Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is celebrating international recognition for its leadership in open education, with faculty, students and collaborators named among the 2025 Open Education Global Awards for Excellence winners and finalists. The honours highlight TRU’s innovative, inclusive and community-driven approach to creating and sharing open learning resources that make education more accessible to all.

“We’re incredibly proud to have supported our student and faculty collaborators in creating these outstanding projects,” says Dani Collins at TRU Open Press. “Being shortlisted among 193 nominations from around the world highlights the global impact of open educational resources.

“These high-quality, innovative resources not only enrich learning and make education more accessible for everyone, but also reflect the creativity, dedication and meaningful contributions of everyone involved.”

Award winners

Three TRU projects earned top honours for their creativity, cultural relevance and ethical leadership in open education:

• Leticia Kanywuiro, a recently graduated Master of Education student, was recognized for Utamaduni Bora, a student-created open educational resource that celebrates African heritage through storytelling and promotes inclusive, culturally relevant teaching.
• Ethical Educational Leadership, led by Dr. Alana Hoare, with School of Education graduate students Olubukola Bosede Osuntade and Rumana Patel, was recognized for supporting educators in addressing ethical challenges and exploring new approaches to leadership. Contributions from Mixalhíts’a7 (Roxane Letterlough) and Laura Grizzlypaws enrich the work with Indigenous perspectives and cultural knowledge.
• Simulated Client Records, created by Pinder Nagra and Devon Graham, provides realistic sample client records that allow nursing students to practise documentation and decision-making in a safe environment.

Finalists

Additional TRU projects were recognized among the global finalists for their forward-thinking contributions to open learning:

• PASSchem, developed by Drs. Lindsay Blackstock and Sharon Brewer, uses an adaptive learning framework with scaffolded practice questions, step-by-step solutions and immediate feedback to support self-directed learning in chemistry.
• TRU Open Press, recognized for its collaborative publishing model, empowers faculty, students, and community partners to create, adapt, and share open-access books and learning resources.

In addition, Anne-Marie Scott, who has collaborated with TRU as a consultant, was recognized as an Ethically Driven Leader and Innovator for her leadership in advancing open and ethical digital systems in higher education.

“We are tremendously proud of our colleagues and students whose work has been recognized on this global stage,” says Shannon Wagner, interim provost and vice-president academic. “These nominations reflect TRU’s commitment to open education as a means of advancing equity, inclusion and collaboration in learning.”