The Campus as a Living Lab Grand Challenge

The Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) Grand Challenge was a bold new chapter in UBC’s commitment to sustainability and innovation. As a one-time funding competition, it was designed to push boundaries and support transformational projects that effectively respond to and adapt to the climate emergency. With $600,000 awarded to three groundbreaking projects, the Grand Challenge set a new standard for collaboration and impact creation at UBC. Explore the links below to learn more about these projects.

The success of the CLL Grand Challenge amplifies UBC’s role as a hub for transformative ideas and impactful solutions. Stay connected with the CLL program to discover opportunities to make a difference.

2023 Grand Challenge Funded Projects

Bioenergy from Commercial-Municipal Organic Waste

This innovative project at UBC Vancouver explores the potential of utilizing aerobically treated organic waste from municipal-commercial waste programs as a sustainable biomass source for UBC's Bioenergy Research Demonstration Facility (BRDF).

Resilience Hubs for UBC Campus Communities: Multidisciplinary Research to Support Operational Planning

This visionary project at UBC Vancouver focuses on enhancing campus resilience in response to climate hazards, aligning with the Campus Vision 2050 Plan. It will develop a resilience hub framework to strengthen community connections and emergency support, and create a disaster risk reduction roadmap to improve UBC’s operational response to climate emergencies.

Smart Fire Detection Systems to Improve Wildfire Resilience of UBCO Campus

This pioneering project at UBC Okanagan is set to develop advanced, integrated fire-detection systems using multi-sensor networks for early wildfire detection and hotspots risk assessment.