The Future is Open: Director of world’s largest OER publisher to speak at UM
Advance Open Ed Speaker series welcomes Richard Baraniuk to speak on the future of open education
This Open Education Week, March 3-7, 2025, the University of Manitoba will be hosting an event featuring keynote speaker Richard Baraniuk, Director of OpenStax, the world’s largest open educational resource (OER) publisher, and professor of computer and electrical engineering at Rice University.
Education: The Future is Open
Friday, March 7, 2025, 2:30-4:00 p.m.
Senate Chamber, Room E3-262 EITC
This session will be in-person with a live-stream option.
Details and registration
Richard Baraniuk [BSc (Eng)/87] will share his experience with the Open Education movement, a grassroots movement shared by a wide range of academics, recognizing that:
- knowledge should be free and open to use and re-use
- collaboration should be easier, not harder
- people should receive credit and kudos for contributions to education and research
- concepts and ideas are linked in unusual and surprising ways and not the simple linear forms that traditional media present
Baraniuk will speak to this pivotal moment for the OpenEd community to come together as education is reshaped by advances in AI, evolving student needs, and expanding global challenges.
About the presenter
Dr. Richard G. Baraniuk, a graduate of the University of Manitoba, is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University and founder and director of OpenStax (formerly Connexions) as a platform for open knowledge sharing and the world’s largest OER publisher with more than 70 digital textbooks used by 7 million college and high school students this school year. He is also the founder and director of SafeInsights, a large-scale education research hub that will safely connect educational institutions, researchers, and learning platforms. 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 the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is 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.
This event is supported by the Advance Open Ed project.
At the University of Manitoba, Bisons are at the centre of health care, finance, Reconciliation and so much more. Wherever there’s a challenge, you’ll find UM alumni leading the charge. Explore the Bisons at the Centre campaign and meet the alumni shaping Manitoba and beyond.
Related activities
- Check out the previous event in the series: From Access to Justice: Realizing the Transformative Potential of Open Educational Practices, with Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani.
- Advance Open Ed provides financial and practical support along with educational opportunities to help the UM community create, adapt, and adopt open educational resources (OER).