European Commission launches initiative 'Opening up Education' to boost innovation and digital skills in schools and universities.
On 25 September, 2013 the European Commission launches a new website, Open Education Europa, which will allow students, practitioners and educational institutions to share free-to-use open educational resources.
Opening up Education focuses on three main areas:
Creating opportunities for organisations, teachers and learners to innovate;
Increased use of Open Educational Resources (OER), ensuring that educational materials produced with public funding are available to all; and
Better ICT infrastructure and connectivity in schools.
Initiatives linked to Opening up Education will be funded with support from Erasmus+, the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport, and Horizon 2020, the new research and innovation programme, as well as the EU structural funds. For example, Erasmus+ will offer funding to education providers to ensure business models are adapted to technological change and to support teachers’ development through open online courses. All educational materials supported by Erasmus+ will be freely available to the public under open licences.
