The Open University's win at OEGlobal 2025

The Open University (OU) celebrates at The Open Education Awards for Excellence as Dr Alexandra Okada is shortlisted in the Leadership category (Open Researcher), and CONNECT's CARE-KNOW-DO pedagogical model wins in the Open Pedagogy category. 

These dual recognitions across two categories mark the peak of a sustained career spanning more than 10 EU-funded projects since pioneering knowledge mapping in 2005 with OpenLearn.

Dr Okada (pictured at the UN SDG Summit) 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 recognized 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.

According to OEGlobal award reviewers, 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 marginalized 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."

The reviewers noted, "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 Okada's and the OU being recognised in these dual awards demonstrate not only academic excellence but highlight the OU as a global leader in research-informed open pedagogy.

Dr Okada’s trajectory from pioneering knowledge mapping work, to directing a project reaching 50,000+ learners across three continents, demonstrates the OU's sustained commitment to equity-focused education innovation.

Speaking of the win Dr Okada 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 OU, 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. Which is key for the UK REF 2029”