This year we invite the UBC community to pause, reflect, and celebrate learning in all its forms. Centered on people and shared experiences, it honours learning that happens across seasons and spaces—inside classrooms, out in the field, and throughout everyday life. From small, quiet moments to meaningful challenges and breakthroughs, Celebrate Learning Week recognizes teaching and learning as an ongoing journey shaped by growth, connection, and the collective stories that bring our community together.
From May 4 to May 8, 2026, the Provosts and Vice-President Academic from UBCO and UBCV will collaboratively present this cross-campus week-long initiative showcasing teaching and learning at UBC through open lectures, poster sessions, panel discussions, workshops and more. UBC faculty, staff and students as well as community members are encouraged to participate in Celebrate Learning Week by attending and/or coordinating events. Learn more about CLW.
Keynote: Dr. Mia Zamora
Professor of English and Director of the Master of Arts in Writing Studies Program at Kean University
The Future of Learning Must Invite Us to Imagine: Freedom Dreaming for Liberatory Education
May 4, 2026 | 10:00 am – 11:30 am | Online
What is the significance of imagination in our work as educators? In a world shaped more and more by algorithmic logic, what does it mean to dream? What role might the imagination play in how we collectively address our shared future? This interactive talk will open up a dynamic conversation about liberatory education design. How can we cultivate the growth of the imagination for ourselves and for our students? We will explore everyday practices and design strategies that can lead us to become self-actualized shapers of a more just and sustainable world.
May 4
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2026 CIRTL SoTL Workshop (May 4, 6, 8)
- Session Format:
- In-person
The CSW is a three day, in-person, intensive professional development session designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows interested in broadening and enhancing their instructional skills. -
Keynote | The Future of Learning Must Invite Us to Imagine: Freedom Dreaming for Liberatory Education
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
What is the significance of imagination in our work as educators? In a world shaped more and more by algorithmic logic, what does it mean to dream? What role might the imagination play in how we collectively address our shared future? This interactive talk will open up a dynamic conversation about liberatory education design. How can we cultivate the growth of the imagination for ourselves and for our students? We will explore everyday practices and design strategies that can lead us to become self-actualized shapers of a more just and sustainable world. -
Imagining Together: A Celebrate Learning Week Keynote Viewing and Lunch Conversation
- Session Format:
- In-person
- Series:
We’ll watch the live stream together as a community, then carry those ideas into lunch — building on the collective imagining Mia sets in motion and exploring what freedom dreaming might look like in our own teaching and learning contexts. -
Re-Imagine and Re-Design: Disability Access in the Classroom
- Session Format:
- In-person
- Series:
We will offer reflective frameworks to provide participants with the atmosphere to begin the work of re-imagining the classroom for disabled students. To do this, we will challenge assumptions and norms of a ‘typical’ classroom and, by way of example, identify practical ways to design your classroom with disability accessibility in mind. This is a UBCO STREAM (Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Event. STREAM is a multi-pronged initiative, aiming to enhance the appreciation of impactful equity-based and historically, persistently, and systemically marginalized (HPSM)-produced scholarly work at UBCO and beyond. STREAM’s overarching philosophy is to demonstrate to students, staff, and faculty that there is much to learn from marginalised voices in scholarly research. -
Innovations in Teaching and Learning: Five Minute Features
- Session Format:
- Hybrid
- Series:
Five-Minute Features is a fast-paced showcase of teaching and learning innovation from UBC Okanagan faculty. They will take the mic for five minutes each to share a bold idea, a practical strategy, a lesson learned, or a spark of inspiration from their classrooms and programs.
May 5
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2026 Graduate Students in Teaching Conference
- Session Format:
- Online
This conference is an opportunity for graduate students to focus on the present and future role of graduate students in teaching: graduate students teaching now, as well as graduate students as future faculty. -
Reimagining the Future of Oceans and Fisheries
- Session Format:
- In-person
- Series:
The Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF) at The University of British Columbia is marking its 10th Anniversary in 2026. This milestone also commemorates over 70 years of groundbreaking research, policy engagement, education, and innovation in fisheries and ocean science at UBC. To honour this occasion, we are holding a one-day symposium to look to the future of the field, to “Reimagine the Future of Oceans and Fisheries.” -
Panel | Making the Tech Happen for AI in Teaching
- Session Format:
- In-person
- Series:
In this panel discussion, faculty teams share the behind-the-scenes stories of developing AI tools for their courses – the ideas, the challenges, and the moments it all came together. Panelists will offer practical insights and lessons learned, with time for conversation. Whether you’re AI-curious or ready to build, come see what’s possible – and how the LT Incubator can help make it happen! -
Panel | Promoting Responsible GenAI Practices in Students' Writing
- Session Format:
- Online
This panel is an opportunity to hear from faculty and students interested in protecting and promoting students’ critical thinking and problem solving abilities in their writing, all of which have been threatened since the advent of Generative AI. -
In-person UBC Studios Tour and Open House
- Session Format:
- In-person
- Series:
This will be an introductory guided tour through UBC Studios to familiarize yourself with the space and what services it offers. -
Curriculum Meets Career: Faculty Partnering to Design Career-Integrated Learning Experiences
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
In this hands-on workshop, we bring together faculty and the Career Development Team to explore how career-relevant content can be seamlessly integrated into your existing courses. Through a real case study from a UBCO course, you’ll learn how one professor created a meaningful, career-integrated experience for their students and the impact it had. After the case study, participants will work alongside the Career Development team to collaboratively design a career-integrated learning experience for a real course. You’ll leave with practical tools, a stronger campus partnership and a concrete example you can bring back to your own classroom. -
Panel | Flip the Seminar: When Students Take the Lead
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
Join past student and faculty participants of the Student Directed Seminars program for a panel discussion on designing and leading student-driven courses. Panelists will share insights into peer-led learning, collaboration, and the experience of co-creating the classroom. -
Building Capacity for the IBPOC Teaching and Learning Community: Celebrating Little Transformations as a Bridge Towards Large-Scale Change
- Session Format:
- In-person
This installment of Building Capacity is focused on sharing and storytelling around “little transformations” regarding anti-racist strategizing, teaching and learning, and/or cultural change across departments, faculties and institutions. -
Good Teaching Conversation
- Session Format:
- In-person
- Series:
Come explore elements of good teaching with the Centre for Teaching & Learning at the Sawchuk Theatre. The CTL has developed an iterative framework that seeks to identify evidence-based, best practices in teaching and learning at UBCO. Included in the framework are opportunities for reflection and growth as well as some identified groups of knowledge, skills, and mindset that contribute to good teaching. This resource and tool is being developed by the CTL to support a variety of academic contexts, with the initial focus on undergraduate course level instruction. -
So…You're Thinking of Developing a Non-Credit Offering?
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
Members of the Continuing and Professional Education team at UBC Okanagan will share insights from their experience in supporting and developing a growing portfolio of courses and programs. -
Everything's Changed Again: So What About AI?
- Session Format:
- In-person
Join a deeply real conversation with faculty at UBC Studios as we explore how AI is changing the way we think, the way we think we teach and learn, and how we conduct research.
May 6
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Panel | Journeys in Teaching Innovation: Faculty and Instructor Stories of Idea to Impact
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
Ever wonder what it takes to turn a promising idea into meaningful teaching innovation? This panel explores the journey from initial concept to impact on student learning. Drawing on experiences at UBC, panelists will share practical insights and examples to support faculty and instructors looking to move their ideas forward. -
Learning in Conversation at Café Enchanté
- Session Format:
- In-person
- Series:
This interactive showcase invites participants into a café‑style experience highlighting Espaces francophones’ multilingual conversation café at UBC Okanagan and the power of low‑barrier, community‑rooted learning spaces. -
Panel | Linguistic Justice in our Classrooms: Promoting Equity for Speakers with Diverse Language Backgrounds
- Session Format:
- Hybrid
- Series:
This session brings together faculty and students from Arts and Education to discuss how we can “cultivate meaningful change” (the CLW theme) by attending to Linguistic Justice in our classrooms. Linguistic Justice responds to linguistic discrimination, taking as its premise that all languages, language varieties, and accents are legitimate and valuable. -
Canvas Shell Showcase
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
Course instructors share their approaches and examples of how they tailor their Canvas shells for their courses, focusing on student experience. Our hope is to increase instructors’ awareness of how Canvas shells can be individualized and personalized to increase student engagement. -
Disability, Accessibility, and Accommodations on Campus
- Session Format:
- Hybrid
- Series:
The workshop is an opportunity to hear from disabled and neurodiverse students and faculty about their experiences on campus and what they wish to see from allies and fellow peers; learn about disability and its intersections, the legacies of ableism in academic institutions, and UBCO initiatives and resources; and contribute insight to the SAB and DRC for future workshops and initiatives to fill gaps in understanding, education, accessibility, and accommodation. -
Working with Interpreters: A Practical Skill for Future Professionals
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
Students in healthcare, social services, and legal fields will often work with clients who speak little or no English. Yet many trainees receive little preparation on how to communicate effectively across language barriers. This session introduces practical strategies for working with professional interpreters in real-world settings. -
Panel | AI in Assessment
- Session Format:
- In-person
AI is transforming industry, society, and the workplace. Higher education cannot afford to stand still. Universities now face an unprecedented challenge: How do we stay truly relevant and prepare our students for a fast-moving, AI-empowered world? This panel brings together expert panellists for a candid, practical conversation on exactly how AI is reshaping what we teach and how we teach it.
May 7
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2026 TLEF and ALT-2040 Virtual Showcase
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
Learn about the exciting projects funded by the TLEF and ALT-2040 grants, and the impact of those projects on innovative teaching and student learning. -
How the SEI Dashboard Can Help You Tell Your Teaching Story (and Save You Time)
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
In this session, you will learn how to use the three main features of the SEI Dashboard to better understand your SEI results, how to use these to reflect on your teaching, and how you can present the information in your dossier. -
The Inclusive Teaching of Writing (ITOW) Project and STEPS Forward: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Teaching at the Margins of Student Diversity
- Session Format:
- In-person
- Series:
This interactive workshop is a collaboration between the Inclusive Teaching of Writing (ITOW) project team and STEPS Forward Inclusion Facilitators. The workshop brings together our combined knowledge about faculty and student experiences of accessible teaching and learning across disciplinary contexts. A shared motivation is that inclusion and accessibility are terms often applied to teaching and learning at UBC but what they mean in practice, particularly when teaching to the most marginalized students, can be unclear. Faculty workshop participants will work collaboratively with one another to discern what authentic inclusion is, what it involves, and how to further embed it within their teaching practices. -
Cultivating Learning Communities: Introduction to Team-Based Learning
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
This three-hour online workshop invites educators to explore how meaningful change in teaching can emerge through collaborative growth. Designed for those new to Team-Based Learning (TBL) or curious about active learning and flipped classrooms, the session provides a hands-on introduction to the core structure, sequence, and benefits of TBL. -
The Evolution of Resistance
- Session Format:
- In-person
- Series:
In this talk, Dr. TC Waisman traces the evolution of her unintended journey into activism and resistance as a late-diagnosed Autistic, Black, Indigenous Oceania, South Asian, non-binary, multiply disabled person. Dr. Waisman shares stories from her Indigenous Fijian culture and from her childhood in the 1970s and her upbringing in Canada, so that others might see their own journeys of resistance through a decolonized, inclusive, and anti-normative lens.
May 8
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Supporting African Scholars in Transition: Insights for an Inclusive UBC
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
African international students contribute significantly to Canadian universities but often face complex transitional challenges that affect their academic success and wellbeing. Drawing on a systematic literature review and professional practice, this session explores key factors shaping these transitions and highlights equity-oriented, culturally responsive strategies that help students. -
Social-media Inspired Visual Distractions during Lecture
- Session Format:
- Online
- Series:
Digital platforms are ubiquitous with students today, expecting and relying on tools such as hybrid learning models, messaging apps, and games. Social media uses distractions specifically to promote engagement in content, which offers a potential wealth of untapped pedagogy if used appropriately in the classroom. This interactive presentation will describe a pilot lecture using techniques inspired by split-screen content, the impact, and student feedback of this intervention to improve student engagement.