Organizing Committee

Prof. Sahin graduated from the Geomatics Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in 1987, with the highest grades. Prof. Sahin received his master's degree from University College London in 1991, and his PhD degree from University of Newcastle in 1994. He became an assistant professor in 1994, an associate professor in 1998 and a tenured Professor in 2002 at ITU. He was a short-term visiting fellow at Graz Technical University in 1997 and at Berlin Technical University in 2000.

During the years 1996-2004 at ITU, he assumed several administrative positions such as Advisor to the Rector, Director of the School of Foreign Languages, Chairman of the Department of Surveying Techniques, and Coordinator for the Graduate Programs in Advanced Technologies.

Prof. Sahin was appointed as the Rector of Istanbul Technical University on August 6th, 2008 and his tenure ended on August 6th, 2012. In 2009, Prof. Sahin was the first and only rector from Turkey to be elected as a member of the Board of Directors of CESAER (Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research), based in Belgium and including the most prominent engineering universities in Europe. In February

2012, Prof. Sahin was nominated and elected unanimously to the four-member Executive Board of CESAER on account of the contributions he had made to “Research and Strategy Management at Universities”.

Between August 2008 and August 2012, he was the Chairman of ITU Foundation and ITU Development Foundation, Chairman of ITU ARI Technopark (Sciencepark) Board of Directors, Founding Representative of ITU Development Foundation Schools and an Honorary Chairman of ITU Alumni Council. He was also a member of the Advisory Board on Earthquakes of the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency between 2010 and 2017.

Prof. Sahin is the founding rector of MEF University, the first fully and only university in the world established entirely based on the flipped learning methodology. He has held this position since March 2013. He is also a member of the Board of MEF Schools.

He has co-authored five books : The Flipped Approach to Higher Education, in 2016, The New University Model: Scaling Flipped Learning in Higher Education in 2019, The New University Model: Flipped, Adaptive, Digital and Active Learning (FADAL) in 2019, and The Impact of ChatGPT on Higher Education: Exploring the AI Revolution in 2024, and What Is AI Doing to Us?: A Philosophical Inquiry into Learning, Thinking, and Being in 2026. 

Prof. Muhittin Gökmen is a senior academic and researcher specializing in computer vision, image processing, and artificial intelligence, with more than four decades of experience in academia, research, and industry. He received his B.Sc. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) in 1982, and later earned his M.S. (1985) and Ph.D. (1990) in Computer Vision from the University of Pittsburgh.

Prof. Gökmen joined İTÜ in 1992, where he later became Full Professor and served in several senior administrative roles, including Dean of the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics. During his tenure, he founded the Computer Vision and Image Processing Laboratory as well as several university technology centers. In 2004, he co-founded Divit – Digital Video and Image Technologies Ltd., the first faculty-initiated company at İTÜ Arı Technopolis.

He played a key role in establishing the Computer Engineering and Electrical–Electronics Engineering departments at MEF University in 2014 and served as Chair of the Computer Engineering Department and Director of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering between 2015 and 2025. Since 2025, he has been serving as Vice Rector for Research, leading strategic initiatives in artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and interdisciplinary innovation. His research focuses on computer vision, image and video analysis, and AI-driven modeling of human behavior.

Laura Gazda is the Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative at Virginia Tech.  As a transformational leader, Laura specializes in providing executive-level management, assistance, and operations, external engagement, leadership, and management, and special projects management. Prior to her role at the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative and Virginia Tech, Laura was a turnaround school Principal who grew failing schools, culture, and academic scores to become highly successful.  

Laura has a Master's of Education in Secondary Education and Educational Leadership and an M.S. In Science, Technology, and Society Studies; she is currently pursuing her PhD in Science, Technology, and Society Studies.  Her research focuses on the social construction and history of wireless cybersecurity and is published in ACM, Educational Leadership Magazine, and the National Association of Elementary Principals (NAESP) magazine.  Laura is an experienced speaker at National and International Conferences and Workshops, and has served as an adjunct professor in graduate and undergraduate studies at NAESP and George Mason University.