From Bold Idea to Global Legacy: 25 Years of MIT OpenCourseWare
Celebrate 25 years of MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW)—a bold experiment that became a global movement. This half‑day symposium brings together learners, educators, supporters, open knowledge leaders, and the MIT community to honor OCW’s extraordinary impact and to chart the future of open education.
Since its launch in 2001, OCW has empowered millions worldwide with free access to MIT course materials. This anniversary offers a moment to recognize the vibrant ecosystem that sustains open knowledge as a public good—and to reaffirm MIT’s mission-driven leadership in ensuring that high-quality learning remains accessible to all.
Join us for an engaging, dynamic, and celebratory program featuring MIT leadership, pioneering faculty, global learners, open education innovators, and philanthropic partners. Together, we will explore OCW’s legacy, its role in the evolving open ecosystem, and the opportunities and challenges ahead.
Who Should Attend
This gathering welcomes:
--Learners and educators worldwide who use OCW to teach, learn, and create new opportunities
--Philanthropic supporters and donors who power open education
--MIT faculty, students, and staff invested in sharing knowledge freely and openly
--Collaborators across the global open education and open knowledge ecosystems
Thursday, April 8, 2026 online and on campus (MIT Welcome Center)
9:15-10:00AM Light breakfast and refreshments available.
Symposium Program
10:00–10:10 AM
From Bold Idea to Global Legacy: 25 Years of MIT OpenCourseWare
Welcome remarks from Dimitris Bertsimas and Curt Newton.
10:10–10:30 AM
Opening Remarks from MIT President Sally Kornbluth
President Kornbluth will reflect on OCW’s impact and the Institute’s leadership in open knowledge.
10:30–11:00 AM
OCW @ 25: A Story in Motion
Premiere of a new short documentary celebrating OCW’s origins, influence, and global reach, followed by a panel with key MIT contributors who have helped shape OCW’s worldwide influence.
11:15 AM–12:15 PM
Learning Without Limits: How OCW Opens Opportunity for Curious Minds Worldwide
A conversation with learners and educators whose stories reveal the transformative power of open knowledge—showing how OCW has sparked curiosity, expanded opportunity, and inspired people worldwide to imagine new possibilities for themselves and their communities.
12:15–1:00 PM Lunch Reception
1:00–1:45 PM
Knowledge Without Walls: MIT’s Ethos of Open
A cross-campus look at MIT’s leadership in all forms of open knowledge—expanding the open education legacy of OCW and championing knowledge as a public good. This session highlights how practices in open source technologies, open access, open science and data, and open publishing have evolved across MIT and influenced global movements for accessible and equitable learning.
2:00–3:00 PM
Catalysts of Open: Philanthropy’s Role in the Open Education Movement
A conversation with supporters and partners from the open education funding community about the essential role that philanthropy has played—and continues to play—in driving forward a global movement centered on access, equity, and the belief that knowledge should be a public good.
3:15–4:15 PM
The Future of MIT Open Education
A forward-looking dialogue on the commitments and evolution of OCW and MIT’s open learning initiatives, including mobile learning, language translation, AI-enabled personalization and learning supports, and sustaining open education’s place in future knowledge landscapes.
To attend the symposium in-person, please register here.
To attend the symposium online, please register at the following links:
10-11:00AM From Bold Idea to Global Legacy: 25 Years of MIT OpenCourseWare
11:15AM-12:15PM Learning Without Limits: How OCW Opens Opportunity for Curious Minds Worldwide
1:00-1:45PM Knowledge Without Walls: MIT’s Ethos of Open
2:00PM-3:00PM Catalysts of Open: Philanthropy’s Role in the Open Education Movement
3:15PM-4:15PM The Future of MIT Open Education
All sessions will be streamed live on the MIT OpenCourseWare YouTube Channel. They will be recorded and made available online after the event.