Ignacio "Nacho" Despujol - MOOC Pioneer and Multifaceted Academic Leader
Ignacio Despujol is a distinguished educator and technology leader at Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), where he serves as the MOOC initiative coordinator managing both UPV's own MOOC platform (upvx.es) and their presence on edx.org, overseeing more than 600 course editions with over 4 million enrollments. He holds a PhD in Educational Technology from Universidad de Murcia, Master's degrees in both Telecommunication Engineering and Aeronautical Engineering from UPV, and an Executive MBA from Catholic University of Valencia, along with a commercial pilot license. As a Senior IT Analyst and Professor, he teaches Airport Engineering to 130 students using a flipped classroom format in the Aerospace Engineering Bachelor's program. His expertise extends beyond academia as he previously served as the technical director of the University's radiotelevision and telecommunications infrastructure manager. Despujol is an IEEE senior member, serves on the board of Valencia Telecommunication Engineering Guild, and has made significant contributions to educational technology research, particularly in MOOC development and implementation. He leads several European Union-funded projects to expand Open edX usage among Spanish universities and actively participates in the Open edX Technical Oversight Committee, dedicating substantial time to advancing online education platforms and methodologies.