OpenEU launches new podcast to rethink the future of Higher Education

We are thrilled to announce the official launch of the Think and Do Tank Podcast, a flagship initiative of the OpenEU alliance. This series is designed as a pan-European conversation on how digital transformation is fundamentally changing or, in some cases, failing to change, pedagogy, institutions, and the learning experience.

Across eight episodes, the podcast brings together leading experts to move beyond the "digital hype" and identify the concrete actions needed for digital innovation to truly work in higher education. Join us as we explore the vital question: What needs to change for digital transformation to truly work?

Episode 1 | Has Digital Transformation changed pedagogy?

In our premiere episode, host Haline Maia (Universidade Aberta, Portugal) is joined by two distinguished guests to tackle the core tension of modern education: Technology is moving fast. Is pedagogy moving too?

While digital tools are now mainstream, particularly following the acceleration caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions still rely on traditional logic. For example, many courses now use digital platforms for assessment, yet rely on traditional exams designed for face-to-face settings with little room for collaboration or experimentation.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Virtual mobility: Why placing students from different nations in shared digital spaces creates a cultural diversity that leads to deeper learning.

• Institutional barriers: Why innovation often fails when institutions do not create the right pedagogical conditions, leaving educators to feel that innovation is merely "added on top" of their workload.

• Embracing AI: How to move past the fear of "hallucinations" and fraud to use AI as a tool for structuring reports, improving language, and setting new standards for student output.

Discover all this and more in our inaugural episode:

Meet the Experts

• Prof. dr. Paquita Pérez Salgado: Full Professor of Online and Distance Education in Environmental Sciences at the Open Universiteit (Netherlands). A former UNESCO Chair, she has decades of experience in developing innovative higher education programmes with a focus on sustainability and "Lived Experience of Climate Change".

• Prof. Wim Van Petegem: Professor at the Faculty of Engineering Technology at KU Leuven (Belgium) and President of EDEN Digital Learning Europe. His work focuses on instructional design and engineering education, and he is deeply involved in digital competence training across the Global South.

Listen now on YouTube and bring the debate into your own institution to help us redefine the digital learning experience.