Oral Robinson (Ph.D.) is a lecturer and Chair of the Honours program in the Department of Sociology at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He is author of Migration, Social Identities and Regionalism in the Caribbean (Springer) and co-author of Practicing and Presenting Social Research (Pressbooks). Dr. Robinson is the 2022 winner of UBC’s highest teaching award: The Killam Teaching Prize as well as the Canadian Sociological Association’s 2026 Teaching Prize. He specializes in transformative pedagogy, migration, friendship, intercultural relations, the sociology of education, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. His works are featured in many influential journals and book chapters. His teaching includes Survey Methods, Qualitative Methods, Race and Ethnic Inequality, Development & Underdevelopment, and Canadian Society.

My work investigates international student migration to Canada and the complex, multi-directional dynamics of Caribbean migration, both internally and externally. I am currently examining how Caribbean migrants build and sustain friendships throughout their migratory journeys, focusing on how these enduring social connections fuel transnational activities. By analyzing these lived experiences, I uncover the profound social, cultural, and economic impacts that cross-border mobilities exert on both origin and destination countries.