Kiran Budhrani, Ed.D.

Dr. Kiran Budhrani is dedicated to leading transformative change in teaching and learning to impact the future workforce and a better world. Her dynamic energy, creative systems thinking, and bold ideas drive her as the Director for Teaching and Learning Innovation at UNC Charlotte. She leads strategic initiatives and extending capabilities within teams to drive growth, excellence and student success through faculty-centered programming and curricular innovation involving teaching strategies, generative AI, personalized and adaptive learning, learning analytics, online learning, instructional design strategies, and academic technology solutions. Her approaches are guided by transformative, authentic, and design thinking philosophies, and she enjoys creative collaboration to reimagine learning experiences.

Kiran is a future-focused, active thought leader in the field. Kiran holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership in Learning, Design and Technology from UNC Charlotte and completed her Masters degree in Computer Applications with a specialization in Instructional Systems Technology and a B.S. in Computer Science with a specialization in Instructional Systems Technology from De La Salle University-Manila. She has earned multiple awards including the Employee of the Year Award for Innovation (2022) and publication awards from the Association for Education Communications Technology (AECT). She holds credentials from OLC’s Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning, Quality Matters, and the EDUCAUSE Digital Learning Leaders Institute. Her service in the profession extends many years in professional organizations such as OLC, AECT, and EDUCAUSE.

Kiran’s influence on teaching and learning spans two decades in higher education, K12, government, and business sectors, not only in the United States, but also with her roots in the Philippines. Before relocating to the United States in 2014, she gained valuable experience as an Assistant Professor of Instructional Systems Technology and Chairperson of Information Technology at De La Salle University-Manila. She also served as a national e-learning consultant with the Philippine Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Education Alternative Learning Systems (ALS), and the Philippine Commission on ICT. Kiran is also the author of 12 digital literacy and citizenship textbooks used by elementary students across the Philippines.