Indian-American Professor Appointed as The First Director of Digital Learning at MIT

Introduction

Sanjay Sarma, an Indian-American professor of mechanical engineering and alumni of IIT, has been appointed as the first director of digital learning of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In the new role, Sarma will work closely with the Institute's faculty, staff and students to consider how new models of online instruction might become integral parts of MIT students' on-campus education. Sarma, a 1989 IIT alumni, has long worked to develop new instructional techniques for mechanical engineering students.

The announcement of Sarma’s appointment was made by MIT's President L Rafael Reif.

"He will explore, collect and build on the wisdom and experience of individuals and groups across our community, and lead us in shaping a coherent vision...On the subject of blending online learning and residential education, he will also serve as experimenter-in- chief, assessing what is working best in MIT's current educational model, what we could do more effectively and what kind of changes we should pursue, from the way course content is delivered to the way we shape the campus itself," said Reif.

Sarma, who is a member of the Institute's mechanical engineering faculty since 1996, has received multiple MIT awards for excellence in teaching, including the Den Hertog Teaching Excellence Award, in 2001, and the Joseph H Keenan Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Education, in 2002. He was also named a MacVicar Fellow in 2008, an MIT honour reflecting outstanding undergraduate teaching, mentoring and educational innovation.

Source

India Brand Equity Foundation , November 23, 2012