The Open University is honoured at Open Education Global Awards 2025

Posted on 23 October 2025 • Around the OU, Education, Education, languages and health, University news

The Open University has been honoured at the OEGlobal 2025 awards in the Open Practice Category for the CONNECT – CARE-KNOW-DO framework, which enhances student engagement by integrating science learning with real-world problem-solving.

The award reviewers said CONNECT represents transformative practice:

 “The CARE-KNOW-DO Open Pedagogy Model is a truly exemplary project with significant, proven impact from an underrepresented region, serving a historically marginalised group, and representing a language other than English. This initiative has engaged over 50,000 students, teachers, families, researchers, and community partners across Europe, Africa, and Brazil, aligned with the UN SDGs.”

The reviewers highlighted a particularly powerful achievement:

“Teachers, educators, and students from rural areas had the opportunity to meet and talk with the Ministry of Education of Brazil and showcase their open pedagogy projects through open videocasts and podcasts that integrated open education, local culture, and digital skills to advance quality education grounded in the realities of their communities. The global and local nature of the initiative exemplifies the best of what open education can do and be.”

“This is a highly impactful OER project that has proven its worth for the teaching community in widespread geographic regions and multiple languages. Having adaptable resources is key to the success of any such endeavour.”

Dr Alexandra Okada, Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, leads the research for CONNECT and was shortlisted individually in the Leadership category. She said:

“This award means a great deal to the CONNECT communities, to all the CARE-KNOW-DO teachers and students who shared their outstanding practices and made this award possible. This recognition will make a real difference in their careers. The award is also significant for the METEOR project, which has embraced the same CARE-KNOW-DO model for doctoral education. For the Open University, these three consecutive OEGlobal victories across nearly a decade prove that open education, grounded in rigorous research and collaborative practice, scales from experimental initiative to proven systemic change—key for the UK REF 2029”

Dr Okada has received five Open Education recognitions for her research: ENGAGE won in 2017 for Open Educational Resources in Responsible Research and Innovation; COLEARN won in 2019 for OpenApp technology for Immersive Learning; and CONNECT wins for pedagogical excellence in 2025.

She was also shortlisted in 2024 (AI in Education) and 2025 (Open Researcher). These awards provide global visibility and legitimacy to outstanding contributions in open education. Since 2011, OEGlobal has recognised 254 contributions from leaders, resources, and practices worldwide. The 2025 awards reviewed 196 nominations from 42 countries, demonstrating competitive rigor and international reach. They help advance open education understanding and impact globally.

You can watch the OEGlobal2025 awards ceremony here.