Imagining UBC's Digital Future Together
UBC has made significant digital strides over the last five to ten years: the university-wide implementation of Workday is well underway to support greater operational effectiveness and the rapid pivot to remote teaching and work at the onset of COVID-19 is regarded as a major achievement.
As the pandemic begins to recede, we have an opportunity - arguably a responsibility - to assess how technology can enable and shape the university going forward. Fundamental changes in research, teaching and learning, and work practices are both demanded and enabled by technology. How the university prioritizes and connects these advances will help define UBC over the next five to ten years, with important implications for access, equity, and sustainability.
Under the auspices of Digital UBC, we will engage students, faculty, and staff in a process to understand their needs and priorities and to articulate a digital vision, strategy, and roadmap for the university. This is the moment to consider also the funding, governance, and operating models that are needed to ensure a responsive and responsible approach to technology innovation, investment, and implementation across UBC.
Students, faculty and staff are invited to join an inclusive conversation as we imagine UBC's digital future together. Digital UBC aligns directly with the UBC Strategic Plan: Shaping our Next Century, and applies across teaching, learning, research, and administration.
Your input and insight will be combined with perspectives of others to ensure the digital strategy supports research, teaching and learning and ongoing operations.
What could the future look like?
About
The development of UBC’s first institution-wide digital strategy provides an exciting opportunity for students, faculty and staff to reflect and imagine our digital future together. What’s driving the creation of a digital strategy? In highly disruptive environments, the university runs the risk of missed opportunities if we are unable to match the speed and development of new digital technologies.
Process
The process and timeline to develop UBC’s digital strategy includes four phases (preparation, discovery, development and alignment) to provide ample time to hear from university leaders, students, faculty, and staff. The project timeline is September 2021 to June 2022 to provide time to reflect on the feedback provided and refine the university's digital strategy. What phase of the process are we in?
Virtual exhibit
Technology change is not new, but what is different is the speed of the development and introduction of new digital capabilities. UBC is at the forefront of the creation and application of digital innovation and has been leveraging technology to advance research, teaching and learning, and operational excellence for decades. Explore the virtual exhibit which showcases some of the university’s digital innovations.
Get involved
Join the conversation between November 2021 and May 2022 to share your ideas about the university’s digital future. Community consultations will invite students, faculty and staff to connect and exchange ideas on their current experiences, future aspirations and priorities via a series of planned engagements including surveys, focus groups, workshops, and townhalls. Input gathered will help shape UBC’s digital strategy.