Open Educational Resources as a Foundation for Digital Sovereignty

Martin Ebner, Dean of Study for Teacher Education and Sandra Schön, Researcher, Graz University of Technology

Martin Ebner, Dean of Study for Teacher Education and Sandra Schön, Researcher, Graz University of Technology

Martin Ebner advances how education adapts to the digital age by championing open learning, AI-enabled teaching and scalable online education. Through his work in technology-enhanced learning and open educational resources, he helps universities make knowledge more data-informed and learner-centric.

Open Educational Resources (OER) matter for digital sovereignty in universities because they ensure higher education from being a dependent consumer of externally controlled content and platforms to being an autonomous producer, steward and quality assurance of knowledge. In this sense, OER are not only a didactic or “free access” topic; they are a strategic infrastructure decision for how universities govern learning materials, digital systems and cross-border cooperation.

Why This is Strategically Important

Universities increasingly cooperate across borders (joint courses, shared curricula, micro-credentials, shared learning environments etc). Yet conventional educational materials are typically bound to restrictive copyright and platform-specific terms often dependent on country-specific legislation. On the other hand, OER, defined by UNESCO as materials that can be accessed, used, adapted and redistributed at no cost under an open license, would enable institutions to collaborate and innovate without constantly renegotiating what is permitted.

Strategically, OER deliver three main advantages that directly support institutional resilience:

1. Legal clarity for cross-border reuse: Open licenses predefine permissions for use, adaptation, translation and redistribution. This is crucial when institutions work across different legal jurisdictions.

2. Sustainability of public investment: OER extend the lifecycle of learning materials because they can be updated and improved over time instead of being “locked” for example after a “project” ends. This makes educational investment reusable and reduces duplication.

“Digital sovereignty in higher education is defined as the ability to manage infrastructure, content and data without being constrained by external commercial providers.”

3. Digital sovereignty: By reducing dependency on proprietary platforms and licenses, OER help institutions keep control over educational content, technical choices and related data practices, avoiding vendor lock-in and enabling interoperable ecosystems.

The Core Challenge Universities Face

Cross-border cooperation exposes a structural weakness: Copyright law was not designed to enable routine educational remixing, updating or translation across institutions. Even within the European Union, rules and practices differ considerably, and it can be unclear which jurisdiction applies (author country, user country or hosting country of a learning environment etc.). It can be summarized that without explicit agreements, it is often assumed that only original authors can reuse or adapt materials so after projects end, updates and translations may become legally impossible, undermining long-term value.

Open licenses (especially Creative Commons licenses like CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC0) can be act as a practical governance tool: they clarify rights from the outset, reduce administrative negotiation and still allow creators to retain copyright while enabling broad lawful reuse.

How OER Enable Digital Sovereignty in Practice

Digital sovereignty in higher education is defined as the ability to manage infrastructure, content and data without being constrained by external commercial providers. Proprietary platforms can create long-term risks: loss of control over content and especially educational data, reduced flexibility to adapt resources, rising licensing costs, and weak interoperability that hinders sharing across institutions.

OER counter this by guaranteeing that educational content remains modifiable and transferable under open terms. Furthermore, it can be emphasized that this autonomy is especially important when collaboration spans different technical environments and requires interoperable solutions.

Risks of not Acting

A particularly strategic warning is that if universities do not actively engage with OER, they risk losing influence over educational standards and narratives. Others, private companies or lobby groups, may fill the gap, shaping “free” materials with embedded interests. Even more, it can be also stated that business-sponsored teaching resources can bias information and promote commercial interests.

What’s Next

The implications for university leadership seems to be clear: Treat OER as a strategic asset, not a side project:

• Institutionalizing OER Strategy (policy, incentives, recognition): Move beyond isolated pilots and make open licensing the default for publicly funded educational outputs where possible.

• Building Capacity for Cross-Border Production and Adaptation: support staff with training and workflows for licensing, attribution, translation, updating and accessibility-oriented adaptations (enabled by openness).

• Investing in Interoperable, Non-lock-in Infrastructure: Ensure learning ecosystems can exchange content across tools and institutions, with OER as the “portable layer” that remains usable regardless of platform choices.

• Establishing Quality Assurance and Governance: To prevent dependency on external actors and to ensure OER reflect academic rigor, inclusivity and public-interest values.

From our perspective, OER are a practical route to digital sovereignty because they secure the legal and technical freedoms universities need to cooperate across borders, sustain educational investment and protect academic autonomy in an increasingly platform-driven digital environment. Finally, we should bear in mind that OER are also essential for AI in higher education because AI systems can only support teaching and learning at scale when content can be legally and technically processed.