Dr. Jillianne Code is a leading educator, and learning scientist focused on postdigital learner agency—empowering students to navigate and shape their learning in a world where digital and physical realities intersect. As Director of the ALIVE Research Lab at UBC (alivelab.ca), she explores how learner agency is cultivated across informal learning spaces such as video games, virtual reality, and social media communities. Her work critically examines how algorithms and digital technologies impact educational experiences and the power dynamics of learning in postdigital contexts.
A heart failure survivor and two-time heart transplant recipient, Dr. Code brings her personal journey into her advocacy, co-founding the HeartLife Foundation (heartlife.ca) in 2016. The organization, Canada’s first national patient-led heart failure network, is internationally recognized for advancing patient-centred approaches to healthcare. A feature documentary about Dr. Code, My Broken Heart, can be viewed here.
Dr. Code holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Simon Fraser University, an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology, and a B.Ed. in Science Education from the University of Alberta. She was a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, focusing on learning technologies and assessment. She has also served as a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Research in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh.
More information about Dr. Code can be found on her online profile.