2026 Open Education Conference

Access to research education remains uneven for medical students worldwide, limiting opportunities to develop essential skills and engage in research.

The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) addresses this gap through three Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) research education workshops, guided by the Basic Research Competencies Framework (BRCF). This five-pillar structure shapes all educational content and is supported by a broader open educational ecosystem. This ecosystem includes openly licensed materials, manuals and agendas, compiled in centralized resource repositories, enabling National Member Organizations (NMOs) to replicate these workshops and activities independently.

In this session, attendees will explore how to assess, implement, and adapt open-access educational materials and frameworks in their institutions or networks, enabling them to expand access to research education, strengthen skill development, and drive collaborative learning worldwide

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• By the end of this session, at least 80% of participants will apply the session’s methodologies to:.
• Explain the global inequities in access to research education and identify the core competencies needed to address them.
• Describe how PAL, open-access resources, and open licensing collectively create a sustainable, equitable research education ecosystem.
• Understand IFMSA’s specific efforts to strengthen research capacity building, advocacy, and research exchanges through its open educational practices, the BRCF, organizational structures, and tools such as strategic plans and baseline assessments.
• Assess strategies for implementing open-access educational frameworks within their own contexts, such as reusing openly licensed training materials, establishing shared resource repositories, or developing peer-led training models.
• Design research training initiatives that integrate open practices, ensuring scalability, inclusivity, and sustainability.

Open education expands access, but access alone does not sustain learning. When learners or instructors feel uncertain, disconnected, or unsupported, expertise is not enough to keep them engaged. Drawing on research in volunteer retention and learner-centered pedagogy, this session explores how connection, belonging, and psychological safety shape participation in open learning environments. Using The Carpentries as a case study, we highlight how community-driven teaching practices shift the focus from performance to participation by normalizing mistakes, encouraging collaboration, and centering the learner experience. Participants will reflect on moments when connection influenced their own learning and identify practical strategies to foster belonging in their contexts. This session reframes open education as not just what we share, but how we support one another in the space between us.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Analyze a learning environment to identify where connection and belonging are lacking.
• Distinguish between teaching approaches that emphasize performance versus participation.
• Design a small, actionable intervention to improve learner engagement or instructor support.

Beginning in the 2022 academic year, the Massachusetts Open and Low-Cost Educational Resource Advisory Committee implemented a statewide process to collect and standardize data on no- and low-cost course materials. Data were gathered across 28 undergraduate-serving public institutions of higher education, coordinating with institutional research offices at each campus. Productive (ABC) and non-productive (DFW) grades were tracked for each student in every course, comparing outcomes among courses with traditional (>$50), low-cost (

The presenters will apply the stages of a situationship to analyze the evolving relationship between Gen AI and OER, offering a critical lens on how the two intersect. The session will begin by considering the initial spark, which is a period of experimentation in the Gen AI/OER situationship when educators use Gen AI to adapt and create OER and ancillary materials. The session will then explore the stage of growing comfort with integrating Gen AI and OER, including using Gen AI to evaluate OER and support open licensing. The presenters will then examine how Gen AI can advance accessibility by considering a commitment to an inclusive future through AI’s potential to expand access for all learners. Next, the session will consider the ethical gray areas in the Gen AI/OER situationship, including bias and inaccuracies. Alternatives to applying Gen AI to open practice will be discussed, encouraging attendees to use AI critically and to define their own relationships between Gen AI and OER.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Explore how to apply generative AI tools to evaluate OER and open textbooks, make licensing decisions, and develop supplemental materials to enhance teaching and learning.
• Improve accessibility in OER by applying generative AI tools to generate alt text and simplify content.
• Critically assess the challenges of integrating generative AI with open educational practices.

Have you ever wondered what happens to your paper after you submit it to a journal? This session demystifies the editorial process at the Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education (JOERHE) by tracing the journey from submission to publication. Grounded in our mission to expand OER research and grow scholarship through open access and transparent research practices, we walk attendees through each stage of our editorial workflow. Participants will explore our multilayered review process (desk, editorial, and open peer review) followed by the revision process and final production stages (layout and galley approval). The journal's commitment to open research principles and expanding research on OER shapes every stage of this process, ensuring scholarship remains accessible, reproducible, and community-driven. Whether you are a first-time submitter or a seasoned researcher, this session offers valuable insight into the path your manuscript travels on its way to publication.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Describe the step-by-step editorial process used by the Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education, from initial submission through final publication.
• Explain how the journal's review and publication process aligns with its mission to expand research and grow scholarship in the field of open educational resources.
• Identify key milestones or decision points in the manuscript journey that authors should understand when submitting to OER-focused academic journals.
• Understand how to prepare a manuscript for submission to the JOERHE.

As Open Educational Resources (OER) use by faculty continues to rise in higher education settings, it is important to explore metrics, such as tenure status, academic rank, discipline, and university classification, to further understand the OER landscape. Current data sets present aggregates of faculty classified as one group. In this presentation, we discuss a secondary data analysis of the Ithaka S+R U.S. Faculty Surveys disaggregated by variables such as tenure status, academic rank, discipline, and Carnegie classification.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Develop an awareness of existing data sets within open education and understand the value of secondary data analysis.
• Understand instructor attributes that correlate with OER interest and activity.
• Consider how data on instructor attributes impacts the strategic planning of OER implementation in higher education.

In open education work, using the materials/pedagogy in class is often the end goal. But what if it’s actually just the beginning?

In this session, we ask authors, instructional designers, librarian program managers, and others to consider open education work as a springboard to new opportunities such as publications and presentations. This can be a good way to get additional “credit” for the work (i.e., scholarship in P&T) and share with colleagues who may be unaware of OER.

Participants will be invited to discuss where “OER as a springboard” fits into the open education landscape:

* What programs (e.g., Open Education Research Fellows) currently support this perspective?

* Do institutions and/or grant programs also have a role to play?

* Do authors need additional support for publication/presentation authorship? Co-authorship from program managers?

We hope that together we can create a framework for how we can best support open education practitioners beyond classroom use.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Explain how open education work can function as a springboard for scholarly and professional opportunities beyond classroom adoption.
• Identify existing programs, initiatives, and professional pathways that support publications and presentations emerging from open education work.
• Assess the role institutions, grant programs, and organizational structures can play in supporting OER-based scholarship.
• Discuss common barriers open education practitioners face when translating OER work into publications or presentations and potential strategies to address them.

In the fall of 2025, Rebus and the Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS) collaborative united to turn a shared conviction into action: open educational resources (OER) have the power to fundamentally transform workforce preparation. This session introduces the Workforce OER Playbook—a practical guide born from cross-sector dialogue. We’ll unpack the collaborative process behind its creation, highlighting both successes and challenges. Attendees will learn concrete examples of how the playbook supports educators and industry partners in building mutually beneficial partnerships. Learn how to map shared goals, co-create relevant OER, and sustain collaborations beyond short-term grant cycles. Whether you’re new to OER or leading workforce initiatives, this session offers actionable strategies to bridge classroom learning and labor market needs.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Describe key workforce skills gaps, including soft skills, digital literacy, and AI literacy, drawn from focus groups with educators and industry leaders.
• Apply strategies from the Workforce OER Playbook to build cross-sector partnerships between higher education and industry.
• Use open licensing and open pedagogy to develop sustainable, accessible curriculum that stays relevant beyond the classroom.
• Leverage industry advisory boards, micro-credentials, and service learning to align academic programs with workforce needs.

The Open for Antiracism Program (OFAR) supports California Community College faculty in leveraging Open Education to transform their teaching. The one-year online program includes a 6-week asynchronous course that explores OER, Antiracist Pedagogy, and Open Pedagogy. In the fall, participants complete an action plan that integrates OER and open pedagogy as tools for antiracist teaching and implement it in the Spring. Last year, OFAR undertook a full course redesign to improve the currency of the course materials and increase equitable participant engagement. In this session, hear from the OFAR course redesign leaders about the challenges and opportunities in revising a course meant to teach antiracist pedagogy. What does such a course look like, and how does this redesign manifest across content, delivery, feedback channels, and other design elements? Session attendees will be invited to discuss their experiences implementing antiracist and equitable pedagogy in course design.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Define antiracist pedagogy and explain its relationship to open educational resources and open pedagogy.
• Identify at least two opportunities and two challenges in designing or revising a fully asynchronous online course that centers antiracist and equitable engagement.
• Apply at least one strategy or resource from the session to their own course design or revision process.