Annual Staff BBQ serves up opportunities for connection and wellbeing
This September, over 5,000 staff at UBC’s Vancouver campus started off the school year with their colleagues at the 17th Annual Welcome Back Staff BBQ. Staff enjoyed their meal with live music and in the company of colleagues from across the Vancouver campus. This was the biggest BBQ in 17 years – both in number […]
Recognizing staff excellence
Great people are at the heart of UBC – which is why the university annually recognizes staff and faculty who not only contribute to making UBC an employer of choice, but who also embrace the university’s values. This year, 32 exceptional staff members from UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan were recently recognized for their outstanding […]
Initiative encourages UBCO students to give back to the community
At least once a year, UBC Okanagan students join forces to mop floors, bake cookies or muck out horse stalls, among other tasks. The activities are all part of Days of Caring — held in partnership with the United Way — in which students spend their Reading Week volunteering with community organizations. Days of Caring […]
UBC’s Blue and Gold Campaign for Students helping students realize their potential
The statistics are staggering: student debt in British Columbia has risen 88 per cent since 1999, and the average student debt load now tops $28,000 for an undergraduate degree. Recognizing the financial challenges faced by today’s students, UBC launched the Blue & Gold Campaign for Students in 2017, which set an ambitious fundraising target […]
UBC bioenergy facility acts as living lab for climate change leadership
The Bioenergy Research Demonstration Facility (BRDF) on UBC’s Vancouver campus is helping the university hit its aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target: a 67 per cent reduction from 2007 levels by 2020. A first of its kind project in North America, the system transforms clean wood waste from regional wood product manufacturing and municipal plant […]
UBC invests in new system to improve collaboration and innovation
With less than a year to go before the launch of its new Human Resources and Finance system in April 2020, UBC is getting ready to “spend less time chasing information and more time on [its] strategic priorities.” The new platform, called Workday, is the first phase of UBC’s Integrated Renewal Program (IRP) — a […]
$95,000 awarded to community-led equity, diversity, and inclusion projects
Ten projects led by faculty, staff, and students at UBC Vancouver were awarded funding from the Equity Enhancement Fund. Projects support the activation of UBC’s strategic plan and the university’s commitment to inclusion. As part of this year’s funding call, the Equity & Inclusion Office (EIO) at UBC Vancouver received 40 applications for a total of $408,000 in […]
UBC tops global university impact rankings: Times Higher Education
The University of British Columbia is ranked number one in the world for taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts and ranked one in Canada for making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, according to Times Higher Education (THE). THE University Impact Rankings, in which UBC ranks top three overall amongst 500 […]
UBCO invests $70M in new on-campus student housing
UBC Okanagan’s campus will continue its impressive growth in student residences thanks to a $70-million investment in two new student housing projects. Although the campus currently has space to house 1,680 students – meaning one guaranteed space for every first-year student – the university ultimately endeavours to provide on-campus housing to 25 per cent of […]
New UBCO Commons fosters collaboration and innovation
The UBC Okanagan community has gained a new modern space: UBCO Commons. Opened in January, the multipurpose facility offers students a high-tech 400-seat classroom, informal collaborative learning study areas, a digital technology centre and a graduate student commons. It also includes a visualization lab to facilitate high-resolution data modelling in research fields. Described as a […]