Dr. Marcus Santos – Executive Academic Director, Cyber Studies and Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst
Welcome. I’m Marcus Santos, and it’s been my honour to serve the Toronto Met community since 1999 – first as Professor and now as Executive Academic Director, Cyber Studies and Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst. In my dual role, I’m committed to ensuring high-quality cybersecurity education, training, and research through integrated academic programming and collaboration between the RCC and the University.
Contribute to society. Be a better person. The best education accomplishes both.
As we move through the 21st century, education faces challenges of ever greater complexity.
- How can students succeed in an increasingly competitive environment?
- Do curriculums meet the demands of changing global realities?
These are just a few of the challenges I navigate as an academic leader and educator. My overarching goal: make education truly useful to students lives both as citizens and members of the workforce.
A foot in Computing. A heart in Science.
My career started in Computer Engineering. Later on, I learned about the scientific method. Now, my fascination is the real science behind Computer Science, with interest centred on:
- Evolutionary computation
- Genetic programming
- Knowledge representation
- Automatic reasoning
“What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing.”
I believe that education needs to recalibrate its focus on the fundamentals. I champion learning that’s practical, absorbing and fun — never boring.
With Toronto Met’s Experiential Learning, my Office continues to search out new ways for students to integrate learning and doing.
As leaders, we need a good pulse on the student population
I often mentor students. It brings tremendous satisfaction and is one way I keep in tune with the student body. I want each student to be fully engaged in their program. To that end, I am always supportive of initiatives that enrich student affairs and university life.