Session: Towards more effective adoption of OER by integrating implementation of Open Science and Open Education
Presenters: Gaby Lutgens (Maastricht University), with Robert Schuwer (Fontys University of Applied Sciences) contributing additional resources in the discussion.
Overview: The video presentation focused on supporting the integration of Open Science (more specifically Open Access and Open Data) and Open Education (more specifically OER), which often are separated at Dutch institutions of Higher Education. The reasons for this separation include fears of commercial use of openly available resources, fear of free riding, uncertainty about copyright issues and fear of harming your career when involved in openness. The presentation focused on alignment of activities to adopt “open” by academia, and the recognition and rewarding of initiatives that accomplish this. Several resources also were shared, including:
- White paper Utrecht University
- Vision document Educational resources in 2025Visiedocument Leermaterialen DEF EN.pdf (543.4 KB)
- Concept document for recognition and rewarding Open Educational Practices from the Iowa Open Education Action Team. Open Education in Promotion, Tenure, and Faculty Development - Google Docs
Overall key findings: Transparent quality control and peer review are crucial to support an ecosystem for Open Science and Open Education. One also should use digital object identifiers (DOIs) to ensure that downloads, likes, and reuse count towards scholarly output. There is a need for policies related to Open Education/OER as well as the development of, and support for, an ecosystem for OER.
Recommended good ideas and strategies to help support the implementation of the Recommendation in general and through the activities of the UNESCO Dynamic OER Coalition in particular include:
- Transparent quality control and peer review
- The use of digital object identifiers (DOIs) to ensure that downloads, likes, and reuse count towards scholarly output.
- Creation/adoption of Open Education/OER Policies
Overall, an insightful argument for integrating Open Science and Open Education with effective tips, strategies, and resources to do so and wide applications beyond the Dutch higher education context.