Providers and users of open learning will be dusting off the dinner jackets as this year's open learning awards ceremony again comes into view.

Nominations for the eighth annual Open Learning Awards are currently underway, with the winners due to be announced on the first day of the World Open Learning Conference and Exhibition (WOLCE) in Birmingham on 10 and 11 October.

The Awards, made in association with the British Association for Open Learning (BAOL), aim to celebrate achievement in open learning. Awards are made annually in a number of categories:

In addition, a new category has been added this year for the Online Product of the Year.

According to Deborah Sibthorpe, of WOLCE organisers Venture Marketing Group, "Britain and British firms are leading the way in all forms of open learning – especially in its electronically delivered forms. These Awards provide a tangible opportunity to recognise these contributions not only to Britain's Balance of Payments but also to improved business and worker efficiency and effectiveness throughout the world through open- and e-learning materials."

Last year's winners included the AdVal Group for its language training products for Avis car rental, Electric Paper for its ECDL software and Professor Stephen Molyneux, Director of the DELTA (Development and Evaluation of Learning Technology Applications) Institute at the University of Wolverhampton, who received the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Open Learning Industry. Stephen Molyneux can be heard speaking at next month's HOT conference at the NEC.

Information on how to enter for the awards can be found at www.distancelearning.co.uk. The closing date for entries is 31 July.