Message from the Provost and Vice-President, Academic pro tem
Dear Colleagues,
As we conclude a busy winter term at UBC Okanagan, I am pleased to share a new iteration of the Provost Office newsletter, Academic Update. We will be issuing a quarterly newsletter on the Provost’s website in an effort to keep you apprised of the many academic initiatives happening on our campus. I encourage you to learn more about these initiatives– and many others– in this latest version of our newsletter.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all for the warm welcome into the Provost and Vice-President, Academic pro tem role and, a special thanks to the Provost Office team for their support over the past few months.
Regards,
Dr. Rehan Sadiq, PhD, PEng, FCAE, FEC, FEIC, FCSCE
Professor and Distinguished University Scholar
Provost and Vice President, Academic pro tem
Highlights
Student Profile: Piya Bajaj
Piya Bajaj has had a lifelong passion for learning and research. Growing up in Mumbai before moving to New Delhi at a young age, Piya’s early experiences and desire to help others showed her the immense value of research to change lives.
Okanagan School of Education student receives 2022 Foster-Polite award
PhD Candidate Liz Saville has been recognized by the American Education Research Association among seven award winners in North America.
Manjinder Sidhu-Kong current MFA student wins FCCS Short Story contest
Congratulations to Master of Fine Arts student Manjinder Sidhu-Kong who took the top prize in this year’s Okanagan Short Story Contest with her story, Wax Off.
Read more about this year’s winners
UBC Okanagan Arts student receives Interdisciplinary Co-op Student of the Year Award
Congratulations to fourth-year Bachelor of Arts student, Lisvet Parra Montas, who was named the 2021 UBCO Co-op Student of the Year.
2022 UBC Okanagan Teaching Excellence & Innovation Awards
UBC Okanagan is proud to celebrate outstanding and innovative teaching. Each year, we recognize exemplary role models who make a significant impact on the culture of teaching and learning on our campus with the Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation.
Please join us in congratulating the 2022 award recipients:
- Ayman Elnaggar, Associate Professor of Teaching, School of Engineering
- Bowen Hui, Associate Professor of Teaching, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science
- Firas Moosvi, Lecturer, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science
- Mehran Shirazi, Lecturer, School of Engineering
TEACHING AWARDS CEREMONY
Join us on May 18 | 4:30 to 6 pm | UNC Ballroom
The campus community is invited to join us to recognize the achievements of UBC Okanagan teachers and mentors and celebrate our community of teaching excellence.
STAFF PROFILE
Meet Janet Kalesnikoff
Janet Kalesnikoff joined the Office of the Provost in 2019 as the Senior Manager, Strategic Projects. She completed her undergraduate and graduate training at UBC Vancouver, and postdoctoral training at Stanford University.
GOLDEN APPLE AND I AM ACCESSIBLE
Congratulations 2022 Award Winners
Congratulations to the 2022 Golden Apple and I am Accessible Award winners. These prestigious student-nominated awards recognize faculty members who support wellbeing and accessibility at UBC Okanagan.
Connect with new faculty
UBC Okanagan is more than a university; it is a thriving, interconnected campus community. We are pleased to welcome several outstanding new faculty members who joined our community earlier this year. Visit our Community Connection page to learn more about your new colleagues.
Faculties are driving academic excellence with innovative teaching and learning practices — Learn more
New Continuing and Professional Education website launches with exciting new courses
Newly launched in March 2022, the Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) website supports transformative learning and advances Outlook 2040 professional learning goals by enabling learners to pursue their education and career goals in new ways with non-credit learning. Several new and returning micro-credentials are currently open for registration, including Performance-based Design and Lifecycle Cost Analysis of Bridges and Critical Skills for Communications in the Technical Sector courses. Watch for a new offering from the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science— Metabolomics—coming soon.
Strategic Review of Health
From September 2021 to January 2022 UBC Okanagan engaged in a strategic review of the campus’ health programming and activities. The final report External Review of Health Related Research, Teaching and Engagement is now available.
Student Directed Seminars
FASS has recently launched a Student Directed Seminars program, which provides upper-year undergraduate students with the opportunity to propose, coordinate, and lead a 3-credit seminar class.
UBC OKANAGAN’S RESPONSE TO THE 2021 QAPA REVIEW
In December 2021, UBC Okanagan underwent its first Quality Assurance Process Audit (QAPA) external review. The campus welcomed the QAPA review panel for a virtual site visit at which they conducted interviews with UBC Okanagan’s diverse campus community. In response to the report and recommendations from QAPA, UBC Okanagan has identified four key areas of improvement.
Centralized invigilation services pilot program for 2022/23
Learning Services in the Office of the Provost and the Disability Resource Centre (DRC) will be piloting a program in 2022/23 that will expand the level of support for invigilation at UBC Okanagan and coordinate services under the Disability Resource Centre (DRC). . .
Faculty Perceptions of Student Engagement Survey results
In April 2022, the Office of the Provost invited faculty at UBC Okanagan to respond to a survey gathering data on student engagement and preparedness during Winter Term 2. The intention of this survey, and the previous Winter Term 1 survey, was to understand what might have changed since COVID disrupted in-person classes and provide early insight into any emerging issues. Survey results and Term 1 and 2 comparative data will be shared at a town hall event on May 13th.
New academic integrity website supports UBC students and faculty
In February 2022, UBC launched the new academic integrity website. Putting academic integrity at the heart of the student experience, this cross-campus initiative provides students and faculty with information and resources that will help them navigate cases of academic misconduct, and supports teaching and learning with integrity.
Academic Integrity Panel | Celebrate Learning Week — Since the shift to online teaching and learning, academic integrity (or dishonesty) has been on top of mind for many instructors, administrators, and students. Register Now