Switch OER: Working together for open education

Yes. Since April 2025, OERSI – one of the largest OER search indexes – has been indexing the metadata of Switch OER, so all materials can also be found via oersi.org.

Switch OER has also integrated the content of OEPMS, a former Swiss OER platform for the economics faculties of Swiss universities of applied sciences. All 90 items were migrated, with the original DOI links preserved.

Materials already published on another platform can also be registered on Switch OER via a link and described with metadata, without uploading them again.

 

By definition, OER are published under an open licence. Such a licence allows third parties free access as well as free use, adaptation and redistribution – with no or only minor restrictions. The specific licence, usually a Creative Commons licence such as CC BY or CC BY-SA, is shown for each item.

Eight institutions currently take part in Switch OER: Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), HEP Vaud, OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, Pädagogische Hochschule St.Gallen (PHSG), Pädagogische Hochschule Schwyz (PHSZ), Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET) and Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).

Each participating institution appoints at least one contact person who supports lecturers locally with questions about Switch OER (first-level support) and carries out the editorial review of submitted materials. Representatives of the institutions can also join the Switch Working Group and help develop the platform further. Interested? Write to us at oer-support@switch.ch.

Among other things: title, description, discipline according to the Swiss standard (SHIS), institution, authors and other contributors, material type, licence, year of publication and language. To ensure high data quality, some fields are mandatory. Good metadata also helps materials rank well in search engines.

Downloading requires neither a licence nor a login. Lecturers at participating institutions can upload materials; students can publish materials with the consent of their lecturers. Before an item is published, an editorial team checks that its metadata is complete.

Switch developed and coordinated the initiative together with ZHAW. It is responsible for legal protection, negotiations with suppliers, coordination of further development and second-level support.