The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC’s West Coast spirit has embraced innovation and questioned the status quo. With close to 63,000 students from 160 countries and more than 5,400 faculty on two campuses in Vancouver and the Okanagan, UBC is a place where bold thinking develops into ideas that can change the world. Its entrepreneurial perspective encourages students, staff and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery and explore new ways of learning.
With COVID-19 restricting in-person gatherings climate protests paused and lost momentum. Youth climate activists have shifted their attention online and are linking climate issues to social justice.
Women in visible leadership positions are subject to personal attacks as less competent and reliable than their male colleagues. Acknowledging this double standard is the first step in addressing it.
With $1 billion in advance purchase agreements for COVID-19 vaccines, Canada has joined the vaccine nationalists: rich countries buying up more than half the global short-term supply of vaccine.
Si la fumée des incendies de forêt diffère de la pollution atmosphérique émise par la circulation et les émissions industrielles, elle demeure très nocive pour la santé humaine.
Coping with intense and prolonged wildfire smoke is difficult, both physically and mentally. Smoke is an environment hazard to be respected, not a personal challenge to be overcome.
Data trusts are a key part of a health data infrastructure that manages user and patient information in a responsible, transparent and accountable manner.
Food insecurity is income insecurity. After COVID-19, we must no longer tolerate the inequities of corporate charity and the stigma associated with relying on society’s leftovers for those in need.
Mendaur ulang dan mematikan lampu adalah langkah baik, namun tidak sepenting mengurangi konsumsi daging, perjalanan udara, dan berkendara pada basis individual untuk perubahan iklim.
Avec une crise climatique qui s'aggrave, une perte de biodiversité et des inégalités généralisées, il est pertinent de se demander si une croissance indéfinie du PIB apportera une prospérité réelle.
Each year, parents consider when to start allowing their children to commute to school unsupervised. During the coronavirus pandemic, there are additional concerns.
Recycling and turning off the lights are good steps towards a more sustainable society, but they are not nearly as important for the climate as reducing meat consumption, air travel and driving.
Forests provide an essential buffer between people and wildlife — and the viruses they carry. Global agriculture is destroying forests, harming biodiversity and may be putting human life at risk.
Cary Wu, York University, Canada; Rima Wilkes, University of British Columbia, and Sylvia Fuller, University of British Columbia
Journal comments are responses to previously published articles. The gender disparity in the authorship of these comments both reflects and contributes to women’s opportunities in scientific research.
Canada should invest robustly in students’ post-secondary education. Data about effects of the pandemic and how students balance classes and work show why we urgently need this investment.
Bringing change to universities needs to focus on systems, not people. Although online shaming is effective at removing people from their positions, it doesn’t change systems.
Lee Gunderson, University of British Columbia and Guofang Li, University of British Columbia
A Vancouver study found Mandarin-speaking girls were more likely to be eligible for university than Cantonese-speaking boys. High-achieving students were from wealthier families who had tutors.