view abstracts – view bios
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Zaleha Abdullah
Zaleha Abdullah is Project Manager for the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) - MIT BLOSSOMS initiative in Malaysia, coordinating this collaborative effort among Malaysia Ministry of Education, UTM and MIT. She is also the Coordinator for the Educational Technology Program, which is based in the School of Education. She is actively involved in research and projects of Higher Education under the Creative Technology Research Group (CITE). Her research interests and experience are in the area of creativity, Activity Theory, and online Learning. She holds a Ph.D degree in distance and online learning, and has previously worked in the design industry before joining the School of Education.
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Anant Agarwal
Anant Agarwal is the President of edX, an online learning venture of Harvard and MIT. Agarwal taught the first edX course, drawing 155,000 students from 162 countries. He served as the director of CSAIL, MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. He is a founder of Tilera Corporation which created the Tile multicore processor. Agarwal holds a Ph.D. from Stanford and a bachelor's from IIT Madras. He led the VirtualWires project at MIT and was the founder of Virtual Machine Works. Agarwal won the Maurice Wilkes prize for computer architecture, and MIT’s Smullin and Jamieson prizes for teaching. He holds a Guinness World Record for the largest microphone array and his work on Organic Computing was selected by Scientific American as one of 10 World Changing Ideas in 2011. Agarwal was named one of 12 Bostonians changing the world by Boston Globe Magazine in 2012.
Visit http://people.csail.mit.edu/agarwal/
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Lúcia Araújo
Lúcia Araújo is a Brazilian journalist and currently runs Canal Futura, an educational TV channel and a communication project created by Roberto Marinho Foundation and designed to support social change and education improvement. Canal Futura is the 2011 CSSC Award winner. She started her career as a writer and managing editor at TV Bandeirantes and later on worked as a stringer correspondent in Washington DC for Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo and as a director of journalistic programs at TV Cultura. Until 1999, when she took over the position of general director at Canal Futura, she worked for CNBC (Cable NBC) in Brazil and again for TV Bandeirantes as head of news and journalistic programs.
Visit http://www.futura.org.br/
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Faten Shaheed Ardekany
Faten Shaheed Ardekany was Project Manager for the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Science & Technology Center (Scitech) of the MIT BLOSSOMS Initiative in Saudi Arabia, coordinating this collaborative effort among Scitech, Saudi Aramco and MIT. She also served as manager of "National Grid For Learning Resources" at Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Center for Science and Technology (Scitech), a non-profit educational foundation dedicated to increasing public awareness of science and technology especially among the youth, and developing their interest and understanding of it. Faten's earlier experience was in socio-economic research in the field of agriculture, animal production and protection. She holds a Masters degree in international management, and has experience in management training and English/Arabic interpretation.
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Tony Bates
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Clients include the World Bank, OECD, UNESCO, national ministries of education, and several U.S. state higher education commissions as well as many universities and colleges. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network. He is also President and CEO of Tony Bates Associates Ltd, a private company specializing in consultancy and training in the planning and management of e-learning and distance education.
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Cody Coleman
Cody Coleman is a 2013 graduate of MIT's Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department. Pursuing his passion for education, Cody will continue his studies at MIT as he gets a Master of Engineering degree. In conjunction with MITx, Cody's masters thesis will explore video engagement in digital learning. The novel discoveries he makes and the tools he develops will benefit both massive open online courses as well as traditional classrooms by using the wealth of newly collected data by online platforms.
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Sir John Daniel
Sir John Daniel served as a university president for 17 years in Canada (Laurentian University) and in the UK (The Open University) before joining UNESCO as assistant director-general for education in 2001 and assuming the presidency of the Commonwealth of Learning in 2004. He has been closely involved in the development of open and distance learning for nearly 40 years. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for services to higher education in 1994 and holds 32 honorary doctorates and fellowships from universities in 18 countries. He now works on a variety of international projects, notably as Education Master in the Beijing DeTao Masters Academy of China and as Chair of the UWC (United World Colleges) International Board. Among Sir John's 330 publications are his books Mega-Universities and Knowledge Media: Technology Strategies for Higher Education (Kogan Page, 1996) and Mega-Schools, Technology and Teachers: Achieving Education for All (Routledge, 2010).
Visit http://www.france24.com/en/20120712-john-daniel-open-educational-resources-movement.
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Bakary Diallo
Dr Bakary Diallo joined the African Virtual University (AVU) in 2005 and was appointed as Rector in April 2007. AVU is an Intergovernmental Organization based in Nairobi Kenya, specializing in Open, Distance and e–Learning methodologies. Its mission is to facilitate the effective use of these methodologies in African tertiary education and training institutions. Dr. Diallo’s major achievement at AVU consists of leading the organization to become a respected player in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education in Africa. He has been working in the education sector for the last 19 years as a secondary school teacher, an academic, a consultant, a project administrator and a researcher.
Visit http://www.avu.org.
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Cecilia d’Oliveira
As Executive Director of OpenCourseWare (OCW) at MIT, Ms. Cecilia d’Oliveira heads a staff of 25 professionals who work with MIT faculty to publish MIT’s educational materials for free and open access and with external groups to advance the adoption of the opencourseware approach worldwide. As Technology Director for OpenCourseWare, from 2002 to 2007, she implemented the technical infrastructure supporting OCW publishing and worldwide distribution. Ms. d’Oliveira is also a member of MIT’s Council on Educational Technology and works closely with MIT faculty and staff on issues related to educational technology innovation, implementation and support on the MIT campus.
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Daniel Hastings
Daniel Hastings is the Dean for Undergraduate Education and the Cecil and Ida Green Education Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems at MIT. Dr. Hastings served as chief scientist to the U.S. Air Force from 1997 to 1999. In that role, he served as chief scientific adviser to the chief of staff and the secretary and provided assessments on a wide range of scientific and technical issues affecting the Air Force mission. Dr. Hastings' recent research has concentrated on issues with global education and with aerospace systems, and has also focused on issues related to spacecraft-environmental interactions, space propulsion, space systems engineering, and space policy. He is a member of the AAAS Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy and has served on numerous National Research Council studies on space issues, S&T workforce issues and engineering education. Dr. Hastings was elected as a Fellow of INCOSE (the International Council on System Engineering) in June 2007.
Visit http://due.mit.edu/deans-corner/about-dean
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Robin Horn
Robin Horn is Director, Programmes, The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (UK) and former Education Sector Manager for the World Bank's Human Development Network. In that position,he was responsible for helping countries strengthen their education systems and for the development and roll-out of the World Bank's major, new "Systems Approach for Better Education Results" (SABER) initiative. SABER is a comprehensive program of diagnostic policy assessment that provides countries with systematic, evidence-based policy guidance and implementation support to raise learning outcomes, with equity, for students in developing and emerging economies. He previously advised governments, including Brazil, Turkey, and the US, on education policy reform. Mr. Horn has a Ph.D. in Economics of Education from Columbia University in New York.
Visit https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/team/robin-horn.
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Ok-hwa Lee
Ok-hwa Lee has been a professor for Educational Technology at the Department of Education, Chungbuk National University in South Korea since 1996. Before that she served at the national research institutes, KEDI (Korea Educational Development Institute) and KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) for nearly 10 years. Professor Lee has been the pioneer of the educational movement for computer education, e-learning, and smart education in Korea since the introduction of the ICT application in that country. She has served on three Republic of Korea Presidential committees – the President’s Committee for Educational Reform, the Council on Information Strategies, and the e-Government Committee of the Local Government Innovation Council. She received the national medal for her service in the development of e-Government. Professor Lee also has been active in research and practice for educational equity through international collaborations such as GELP (Global Education Leaders Program), ACU (ASEAN Cyber University) in south Asian countries, internet use for primary and secondary education in South Asian countries, and practicum abroad between Korea and EU for pre-service teachers.
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Patricio López del Puerto
Dr. Patricio López del Puerto is President of the Virtual University of the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico – a position he has held since 2002. Since its founding in 1989, the Virtual University has consolidated itself as a pioneering institution in distance education on the American continent, offering graduate academic programs, continuing education programs, programs for elementary and secondary school teachers and programs for the development of marginalized communities.
Visit http://www.ruv.itesm.mx/portal/principal/qs/english.
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Naveed Malik
Dr. Naveed A. Malik is the Founding Rector of the Virtual University of Pakistan and is currently an adviser to that university. He has been associated with the Virtual University project from inception to date. Under his leadership, the Virtual University of Pakistan has become a well-regarded modern distance learning institution with a student body exceeding 100,000 students. He was the principal architect of the University’s highly innovative IT-based management, learning and examinations systems, which are rapidly being adopted by other universities in Pakistan. He is a life member of the Pakistan Institute of Physics and is the Pakistan Project Manager for MIT BLOSSOMS. He was awarded the prestigious Pakistani civil award of Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 2008 for services to education.
Visit http://www.vu.edu.pk.
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Clifford Missen
Cliff Missen is Director of the nonprofit WiderNet Project and WiderNet@UNC, a service initiative of the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Launched in 2000, this project aims to improve digital communication in developing countries by identifying and promoting affordable technology. WiderNet trains computer technicians and coaches decision-makers across the developing world, providing on-site hands-on training, and research on low cost information technology. Over 6,000 technicians, decision makers, and librarians have been through WiderNet training programs. The WiderNet Project also produces the eGranary Digital Library, an innovative way to deliver the world’s knowledge to people and institutions with inadequate Internet access. Containing over 30 million Web resources, it is installed in more than 600 schools, hospitals, libraries, and universities in Africa, India, Bangladesh, and Haiti. Missen was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Nigeria in 1999 and a TED Fellow in 2007.
Visit http://cliffmissen.com/
http://www.uiowa.edu/be-remarkable/portfolio/people/missen-c.html
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Brandon Muramatsu
Brandon Muramatsu has been involved in the development of learning technologies to support open education/opencourseware, teaching and learning, online learning, educational digital libraries and engineering education since 1993. He designs web applications and tools for educators and learners to develop/author, use, reuse and share digital learning resources. He works with faculty to implement learning technologies in their classes and with their students. His work also focuses on the potential of open education to improve teaching and learning worldwide. And he organizes conferences and events to bring together educators in open education / opencourseware, and in learning technologies. He works at the Office of Educational Innovation and Technology at MIT, and consults on open education and learning technologies. Brandon Muramatsu earned his B.S. (1993) and M.S. (1995) in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
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Fernando Reimers
Dr. Fernando Reimers is the Ford Foundation Professor of International Education and the Director of the International Education Policy Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. His research focuses on educational innovation, global education and on the impact of policy, leadership, curriculum and professional development on the quality and relevancy of education to develop 21st Century skills and expand opportunity for socially disadvantaged children and youth. He is a member of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and of the State’s Advisory Council on Teacher Preparation. He is an advisor on policy and strategy to education leaders in institutions of higher education, governments, foundations and international development agencies.
Visit http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=fernando_reimers.
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Bish Sanyal
Bish Sanyal is Ford International Professor of Urban Development and Planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. He also heads the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at MIT and is Director of the MIT Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation (CITE) as part of USAID’s Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN) which gave a $10 million grant under Bish’s leadership to evaluate technologies intended to directly benefit the lives of low income households in developing countries. Bish joined MIT in 1984, served as the Head of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning from 1994 to 2002, as the Chair of the MIT Faculty from 2007 until 2009, and most recently, as Head of the International Development Group. Currently, Bish is co-leading a project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation to create the curriculum for a new university, the Indian Institute of Human Settlements in Bangalore, India. He has published extensively on cities and city planning in developing countries, particularly, how to integrate the majority of urban population who are poor into the physical and economic fabric of the city. He has also written on internationalization of planning education. His most recent book (2012) is Planning Ideas that Matter and he is working on a manuscript Hidden Successes: Innovative Institutional Responses to India’s Urban Challenges. Bish was named a MacVicar Faculty Fellow at MIT in 2011 for outstanding contributions to undergraduate education; and he was recently awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2011 from his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
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Sanjay Sarma
Sanjay Sarma is the Fred Fort Flowers and Daniel Fort Flowers Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and was recently appointed MIT’s new Director of Digital Learning. Prior to this position, Dr. Sarma was Director of MIT’s SUTD Collaboration, in which he lead MIT's effort to help establish a state-of-the-art engineering university in Singapore, focused on interdisciplinary design. His dedication as an educator has earned him numerous awards, including the Den Hertog Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001, the Joseph H. Keenan Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Education in 2002, and in 2008, he was named a MacVicar Fellow. Professor Sarma is also known for his research in RFID, which lead to the establishment of the EPC suite of standards. He serves on the boards of several companies, both for profit and not-for-profit.
Visit http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/sanjay-sarma-director-of-digital-learning-1120.html
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Sam Shames
Sam Shames is a rising senior at MIT studying Materials Science & Engineering with a minor in Energy Studies. A captain of the MIT wrestling team, he is a 2013 NCWA National Champion at 125 pounds. Sam became interested in online learning and education after serving as a teaching assistant for the thermodynamics section of Fundamentals of Materials Science, a core class in the major. Since that time he has become inspired by the idea of using digital learning as a way to expand access to education, to make students learn better, and to empower students to become life-long learners. Sam also conducts research in the Grossman Group, writes for the opinion section of the The Tech, and works as a tour guide in the MIT Information center. His other interests include reading, philosophy, and the cello.
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Ethan Solomon
Ethan Solomon is a former Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor of The Tech, MIT’s oldest and largest newspaper. He graduated from MIT with an SB in Brain and Cognitive Sciences in June 2012 and now works in a systems neuroscience laboratory at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Ethan has written extensively on edX and MITx since the online learning initiative was announced in December 2011, and most recently published an in-depth review of courses on the edX and Coursera platforms. He will be starting an MD-PhD degree program at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.
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Zaini Ujang – MIT LINC 2013 Platinum Keynote Speaker
Dr. Zaini Ujang is a professional environmental engineer cum scientist who integrates studies on water ecology with engineering systems towards pollution control and sustainability, especially with reference to river rehabilitation in developing countries. At present, he is leading the oldest technical university in Malaysia and South East Asia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He also sits on various boards such as the Chemical Companies of Malaysia (CCM) and the Institute of Sultan Iskandar for Urban Habitat. For his remarkable contribution to the nation, Dr. Ujang became the first recipient of the prestigious Malaysia Merdeka Award 2009 for the category of Outstanding Scholastic Achievement.
Visit http://www.utm.my/vicechancellor/
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