Labster Appoints Edtech Veteran Shawn Boom as New CEO

Labster Appoints Edtech Veteran Shawn Boom as New CEO 

Virtual science lab platform co-founder Michael Bodekaer Jensen will focus on company’s AI strategy and is promoted to Executive Board Member

BOSTON — JANUARY 10, 2024  — Labster (www.labster.com), the world's leading edtech platform for virtual labs and interactive science, is making two exciting changes in the company effective immediately. CEO and co-founder Michael Bodekaer Jensen will transition to Executive Board Member, while edtech veteran Shawn Boom will become the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer.

Shawn Boom’s prior roles in the edtech industry include working nine-plus years with Blackboard, the online learning management system (LMS) now part of Anthology, where he held the position of global vice president. He previously spent five-plus years as director of sales for The Active Network, with a focus on the higher education market. Most recently, he spent nearly six years with K12 and non-profit focused fintech provider Vanco, serving as CEO and Executive Chairman.  

“The world is calling upon our next generation to solve the biggest challenges of our time, such as hunger, climate change, economic inequality, tech disruptions, and disease,” said Boom. “Labster's core focus is to help all learners succeed in STEM programs so they can change the world. I'm excited to continue focusing my professional efforts on using edtech to make the world a better place.”

“My deep love for high-impact edtech innovation has only grown stronger over the past year with the rapid advancements in AI. As I transition to an Executive Board Member role to focus more on this area, I see a tremendous opportunity to further advance Labster’s mission. With the evolving landscape of AI in education, we need a CEO whose experience and drive align perfectly with our goals. Shawn Boom, with his proven track record and deep understanding of the edtech sector, is the ideal leader for Labster at this pivotal moment. I am excited to support him and continue contributing to Labster's groundbreaking journey,” said Michael Bodekaer Jensen. 

“With a passion for edtech, deep commercial enterprise leadership experience, integrity, empathy, and drive, Shawn’s expertise and vision are perfectly aligned with Labster's mission and values. Transitioning into the role of Executive Board Member, I am thrilled to partner with Shawn to amplify our impact on education, delivering a learning advantage to even more students and setting new benchmarks in edtech. I am wholeheartedly confident that under Shawn's leadership, Labster will continue to thrive and redefine the future of science and nursing education.”  

Studies show that the time to focus on transforming STEM education is now. To meet global demands for digital skills, the World Economic Forum estimates that we will require 85 million additional STEM professionals by the year 2030. In the United States, only 15% of students met the ACT STEM College Readiness Benchmark in 2023 — down from 20% just four years earlier. 

Mads Bonde, PhD, Executive Board Chairman and co-founder of Labster, remarked, "Michael's exceptional leadership over the last many years, marked by his positive influence on product innovation and the cultivation of a vibrant, collaborative company culture, sets the stage for Shawn Boom to come on board to fully realize our bold goal of helping 100 million learners. Shawn will guide our journey ahead through his deep understanding of the education sector, partnership with customers and a focus on business strategy to accelerate growth for Labster." 

"We are highly confident that under Shawn's leadership, Labster will continue unlocking the most profound learning outcomes in the sector. Shawn has the perfect background to expand Labster's reach and leverage the extremely high potential of digital learning in the new AI-enabled global classroom. Every student in every school should be using Labster’s platform to accelerate science learning,” said Tory Patterson, managing director, Owl Ventures.

With a catalog of 300-plus STEM curriculum-aligned virtual lab simulations and a vast library of supplemental materials, Labster was recently highlighted by Insider magazine as one of the “25 most promising education tech startups of 2023” and is the winner of the 2023 Tech Edvocate Awards category for best virtual reality tools. Its UbiSim (www.ubisimvr.com) immersive virtual reality (VR) training platform for nursing simulation is a Gold winner in the 2023 Merit Awards for Healthcare.

About Labster

Labster is dedicated to developing fully interactive virtual training simulations that are designed to enhance traditional learning outcomes by stimulating students’ natural curiosity and reinforcing the connection between science and the real world. The simulations can be used in a variety of different ways, from a full lab replacement to a supplemental learning activity. Over 6 million students in high schools and universities in 100-plus countries have used Labster to perform realistic experiments, learn key science concepts, and practice their skills in a risk-free learning environment. Labster’s team members are passionate about improving science learning, resulting in collaborations with over 3,000 leading educational institutions. Visit www.labster.com. 

Contact:

Dr. April Ondis

Content Marketing Director

april@labster.com