, a Visiting Academic at the Open University, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Trustee at the National Extension College.

Nick holds a BA (Hons) in History and a PhD in Medieval State Finance and Fiscal History from King's College London, and has published a series of academic articles on the subject.  He also works in the field of public history, having previously been recognised for his contribution with an honorary associate professorship at the University of Nottingham.

Please see Nick’s research here.

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