Distance learning - Been there, done that

Keith Knight

Lieutenant Commander Keith Knight, Royal Navy, works as a communications engineer for the Ministry of Defence at Abbeywood in Bristol. Five years ago he made an educational commitment that changed his life.

Armed only with a Higher National Diploma in electronic engineering, Knight started the learning journey towards his BSc (Honours) degree from the Open University. When he started in 1998, he was studying on board a nuclear submarine where he was the deputy weapons engineer.

A shore-based job came up and so he moved his books off the submarine and on to dry land – almost. The new job required him to fly back and forth to America: 28 flights in all over the years. And so his underwater campus became a stratospheric study zone as he used the long transatlantic flights to study his course material, becoming the OU’s ultimate distance learner.

The Royal Navy provided support by paying some of his course fees and by allowing him time to complete a summer course. The fact that Knight was promoted from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander in rank may have something to do with his higher-education accomplishments. ‘It hasn’t harmed,’ is the way he puts it.

In October 2002, Knight received his BSc (Honours) from the Open University. He believes that his studies were actually helped, not hindered, by being away from home, and made the enforced time away from his family doubly productive. Earlier this year, Knight’s military achievements were recognised when he was appointed an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List for his contribution to the Armed Forces.

While he still works 134 miles away from his Cornwall home, he says he can manage to find the time to help his two oldest children (Kathy, 22, and Gareth, 19) with their university studies. ‘In fact,’ he says, ‘I actually helped my son Gareth with his A-levels using elements of one of my Open University courses.’ There will no doubt be more chances to use his study skills with younger children Zoe, 17, and David, 14, at home with wife Jacqueline, as they approach this critical time in their lives.