Projects
Piloting the future
Campus as a Living Lab projects use UBC infrastructure, assets and resources to support innovative and applied research projects that improve our communities, region and world. They pilot new ideas, advance faculty research and interdisciplinary collaborations, have an operational benefit for the university, and create opportunities for student learning and knowledge exchange.
These projects link research to action. They include large-scale innovative capital projects with strong research programs, academic-industry partnerships advancing R&D for new technologies, specialized applied research programs within a variety of disciplines, real-world scale research infrastructure supporting a broad range of academic research and operational benefits, and innovative student learning opportunities and programs.
Find out more about these projects, and what we are learning from them.
Project Library
This innovative UBC Vancouver campus-based project will transform undergraduate teaching laboratories into living labs to reduce single-use laboratory plastics (SULP) and advance sustainable practices. Through collaborative research, pilot interventions, and student engagement, it will develop practical solutions that minimize waste while supporting high-quality teaching and broader climate action.
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This exciting and timely project explores how UBC students are using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in their academic work, and how factors such as motivation, belonging, identity, and support shape that use. By positioning UBC Vancouver as a living lab, the project will identify patterns of student AI engagement and examine how courses and workshops can foster more ethical, equitable, strategic, and learning-oriented use of AI.
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This transformative living lab project at UBC Vancouver uses campus green spaces to study how urban nature can cool neighbourhoods and support wildlife in a warming climate. By combining automated microclimate and acoustic monitoring with community engagement, it will generate practical guidance to design resilient, biodiversity‑rich urban landscapes on campus and across Metro Vancouver.
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This innovative living lab project at UBC Vancouver investigates the hidden viral communities affecting campus green spaces, ornamental landscapes, and agri-food systems. By combining real-time genomic surveillance, phage-based biocontrol research, and hands-on student learning, it will generate practical tools and knowledge to support healthier, more resilient urban ecosystems on campus and beyond.
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