L: HRH The Duke of York, R: Dr. Djavad Mowafaghian

The University of British Columbia and the Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation today welcomed His Royal Highness The Duke of York, KG, to UBC’s Vancouver campus to dedicate the cornerstone of the new Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. The Duke of York  also toured the existing Brain Research Centre to meet with students and learn about their work.

In 1983, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh opened the Imaging Research Centre which preceded the Brain Research Centre, a partner in the creation of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health.

Photo Credit: Don Erhardt

Presidents and students from universities around the world will be at the University of British Columbia May 8-10 to explore the impact of new technology on learning and research for the annual meeting and presidential symposium of Universitas 21 (U21).

U21 is the leading global network of research-intensive universities, working together to foster global citizenship and institutional innovation through research-inspired teaching and learning, student mobility, connecting our students and staff, and wider advocacy for internationalization.

The rapid development of information technology spells new challenges for us, but it also opens intriguing opportunities to better engage students and conduct research in a hyper-connected global community. A forum like U21 allows member universities to discuss these emerging issues.

The keynote address will be delivered by Dominic Barton, UBC alumnus and managing director of global business consultancy McKinsey & Co., on Thursday, May 9. Barton will share his insights on leadership and change.

For more information, visit http://ow.ly/kEQxp.

Photo credit: Don Erhardt

Twenty-five years ago, the First Nations House of Learning was established, and 20 years ago, the Longhouse was built to house it. Both were among the first of their kind in North America.

The Longhouse is a place of connection that brings together Aboriginal peoples from within UBC’s gates and without, where students, staff, and faculty can exchange information and perspectives with the larger community and nurture relationships that will endure beyond its walls. A place of mind that fosters advanced thinking, learning, and research on Aboriginal issues from water quality to governance to language preservation, in order to advance our understanding and our capacity for meaningful change.

Four years ago, UBC made Aboriginal Engagement a core commitment within its strategic plan. The university’s vision is to engage Aboriginal people in mutually supportive and productive relationships, and work to integrate understandings of Indigenous cultures and histories into its curriculum and operations. Thanks to the dedication of elders, community partners, and UBC staff and faculty in realizing that vision, UBC has become home to some of the most significant endeavours in Aboriginal engagement occurring anywhere in the world.

Left: Mr. Fred Kaiser, Chairman, Alpha Group. Right: Mr. Brent Perry, CEO, Corvus Energy. Photo credit: Martin Dee

I had the pleasure today to announce that the University of British Columbia has entered into a new and innovative partnership with Alpha Technologies and Corvus Energy.

This partnership brings Alpha and Corvus experts together with university faculty and student researchers to integrate energy storage into three locations on this campus to create an energy storage system.

Surplus power will be harnessed and stored for times of high use or for emergency backup, allowing the university to efficiently and economically manage its energy use. Now … imagine the applications of that technology to the whole of Vancouver. Imagine clean, efficient, and stable power grids that can prevent widespread blackouts in times of emergency. Imagine being able to keep hospitals and other vital services online in times of crisis. That is the vision behind this partnership, and it is one that has aspirations worldwide.

Here on campus, we call UBC a Living Laboratory, and today’s partnership has the potential to catapult this laboratory into the next stage of its evolution. We are already well on our way to integrating UBC operations with academics to create a fully sustainable ecosystem both in Vancouver and in the Okanagan. Everything we do is aimed at solving local, national, and global sustainability challenges at a scalable, commercially viable level. But we cannot meet that goal alone; and in fact, we are exponentially more successful in partnership. Alpha and Corvus’s contributions will help power this work and their leadership will light the way for others to follow. To read more about the project, click here.

Lisa Castle, VP Human Resources

I am delighted to announce that the UBC Board of Governors has reappointed Ms. Lisa Castle, Vice-President Human Resources, for a five-year term starting April 2013. Ms Castle has had two previous terms starting April 15, 2002 first as AVP, and as VP since September 2012.

The Board noted that Ms Castle brings an energetic, consultative, strategic and values-based approach to her position.  Her terms have been marked by a careful building of human resources practices across the university and implementation of Focus on People:  Workplace Practices at UBC.  Lisa was commended for her passion and support of the University.  She is recognized as one of the most influential human resources leaders in Canada in higher education.

The Board was impressed by Ms Castle’s contributions over her time at UBC and the high regard in which she is held.  In approving her reappointment, the Board acknowledged that Ms Castle has been an innovative member of the University leadership, and has done much to implement Place and Promise:  the UBC Plan, and to enhance the people practices at UBC.

Australian Governor General Her Excellency Ms. Quentin Bryce

I met with Her Excellency Ms. Quentin Bryce, Governor General of Australia today during Her Excellency’s first visit to the University of British Columbia (UBC). The Governor General is visiting Canada with a delegation of Aboriginal leaders to meet with local community groups on Aboriginal economic development.

Musqueam Elder Larry Grant formally welcomed the delegation to the Musqueam traditional territory on which the University sits at the Museum of Anthropology, and the Governor General opened a roundtable discussion between Australian and Canadian Aboriginal leaders and UBC faculty members on economic development.

Since joining the University in 2006, I have been daily reaffirmed in my sense that UBC is a unique and remarkable place, filled with dedicated and talented students, professors and staff members who work tirelessly to further human knowledge and make the world better.  We are also blessed with a committed group of alumni(ae) who contribute to societies around the globe.

My choice to step down is personal and relates to my desire to work over the next few years in a role more closely connected to my academic and professional interests in international law and international relations.  The University is in a remarkably strong position in Canada and globally, and I have no doubt that it will remain on a steep upward trajectory in the years to come.

I give this notice to allow the Board of Governors time to launch a search for a successor to lead a great university. Now is not the time for valedictory remarks as I will be fully occupied with the presidency for another academic year.  I look forward to working with you to ensure that UBC continues to fulfill its promise to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada and the world.

Stephen J. Toope
President and Vice-Chancellor

What is at play here is similar to the upheaval we’ve seen in the book, music and video industries. Technologies are driving dramatic new ways of enjoying these creative materials. The winners are almost everyone: There is massive access now to the very best works of art. But with the new forms of access come new forces of change, and pressure for the creators of these materials to rapidly adapt to new forms of content created in different ways and by almost anyone.

The analogy is imperfect, however. Education is not a product to be passively consumed. Just as people still want to attend a concert, go to a high-quality bookstore, or prefer to see a hockey game in person rather than on TV, there will still be a place for physical classrooms and the exciting face-to-face experiences of learning.

However, the factors mentioned above are pushing us to adopt more effective teaching methods like “flipped” classrooms, where students review material online, and spend valuable class time in discussion and analysis. They are pushing us to make more use of blended learning, which involves a varied mix of technologies outside and inside class time. And they are pushing us to offer more high quality fully online programs. All together these represent an approach often called flexible learning.

The challenge will be managing this profound change. Professors are not dispensers of information. They are guides through the growing vastness of information – provokers of critical thought and analysis, facilitators and mentors who can effectively channel discussion so that the learning becomes a personal and a shared effort.

For those who are passionate about education, the possibilities of change outweigh the anxieties. After leading UBC’s first MOOC on game theory, a course that attracted 130,000 learners, Prof. Kevin Leyton-Brown, an associate professor of computer science, enthused that he had four times as many Canadians in his course than he had taught in 10 years as professor.

Seven years ago Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman chose UBC to host his initiative to enhance undergraduate science education by building on research in pedagogy and brain science. Over the past ten years, UBC has rebuilt its medical faculty to double the number of students through an innovative distributed education model, using technology to train doctors at sites across British Columbia.

We don’t know yet what the future holds, but I invite universities across our country to join with us to embrace the challenge to develop innovative learning opportunities. Together we can unleash a new level of creativity and potential for Canadians.

This post was adapted from an opinion piece that appeared in the Globe and Mail. To read the full piece, click here.

Video: Flexible Learning

In part one of a two-part video, UBC’s Provost, Senior Advisor for Teaching and Learning, and I discuss how technology can be used in learning environments, and where UBC is heading.

In part two, we discuss how new learning technologies can be used to improve the student experience and what steps UBC is taking.