32 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST With emerging technologies disrupting higher education in profound ways, and with increased student expectations for flexibility, cost-effectiveness and self-pacing, Lehigh has joined the partner network of edX and plans to offer online, noncredit professional certificate programs for adult learners worldwide. “Lehigh is expanding its online strategy to help achieve our mission of advancing learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others,” Lehigh Provost Nathan Urban said. “This new partnership with edX enables us to grow our online presence at scale and bring the academic rigor, entrepreneurial mindset and collaborative opportunities that Lehigh is known for to learners around the world.” While the partnership allows Lehigh to offer programs in any area, the first program will be a MicroBachelors program with a business analytics focus. The program will not only offer learners skills to complement their undergraduate majors, but also prepare them to pursue a master’s degree in business analytics at Lehigh in the future. Over time, Lehigh expects to offer a basket of noncredit certificate programs in various areas. The partnership is expected to bring important value to Lehigh’s alumni, students and employees. Alumni will have the opportunity to be lifelong learners in the Lehigh community. Also, the offers of professional certificates can help current students learn out-of-the-field skills, while prospective students can take courses to fulfill prerequisites for graduate degree programs. Lehigh employees will be able to choose a topic to upskill at their convenience. By joining edX, a 2U, Inc. company (Nasdaq: TWOU), Lehigh is joining a company of more than 230 colleges, universities and corporations including edX founding partners Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The partnership is overseen by the Office of the Deputy Provost for Graduate Education, and the development of the programs is supported by Lehigh’s Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL), Library and Technology Services, and the Office of Distance Education.—Mary Ellen Alu THE PARTNERSHIP IS EXPECTED TO BRING IMPORTANT VALUE TO LEHIGH’S ALUMNI, STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES. ONLINE LEARNING A New Partnership Lehigh to launch professional certificate programs on edX. CHRISTA NEU TOP PITCH Biomedical engineer Giana Jarrah ’22, who founded the startup With Meraki Co. and developed a woman’s urinary and vaginal probiotic, won top prize in StartUp Lehigh Valley’s fourth annual entrepreneurial pitch competition in 2022. Jarrah, who had worked with Lehigh’s Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation to develop her venture, won the grand prize of $20,000 and the Ben Franklin Innovation Prize of $5,000. The competition was held at Factory LLC, an innovation and scale-up business incubator near the Lehigh campus. “Six months ago, I was just a biomedical engineer, I was a scientist,” Jarrah said in accepting her award. “And Lehigh’s Baker Institute in six months has transformed me into an entrepreneur.” ENTREPRENEURSHIP | ALUMNI ʼ22
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