OSHub.Network

The pace of change in society – from technological innovation to global interconnectedness – is rapidly increasing and has fundamentally altered the way people live, work and learn. Moreover, the societal challenges of the 21st century bring with them an urgent need to integrate the knowledge and expertise of different societal actors, and to develop meaningful and inclusive ways of connecting schools, universities, enterprises, civil society, governments and local communities using more innovative, efficient and open methodologies.

The OSHub.Network is establishing a European network of Open Science Hubs (OSHubs), in communities that traditionally do not engage with research and innovation due to various barriers, geographical location, socio-economic status, or ethnic minority group background. OSHubs inspire, empower and engage citizens – from school children to senior citizens – in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) learning and research opportunities, grounded on collaboration with societal agents.

Local OSHubs will work as mediators in their local communities, positioning schools as active agents for collaboration between civil society, enterprises, research institutes, and families. This is performed by promoting an open schooling approach grounded in community-based participatory research practices: throughout this process, schools and communities identify local relevant challenges, which are then be transformed into relevant research and innovation projects, led by students and teachers, in collaboration with local stakeholders.

Additionally, the OSHub.Network is developing a common methodological framework, that allows each OSHub to identify and analyse local needs, issues, opportunities and relevant actors, in order to address socio-economic, geographical, gender equity issues, and untapped growth potential. Inspired by the “Mission-Oriented Research & Innovation in the European Union” approach, developed by Mariana Mazzucato, OSHub.Network will define a set of Open Schooling Missions, aimed at addressing local relevant challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goals. These Open Schooling Missions will then constitute the basis for the creation and development of the open schooling projects, enabling real collaboration across communities.

In the long-run, OSHubs will act as education brokers in their local communities, supporting local school networks to incorporate Open Schooling in their vision and organizational structure, leading to sustainable quality of education. Most particularly, OSHubs will facilitate the bridge between the needs and realities of schools and their local context and resources, as well as brokering for implementing national/regional policies, passing along signals from schools when policies are failing and advocating for context-sensitive policies.