Brandon Dickson is a MAGG student at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. His research focuses on the intersection of education, politics and history through memory and education programming in the wake of mass atrocities, with a particular focus on the post-genocide context in Rwanda. This interest stemmed from a research trip to Rwanda in 2017 and continued to be the focus of investigation of his undergraduate student research grants, a major research project and coursework.

Brandon has worked in a variety of research assistant roles in the context of education. He works as a research assistant in mathematics and computational thinking education and has also worked on a variety of projects including a project related to telling stories with data sciences, a project developing the Ontario Secondary Mathematics Curriculum, and research on sustainable investment practices in higher education instituitons across Canada. He has published his work widely in the education field and has presented at numerous international peer-reviewed conferences.

During his university career, Brandon was actively involved in campus life. He has worked as a Teaching Assistant for a first year political science course, served as Vice President of Finance of the Huron Political Science Students Association, worked as the Director of Municipal Engagement for the Huron Students’ Council and served on the head orientation team to develop and run orientation activities for incoming first years. In the community, Brandon has volunteered as a youth soccer coach since 2014 and has served on the Board of Directors for both the London Youth Advisory Council and Amabile Choirs of London.

Brandon’s research at Balsillie will continue to examine the post-genocide context of Rwanda, delving deeper into the complexities of the new peace and values education programming. He will explore the perceptions of legitimacy and resilience surrounding this new programming, as well as the general efficacy of this education movement.