The goal of the ILC is to provide appropriate tools and spaces for educators, entrepreneurs, dreamers and tinkers to imagine and explore innovations in teaching and learning. It will engage the UBC community – both town and gown, in all aspects of innovative pedagogy, supporting economic growth in the region, and continuing to advance the proven accomplishments of K-20 educators who work and live outside the lower mainland.

The ILC recognizes its unique position within a nimble campus and embraces both the potential and promise for contributing to the place of mind on the Okanagan campus of the University of British Columbia. The ILC consists of three integrated components – a design studio, an incubator for pedagogical innovations, and an innovative classroom, each synergistically linked to a research hub, (i.e., the proposed Centre for Research and Mindful Engagement, CRME). Activity within each component of the ILC is detailed in the management plan.

Educators and industry will benefit from the Innovative Learning Centre through collaborative projects and synergies afforded by access to research, design, incubation, and testing. The ILC will become a home for educators, undergraduate and graduate students, visiting academics, entrepreneurs, and industry partners as we work together to imagine and design new ways of thinking and learning in a time of substantial change, globalization, and ubiquitous access to information. We recognize that Canada’s place in the knowledge economy rests substantially on the ability of education and research institutions to inquire into and grapple with new ways of engaging learners in discovery and innovation.