Each term, Science instructors and teaching assistants provide feedback on homework, midterms and exams. The scale of these efforts pose significant logistical and pedagogical challenges. This project is focused on building a “Plom Cloud” infrastructure that will scale to serve all UBC Science in time for September 2024. This includes both the required technical work to build the infrastructure itself as well as the development of requisite support mechanisms for operationalization and ongoing sustainability.

The goal of this project is to initiate and nurture a community of early career researchers, particularly graduate students, who are passionate about having a positive social impact through their research. The project involves five core activities including interviews, a webinar series, identifying opportunities for students to participate in HIBAR and other forms of engaged research. 

This project is focused on the development and implementation of an automated, low barrier, point-of-care drug checking service that can be implemented at UBC and expanded into areas such as Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Once developed, the goal is for the analysis to be fully automated and require minimal user input, allowing the project to continue in community-based settings. The overall aims are to lower barriers associated with high quality analytical technology and to empower a marginalized community and provide them access to a high-quality analytical technology.

Given the success of the BUDR team’s pilot project in the 2021-22 funding cycle, the project was renewed to enable further development of the program. The current goals of the program are to ensure that a wider diversity of UBC undergraduates obtain research experience and employment through Botany and Zoology research labs. The team continues to run EDI, mentorship, and training workshops for mentees and mentors as well as to increase the number of micro-experiences for students.