For Open Access Week 2025, the Centre for Teaching and Learning invites you to an Open Education Speaker Series online presentation, "Education: The Future is Open" with Dr. Richard Baraniuk, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University and Founder and Director of OpenStax.

Date: October 21, 2025 (Open Access Week)

Time: 1:30 p.m. (Saskatchewan time)

Location: Zoom (You will receive the link when you register)

Abstract

A grassroots movement is sweeping through the academic world. The Open Education movement is based on a set of intuitions that are shared by a remarkably wide range of academics: that knowledge should be free and open to use and re-use; that collaboration should be easier, not harder; that people should receive credit and kudos for contributing to education and research; and that concepts and ideas are linked in unusual and surprising ways and not the simple linear forms that traditional media present. The Open Science movement is promoting transparency, accessibility, and collaboration in scientific research by openly sharing publications, data, code, and methodologies throughout the entire research process. This is a pivotal moment for the Open community to come together as education and science are reshaped by advances in AI, evolving student needs, and expanding global challenges.

Presenter Bio

Dr. Richard G. Baraniuk is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University and the founder and director of OpenStax. He launched Connexions in 1999 as a platform for open knowledge sharing, which evolved into OpenStax, the world’s largest OER publisher with more than 85 digital textbooks used by 7 million college and high school students this school year. He also leads SafeInsights, the US National Science Foundation’s national infrastructure for education research. Baraniuk has been active in AI theory research and education applications for 15 years, and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors, AAAS, and IEEE.  He has received numerous research and education awards, including the IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal, the James H. Mulligan, Jr. Education Medal, and the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education.