🎉 Happy New Year from all of us at Apereo! 🎉

As we bid farewell to an incredible year, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the people and projects that make up the Apereo community. Your dedication to open source, passion for education, and unwavering support of our mission not only drive your projects and the Foundation's success but, more impressively, advance teaching, learning, and research globally.

The previous year was an exciting time for open source in higher education, the emergence and continued growth of the Academic OSPO, increased regulatory and legislative initiatives, the explosion of new technologies (think, Generative AI), and the increased demand/development of open source infrastructure through post-pandemic and digital transformation initiatives--all while projects faced challenges in sustainability--have (and will) impact open source and institutions of higher education. 

Together, the Apereo Foundation accomplished so much in 2023: the launch of Apereo MicroConferences, re-engaging peer communities, including the Association for Learning Technology, AXIES, and EDUCAUSE, while fostering new partnerships with others, including the Open Source Initiative's Open Policy Alliance, Eclipse Foundation and OW2's OSPO Alliance and OnRamp, All Things Open, FOSSY, Open Forum Europe, and the OpenInfrastructure Foundation. 

Apereo projects and communities have continued their own incredible pace of development. Of course, there are new versions, updated features, and improved functionality, but what impresses me most is the commitment to co-creation and collaboration through events like the Opencast Virtual Summit, uPortal DevDays, SakaiCon and Virtual Conference, Xerte23 Conference, and so much more.

The above underscores the continued need for--and value of--the Apereo Foundation's mission and work. These developments also highlight why and where Apereo must extend our work as the open source and educational ecosystems, as well as our audience and constituency change. Ahead, Apereo, as an organization, will increase our involvement in cross-foundational initiatives and activities and extend our programs to serve the broader capacity and opportunities of open source in higher education, including resourcing awareness and advocacy, public policy, and research. Apereo must continue to support our projects while also helping new open source software development efforts emerging from campuses worldwide. Yet infrastructure, incubation, business services, and fiscal sponsorship (Apereo's traditional scope of services) are not enough for either Apereo's current constituencies or the broader open communities of practice now dependent on not just software projects but a healthy ecosystem that promotes authentic engagement, diverse participation, and sustainable practices. After all, Apereo's core mission has always been sector-wide, "to assist and facilitate educational organizations that collaborate to foster, develop, and sustain open technologies and innovation to support learning, teaching, and research."

I would also like to thank the Apereo Board for their contributions; each has made a profound impact on the projects the Foundation supports and the causes we champion. I am so grateful for the Board members' time, experience, and expertise, providing leadership and direction to advance Apereo's mission while also promoting the Foundation's initiatives among our highered, open source, and tech peers. Whether internally, with strategic planning, or externally presenting with and for our international community, each Apereo Board Member has contributed in so many ways, too many to list here. I can only say, "Thank you!."

On a personal note, I was thrilled and grateful to accept the Apereo Board's invitation to join the Foundation permanently as Executive Director in May. I'd also like to thank the Apereo staff: Michelle Hall, who has taken on broader responsibilities in our communications work; Jenn Cummings and Kathy Azevedo, who are now leading our community development activities; Phyllis Dobbs and Laura Graves, who have extended and professionalized many of our business services from accounting to payroll. I'd also like to welcome Josh Baron--whom many of you may already know from his time at Marist College and with Jasig and Sakai--who is helping with Apereo's fundraising and development efforts. 

As we step into the promises of a new year, my excitement grows thinking about the possibilities ahead. Of particular note is the Open Source Software in Higher Education Community Report. The Apereo Foundation, along with co-authors from across open source, non-profit foundations, and higher education institutions, will publish the "Open Source Software in Higher Education Community Report." This report will be the first of its kind; focusing specifically on open source software's impact on and value within higher education. The report will provide insights into four research questions:

• What is the current perception of open source among higher education IT leadership?
• What is the actual deployment level of open source software among academic and research institutions?
• How much open source software development is created by colleges and universities?
• What open source IT skills are most in demand by highered employers?

My hope is that this research and the findings it reports will help higher education understand its relationship (value, needs, opportunities, threats, etc.) with open source software projects and communities while also providing Apereo and other open source organizations a roadmap on how and where to best serve both open source developers and projects as well as consumers and campuses.

I am eager to continue this incredible journey with you by Apereo's side. Thank you for being an integral part of the Apereo family. Your ideas, commitment, and enthusiasm inspire all involved to aim higher, dream bigger, and make an even greater impact together.

Let's embark on 2024 as a united force for positive change. With your continued support, collaboration, and belief in our mission, we'll achieve remarkable milestones and create lasting, meaningful change.

Here's to a year filled with inspiration, innovation, and countless opportunities to make a difference. 

Happy New Year! 🌟✨

Patrick Masson
Executive Director, Apereo Foundation

We are excited to invite our community to join Apereo at the OW2 Conference taking place in Paris this June. 

“OW2con is the European open source conference organized by OW2. An international meeting of developers, IT companies, academics, and non-profit organizations, OW2con brings together the entire open source community, during two days of presentations ranging from tech topics to business and ethical issues of open source. It also offers a unique opportunity to establish contact with peers through friendly networking sessions. OW2con is open to all, the event is free and all sessions are held in English.”

We have three exciting announcements to share about Apereo’s presence at this conference!

First, our very own Patrick Masson has been invited to be one of the keynote speakers at the conference alongside Thierry Carrez of the Open Infra Foundation.

Second, Apereo will be anchoring the Open source in education, science & research track at the conference. We strongly encourage our members to propose a twenty-minute talk at the conference on the track of your choice. CFP is open until February 25th.

Third and incredibly exciting, Open Apereo Europe will take place in parallel to the OW2 Conference! Our entire community is invited to come together in person in Paris! Stay tuned for plans for Apereo-focused birds of a feather, social events, and formal meetings of our membership.

Be sure to save the dates on your calendar: June 11-12, 2024 in Paris-Châtillon. 

Apereo community members in Europe and beyond are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal for the OW2 Conference. The theme of OW2Con’24 is:

“Open source funding: what are the current solutions for innovators, start-ups or ISVs to finance their development? Private or public financing? Are national and European public policies up to the challenges? Please submit in this theme or in one of the tracks. All open source related proposals are considered.”

Submit your proposal before the deadline of February 25th: click the button below!

The open educational and open science movements are attracting a growing number of academic and research institutions in France and in Europe. Academic and scientific publications, campus and industry cooperation, teaching and learning initiatives, and even core infrastructure: how are these developments in tertiary education impacting the OW2 ecosystem and open source more broadly?

Special thanks to all of our 2023 micro conference speakers! We appreciate you helping to make these events a success!

Apereo Foundation is excited to share this sneak peek of our terrific lineup of open source speakers and thinkers joining us for the 2024 MicroConference sessions. Be sure to save the dates on your calendars, times will be confirmed at a later date.

Wednesday, January 17, 1800 GMT / 1300 Eastern

Simon Phipps will lead the Apereo community in a discussion ranging several open source topics such as:

• Do open source projects need foundations to host them?
• How should projects and adopting organizations respond to the coming waves of software regulation?
• What impact will/does open source have on AI, IoT and Cloud?

Simon Phipps is a consultant providing insight and knowledge on open source, digital rights and the emerging meshed economy to businesses and governments worldwide, as the founding principal of Meshed Insights Ltd. His writing is regularly featured in a variety of global publications and he is a frequent keynote speaker. He is a delegate at various de jure standards bodies such as ETSI and ISO on behalf of OSI. He serves as a director of the AlmaLinux OS Foundation.

He was previously President of OSI, the Open Source Initiative (twice) — the non-profit organisation that acts steward of the canonical list of open source licenses and the Open Source Definition — and a director of The Document Foundation, creators of LibreOffice. He is featured in the “Faces Of Open Source” project.

He is the co-founder and executive director of Public Software CIC, which hosts small or new community activities in the free and open source community.

Wednesday, February 14, 10 AM Eastern U.S./4 PM Central European

Philippe Krief, Director of Research Relations at Eclipse Foundation, France, joins us on February 14th to discuss Research @ Eclipse: 10 Years of commitment and support

Philippe Krief is the Research Relations Director of the Eclipse Foundation. He is a project leader, expert in object-oriented design, embedded development, development tools, and Agile-Scrum development process. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science, option Artificial Intelligence and Integrated Development Environments from University Paris Sorbonne, France in 1990.

Philippe oversees the team that collaborates on European research projects (Horizon Europe, ITEA, and KDT), mainly for dissemination, community building and open-source best practices. To date, the Foundation has been involved in over 25 projects, half of which are underway or nearing completion.

Wednesday, March 13th, 12 PM Eastern U.S./6 PM Central European

Ben Cotton, a longtime contributor to the Fedora Linux project and author of Program Management for Open Source Projects: How to Guide Your Community-Driven, Open Source Project will join us March 13th to discuss Coopetition: open source projects working together. We think this will be highly relevant for anyone in our community that has a need and/or desire to cooperate and collaborate with those working on other projects.

Our speaker will be Vicky Brasseur, author of Forge Your Future with Open Source, the only book detailing how to contribute to free/open source (FOSS) projects. Vicky has been a moderator and author for opensource.com, an author for Linux Journal, the Vice President of the Open Source Initiative, and is a frequent and popular speaker at free/open source conferences and events. Join us on April 10th to hear this dynamic thinker!

Two researchers who have focused on the topics of teaching open source and open source communities!

Dr. Heidi Ellis, professor of Computer Science at Western New England University, is one of the founding members of the Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software (HFOSS) project, which focuses on involving students in FOSS projects that improve the human condition. And...

Dr. Greg Hislop is a professor in the Information Science Department of the College of Computing and Informatics at Drexel University. Hilsop is an advocate for the educational and societal benefits of the free and open source movement. He facilitates the coordinating committee of Teaching Open Source, a member project of the Software Freedom Conservancy. 

Dr. Ellis and Dr. Hilsop will join the Apereo community to discuss Teaching Open Source. 

Please invite your professorial, teaching, and learning colleagues for this May 8th discussion.

More fantastic speakers will join us for the latter half of 2024!

Be sure to let us know if you’d like to join the invitation list for micro conferences by emailing registrar@apereo.org.

The Apereo Foundation, as the editor of the Open Source In Higher Education Community Report, seeks participation from co-authors, contributors, and sponsors.

• Co-authors collaborate in writing and editing the report, its research goals, data analysis, and the final publication. Co-authors are limited to individual subject matter experts, non-profits, and academic programs/institutions.
• Contributors provide subject matter expertise and relevant tools or technologies related to the specific surveying, research, analysis, or publication activities and needs of the report.
• Sponsors provide industry consultation, in-kind, or financial support for the Community Report in order to undertake the activities and provide the outcomes as described.

For more information, download our research project brief or contact Patrick Masson at patrick.masson@apereo.org

March 13-15, 2024

The 2024 Opencast Summit will be held at the Paraninfo of the University of Zaragoza, Plaza Basilio Paraíso, 4 – 50004 Zaragoza

Opencast Summit is an opportunity for the Opencast community to come together for workshops, hackathons, and community building. This is an international conference for all of the Opencast users and community.

Registration for the Opencast Summit is open!

Travel, accommodation, venue, and social details can be found on the Opencast website.

Contact our newsletter editorial team at newsletter@apereo.org or contact Michelle Hall, Apereo Communications Manager, at michelle.hall@apereo.org.