15 Testimonials for Part 1 of the book
“Meraki by Chrissi Nerantzi is a valuable addition to the world of open educational resources. Written with creativity, openness, and collaboration at its heart, this living book shows just how powerful education can be when it’s approached with care, passion, and innovation.
Made up of 13 thought-provoking articles, Meraki offers a personal yet relatable dive into critical and creative teaching. It’s rooted in Chrissi’s work as the Academic Lead for the Discovery initiative at the University of Leeds—a programme that’s all about broadening students’ horizons and encouraging lifelong, lifewide learning.
What makes the book stand out is how it blends theory with practical ideas, such as finding ways to bring learning from outside the classroom into the curriculum. By combining personal reflections, interdisciplinary thinking, and input from scholars, students, and educators, Meraki becomes a lively space for discussion and growth.
The open-licence format invites staff and students to add their own contributions, so the book keeps growing as a collaborative project.
Meraki isn’t just a book—it’s a call to rethink education and embrace more creative and inclusive ways of learning.”
“Chrissi Nerantzi has approached this book with characteristic creativity and openness, inviting us to think together to develop opportunities for student learning in new and exciting ways, both within and outside the classroom, always linked to a concern for transformation and rooted in solid educational theory. That Chrissi’s leadership on Discovery has led to a strand called SOUL is not a surprise given the passion and personal insight she brings to learning opportunities developed in a collaborative, interactive way that contributes to global sustainability goals. It has been a joy to learn from, be challenged by and to also share ideas with Chrissi over the past few years, and I look forward to seeing her new open educational resource ‘Meraki’ sowing seeds for further journeys of co-creation, here at the University of Leeds, and with local and global communities.”
Dr Margaret Korosec, Leading Open, Online and Digital Education, University of Leeds
Chrissi Nerantzi has once again surpassed new thresholds of creativity with this open publication. Meraki (re)presents a deeply personal, reflective collection of essays on teaching and learning giving us a glimpse into the creative energy that Chrissi lives and breathes. It inspires and engages readers to think differently in how they might shape the future of education for themselves, their communities, and the world.
At its heart, Meraki illuminates Chrissi’s own metacognitive approach to inspirational and transformative learning by inviting us to wander through a labyrinth of her own human emotions, cultural curiosities, thought-provoking challenges, and futuristic perspectives. Indeed, this honest and personal account, surfaces how she approached a complex and institution-wide initiative with grace, openness and collaboration. By setting an example of her own way of working, readers are supported to work in tandem with their educational communities to co-design a future of education that sparks curiosity, builds connection, and encourages openness.
This work implicitly encourages us to hold ourselves accountable to be the best version of ourselves – as individuals, educators, and citizens. By exemplifying her commitment to fostering a community of practice centred on open education, she invites us all to continue the dialogue, reflect, share insights, research and contribute to shaping what this book will ultimately become. This is a unique opportunity to expand the future map of learning and teaching. I remain deeply inspired by this invitation to contribute and I am curious how it evolves.
