Spotlight Stage SPL03
Why the World Needs Open Source and Open Education to Survive - with Martin Dougiamas
Date Thursday, Dec 6 Time – RoomPotsdam III
On our Spotlight Stage, the founder of Moodle will explain how open technologies in education are critical to making progress towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Martin Dougiamas
CEO, Moodle, Australia
Dr Martin Dougiamas is best known as the founder of the open-source Moodle project, providing a free learning platform used in every country and every education sector around the world.
At OEB's Spotlight Stage he will address how open technologies in education are critical to best support progress towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
As the CEO of Moodle Pty Ltd (based in Perth, Australia and Barcelona, Spain) Martin leads the company of 60 software developers and educators that guides and supports the Moodle project (including MoodleCloud, Moodle Mobile and other initiatives). Moodle Pty Ltd has also created a global network of over 90 certified Moodle Partner companies that help provide funding for this independent software project through a sustainable business model since 2003.
Martin has a mixed academic background with multiple post-graduate degrees in Computer Science and Education, including an honorary doctorate from Universitat de Vic in Catalonia. He continues to focus on researching how technology can support teaching and learning in open and human ways, aiming at solving the UN’s sustainable development goals.
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Moderator
Ildikó Mázár
Knowledge Innovation Centre (KIC), Malta
Ildiko is currently holding a position as Research and Development Associate at the Knowledge Innovation Centre (KIC) in Malta. She has been working in the field of open & distance education and e-learning since 1998, and for 3 years she served as Deputy Secretary General at the European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN). During these years Ildiko learned how to differentiate between robust ICT solutions and impracticable hypes, while she also played an active role in identifying when changes in policies and practices were needed to enable progress.
Throughout her career, both as employee and (since 2017) freelance consultant, she accumulated experience in research and development of innovative educational practices, as well as in facilitating their effective dissemination and multiplication. She has a deep understanding and knowledge of past and current EU funding mechanisms, the authoring and management of EU co-funded projects, and she enjoys collaborating with partners across borders, cultures and various educational and training sector.
Ildiko's current research interests are focusing on the standardisation of digital micro-credentials in higher education, the recognition and portability of open learning experiences and using blockchain technology in education.