The Unitwin Open Education Network

In March 2023, we submitted an application for a UNITWIN Network on Open Education. As all applications, there is a long and strict process to be followed. At this stage (Mid September 2023) we know the project has been favourably reviewed and we are waiting for a formal notification.

The project is to be run from Nantes Université and has been built around the Unesco chairs in the themes directly linked to Open Education. We have added some colleagues whose project (sometimes linked with large organizations) match the objectives of our project.

Here are the members of the Network:

  • The Chaire UNESCO en Ressources Éducatives Libres et Intelligence Artificielle at Nantes Université, France (https://www.univ-nantes.fr/, https://chaireunescorelia.univ-nantes.fr/).
    The Chair is situated in a Computer Science Lab.
    Colin de la Higuera and his team are interested in the links -both ways- between open education and artificial intelligence. They are involved in actions with the Unesco and the French Ministry of Education.                                    
  • The UNESCO Chair on Open Education and Social Justice at The University of Cape Town, South Africa (https://www.uct.ac.za/, https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2021-12-02-unesco-chair-in-open-education-and-social-justice-for-glenda-cox ).
    Glenda Cox is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching at the University of Cape Town (South Africa), and UNESCO chair in Open Education and Social Justice. Glenda Cox brings expertise in theoretical approaches to this work, especially the work of Nancy Fraser. Cox is also working on co-creation projects with students, in open textbook authoring and authoring with ChatGPT. She is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Students as Partners and is building expertise in this area.                        
  • The Public University of Excellence, former ICDE Chair in OER (six years) at the University of Bonn, Germany (https://www.uni-bonn.de/en , http://opening-up.education/appointment-as-icde-chair-in-oer).
    The Scientific University Computer Centre is testing with innovating solutions for hybrid and in person learning.
    Christian Stracke has been and is involved with his national organizations, the European Union and the Unesco.             
  • The UNESCO Chair in Distance Education at the University of Brasília (UnB) (https://international.unb.br/, https://catedra.fe.unb.br ).
    Tel Amiel and the Unesco Chair is in the School of Education. Tel Amiel is involved in the many aspects of openness, in relationship with Creative Commons, the Unesco and his national organizations.                            
  • The UNESCO-COL Chair in Open Educational Resources at Athabasca University, Canada (https://www.athabascau.ca/, http://unescochair.athabascau.ca/chair/oer).
    The Chairholder, Rory McGreal, and his team are involved in worldwide projects with partners from different organizations. Their projects often aim at observing the role of OER in education.
  • The UNESCO Chair on Open Educational Resources (OER) for Access and Success at the Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon (www.ndu.edu.lb , www.Oerleb.org).
    As a UNESCO Chair holder on OER, Fawzi Baroud and his team have focused on promoting awareness about OER in Lebanon and the MENA region, offered training for capacity building, and worked on policymaking at institutional and national levels involving higher education and the K-12 sector. 
  • The UNESCO Chair on Open Educational Movement for Latin America at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico (https://tec.mx/es, https://oerunesco.tec.mx/).
    This UNESCO Chair, led by María Soledad Ramírez Montoya, continues to address open education as a means to support the democratisation of knowledge. Its scope is mainly in Latin American countries, but with an intense relationship with other regions of the world through collaborative projects.
  • The Institute of Skills and Technology and OER Foundation with the UNESCO Chair on Open Educational Resources at Te Pūkenga – New Zealand (https://www.tepūkenga.ac.nz).
    New Zealand’s UNESCO Chair in OER based at the OER Foundation was established in 2013 and is the only UNESCO OER Chair in the Asia Pacific region.
    The OER Foundation (OERF) provides networking and support to governments and institutions with the implementation of UNESCO’s OER Recommendation and is an active participant in UNESCO’s OER Dynamic Coalition.             
  • The UNESCO Chair on Open Technologies for Open Educational Resources and Open Learning at The Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia ( https://www.ijs.si/ijsw/JSI , https://ct3.ijs.si/chair/).
    Mitja Jermol has held this chair for now more than 7 years and has been hugely active in the development of AI technologies for Education. He has also led the widely recognized videolectures platform.
  • IRCAI, the International Research Centre in Artificial Intelligence, Under the auspices of UNESCO, based in Ljubljana, Slovenia (https://ircai.org/).
    Dr John Shawe Taylor, director of IRCAI and UNESCO Chair in Artificial Intelligence, and Wayne Holmes is a leading expert (for the Council of Europe, Unesco, etc.) on AI in education.
    IRCAI is the only Category 2 Research centre in AI with activities linking AI with all the sustainable development goals.                    
  • The UNESCO Chair on Open Educational Resources at the University of Sousse, Tunisie (https://uso.rnu.tn/, http://www.services.uc.rnu.tn/oer/oerenglish.html) has extensive experience in open education and OER, and continues to drive innovative projects in this area at national and international levels.
    Leila Cheniti have co-authored the first MOOC in computer sciences in Tunisia deployed on FUN and a first SPOC on gender in digital education in MENA region. Internationally she supported the design of various trainings and curricula for open education practitioners in Africa and the Middle-East. She is a member of the scientific council of the francophone university agency (AUF) and the elected head of its regional commission of experts for North Africa.                
  • The UNESCO Chair on eLearning at Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR), Spain (https://www.unir.net/, http://research.unir.net/unesco/).
    Prof. Burgos’ work is mainly focused on Open Science & Open Education, Learning Analytics, and Educational Technology. For the last 10 years, he has designed and implemented a large set of projects, publications and academic activities with a clear social component and actual impact into the Society. Daniel Burgos is supported by Stefancia Aniceto on this work.