OER Initiatives in Africa

The Digital Open Textbooks for Development (DOT4D) initiative investigates the ecosystem of open textbook publishing and provides implementation support in open textbook publishing activity at the University of Cape Town (UCT). It also aims to support policy-makers and other stakeholders in the development of institutional and national policy frameworks that govern open textbook publishing activity and address long-term sustainability mechanisms.

TESSA is a network of teachers and teacher educators stretching across Sub-Saharan Africa. At the heart of the network is a bank of open educational resources (OER), linked to the school curriculum, and designed to support teachers and teacher educators in developing active approaches to learning. The network is co-ordinated by The Open University, UK.

The #OpenEdInfluencers at Nelson Mandela University began in 2018. The project launched a more focussed aim to increase awareness, access, adoption and creation of Open at the institution, and beyond. Exploratory institutional support enabled the appointment and training of three Mandela University students, each hoping to support change in education through direct action.

The OERu makes higher education accessible to everyone. Coordinated by the OER Foundation, an independent, not-for-profit organisation, the OERu network of institutions offers free online courses for students worldwide. The OERu partners also provide affordable ways for learners to gain academic credit towards qualifications from recognised institutions.
OERu gives you the chance to study independently, from home, with access to world-class courses from recognised institutions.

The Thutong Portal is the online point of entry to a comprehensive array of free educational resources, policy information, and interactive services concerning all aspects of the South African Schooling Sector. It will provide relevant information and services about the South African school curriculum, teacher development, school administration, and management. Thutong aims to facilitate ease of use, enabling users to find and make use of its resources and services in the most intuitive ways possible.

The International Centre for Eye Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is creating a series of OER courses in public health eye care which are relevant to health care workers around the world.By the end of 2019 we will have released 7 courses and ~500 separate OER materials.

The overarching goal of OpenMed is to raise Awareness and facilitate the adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) in the Arab Mediterranean countries, with a particular focus on higher education in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Palestine.

The Leadership Initiative for Public Health in East Africa (LIPHEA) initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of Makerere University School of Public Health (MUSPH) and Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences (MUCHS) to not only provide effective public health leadership for Uganda and Tanzania, but also to catalyze the training of public health leaders in the whole region.

OER Africa is a ground-breaking initiative established by the South African Institute for Distance Education (Saide). We play a leading role in supporting higher education institutions across Africa in the development and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) to enhance teaching and learning.

The Open University of Tanzania is the first university in the whole of the East Africa region to offer educational programs through Open and Distance Learning mode. This makes OUT peculiar from conventional residential universities. Through Open and Distance Learning, OUT allows flexible learning environment leading to protracted periods of course completion.

Saide is committed to the process of transformation of education and training so to increase equitable and meaningful access to knowledge, skills and learning through the adoption of open learning principles, distance education methods and educational technology.