During the transition to an information society, ensuring compatibility with rapidly advancing technology and meeting the evolving expectations of students and educators have made it necessary to expand educational activities through distance education. In this context, Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University Distance Education and Research Center (UZEM) was established in 2014 with the Senate decision dated 11 August 2014. Its first regulation was published in the Official Gazette on 19 October 2014.
In the 2015–2016 academic year, common first-year courses offered within the Vocational School of Health Services and the Vocational School began to be delivered through distance education. Accordingly, the courses Atatürk’s Principles and History of Reforms I–II, Turkish Language I–II, English I–II, Medical Terminology, and Professional Ethics were provided via distance education to approximately 1,000 students across the university. As of the 2016–2017 academic year for the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the 2020–2021 academic year for the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Faculty of Pharmacy, students began taking Turkish Language I–II and Atatürk’s Principles and History of Reforms I–II through distance education, increasing the total number of students receiving distance education to approximately 1,500 university-wide.
Prof. Dr. M. Olcay Çizmeli, Prof. Dr. S. Haluk Özsarı, and Assoc. Prof. Melike Şahiner served on the founding Executive Board as of 15 October 2014, with Prof. Dr. Mesut Çimen appointed as the first Director of UZEM. Between 2016 and 2020, Dr. Erdal Coşgun and Dr. Öğr. Hande Bayram served consecutively as Directors, while Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Özge Can served as Deputy Director.
Since August 2020, UZEM has entered a new phase aligned with its renewed administrative structure, aiming to adapt to changing conditions and to fulfill its founding vision and mission.
