Assistant Professor of Digital Media
Department of Visual Communication
American University in Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Dr. Spencer Striker joined the American University in Dubai’s Digital Media program in the fall of 2015 -to study, teach, and produce digital media and technology in one of the most innovative cities of the 21st century. Spencer’s current projects include launching a new podcast called Digital Media & Tech in Dubai, exploring the latest developments with key influencers in Dubai’s burgeoning digital scene; the design and development of a next gen digital history book app, called “A Little Big History of Human Collective Learning,” currently supported by a fellowship at the Summer Research Institute at Harris Manchester College, Oxford; and the development of a tablet-first next gen interactive entertainment experience, called the "World Without a Name." Previously, Spencer was founding creative director for a digital media and learning startup based in Mountain View, CA - called Galxyz, Inc. - which secured $3m in Series A funding from Relay Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective. He spearheaded Galxyz’ product and creative from concept to full-fledged startup - overseeing product design and development strategy; building from scratch and quarterbacking a cross-functional team of mobile app dev professionals; and creatively directing and producing a scalable, narrative-themed next gen digital media product initiative. Before that, Spencer pioneered an innovative digital media & learning product design strategy for the Andreessen Horowitz backed Silicon Valley ed tech startup, Kno, (acquired by Intel in November 2013). Spencer is also the founder of the four-time Webby Award winning game media studio, GameZombie TV; co-founder of the Media Arts & Game Development program at UW-W; and a Ph.D. holder in Digital Media from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Spencer is a proven, award-winning creative director, professor, and entrepreneur of next gen products that synthesize digital media, video games, mobile, and cutting-edge innovation in interactive technology.
Digital Media, Telecommunications, Radio-TV-Film, History