About

We are seeking your help to imagine UBC's digital future. Your input and ideas will shape UBC's first institution-wide digital strategy. The intent is to create a living, adaptable vision of how we can move forward together and leverage digital opportunities, now and in the future.

What a digital strategy is not

  • Technology-centric
  • Purely aspirational
  • A static document revisited only every 3-5 years
  • An IT department strategy recast as digital

What a digital strategy is

  • People-centric
  • Action-oriented
  • A living document, regularly reviewed and revised
  • Agile in structure to serve campus-specific needs

How can a digital strategy help UBC achieve its strategic mission?

The UBC Digital UBC will develop a forward-looking strategy that advances Shaping UBC's Next Century and reflects the needs of the community in the context of a post-pandemic world.

With a view to sustaining UBC’s position at the forefront of technology experimentation and adoption in the sector, the digital strategy will guide technology decisions, actions, and investments across UBC over the next five years, with due consideration to UBC’s financial capacity and organizational readiness.

Ultimately, Digital UBC will focus on opportunities to strengthen working relationships across the university, reinforcing institutional commitments to inclusion, collaboration, and innovation. When complete in June 2022, the digital strategy will drive change and guide our technology priorities and investments.

What is the scope of Digital UBC?

Digital UBC will create a digital strategic framework that considers all aspects of UBC's mission, research, teaching and learning, and operations. The roadmap will focus on the potential changes the way UBC uses technology to improve the student experience, our ways of working and collaborating together, and the cultural shift to elevate our collective digital literacy skills.

Why create a digital strategy now?

Over the past 18 months, the university community quickly pivoted as a result of the pandemic. For example, moving from delivery modes on campus to fully remote and/or hybrid required a major effort by students, faculty and staff to expand our usage of digital technologies to continue to learn, teach, research and work. It took an unprecedented effort to quickly adapt to maintain uninterrupted services for researchers, deliver teaching and learning for students and ensure a safe campus for everyone. Digital UBC will build on these extraordinary achievements in the future.

How does the Digital UBC relate to other university strategic work?

Digital UBC is not a standalone initiative and is not being driven by IT. By taking a university-wide view, consultations will explore opportunities to support dynamic research, learning technologies, operational excellence, digital experiences and connection and collaboration.

This UBC Digital Roadmap initiative is aligned with:

Academic and administrative UBC plans

  • UBC Strategic Plan
  • Inclusion Action Plan
  • Indigenous Strategic Plan
  • Other institutional plans
  • Campus, Faculty, and School plans

Institutional Strategic Planning processes

  • Academic scenario planning (UBCV)
  • Beyond COVID-19 reflections and planning

Advisory Committees participating in the development of the university’s digital strategy, include academic and administrative representation, to ensure completion of the roadmap is aligned with the above initiatives.