The BALPP had the honor of inviting and hosting Dr. Irvin Studin , a leading Canadian public policy specialist and educationist, in Sri Lanka from the 9th October to the 14th October 2023. He is a member of our Expert Resource Panel.

Dr. Studin was a professor and program director at the School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto from 2009 until 2014, Dr. Irvin Studin was a visiting professor at leading schools of public policy in North America, Europe and Asia. He was a member of the small team that wrote Canada’s first-ever National Security Policy in 2004. He is the founder, editor-in-chief, and publisher of Global Brief magazine, and president of The Institute for 21st Century Questions, a leading Canadian think tank. He is also the chair of the Worldwide Commission to Educate All Kids (Post-Pandemic), an international initiative to address the catastrophe of hundreds of millions of children ousted from all forms of schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He participated in many important discussions on rebuilding education after the pandemic during his brief visit. Daham Jayarathna, the External Relations Officer of the BALPP acted as the liaison throughout his visit.

Dr. Studin headed an Interactive Discussion with BALPP Students and Academics about pressing issues in education and public policy in Sri Lanka and around the world. Dr. Tara de Mel, Prof. Arjuna Parakrama and Prof. Maneesha Pasqual participated in the discussion.

He had a extensive discussion with the Prime Minister about the to discuss the education crisis in Sri Lanka and the way forward while sharing his experience on education policies around the world.

He was the chief speaker in the second BALPP Policy Dialogue on the 11th of October on the topic of Education Transformation amidst Learning Losses.