Dr. Alexandra Okada is an Associate Professor and Senior Researcher on Global Education and Digital Transformation at The Open University and the Higher Education Academy. She serves as an advisor to the European Union and UNESCO and leads the COLEARN network, which bridges education, science, industry, civil society, and policymaking to promote sustainability through emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. She is also the director of RUMPUS, a group dedicated to fun in learning.

She holds qualifications in Computer Science (BSc Hons), Education (MA, PGCFE), Knowledge Management and Science Communication (MBA), and Technology-Enhanced Learning (PhD).

Email: ale.okada@open.ac.uk
LinkedIn: Alexandra Okada

Claire is the Manager for The Open University’s Centre for the Study of Global Development.  She is  a member of the Centre Directorate team that guides the Centre’s research strategy, vision and values.  She has over 15 years of international teacher and community education for development, research and programme management experience. Her interests are in inclusive and collaborative education and health initiatives, that are driven by and situated within the wider lives and contexts of communities, learners, educators and health workers.  She has a specific research focus on the cost-effectiveness of programmes and initiatives.  Currently, she is the Cost-Effectiveness Study Lead for the EdTech Hub funded 3MPower (Mobile Learning for Empowerment of Marginalised Mathematics Educators) research project in Bangladesh.

Kaustubh’s main research area is Biostatistics, with a focus on developing computational methods to address big data challenges in high-dimensional datasets. He serves as an advisor on quantitative studies in open schooling and has a keen interest in public engagement, particularly in addressing the misuse and misunderstandings of statistics and statistical genetics.

Brazil CNPq Research Productivity Scholarship. Graduated in Pedagogy from the PUCPR, Master in Education, Doctorate in Production Engineering and Post-doctorate from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences in Portugal. She is currently the Coordinator of the Stricto Sensu Graduate Program in Education at PUCPR, full professor at PUCPR and permanent professor of the master’s and doctorate in Education at PUCPR. He has books and book chapters published in the Dominican Republic, Peru, England, the United States, Colombia, Mexico and Portugal. He has experience in the area of Education: educational technologies, distance education, professional training, teacher training and higher education.

Email: patricia.lupion@pucpr.br

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-torres-07667221/

Doctorate in Education at PUCPR, Masters in education at PUCPR. Postgraduate in Web Design from PUCPR and Instructional Design and graduation in Graphic Design from PUCPR. Coordinator of the specialization course in Educational Design at PUCPR. He works as a teacher at PUCPR and FAE in undergraduate courses in the area of Design and Pedagogy. Experience as a computer teacher for elementary and high school. He worked as an educational designer in the Directorate of Educational Technologies at PUCPR for six years. Has published research combining technology, design and education.

Email: raquel.pasternak@pucpr.br

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/raquelglitz

ADD short bio: Brazilian citizen, Researcher and Permanent Professor of The Doctoral Program of Knowledge Diffusion. Academic background as Post-doctorate at The Open University – UK, Master in Production Engineering and Knowledge Diffusion’s PhD. I’ve been working as a University Professor since 1999, at University of State of Bahia (UNEB), and leading a research group (GEC&TIS) Management, Education, Science & Social Inclusion Technology Research Group.

Email: sfribeiro@uneb.br

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/silvarribeiro

Post-Doctorate at the Open University – UK, PhD in Dissemination of Knowledge – UFBA – BR. Master in Education by UNEB-BR. Specialist in Education and New Technologies of Communication and Information – UNEB-BR. Pedagogue. Professor at the State University of Bahia – Department of Human Sciences and Technologies since 1999. Research in the areas of Distance Education, Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy, Science Education and Network Training.

Email: spinto@uneb.br

Doctor in Education and Contemporaneity- PPGEduC / UNEB; Open university doctoral exchange student- England, acting as a COLEARN international researcher, at KMi-OU. Acts as permanent teacher at UNEB/ Bahia- Brazil. Is a member of the Editorial Board of the electronic magazine “Discentes” and appraiser of the “Gestão, Finanças e Contabilidade” magazine. Develops research, extension and scientific initiation- IC projects; Worked at “Educação Básica no Centro Territorial de Educação Profissional – CETEP/Irecê”. Is a State Trainer by the Superintendence do Policies for Basic Education- SUPED and pedagogical, planning and articulation of the continued formation monitoring board. Is leader of the Research group in Administration and Territorial Development and of the Research Group in Work, Education, Management and Technology- GENTTES; Is part of the Research group Network Society, Cultural Plurality and Educational Digital Contents.

Email: aklrocha@uneb.br

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ana-karine-loula-torres-rocha-0984511b7

Alexandre Marino is a Full Professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC)   in the Department of Administration and Business at UFSC. He has also served as the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Director and Vice-Director of the Socioeconomic Center, Sub-coordinator of the Graduate Program in Business Administration (master’s and doctoral levels), Coordinator of the undergraduate Business Administration program  and Coordinator of the Public Management Specialization Course (2011-2013). Currently, he is involved in teaching undergraduate courses as well as  master’s and doctoral levels in Business Administration and Public Administration. His academic activities focus on the training of administrators and managers, financial administration, and public and university administration. He is the founder of RA in Schools initiated  during his postdoctoral studies at the OU – UK

Dr. Márcio Vieira de Souza is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) in the Graduate Program in Engineering, Management, and Knowledge Media (PPEGC-UFSC). He is the Coordinator of LabMídia (Media and Knowledge Laboratory) at UFSC and is a leading figure in the Media and Knowledge Research Group (CNPq) at UFSC.

His research focuses on media and knowledge, democratization of communication, Distance Education, Open Education, and digital media. Dr. Souza’s work covers a range of topics including communication and education, media and knowledge, innovation in education, artificial intelligence in education, network education, open schooling, social media, Social Network Analysis (SNA), democracy and communication, sustainable development, and ICTs.

Dr. Cláudia Eliane da Matta is a Professor at the Federal University of Itajubá (Unifei), where she teaches in the undergraduate Electrical Engineering program and the Graduate Program in Science Education.

Her research focuses on artificial intelligence, energy education, and Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICT). She is a member of the research groups “Advanced Power Technologies and Innovations in Systems and Smart Grids – aPTIs” and “Technologies and Digital Culture in Science Education – TecDEC.”

In the Graduate Program in Science Education, Dr. da Matta investigates the connections between science education and different training contexts. She holds a PhD in Production Engineering from Unifei, a Master’s in Electronic and Computer Engineering from ITA, and a specialization in Instructional Design from Senac.

Dr. Maria Elizabeth Bianconcini de Almeida is an Full Professor in Education and Technologies at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP). She holds a PhD in Education: Curriculum from PUC-SP (2000) and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Minho, Portugal. At PUC-SP, she is a permanent researcher in the Graduate Programs in Education: Curriculum and Education. She has served as the Program Coordinator (2013-2019) and is currently the vice-coordinator. Her research focuses on curriculum and technologies, digital storytelling, web curriculum, open schooling, hybrid education, and technology in teacher training. Dr. Almeida is a productivity researcher at the National Research Council (CNPq) in Brazil and serves as the editor-in-chief of e-Curriculum Magazine. She is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, including e-Curriculum (PUC-SP), Connections (IFCE), and Technologies, Society and Knowledge (UNICAMP). She is a member of scientific associations such as ANPED, ABdC, SBC, and SBPC.

Dr. Cintia Rabello is an Adjunct Professor of English Language in the Department of Modern Foreign Languages (GLE) at the Institute of Letters of the Fluminense Federal University (UFF). She is also a professor and researcher in the Graduate Program in Language Studies at UFF. Dr. Rabello leads the CNPq/UFF Research Group “Study Group on Technologies in Language Teaching and Learning” (GETEAL) and is a member of the Colearn and RRI Data co-learning networks at the Open University, UK. She coordinates the Laboratory for the Training of Teachers of Languages and Digital Technologies (GLE-UFF) and is involved with the Language and Technology Working Group of ANPOLL.

Her research interests include English language teaching, foreign language teaching-learning, teacher training, digital technologies in education, CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning), digital literacies, multiliteracies, digital education, and artificial intelligence.   She earned her Master’s in Educational Technology in Sciences and Health from NUTES/UFRJ (2007) and her PhD in Applied Linguistics from the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Applied Linguistics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2015), with a doctoral internship at the Open University, England (2013-2014)

Dr. Karine Pinheiro de Souza is an Adjunct Professor at the Federal University of Cariri (UFCA) at the Institute for the Training of Educators (IFE). She holds a PhD in Educational Sciences with a specialization in Educational Technology from the University of Minho, Portugal, and completed post-doctoral research in Social, Political, and Territorial Sciences at the University of Aveiro. Her academic background includes a Master’s in Public Policy and Planning and specializations in School Management and Educational Informatics.

She was a visiting researcher at the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi-OU) in 2013/2014, where she collaborated on the European project weSPOT, focusing on entrepreneurial learning in Portugal and Brazil. Dr. Souza has been involved in implementing Educational Technology Centers (NTE) at PROINFO since 2000 and has served as an advisor for Teacher Training and Public Policies in Education and Technology at CODED/CED (2014-2022). Currently, she leads the PIBID Project at UFCA and is engaged in research related to educational technology, including open schooling, digital inclusion, hybrid education, teacher training, and interdisciplinary pedagogical practices. She is affiliated with the Interdisciplinary in Natural Sciences, Technology and Education (INCINATE) research group

Dr. Thais Castro is an adjunct professor at the Federal University of Amazonas, supervising students at various academic levels. She earned her PhD in Informatics from PUC-Rio in 2011, including a Sandwich Doctorate at the University of Edinburgh (2009-2010). Her research focuses on inclusive design processes, evaluation of computational artifacts, and accessibility, utilizing AI techniques in Informatics in Education, Human-Computer Interaction, and Multimodal Interaction. She is also interested in programming education methodologies. Dr. Castro has led and contributed to projects funded by FAPEAM, CNPq, and Capes, and is actively involved in several professional committees and review boards, including the Special Commissions on Informatics in Education and Collaborative Systems, RBIE, and program committees for SBSC, IHC, SBIE, and FIE

CEO of Instituto Anjos Digitais. She was a Visiting Researcher at the MKI Knowledge Media Institute at the Open University in Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom. She created and coordinated the digital inclusion team at the Center for Agrarian Studies and Rural Development (NEAD) and the implementation of the Digital Territories Project at national level at the Ministry of Agrarian Development. (2002 – 2012). She was a consultant on projects for the Brazilian Cooperation Agency in international organizations such as IICA, UNDP and UNESCO. She was a substitute professor at the Federal University of Ceará-UFC. Participant of the Research Groups: Information Competence and Vulnerable Populations (UNB) and Colearn (KMI/Open University/UK). Experience in the area of Information Science, Education, working mainly on the following topics: Education, Rural Development, Digital Inclusion and Public Policies for vulnerable populations

Dr. Carmem Silvia de Souza Lima holds a PhD in Education (2024) from the Open University (UK) and São Paulo State University (Unesp), specializing in Teaching and Learning Assessment. Her thesis focused on Lesson Study and the Constructionist, Contextualized, and Meaningful Approach for Initial Teacher Education and open schooling settings. Supervisors: Alexandra Okada (The Open University, UK) and Klaus Schlünzen Júnior (UNESP). Scholarship: CAPES, Brazil.

Dr. Luziana Quadros holds a PhD in Engineering and Knowledge Management from UFSC (2018), supported by FAPESC and The Open University (UK). She has previously served as General Coordinator of Professional and Technological Education Policies at the Ministry of Education. She is interested in RRI and Open schooling. Her PhD thesis, “Knowledge Communication in Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in Networked Education,” was supervised by Alexandra Okada (OU UK), Márcio  Souza, and Fernando Espanhol (UFSC).

Ms Sarah Burton is an Associate Lecturer and doctorate student at The Open University (OU). Her EdD thesis, “An Exploration of How Pre-School Children with a Disability Experience Outdoor Play and Learning in a Forest School/Nature Kindergarten in Mainstream Education Settings in Scotland,” is supervised by Natalia Canning, Vallerie Critten,  and Alexandra Okada (OU UK).  She is passionate about outdoors learning, open schooling and accessibility. Scholarship: The Open University UK.

Jacqueline, a student born in a Sustainable Reserve 25 km from Manaus in the Amazon state, is a young activist passionate about protecting the ecosystem. She enjoys nature, art, and writing. To support her community in welcoming international tourists, she authored a book translating English into the local language. Jacqueline is currently part of the Colearn Amazonia Network and is mentored by Dr. Ale Okada.

Sarah, a young activist born in Pará, Brazil, is deeply interested in protecting the Amazon. She has been researching recent activity on social media during the dry season. Sarah observes how important the voices and actions of young people are for raising awareness. She also highlights that young people must develop digital communication skills and interact more with researchers. She is mentored by Dr. Ale Okada.

Ana Clara, was born in Salvador, Bahia, and is currently a medical student in Irecê, Bahia. She has a strong passion for environmental protection, particularly the Amazon Rainforest. As an activist, she is deeply concerned about the drastic effects of climate change, especially its impact on human health and biodiversity. Ana Clara is dedicated to helping communities promote well-being and good health. She is mentored by Dr. Ale Okada.