UBC Inspired
About Us
UBC Inspired
Extraordinary experiences inspire inclusivity, belonging, and community on campus—UBC Inspired (formerly UTown@UBC) supports this by sparking imagination in our community and helping them share in a vibrant and connected UBC.
We strive to:
- Build connections and partnerships that support a vibrant campus community.
- Leverage UBC’s world-class cultural and athletic assets and public spaces to deliver animation, programs, and events that help support an extraordinary campus experience.
- Facilitate meaningful opportunities for community-led capacity building through placemaking initiatives and grants.
- Strengthen the delivery of program offerings on campus to best serve the UBC community and support UBC’s strategic goals around inclusion, sustainability, and wellbeing.
- Foster an inclusive and welcoming campus environment.
We’re part of the Community Development and Transportation unit in Campus + Community Planning, and support C+CP’s goal of transforming UBC into a complete, sustainable campus community.
Campus + Community Planning
What Guides Us
Taking inspiration from our partners at the Vancouver Foundation, we are guided by the following principles:
- Everyone has Gifts – We use an asset-based community development approach to draw upon our community’s strengths and talents.
- Small is Powerful – With the right support small things can ripple into something bigger.
- Where We Live Matters – We take a place-based approach to building community.
- We learn Together – We want to empower community members with opportunities to exercise decision-making abilities and access to knowledge and resources to strengthen their community development skills and experiences
- Everyone is Invited – We aim to promote accessibility and inclusion for all community members, regardless of age, ethnicity, income level, cultural affiliation, gender, ability and sexual orientation.
From UTown@UBC to UBC Inspired
You may recognize some of our programs and events, which were previously delivered under the UTown@UBC identity. As the scope of our work has grown to include community programs, events, placemaking initiatives and community building for the entire UBC community— faculty, staff, students, and residents — we wanted a new identity to better articulate this work and the audiences it serves.
This new identity also better reflects our unit mandate supporting the entire UBC community in creating extraordinary (and inspiring!) campus experiences and community-building opportunities, as well as our support of C+CP’s vision for a vibrant, connected community.
New look, new website, same great programs, events, and community-building projects (and even a few new ones)!
About Our Partners
Partnership is key to creating an exceptional campus and community experience
A community is more than just the buildings and spaces that make it up—it is the people who live, work, and learn within it. We collaborate with departments, units, and student organizations to help create and facilitate extraordinary campus experiences that build community and bring people together.
Some partners that we work closely with to deliver programs, events, and initiatives include:
- The University Neighbourhood Association
- Acadia Park (Student Housing)
- Beaty Biodiversity Museum
- Active Kids (School of Kinesiology)
- Arts and Culture District (UBC Arts)
- The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
- UBC Wellbeing
- Student Health Equity, Promotion and Education (Wellness Centre)
And more! Check out our Community Programs and Events pages for more information on our partnerships and how we’re working together to create a more connected campus community!
Community Programs
Contact Us
We want to hear from you!
We are small and mighty team in the Community Development and Transportation unit of Campus + Community Planning, supporting UBC’s vision for a connected, vibrant campus community. Our team includes two staff as well as student staff. Co-op and Work Learn students are a crucial part of our team and bring fresh, innovative perspectives to our community-building work on campus.
Keep an eye out for any openings in the future—we’d love to hear your ideas for building community on campus!
Interested in partnering on an event, program, or initiative that supports social connection, campus experience, and community? Let us know at info.inspired@ubc.ca.
Learn More About
Community Grants
Have a great idea for a community-building project? You could receive up to $500 to make it happen!
Inspiring Community GrantsGet Involved In
Community Events
From pop-up placemaking, to an outdoor culinary competition, there’s so many different ways to experience events at UBC!
Community EventsUBC Inspired Partnership Programs
From opportunities to develop intercultural understanding, to supporting scientific discovery, to getting kids moving more, through partnerships we leverage UBC’s unique capacity and expertise to deliver exceptional community programs.
Community Programs