Centres + Labs
Research Centres and Clusters
The research centres at Emily Carr University are communities of applied academic researchers with a common purpose. As research clusters they focus on areas of research interest that may include faculty from different disciplines, and on applications where Emily Carr is making significant national and international contribution.
We have established a number of formal centres, which are detailed within this section and in the sidebar on this page, however there are also other emergent clusters with the distinction being the level of funding and activity. Centres and clusters are a way to formalize collaborative relationships between faculty and students and to give greater visibility and access to specific areas of investigation to our external community and partners. Not all research activity fits within these groups, projects frequently overlap, and they will evolve over time.
Basically Good Media Lab
Emily Carr’s Basically Good Media Lab (BGML) is committed to seeing old and new technologies through fresh eyes for cultural, social, and economic benefit.
DESIS Lab
The DESIS lab is devoted to research into how design can “activate, sustain, and orient processes of social change toward sustainability.” (Manzini 2016)
Health Design Lab
The Health Design Lab uses participatory design methods to catalyze, support and amplify initiatives that address complex health challenges.
Material Matters
Material Matters fosters a community interested in 3D printing and rapid prototyping, design research, emergent technology, media, programming, materials design, and manufacturing research.
Shumka Centre for Creative Entrepreneurship
The Shumka Centre for Creative Entrepreneurship fosters the movement of artists and designers into systems and situations where their work and ideas can have the most impact.