Dr Sanjaya Mishra is a Digital Learning Specialist with over three decades of experience in national and international organisations. He is a leading thinker and practitioner of open, distance, and digital learning, and has helped governments and educational institutions harness the power of openness and technology to make quality education and relevant skills development accessible, affordable, and equitable for all, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Dr Mishra has served the Indira Gandhi National Open University in various capacities, contributing to system development and innovations in online learning. At UNESCO, Paris, he championed open access (OA) to scientific information and contributed to the adoption of the UNESCO OA Policy. During his service as the Director of the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, he facilitated the adoption of the Open Licensing Policy for the National Mission on Education through ICTs. At the Commonwealth of Learning, he contributed to developing the Education Sector across the Commonwealth through Open Educational Resources (OER) and Technology-Enabled Learning. In addition to several national awards, he received the Prof. G. Ram Reddy Social Scientist Award 2013 for his contributions to OER and distance education. The Open Education Global, a global community fostering openness in education, recognised Dr Mishra as a Champion of Open Policy 2025.

Ramashego Shila Mphahlele is an Associate Professor at UNISA’s Institute of Open and Distance Learning.  She taught mathematics, science and technology teaching in the Foundation Phase at the Department of Early Childhood Education and Development.  She was seconded as a Professional Development Specialist from June 2021 to May 2022 to UNISA’s Centre for Professional Development.  She graduated three Master’s candidates, all with distinctions, and four Doctoral candidates.  Ramashego’s research interests include mathematics and science teaching, technology-enhanced cognitive justice, inclusive education, open distance learning, e-learning, and open educational resources.  She authored and co-authored several journal articles and book chapters.  She also co-edited three books published in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

She is currently co-editing two books 1. Open Educational Resources (OERs) in Open Distance and e-Learning Contexts in Southern Africa.  2. Empowering STEM Education in ODL Through Teachers’ Communities of Practice in Africa and the Caribbean. Ramashego was honoured with various research awards including Real Impact Award 2023/2024 for Early Career Researcher Recognition Award issued by Emerald Publishers. She capacitated many academics in African Institutions, including (Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Seychelles, Jamaica and Belize researchers and teachers on various following topics including Designing and repurposing Open Educational Resources and Ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in research.

Associate Professor Glenda Cox works in the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She leads the Digital Open Textbooks for Development (DOT4D) initiative at UCT. She holds the UNESCO chair in Open Education and Social Justice and is a member of the UNITWIN network on Open Education. She is a vice president on the board of the Open Education Global organisation. She is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Students as Partners.