On the University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a global center for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the 40 best universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC’s West Coast spirit has embraced innovation and challenged the status quo. Its entrepreneurial perspective encourages students, staff and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery and explore new ways of learning. At UBC, bold thinking is given a place to develop into ideas that can change the world.
As one of the world’s top research universities, for more than a century the University of British Columbia has created positive change here and abroad. Today, centered on our two major campuses — the Vancouver campus and the Okanagan campus — we attract, nurture and proactively transform more than 58,000 students from Canada and 140 countries.
Vision
As one of the world’s leading universities, The University of British Columbia creates an exceptional learning environment that fosters global citizenship, advances a civil and sustainable society, and supports outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada and the world.
Values
Academic Freedom
The University is independent and cherishes and defends free inquiry and scholarly responsibility.
Advancing and sharing knowledge
The University supports scholarly pursuits that contribute to knowledge and understanding within and across disciplines, and seeks every opportunity to share them broadly.
Excellence
The University, through its students, faculty, staff, and alumni, strives for excellence and educates students to the highest standards.
Integrity
The University acts with integrity, fulfilling promises and ensuring open, respectful relationships.
Mutual respect and equity
The University values and respects all members of its communities, each of whom individually and collaboratively makes a contribution to create, strengthen and enrich our learning environment.
Public interest
The University embodies the highest standards of service and stewardship of resources and works within the wider community to enhance societal goods.
Website: <http://www.ubc.ca/about/>.
On the Liu Institute for Global Issues
Named after Dr. Jieh Jow Liou, the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia conducts and facilitates leading edge research and debate on global issues – mobilizing knowledge into solutions and policy. The Institute takes an interdisciplinary problem-solving approach to explore new ideas and ways of learning to catalyze innovative thinking and positive societal change. Our three main areas of strategic focus currently include: Sustainability, Security, Social Justice.
Research
The Liu Institute serves as a hub for global issues research at UBC and provides innovative learning and research opportunities for UBC graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and community members that help to bridge the gap between academics and practitioners. We host regular workshops, panel discussions, colloquia and guest lecturers which lead to in-depth reports, policy briefs, books, academic articles and media coverage, on a range of technical and current affairs topics. We engage researchers and students across disciplines through partnerships with governments, NGOs and the private sector.
The Liu Institute also houses an interdisciplinary group of exceptional scholars, conducting global research in cross-cutting fields including international development, climate policy, food security, energy, law, business, political economy, international relations, comparative public policy, socio-cultural analysis, and socio-technical studies. Select current projects include:
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Global Food Security
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Civilian Self-Protection Strategies During Conflict
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Resources Extraction and Recent Conflicts
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Energy Poverty
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International Relations in the Digital Age
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Climate and Air Quality
Visiting Scholars and Distinguished Fellows
The Liu Institute for Global Issues invites leading scholars and distinguished practitioners to take up residence and engage in research and teaching activities at the Institute. Visiting scholars and distinguished fellows have focused their research in corporate social responsibility; transitional justice and reconciliation; conflict and development; conflict financing; climate and environmental governance; and international law and civil society.
Postdoctoral Fellows
The Institute currently has two Postdoctoral Fellows in the areas of sport for development and energy (electrification) in rural India.
Liu Scholars Program
The Liu Scholar Program brings together exceptional PhD students from across UBC to collaborate in cross-disciplinary research on global issues. Since its beginning in 2009, the Institute has welcomed 181 scholars to the program from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. Within the current cohort of 145 Liu scholars, there are 4 Trudeau Scholars, 20 Vanier Scholars, 35 Canada Graduate Scholarship and 22 Tri-Council Award recipients. A further 10 Liu Scholars have received International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Doctoral Research Awards to undertake thesis research in developing countries.
Liu Institute Networks and Research Groups
The Liu Institute encourages and houses a range of global issue networks and research groups that connect researchers at UBC and provide a portal for information and idea exchange between the university and the broader community. A sample of these groups includes:
The Global Health Network seeks to enable the development of broad, transdisciplinary conceptions of global health, towards a more inclusive approach.
The Global Queer Research Group connects scholars, activists, and community members around research and policy issues concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities, both locally and globally.
The International Development Research Network is an inclusive social web, designed to connect graduate researchers working on a broad spectrum of global development issues ranging from sustainability to education.
The Working Group on Latin America and the Global Research Group investigates the relationship between Latin America and broader, global forces.
Global Policy Dialogue
The Liu Institute actively engages in global policy dialogue with the broader community including practitioners from government, industry and civil society. Select events and workshops include:
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Farming for a Sustainable Planet with Navin Ramankutty, Professor, Global Food Security and Sustainability as part of The Future of Food Global Dialogue Series.
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Confronting First World Hunger: Charity or the Right to Food as part of the annual Splane Lecture on Social Policy, by Graham Riches, Emeritus Professor, former Director of the UBC School of Social Work.
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Seafood in an Uncertain Future: From Scenarios to Policies roundtable, co-sponsored by Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, and hosted by the NF-UBC Nereus Program, UBC Fisheries Centre.
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Approaching Perpetrators: Ethnographic Insights on Ethics, Methodology and Theory organized by Dr. Erin Jessee, Research Fellow.
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The Analysis of Absence: An Enquiry into Institutional Capacity to Respond to and Prevent Conflict-Related Sexual Violence against Men & Boys presented by former Visiting Fellow in Residence at Green College, Chris Dolan.
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ICCLR International Lecture Series with Eric MacDonald, Senior Trial Lawyer, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court The Hague
Liu Institute Facilities
The Liu Institute is located at the edge of UBC’s Point Grey Campus. The Institute is an award-winning, sustainable building designed by Arthur Erickson. The Liu Institute encourages government, industry and non-profit organizations to take advantage of the ideal setting for their strategy meetings and retreats. Liu rooms include the Multipurpose Room, the Case Room, the Boardroom, and the Research Unit. The Lobby Gallery fosters alternative and artistic forms of dissemination of research through critical artistic expression, enabling a space for creative dialogue about global issues among students, faculty, researchers and the public. Exhibitions, which run throughout the year, have included We are all the Same': Children, War, and Humanity in Northern Uganda and Taking Liberties and Policing Borders: Arbitrary Detentions and Deportation of Refugees and Migrants.
Website: <www.ligi.ubc.ca>
