The Future of Education

Martin Laba, Ph.D. teaches in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University where he served as Director for 10 years. He developed the prominent and influential area of Applied Communication for Social Issues and he has researched, designed, and implemented a wide range of communication/media messages, strategies, and campaigns around urgent and critical social issues in local, national, and international contexts. His communication interventions have included campaigns focussed on anti-racism, health communication, HIV/AIDS stigmatization, public safety, international development and human rights, COVID-19 and youth, risk communication, and more.

He is the past Director of a major international education/communication project and partnership based in Ghana entitled, “Reducing HIV Stigma through Education”, and he co-authored a book and the curriculum on the subject that is foundational curriculum in universities throughout Ghana, and other countries in West Africa.

In the area of educational technology, Dr. Laba led a university initiative as the Director of Academic Community Engagement to establish a new, open source educational technology platform, His leadership refocused a technology design project as a teaching and learning project, and helped to develop and implement one of the most innovative and significant educational technology learning environments in North America, and around the globe.

Dr. Laba is an influential media commentator in Canada on issues related to digital and popular culture, education and educational design, impacts and influences of media and technology, and communication and education for social change. He is a prominent author, keynote speaker and presenter at major international conferences and symposia, and a selection of recent presentations/publications includes: “Education Resets: The Assumptions of Technology and the Mission for Creativity” (in press); “Out of Bounds: Learning for Consequence, Popular Culture, and Education as Action”, Fifth International Conference on Communication and Media Studies (October, 2020); “Sites of Relevance: Popular Culture and Transformative Education”, Future of Education Proceedings (Filodiritto Editore), 2020; “Learning in the Streets: Activism and New Matters of Education”, Future of Education Proceedings (Libraria Universitataria), 2019; Verso nuove frontier” (Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli), 2018; “The Eye of the Storm: Educational Resets for a Jobless Society”, Future of Education Proceedings (Libreria Universitataria), 2018; “Education (r)evolution: Ripensare la formazione nell’era digitale”, Jobless Society Lectures, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, 2018.

Area/s of Expertise: Applied Communication for Social Issues, Education, Pedagogy and Social Change, Media Advocacy, New Learning Environments, Media Education, Civic Engagement, Digital Culture, Education and Popular Culture.