News Archives

Workshops at a glance: April 6

April 6, 2016

Here are some professional development opportunities for faculty and staff at UBC Okanagan over the next few weeks:

UBC IT Talks: Leading change in a digital world

On April 29 join a distinguished panel of speakers from UBC, Gartner, and CopperLeaf Technologies for a panel discussion on working effectively to manage change in today’s digital world.

Hear stories of successful change management tactics and discover new strategies for influencing rapid, profound, and sustainable change.

To register or find out more, visit: it.ubc.ca/ubc-it-events

Epigenetics focus of UBC workshop Apr. 27 to 29

The UBC Centennial Emerging Research Workshop on Epigenetics will be held on April 27 to 29. This workshop at UBC’s Vancouver campus aims to bring together researchers across UBC in this relatively new but already complex area to better understand and raise the profile of epigenetics research at UBC. The workshop will also be webcast to UBC students, faculty and staff.

To find out more visit: research.ubc.ca/workshop/bridging-genes-environment

Faculty Pension Plan seminars organized for Apr. 25

Understanding your retirement income options and the performance of the Faculty Pension Plan investment funds will be the topic of discussion at two seminars on April 25.

One-on-one consultations are also available for the retirement income session. The registration deadline for both seminars is Friday, April 15.

Integrated Stormwater Management Plan open house

The Sustainability Office is developing an Integrated Stormwater Management Plan to responsibly manage the stormwater that falls at UBC Okanagan.

To find out more, visit: sustain.ok.ubc.ca/stormwater

More workshops

April 8 Grade Centre Drop-In Session	April 12 and 19 Mindfulness Practice	April 12 Grade Centre Drop-In Session
April 14 Grade Centre Drop-In Session	April 18 Teaching Portfolios	April 19 Grade Centre Drop-In Session
April 21 Grade Centre Drop-In Session	April 21 MD Admissions Info Session	April 28 RISe Drop-in Session

For a full listing of workshops, visit the Okanagan campus events calendar.

The post Workshops at a glance: April 6 appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Centre for Teaching and Learning, Exchange, Office of Research Services, Southern Medical Program, Sustainability Office, UBC IT Okanagan

Workshops at a glance: December 16

December 16, 2015

Here are some professional development opportunities for faculty and staff at UBC Okanagan over the next few weeks:

Media Centre Studio launches weekly video production workshop series

Starting January 7, Media Centre Studio will be holding a new series of weekly drop-in sessions that focus on video production.

To find out more, visit: news.ok.ubc.ca/exchange/2015/12/10/media-centre-studio-launches-weekly-video-production-workshop-series

More workshops

December 16 Just in Time Course Design	December 16 Grade Centre Drop-in Session	December 16 Bringing Focus and SO Much More to Your Classes
December 17, 22, 24, 29 and 31 Drop-in Advising	December 17 Grade Centre Drop-in Session	December 21 Grade Centre Drop-in Session
December 22 and January 5 Tuesday Mindfulness Sessions	January 5 Adjunct Faculty and Sessional Instructor Orientation Session	January 5 Credentialing for Teaching Assistants
January 5 and 7 Drop-in Advising

For a full listing of workshops, visit the Okanagan campus events calendar.

The post Workshops at a glance: December 16 appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Academic Advising, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Exchange, UBC IT Okanagan

Media Centre Studio launches weekly video production workshop series

December 10, 2015

Starting January 7, Media Centre Studio will be holding a new series of weekly drop-in sessions that focus on video production.

The series runs each Thursdays from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the Innovation Lab (room ADM013) and will focus on a new topic every week. Each session will contain 30 minutes of training and 30 minutes of Q&A or lab assistance.

The sessions are open to all students, faculty and staff. The First two weeks of training will be camera basic and camera advanced. Future topics include lighting, audio and editing.

To find out more contact Sam Charles, senior media production specialist, at sam.charles@ubc.ca.

The post Media Centre Studio launches weekly video production workshop series appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Exchange, UBC IT Okanagan

Workshops at a glance: November 18

November 18, 2015

Here are some professional development opportunities for faculty and staff at UBC Okanagan over the next few weeks:

Workshop: Understanding HRMS workflow

Finance is offering its expertise to help guide initiators and approvers through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) workflow and electronic approvals process.

On November 19, learn more about how rules are administered to position management, eRecruit and ePAF in HRMS.

To find out more, visit: http://01.cms.ubc.ca/Page29861.aspx?PageMode=Hybrid

UBC Survey Tool info session

UBC Survey Tool is a Canadian-hosted survey solution through the vendor, FluidSurvey by SurveyMonkey. It complies with the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. All data is stored and backed up in Canada. This survey tool solution allows users to quickly and easily build their own surveys, with advanced features such as logic and branching, bulk translation tools, and even offline capabilities.

Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Time: 12pm to 1pm

To find out more, visit: https://it.ubc.ca/services/teaching-learning-tools/survey-tool

More workshops

November 18, 19 and 23 Graduate Scholarships and Awards Q&A Drop-in Session	November 19 Unlocking vital skills for the Canadian workplace	November 19 Intercultural Understanding for Faculty and Staff
November 19 ORCID: Essential Identifier for Researchers	November 24 and December 1 Tuesday Mindfulness Sessions	November 24 Setting up Academic Profiles
November 25 Experiential Learning Community of Practice	November 25 Photoshop Workshop	November 26 RISe Drop-in Session
November 27 Social Media Community of Practice	December 2 Strategies for Keeping Up to Date on Current Research	December 2 Grade Centre Drop-in Session
December 2 TA Bootcamp	December 3 Grade Centre Drop-in Session

For a full listing of workshops, visit the Okanagan campus events calendar.

The post Workshops at a glance: November 18 appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Centre for Teaching and Learning, College of Graduate Studies, Exchange, Finance, Library, Office of Research Services, UBC IT Okanagan

buyIT: New IT purchasing portal to launch this month

November 6, 2015

buyIT logo buyIT is the new purchasing portal created by IT, Media and Classroom Services that allows you to browse and purchase popular UBC-supported computers, software and accessories.

It will help you budget more effectively, streamline the purchasing process and is open 24 hours a day.

Join IT, Media and Classroom Services on Friday, November 27, or Tuesday, December 1, for buyIT information sessions in the IT Innovation Lab, room ADM013. The sessions will take place at 9, 10 and 11 a.m.

To find out more about buyIT, contact Zoe Armer, manager of business services, at zoe.armer@ubc.ca or 250-807-8290.

The post buyIT: New IT purchasing portal to launch this month appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Exchange, UBC IT Okanagan

Group plans campus cake to celebrate UBC Okanagan’s anniversary

August 18, 2015

Members of the cake committee examine the model created for the campus master plan consultations last winter. The committee (from left): WRAP Coordinator Tracey Hawthorn, HR Advisor Tena McKenzie, engineering student Jannat Bachhal and WRAP Assistant Deb Oakley hopes to build a cake resembling the current campus.

Tracey Hawthorn admits she’s no cake boss as she leads the volunteer committee

It’s going to be a busy year at UBC as the university celebrates its 100th anniversary and the Okanagan campus marks its tenth year of operation.

And what’s a celebration without a cake? That’s why a group of volunteers at UBC’s Okanagan campus is busy planning to create an anniversary cake to share with the campus community at the annual Welcome Back BBQ and Fair on September 3.

“It’s going to be somewhat experimental,” says Tracey Hawthorn, a self-confessed recreational-baker. “This cake is well outside my comfort zone, but we have a great committee. I have a group of people who just want to help, love to bake, and some have wonderful cake-decorating skills.”

It’s a baker’s dozen for the committee, 13 enthusiastic UBC employees and students who have brought a variety of skills to the team. Hawthorn is a planner and organizer. Rosemary Jean Thompson, leading the design team, makes professional cakes as a hobby and is a whiz with fondant. Aramark Chef Mathew Morazain is helping with the recipes and overseeing the baking procedure. Nutritionist Sally Willis-Stewart is keeping an eye on sugar levels, and engineering student Jannat Bachhal worked with the design committee to create a computerized 3D model of the campus. The goal is to make the cake resemble the model.

Hawthorn explains that one way to mark UBC’s past is to also connect with its future — so the cake is going to resemble the Okanagan campus as it stands today but will be unveiled with the campus model showing the future build out. They are working with a model created for the campus master plan and, with a lot of luck, will create a cake similar to that model.

“We are also conscious of people’s dietary needs so there will be a vanilla cake and gluten free chocolate cake, and our buildings will be made with Rice Krispie squares,” says Hawthorn. “You can’t have cake without ice cream” and this will be served with the cake.

Making a cake to feed more than 250 people is a tall order; making a 4’ x 6’ feet cake that looks like a university campus, is even more challenging. But Hawthorn is confident, with her hard-working committee, the cake will be a masterpiece.

“It truly is a collaborative effort,” she says. “And it’s something we want to share with students, faculty, and staff.”

The cake is sponsored by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s office and will be served at the Welcome Back BBQ on September 3.

The post Group plans campus cake to celebrate UBC Okanagan’s anniversary appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Exchange, Food Services, Human Resources, School of Engineering, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, UBC IT Okanagan

Summer schedule for IT Service Desk released

May 20, 2015

Effective June 8, the IT Service Desk will start operating on summer hours — 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.

The service desk hours will return to normal (7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.) beginning August 24.

To find out more, visit: helpdesk.ok.ubc.ca

The post Summer schedule for IT Service Desk released appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Exchange, UBC IT Okanagan

UBC video producer to represent Canada at 2015 Summer Universiade

September 15, 2014

Sam Charles, senior media production specialist

Sam Charles, senior media production specialist with the Media Centre Studio, has been chosen as a videographer for Team Canada at the 2015 Summer Universiade games in Gwangju, Korea.

Staged every two years in a different world-class city, the Universiade is an international multi-sport event organized for university athletes organized by the International University Sports Federation.

It showcases numerous summer sports and is second only to the Olympics in terms of athlete participation in a major sporting event. The twelve-day series will feature more than 9,000 student athletes from over 170 countries.

Charles covered the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics for Shaw TV while creating a manual for Olympic journalists as part of a Jack Webster Foundation Fellowship.

“I was very fortunate to cover the 2006 Winter Olympic in Italy which was an incredible experience — witnessing a large-scale event like that from the outside,” says Charles. “Now as a member of the Team Canada mission staff, I will get to experience and tell the Universiade story from an insider’s perspective.”

Apart from his day-to-day role producing stories for ubco.tv, he is also the play-by-play voice for the UBC Okanagan Heat’s Friday night Game of the Week on canadawest.tv.

“I’ve always enjoyed giving back to amateur sports, especially university sports,” says Charles. “I did play-by-play for York University, UBC’s Vancouver campus, Simon Fraser University and the University of Waterloo prior to my play-by-play duties at UBC Okanagan.”

As videographer, Charles will be responsible for capturing the event and creating a presence through social media for Team Canada.

The post UBC video producer to represent Canada at 2015 Summer Universiade appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Exchange, UBC IT Okanagan

UBC honours its own with staff achievement awards

September 5, 2014

UBC recognized its own recently with the 2014 Staff Awards of Excellence. Pictured are, from left: Lisa Castle, UBC vice president of human resources; Pauline Brandes, UBC Okanagan campus director of human resources; Robin Whittall, Staff Award of Excellence for Sustainability; Malcom Petch, Staff Aware of Excellence for Enhancing the UBC Experience; Tracey Hawthorn, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s Award of Excellence; and Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal Deborah Buszard. Absent is Sandra Mecklenburg, Staff Award of Excellence for Leadership.

They toil in the background of the university campus.

Working diligently behind the scenes, they make sure labs function, faculty programs run efficiently, information technology systems operate seamlessly and that UBC’s Okanagan campus delivers a top-tier education to its thousands of students. They are the support staff members of the university community, and with the 2014 staff awards of excellence, UBC has honoured four of its own for their determined efforts.

Tracey Hawthorn, Robin Whittall, Malcolm Petch and Sandra Mecklenburg were recently recognized for contributions that enrich the UBC experience for students, faculty and their co-workers.

“UBC staff are well known for going to exceptional lengths to provide students and faculty with the tools they need to succeed,” says UBC Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Okanagan campus Deborah Buszard. “We appreciate the commitment our staff display every day and honour their efforts and achievements with these awards.”

Hawthorn was presented with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s Award of Excellence. Hawthorn, a member of the human resources department, was recruited in 2010 to re-imagine the approach to sick leave and return to work. The result is the Work Reintegration and Accommodation Program (WRAP). Hawthorn’s knowledge of physiotherapy and kinesiology and imaginative approach reduced the campus’ average number of sick days from 7.3 in 2009 to 2.5 days in 2013.

Hawthorn also increased health and wellness activities on campus, and her work with a local employers’ community of practice on mental health in the workplace has been recognized by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Mecklenburg, lab manager in the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences chemistry department, was recognized with a staff excellence award in leadership for her efforts to decrease the amount of lab waste produced. She was also lauded for her mentorship and guidance of teaching assistants.

Petch, audio and visual support analyst with the Information Technologies, Media and Classroom Services department, received the staff award of excellence for enhancing customer service experiences at the University. Petch routinely solves vexing IT issues and counsels staff in use of technology for such activities as teleconferencing and collaboration between the UBC campuses to enable virtual meetings and reduce staff travel time and costs.

Whittall, career advisor with the Advising and Involvement Centre, was recognized with the staff excellence award in sustainability. She has led development and continuation of several successful campus programs including the Senior Student Lifeline, a program to assist graduate students to successfully transition to post-graduate life. She has also been instrumental for the past seven years in establishing the Women in Science and Engineering program.

—30—

The post UBC honours its own with staff achievement awards appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Career Services, Human Resources, Irving K Barber School of Arts and Sciences (prior July 2020), Media Release, UBC IT Okanagan

Interactive maps make it easier to navigate campus

July 14, 2014

A new UBC wayfinding website launches this month. The interactive, mobile-friendly tool allows pedestrians to identify their location, search for specific services (e.g., food, parking, housing), and use Google maps to find the fastest way to reach their destination.

The website is designed for pedestrian wayfinding. Future phases will address vehicle, building and classroom wayfinding.

As we approach September, one of the heaviest use times for our campus map, please direct new students, staff and visitors to maps.ok.ubc.ca.

Users can share feedback on the maps using the form on the lower left side of the maps.ok.ubc.ca screen.

The post Interactive maps make it easier to navigate campus appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Posted in Exchange, Facilities Management, UBC IT Okanagan