Dr. Gabriela Birnfeld Kurtz

Dr. Gabriela Birnfeld Kurtz

Assistant ProfessorFaculty

Dr. Gabriela Kurtz has a PhD in Communication and Information at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where her dissertation focused on gender violence and videogames and was awarded with honours. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Social Communications and a bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul.

Dr. Kurtz currently teaches Digital Marketing Strategies in the MBA program at University Canada West. She is passionate about leading students to success through experiential learning.

Expertise and Experience

Dr. Kurtz has more than 10 years of experience in traditional and digital marketing. She specializes in B2B and startups, having worked for IT companies as a Marketing Manager and as a mentor for startups in Brazil (Tecnopuc, the largest tech park in Latin America) and Canada (Volition Advisors).

Dr. Kurtz has also been working in higher education for nearly nine years. In Brazil, she was an Adjunct Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul for six years, and taught Marketing, Advertising and Digital Marketing in the Social Communications program and Gastronomy program. She was also the communications coordinator at the University’s Entrepreneurship Lab (IDEAR), and impacted more than 15,000 students with hackathons, events, curricular and extracurricular activities to develop their entrepreneurial skills. Dr. Kurtz also coordinated the EdTech Hub of the University’s Tech Park, responsible for incubating and supporting startups. She immigrated to Canada a few years ago and has worked as Program Head at the Digital Marketing course at Tamwood Careers, and has taught at University of the Fraser Valley, Douglas College and Langara College. 

Dr. Kurtz defines her teaching style as empathetic. She understands students come from different backgrounds and tries her best to include their experience in class. Students learn better when they can establish a connection with their teachers and peers, and all her efforts go towards understanding how the connection can be done the best way possible. That includes always striving for the most innovative methods of teaching, using active methodologies and making the most of the latest tools available. 

Publications and Scholarly Activity

Dr. Kurtz’s research focus is primarily on social media, videogames and Esports. She has several publications and book chapters, both in Brazil and worldwide. Her most recent contribution was to the “Routledge Handbook of Esports (2024)”, where she co-authored a chapter about Esports in South America. Another important contribution was published in Matrizes: her paper “Conservatism and toxic masculinity in gamer culture: Approaching Magic: The Gathering” delves in how political discourses disseminate in gaming clusters. She has also co-authored a chapter about  X (formerly known as Twitter) in Brazil, entitled “The Brazilian Twittersphere: Uses and Behavioral Patterns on Sport, Politics and Entertainment Events” in the book “Twitter: Global Perspectives, Uses and Research Techniques (2019)”. You can also read her Doctorate Dissertation “’Respect it’ : discourses and subversion of rules as manifestations of symbolic gender violence in digital games Dota 2 and League of Legends”, available in Portuguese, here.  

Awards

  • Shortlisted in the Presence Learning and Teaching Award at the “Oscars of Education” – Reimagine Education in 2019. The award is organized by the British company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).  
  • Sebrae Entrepreneurial Education Award, Brazil – two times 1st place (2019 and 2022).  
  • BC Immigrant Awards (2024) – promoted by Global Conference Alliance – category of Education.  

Connect with her on LinkedIn.