The increased complexity of Higher Education collaboration in times of Open Education

The Open Society movement, which goes back to noble fathers such as Bergson and Popper, and which is today declined along issues such as Open Government, Open Innovation, Open Data, Open Access and Open Source, is having a strong impact on the world of Higher Education. It is undeniable that universities around the globe are under an increased “complexity pressure”, due to growing international competition, globalisation of education and budget cuts, but also to the ICT revolution that is re-shaping teaching, learning and all other aspects of university life. In this context, Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) are increasingly being considered as an option both to face the increasing students population in times of budget cuts and to increase the accessibility and equality of higher education. The paper will look at some dimensions of this increased complexity, focussing on emerging technologies and on emerging practices of students and staff mobility enhanced by ICT. We believe that ICT and Open Education are not only making more efficient and more accessible teaching and learning in universities, but are somehow starting to change the fundamentals of academic contexts, and we claim that to take stock of this potential it is important to be able to understand and managed the increased system complexity of contemporary and future Higher Education.