Do you want to integrate applied student-led research and impactful learning opportunities into your course? Do you want to provide students with opportunities to create positive and meaningful change to advance UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments and address critical societal issues? Or maybe you have students interested in action-oriented research or using our Campus as a Living Lab for their thesis?

The SEEDS Sustainability Program supports faculty to integrate sustainability research into courses, student thesis or independent studies topics. We provide students the opportunity to work with UBC campus staff and community partners on impactful applied research that advances UBC’s ambitious sustainability and wellbeing commitments. SEEDS supports the applied research process by connecting your students to UBC staff and community partners and supports you and your students with project management throughout the project duration.

By participating in a SEEDS collaboration, you can:  

  • Get support to integrate applied sustainability research projects into your courses 
  • Offer practical and impactful sustainability learning and research experiences to your undergraduate or graduate students in a course, independent studies, or thesis project
  • Connect your curriculum to advancing UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments through student-led research and partnerships that utilize “Campus as a Living Laboratory” to explore and address critical societal challenges
  • Gain access to SEEDS network of campus operational staff and community partners who serve as the “client” on each applied student research project
  • Join an Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration  or Action Team to expand your network and collaborate with other UBC faculty, practitioners and students in order to provide expertise and guidance on advancing UBC’s sustainability commitments  

 

How a seeds collaboration works

The SEEDS Sustainability Program is a well-established and effective way to integrate innovative and applied sustainability research into your courses using the Campus as Living Laboratory. With partnerships created among more than 12,000 students, faculty, staff and community partners and 1,440 innovative and impactful sustainability projects completed, we are experienced in convening and catalyzing applied student research and interdisciplinary partnerships that can inform and advance UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing policies, plans and practices. SEEDS  supports the integration of operational and academic efforts in sustainability. 

SEEDS faculty collaborations can take many forms. To date, we have partnered with 12 faculties and schools and a diversity of senior undergraduate and graduate courses and programs.

Core SEEDS Criteria

All SEEDS Research Projects Must:

  • Align with UBC’ sustainability and wellbeing commitments to advance knowledge and action
  • Inform the development or implementation of campus plans and policies including the UBC Climate Action Plans, Wellbeing Strategic Framework, Green Building Action Plan, Zero Waste Action Plan, Integrated Stormwater Management Plan, Community Energy & Emissions Plan, Transportation Plan, Water Action Plan, AMS Sustainability Action Plan, and more
  • Involve UBC students, faculty and staff, and can involve additional community partners if there is strong mutual benefit
  • Apply a Community-Based Action Research Methodology - all SEEDS research is designed to produce tangible positive changes within the communities they affect, and communities are involved in all stages of the project research cycle
  • Applies core project management principles and includes 5 phases: scoping, initiation, monitoring and control, close and follow up
  • Aligns with SEEDS core principles, such as research is openly accessible to promote transparency, knowledge exchange and collective impact
  • Produce a written deliverable to ensure knowledge is retained and can be built upon, in addition to any other deliverables including data sets, strategies, prototypes, conceptual designs, physical installations, art, videos, maps, software applications, conceptual designs, and more
  • Generate knowledge exchange opportunities with the project clients and any other stakeholders the research affects through presentations, workshops or action symposiums

 

ways to get involved

Faculty can get involved with SEEDS through both curricular and cocurricular-opportunities.

Through curricular collaboration, SEEDS applied research can be integrated into an undergraduate or graduate course you are already teaching. You can also supervise students who are completing projects as part of an independent study, an undergraduate or graduate thesis, or professional projects. SEEDS will provide you with a range of support including partnership development, project management, help integrating curriculum with UBC Sustainability and Wellbeing Commitments, and project deliverables.

If you don’t have a specific curricular need, but you are interested in expanding your network to collaborate with other UBC faculty, practitioners and students to provide expertise and guidance on advancing UBC’s sustainability commitments, a co-curricular collaboration might be the opportunity you are looking for. Learn more about both curricular and co-curricular opportunities below.

Pathway 1: Curricular Opportunities

Interested in integrating applied campus based sustainability research projects in a course you teach, while advancing UBC’s ambitious sustainability and wellbeing commitments? Or maybe you’re interested in supervising an undergraduate or graduate student on an applied research topic through a thesis or independent project?

Option 1: Integrate applied SEEDS research projects in a program you direct or course you teach  

Most faculty participate in the SEEDS Sustainability Program through a course collaboration. You can check out the SEEDS Sustainability Library (scroll to the bottom of the homepage) for faculties, schools and courses we have collaborated with to date.  

All SEEDS research projects cover a range of critical societal issues and advance our SEEDS Big 5 Research Priorities: 1) Accelerate Climate Action, 2) Maintain & Enhance Urban Biodiversity, 3) Enable the Great Food Transformation, 4) Create Circular & Regenerative Economies, and 5) Foster Community Wellbeing & Inclusion.

Option 2: Supervise a student on a SEEDS applied research topic through a thesis or independent project  

Do you or are you interested in supervising undergraduate or graduate students in a thesis, or independent studies research project? SEEDS has many applied research opportunities available to help advance UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments including research that can contribute to the development and implementation of campus plans and policies spanning climate action, green buildings, food security, urban biodiversity, ecological and human health, wellbeing and more!  

Whether you chose a course collaboration or an independent studies option, we provide you with a range of support including project management, partnership development, curriculum integration with UBC Sustainability and Wellbeing Commitments, and support developing and sharing project deliverables.

Project Management:

A SEEDS project manager provides project management support for the duration of the project from project scoping, initiation, monitoring and control, and close to follow up.

Key responsibilities include supporting the development of a well-scoped research proposal, convening project clients (staff or community partners), supporting the creation of a project team communications schedule to ensure the project stays on track. This typically involves the development of a milestone schedule with the students and project clients, often a bi-weekly meeting where the students are able to meet with the clients, pitch and refine their research approach and ideas, receive mentorship and elicit feedback on ideas and draft deliverables prior to final submission.

Partnership Development:

SEEDS draws on campus networks to find suitable campus staff and community partners for each research project. Every project has at least one primary client, and often secondary clients as well. SEEDS has long lasting relationships with most client groups and each research project builds on previous research to amplify knowledge and action towards UBC’s and society’s critical sustainability challenges. Projects are developed with the staff as well as the community partners projects affect.

Curriculum integration with UBC Sustainability and Wellbeing Commitments:

Each project is carefully scoped in a “Research Project Charter” to align with UBC’s operational sustainability or wellbeing commitments, and your course learning objectives.

Deliverables:

Completed student projects include a final research report, executive summary, and a presentation. Student projects may also include prototypes, a demonstration, conceptual designs, full build, video, application, or installation. The final research report is published in the SEEDS Sustainability Research Library, the UBC cIRcle Digital Repository, and shared with our staff or community partner.

Your Commitment:

  1. Supervise and mentor student researchers. This includes providing expertise and guidance for individual students or teams to work on a project for one term (or more). 
  2. Evaluate projects. You evaluate the final project report prior to publication and distribution to staff and/or community partners.

READY TO CONNECT AND EXPLORE A SEEDS CURRICULAR COLLABORATION?

We’d be happy to speak to you, or present to your department or faculty on the opportunities and benefits of collaborating with the SEEDS Sustainability Program. 

email seeds

Pathway 2: Co-curricular Opportunities

Are you interested in expanding your network to collaborate with other UBC faculty, practitioners and students to provide expertise and guidance on advancing UBC’s sustainability commitments from urban biodiversity and climate to food security and sustainability? Consider joining one of SEEDS Interdisciplinary Applied Research Initiatives or Action Teams:

Join one of our Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives

Together with our partners, SEEDS has co-created four interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder research initiatives. Interdisciplinary collaborations help advance UBC’s sustainability, climate, and wellbeing commitments and SEEDS Big 5 Research Priorities. UBC students, faculty and practitioners collaborate in providing expertise and guidance on advancing UBC’s sustainability commitments from urban biodiversity and climate to food security and sustainability through impactful research and collaborations. Each interdisciplinary collaboration has a Steering Committee, supporting Action Teams and research clusters that utilize the Campus as a Living Laboratory. If you are interested in getting involved, please check out one of initiatives to learn more:

Your Commitment:

If joining a Steering Committee in one our Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives:

Role: Provide strategic and advisory guidance to advance the Interdisciplinary Initiative Strategic Plan mission and priorities.

Responsibilities: Provide interdisciplinary expertise and guidance on formulation of sustainability or wellbeing planning and practices, feedback on strategic priorities and initiatives, input on initiative progression, and promote the communication of outcomes.

Time Commitment: Commit to attending on average a quarterly meeting. Periodically review documents as needed.

If joining and Action Team that supports our Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives:

Role: Support implementation of actions specified in the Interdisciplinary Initiative Strategic Plan through engaged expertise.

Responsibilities: Support the scoping, development of content and research contributions that will inform Interdisciplinary Initiative priorities.

Time Commitment: Commit to attending a monthly meeting. Commit two hours a month for document review.

READY TO CONNECT AND EXPLORE A SEEDS CURRICULAR COLLABORATION?

We’d be happy to speak to you, or present to your department or faculty on the opportunities and benefits of collaborating with the SEEDS Sustainability Program. 

email seeds