{"647702":{"#nid":"647702","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Yakut Gazi Wins Award for Contributions to the Future of Online Learning","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYakut Gazi,\u0026nbsp;Ph.D.,\u0026nbsp;associate dean of Learning Systems at Georgia Tech Professional Education\u0026nbsp;(GTPE), the lifetime learning arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology, received\u0026nbsp;the 2021\u0026nbsp;Certificate of Merit from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE),\u0026nbsp;the only engineering education society dedicated to the professional needs of engineering educators across all disciplines.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith\u0026nbsp;nearly 20 years\u0026nbsp;of service to\u0026nbsp;higher education institutions\u0026nbsp;in the United States and globally,\u0026nbsp;the award\u0026nbsp;recognizes\u0026nbsp;Gazi\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;leadership, championship, and commitment to quality online education at-scale.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Yakut has been making\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;good\u0026nbsp;trouble\u0026rdquo; for years\u0026nbsp;-- providing students around the world access to education at an affordable cost in a noble cause and calling,\u0026rdquo; said Lisa Stephens,\u0026nbsp;Ph.D.,\u0026nbsp;assistant dean\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;Digital Education\u0026nbsp;in the UB School of Engineering and senior strategist for Academic Innovation in the Office of the State University of New York (SUNY).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPresented\u0026nbsp;in a virtual ceremony on March 26, 2021,\u0026nbsp;the award highlights\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;impact of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pe.gatech.edu\/blog\/education-innovation\/new-dimensions-at-scale-learning\u0022\u003EAffordable Degrees at-Scale Symposium\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;an annual signature event for Georgia Tech and brainchild of Gazi and Nelson Baker, Ph.D., dean of Professional Education.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;It\u0026rsquo;s not a\u0026nbsp;hyperbole\u0026nbsp;to say that the \u0026ldquo;art of the possible\u0026rdquo; became a reality for hundreds of SUNY instructional support staff during the symposium,\u0026rdquo; shared Kim Scalzo,\u0026nbsp;Ph.D.,\u0026nbsp;executive director of Open SUNY, in Gazi\u0026rsquo;s nomination letter.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESince the introduction of\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS),\u0026nbsp;the first-ever affordable online degree-at-scale,\u0026nbsp;five years ago, as many as 45 new online degrees-at-scale\u0026nbsp;programs now\u0026nbsp;exist in the market.\u0026nbsp;The Affordable Degrees-at-Scale Symposium supports these higher education institutions that are creating similar programs to meet the need for affordable, accessible, and high-quality online programs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen Gazi\u0026nbsp;hosted the\u0026nbsp;first\u0026nbsp;symposium in 2017, it attracted 57 attendees from peer institutions. At this year\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;virtual\u0026nbsp;symposium, held in\u0026nbsp;March,\u0026nbsp;more than 500 attendees from higher education\u0026nbsp;institutions\u0026nbsp;from all over the\u0026nbsp;world\u0026nbsp;attended\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;featured 19 speakers from universities\u0026nbsp;in the United States,\u0026nbsp;India,\u0026nbsp;and The Netherlands.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;As our workforce\u0026nbsp;continues\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;evolve and diversify to match the pace of change,\u0026nbsp;many\u0026nbsp;institutions have been actively exploring scaling up their online education to meet\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;needs of new and\u0026nbsp;returning\u0026nbsp;students,\u0026rdquo; noted Baker. \u0026ldquo;Yakut has been instrumental in leading initiatives that create and deliver world-class content to learners across the globe, positioning Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;as a leader in the delivery of 21st-century professional education.\u0026quot;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the associate dean for Learning Systems\u0026nbsp;at\u0026nbsp;GTPE,\u0026nbsp;Gazi\u0026nbsp;comes with a wealth of international experience in instructional design and technology, having worked at higher education institutions in the United States, Qatar, Turkey, and Spain since 1993. In her role at the Institute,\u0026nbsp;she oversees\u0026nbsp;a Learning Design Team\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;curates\u0026nbsp;the expertise of Georgia Tech faculty\u0026nbsp;into high-touch, personalized content\u0026nbsp;to more than\u0026nbsp;21,000\u0026nbsp;learners across Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s online education programs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGazi\u0026nbsp;regularly shares her depth of knowledge\u0026nbsp;and insights to the higher education and business communities.\u0026nbsp;Her most recent work,\u0026nbsp;an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pe.gatech.edu\/blog\/education-innovation\/ebook-examines-covid-impact-on-higher-education\u0022\u003Einternational\u0026nbsp;open access book that shares\u0026nbsp;higher education\u0026#39;s collective\u0026nbsp;responses\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;the Covid-19 pandemic\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;adds yet another important perspective to the ongoing discussion around\u0026nbsp;educational\u0026nbsp;transformation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Associate Dean of Learning Systems positions Georgia Tech as a leader in at-scale learning"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Associate Dean of Learning Systems positions Georgia Tech as a leader in at-scale learning."}],"uid":"34615","created_gmt":"2021-05-24 19:15:36","changed_gmt":"2021-05-24 19:15:36","author":"Kelsey Harris","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1258","name":"Professional Education"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Professional Education\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:gtpe-communications@pe.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Egtpe-communications@pe.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["gtpe-communications@pe.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}