Integrating Open Educational Resources, Active Learning, and Artificial Intelligence for Lifelong Learning in Engineering Education

Engineering education is increasingly moving toward open, flexible, and learner-centered models that foster autonomy, adaptability, and continuous professional growth. This chapter proposes an integrated pedagogical framework that combines Open Educational Resources (OER) with flipped learning to cultivate self-regulation, metacognition, and lifelong-learning competencies in undergraduate engineering programs. Students first engage with OER-based materials to acquire key concepts and subsequently apply them in interactive, problem-oriented classroom sessions that emphasize reflection and collaboration. A structural engineering case study illustrates the approach through digital content, MatLab simulations, and in-class teamwork. Classroom observations suggested higher levels of student engagement, learner independence, and conceptual understanding, together with sustained reuse of open materials beyond the course. Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools were not implemented in this educational experience, recent advances in large language models (LLMs) offer opportunities to extend the framework by supporting adaptive formative feedback, personalized guidance, and structured reflection, provided that clear ethical, transparency, and privacy safeguards are established. The chapter concludes that integrating OER and flipped learning provides a robust foundation for lifelong learning in engineering education, while responsibly designed AI may further enhance these open and active learning environments as learners’ needs evolve.