Open Education Week (OEWeek) is an annual, global event that invites people to share their passion for open education and learn how others are implementing it into their work and teaching practices. At UTS, we are proud to participate in this celebration again in 2025, with an exciting line-up of events planned featuring speakers from multiple countries. Read below to discover why UTS is committed to open education and get the details for this year’s Open Education Week schedule.
Open education – why it matters
Open education is a movement that aims to make education more accessible and inclusive by removing financial and technological barriers to learning. It involves using open educational resources (OER), which are freely available teaching materials such as textbooks, videos, articles, interactive games, and much more.
Open education has various benefits in higher education. In our program we will focus on:
- Fostering inclusive and global learning. Open education supports curriculum internationalisation and decolonisation, ensuring diverse perspectives and epistemologies are integrated into learning materials
- Transforming assessment practices. Open pedagogy enables authentic assessment design, moving beyond traditional methods to foster student-driven, meaningful learning experiences.
- Enhancing accessibility and affordability. Open textbooks and OER reduce accessibility and financial barriers for students while increasing the availability of high-quality, adaptable learning resources.
- Advancing academic careers. Engagement with OER can contribute to academic recognition and career progression, demonstrating leadership in innovative teaching.
- Improving learning design and impact. Open educational practices enhance collaborative learning, making education more engaging, adaptable, and impactful for both educators and students.
UTS staff have contributed to the development of numerous OERs, including a textbook about inclusive learning design, a Sustainability Module and adaptable resources for teaching with technology. To further support our learning and teaching community at UTS, we have published the UTS Open Access Policy and Procedure, developed an OER checklist, and provided resources for adopting OEP within UTS digital learning tools. A key highlight of our commitment to open education is UTS Open Education Week, where we showcase and celebrate these initiatives and showcase best practices nationally and internationally.
What’s on at UTS for #OEWeek2025
The Education Portfolio and Library have teamed up to create an engaging program for OEWeek. If you’re an active member of the OE community you might know that the official OEWeek 2025 event has already happened this year – but at UTS we know there is never a wrong time to celebrate the wonders of open education! Check out what’s happening and make sure to register to secure your spot.
- 7 April at 11am – Liberating Curricula: Open Education for Decolonised and Internationalised Learning (Dr Surita Jhangiani, University of British Columbia, Canada)
- 8 April at 10am – Open pedagogy and assessment reform (Dr Julie Lazzara, Maricopa Community Colleges, Arizona, USA)
- 9 April at 2pm – Open Textbooks Show and Tell (Dr Cat Kutay, Charles Darwin University, NT, and Dr Lisa Cianci, RMIT, VIC)
- 10 April at 11am – Open Educational Resources and Academic Promotion (Dr Amanda White, UTS; Dr Julian Pakay, La Trobe Un
- 11 April at 10am – Open Educational Resources and Practices for Impactful Learning Design