UBC research and scholarship generates knowledge and innovations that create lasting benefits for society.
We have an outstanding and well-established track record of translating research discoveries and partnerships into new technologies, services, treatments and policies that have improved lives around the world. We have built transformational partnerships with industry spanning more than 80 years, and today have long-standing research relationships in sectors including IT and telecommunications, aviation, transport, clean energy, forestry, health, manufacturing and more.
The outcomes of UBC research include the discovery of a new drug delivery method that is now enabling mRNA vaccines, such as COVID-19 vaccines, to enter human cells; the development of treatments that transformed HIV into a manageable lifelong condition; the earliest online learning platforms; and image-recognition algorithms that remain the gold standard. Our faculty and graduate students have also led programs to support veterans as they transition to civilian life, and have built resources to encourage children's literacy. Through these and many more discoveries, UBC research has influenced environmental policies; transformed health treatments; launched companies; and supported economic growth in BC and Canada.
Our discoveries and spin-off companies have been at the heart of our technology, natural resources and life sciences sectors. Today, our researchers are transforming manufacturing, advancing biomedical innovation, developing quantum materials and bioproducts, finding new applications for artificial intelligence, tackling global environmental issues and working alongside communities to address their most pressing challenges.
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Innovation by the Numbers