Breeonne Baxter
Reflecting on a year of remote teaching and learning
One year after the pandemic shuttered many in-person classes and workplaces, we take a look back at how UBC made the rapid pivot to remote instruction. Over this year, the vast majority of courses at UBC were delivered entirely remotely, requiring them to be redesigned, rebuilt and re-taught in wholly different ways. It has been […]
2021/22 Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund Projects
This year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver, redeployed $2-million dollars in funding from the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) to help support Faculties in their efforts to transition courses online and ensure high-quality learning experiences for students. In addition to the $2-million redeployment […]
A simple and safe additive could cut agrochemical pollution
Adding a simple polymer to fertilizers or pesticides (agrochemicals) could dramatically reduce agricultural pollution, suggests a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia. When agrochemicals are sprayed onto crops, a large amount typically ends up in the surrounding environment due to droplets splashing, rebounding or rolling off the target plants. This amount […]
Thirty-five Research Excellence Clusters to receive GCRC support in 2021/22
A total of 35 emerging and established research excellence clusters led by researchers on the Vancouver campus will be supported in 2021/22, including 24 awards made through the 2021/22 Grants for Catalyzing Research Clusters Competition (GCRC) and eleven clusters entering the second year of their current award. Research Excellence Clusters are interdisciplinary networks of researchers […]
Championing investment in digital research infrastructure innovation
For Muhammad Abdul-Mageed, Assistant Professor, School of Information and Department of Linguistics, Sockeye has been a dream come true. As a member of the original UBC Digital Research and Compute Infrastructure committee, he has championed investment into digital research infrastructure, resulting in a high-performance computing platform with nearly 16,000 CPU cores and 200 GPUs, available […]
Partnering to ensure students gain practical experience in a COVID-19 labour market
Finding Co-op opportunities and internships is increasingly tough for university students across Canada, as COVID-19’s impact on the economy has created labour market jittters. Thankfully, students are finding meaningful work through a creative partnership that matches qualified business students with employers seeking help with their business challenges. UBC’s Sauder School of Business is the pilot […]
Embodied carbon pilot helps building industry address climate change
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the built environment are a significant contributor to climate change. As policies to reduce operational energy consumption and related GHG emissions from buildings start to take effect, the embodied emissions associated with building material choices are becoming proportionally more significant. But in order to reduce embodied carbon in future buildings, […]
UBC Sustainability Scholar lays groundwork for City of Vancouver anti-Black racism strategy
Vancouver aspires to be a safe city in which residents feel secure. The City recently engaged UBC law student Oludolapo Makinde as a Sustainability Scholar to conduct research into anti-Black racism in Vancouver and suggest ways to address it. One of her recommendations – to develop and implement an anti-Black racism strategy – received funding […]
Faculty of Education tackles a teaching conundrum
How do you prepare new teachers without access a classroom? Delivering course materials in a virtual setting comes with plenty of challenges. For those who teach UBC’s Bachelor of Education (BEd) program, the situation is particularly complex. Not only are education faculty shaping the next generation of teachers, they’re preparing them to work in classroom […]
UBC 2030 competition attracts bold new student ideas
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, there is reason for continued hope. Among them the ideas and energy of young people who have been leading climate action movements. A competition organized by the UBC Sustainability Initiative drew more than 40 inspiring visions and solutions from students and student groups, centred on the theme: “What will sustainability at […]