The UOC joins 1EdTech Europe's governing bodies to promote digital education standards

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) is strengthening its participation in European forums that work to advance the digital transformation of education. Pastora Martínez Samper, commissioner for international action at the UOC, has been appointed to the Executive Board of 1EdTech Europe, while Francesc Santanach, from the UOC Data Office, joins the Advisory Board.

1EdTech Europe is linked to the global 1EdTech consortium, which brings together universities, educational institutions, public bodies and technology providers from around the world. The UOC's presence in its governing and advisory bodies strengthens its ability to help shape the future of educational technology in Europe, as a digital-native university with an established track record in online education and digital transformation. It also facilitates connections with the EdTech sector, other institutions and European policymakers.

"Taking part in these forums allows us to strengthen alliances and contribute to the debates shaping higher education in Europe. Collaboration between universities, institutions and technology companies is essential to move towards more open, connected digital solutions that meet the real needs of institutions, students and the higher education system as a whole," said Martínez Samper.

In fact, 1EdTech Europe became a legally independent entity separate from 1EdTech Global in May 2026 to address the specific challenges of digital education in Europe. The organization adapts international standards to the European context, taking into account issues such as data protection, artificial intelligence and accessibility.

In practice, these standards allow different educational platforms, tools and systems to connect, share information and work together, one of the challenges in the move towards a more digital and connected higher education system.

"The open standards promoted by 1EdTech make it easier for universities' systems to exchange data, regardless of the technologies we use. This gives us greater flexibility to introduce changes and advance the digital transformation of our institutions. Being involved in defining these standards in line with European guidelines also allows us to contribute actively to the digital transformation of education in Europe," explained Francesc Santanach, from the UOC Data Office.

Joining 1EdTech Europe also opens up new opportunities for collaboration on European institutional projects involving educational technology, data and interoperability, areas that are closely linked to the UOC's digital transformation strategy. At the same time, it strengthens the university's presence in the European EdTech business ecosystem, within a forum working to promote the adoption of standards shared by educational institutions and technology providers.

Connecting higher education institutions across Europe

This ability to connect systems and share data is important for university alliances such as OpenEU, coordinated by the UOC, which work to facilitate cooperation between institutions and move towards more flexible, cross-border learning pathways.

In this context, European initiatives such as the European higher education interoperability framework aim to establish a shared structure to facilitate data exchange between European universities and help improve the quality of education. This framework and the open standards promoted by 1EdTech Europe complement each other in the move towards a more connected and interoperable European higher education ecosystem. OpenEU is one of the early adopters of this initiative, committed to the early implementation of solutions that promote interoperability in higher education.

More than a decade of collaboration with 1EdTech

The UOC has been involved with 1EdTech since 2014, contributing its experience as a digital-native university, particularly in online education models and systems integration.

Over the years, this collaboration has led to initiatives involving educational innovation, open standards and interoperability. The aim is to share knowledge, connect institutions and encourage the adoption of common standards to facilitate data exchange, connections between platforms and the development of more flexible, student-centred educational models.