Managed by the Sustainability Hub, UBC’s Campus as a Living Lab demonstrates how the living lab framework enables researchers, students, operations staff and external partners to use the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses to explore, develop and test new ideas, and to share the knowledge gained from these experiences.
A framework for Research Collaborations Between Faculty, Staff, and Students
The Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) video below describes the university’s leadership in bridging research excellence with operational needs to use the campus environment as a living lab that advances climate and sustainability priorities. UBC CLL drives impact through programs that integrate research, operations, and experiential learning through capital projects, faculty-led initiatives, and industry collaborations.
As part of this initiative, the CLL Fund Competition provides seed funding to spark new academic-operation partnerships and pilot transformative solutions in our campus and communities, examples of which are featured in the Campus as a Living Lab video.
Dr. Miranda Hart, Professor, Department of Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, shares how at UBC Okanagan the School of Engineering and Facilities Management are developing thermal imaging technologies combined with learning models to improve early detection for potential fire outbreaks. And at UBC Vancouver, Angelique Pilon, Acting Senior Director, Sustainability Hub, VP Provost & Academic emphasizes the valuable role of students – for example those working with the Department of Botany and UBC Botanical Garden – to document microbe and insect populations associated with different tree species on campus to support and enhance biodiversity.
An Open Funding Competition for Transformative Change
As a leading public research university, UBC has both a commitment and a responsibility to leverage its academic and operational capabilities, to respond to global challenges in the local environment.
Since 2020, the UBC Vancouver CLL Fund Competition has supported 16 cross-disciplinary projects involving over 10 academic departments and 15 operational units. This year, the program introduced a new bi-annual competition model, piloting a two-stream funding approach that offers up to $500,000 in total seed funding. So far, the new model has encouraged diverse submissions that push the living lab model to new levels of creativity, connecting social and cultural approaches with technology.
Anthony An, Campus as a Living Lab Research Manager, Sustainability Hub, VP Provost & Academic, is excited by the breadth of submissions – and recognizes the challenge of selecting just a few to fund.
“It’s truly inspiring to see teams tackling sustainability challenges with fresh, bold perspectives and interdisciplinary flair—pushing the living lab into exciting social and cultural realms.” – Anthony An
Learn more about UBC’s Campus as a Living Lab and stay connected to learn more about recipients of the 2025 CLL Fund Competition when they are announced in early 2026.