Open SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador 2016 – Buffalo State: Uma Gupta
Dr. Uma Gupta is Professor of Business at the State University of New York College at Buffalo State. She has published four books in Information Systems and authored more than sixty research papers and conference proceedings. Her areas of expertise include Data Science, Big Data, Information Systems, Strategy, Organizational Development, and Leadership. She has taught online courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. She holds a PhD in Industrial engineering and an MBA from the University of Central Florida, a graduate degree in mathematics from Stella Maris College, India, and is a certified Project Management Professional.
Teaching online is more challenging than teaching face-to-face because “as teachers we have to rely on bits and bytes to understand the subtle nuances of our student’s aspirations, struggles, and learning goals. Every semester I find myself balancing my role as a teacher in my field and as a student in the art and science of online teaching,” says Dr. Gupta. Insisting that true learning is not only about the subject matter but also about personal growth, she incorporates thoughtful motivation and self-reflections exercises in all her online classes.
Her student testimonials prove that this approach is highly beneficial.
This year has been what I like to call a reset year for me: A year where many events occurred in my life that caused me to step back and examine my life more closely. Through this course, I was able to develop my behaviors and push myself in the direction I want to go in. I can say with certainty that I am in a better place in my life now than I was 14 weeks ago.
– Undergraduate Student.
She credits her campus online Instructional Technology team and the SUNY Online Blackboard staff for their support, encouragement and patience, without whose guidance she says she would not have made the strides she has in her online teaching.
She is also a seasoned speaker and consultant who frequently delivers keynote addresses and leadership workshops to senior executives and middle managers on a wide number of topics to address solutions to organizational challenges. She uses the latest findings from neuroscience and psychology to convey her message and consistently receives rave reviews from her audiences for her insightful, thought-provoking, authentic and highly-engaging presentations. You can read more about her work at http://www.umagupta.com
She was selected as the Top Ten Influential Women in Technology in Houston, Texas and was nominated for this prestigious award for a second time in 2012 in Rochester, New York. She was recently awarded the prestigious Fulbright Award by the United States government to teach at the University of Malta. She has won numerous other awards for community engagement and leadership contributions.
Dr. Gupta is the Founder and Executive Director of STEM-SMART (www.stem-smart.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping professionals and students launch successful careers in science and technology. She has been quoted in Forbes.com, Reuters, Huffing Post and NPR, to name a few. She can be reached at guptaspeaker@gmail.com.