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Re-Envisioning Arts
Re-Envisioning Arts
The HIVE will be a transformative investment for the Faculty of Arts, creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, experiential learning, and research innovation. By establishing a central hub for innovation, visualization, and experimentation, the HIVE will expand the Faculty's capacity to provide students, faculty, and staff with the ingredients necessary to support the broader vision to lead, empower, and thrive in an evolving academic landscape.
The vision for the HIVE is deeply aligned with the forthcoming Faculty of Arts Strategic Plan 2025 and its guiding values of innovation, integrity, collaboration, and curiosity. As a space designed for exploration, prototyping, and partnership-building, the HIVE will be a catalyst for bold experimentation and interdisciplinary discovery.
It is also a commitment to justice, equity, and inclusion, ensuring that access to tools, creative technologies, and collaborative learning experiences is open to all members of the Arts community. By engaging with reconciliation and Indigenous resurgence, the HIVE will provide a space where Indigenous knowledge keepers, artists, and scholars can co-create in ways that recognizes knowledge systems and ways of understanding that are relational, responsible, and reciprocal. Additionally, by upholding principles of academic freedom and accessibility, the HIVE will ensure that innovative work remains ethically grounded, critically engaged, and open to a diversity of perspectives.
The following sections will demonstrate how the HIVE supports the Faculty of Arts in each of its four strategic directions—research & creative practices, teaching & learning, community engagement, and sustainable futures—while contributing to the Faculty's digital transformation and reinforcing its commitment to innovation in education, scholarship, and public impact.
Advancing Research & Creative Experimentation
Advancing Research & Creative Experimentation
The HIVE will play a critical role in supporting interdisciplinary research in the Faculty of Arts by providing a space for ideation, prototyping, and iterative refinement of creative solutions, especially with regards to graduate student research. Many graduate students and upper-year undergraduate students need space and support to prototype experimental research methods, test interactive storytelling techniques, and develop visualization-based knowledge mobilization strategies. Unlike other research-supported entities at UBC, the HIVE will focus on helping researchers shape their own tools and methodologies rather than acting as a development or production lab.
What about EML?
What about EML?
The HIVE is not a duplication of existing UBC initiatives like the Emerging Media Lab (EML), but rather a complementary space that fills a gap in UBC's research and innovation ecosystem. EML is primarily faculty-driven, focused on the design and development of high-tech teaching and learning solutions. It operates with dedicated co-op student teams who work on term-long projects through structured incubation and acceleration phases, but its limited capacity means many project applications must be turned away each term.
The HIVE will expand the Faculty of Arts' ability to support emerging media research, ensure that more students, faculty, and staff have the opportunity to explore creative approaches to their research questions. By focusing on early-stage ideation, prototyping, and exploratory research, the HIVE will provide:
A space for rapid testing and iteration before committing to full-scale development.
Hands-on access to tools and visualization technologies for self-directed experimentation.
A place where researchers and knowledge keepers can actively shape their own methodologies.
The HIVE and EML share core values; EML's "Permission to Fail" and the HIVE's "It's a Prototype" both embrace iteration and curiosity as drivers of innovation. This common philosophy makes them complementary rather than redundant, allowing for collaborative opportunities and potential project crossovers. Together, the HIVE and EML will create a more robust support system for UBC students, faculty and researchers—one that enables both open-ended exploration and structured development pathways for interdisciplinary research.
Expansive Teaching & Learning Opportunities
Expansive Teaching & Learning Opportunities
"Having access to a collaborative design space is a longstanding dream of the School of Creative Writing, in particular for those of us who teach comics classes and hybrid forms. Our capacity is significantly restricted by the fact that we're limited to the art supplies that professors or students can carry with them to class. We are also often teaching in classrooms with fixed seating and poor lighting. A dedicated space for art and design would be an absolute game changer."
–Sarah Leavitt, Associate Professor of Teaching, School of Creative Writing
A dedicated hands-on learning space will transform how courses are taught across the Faculty of Arts. While traditional classrooms support lectures and discussions, many Arts disciplines require active making, experimentation, and collaboration. Whether through designing interactive media, prototyping research-based solutions, or engaging in interdisciplinary visualization, access to a flexible, well-equipped space will enable students and faculty to push the boundaries of their work. The HIVE will integrate with existing courses while providing opportunities for new, constructionist and experiential approaches to education.
Unlike the Faculty of Applied Science, where most Engineering departments maintain separate makerspaces, Arts has the opportunity to take a different approach—one that emphasizes cross-disciplinary collaboration rather than further siloing expertise. By centralizing resources in one hub, the HIVE will support existing project-based courses and experiential learning programs such as the Arts Amplifier Collaborative Cohort Project, directed studies courses, and capstone projects.
In addition to supporting current curriculum, the HIVE will open pathways for new courses that integrate visualization, interactive media, and experiential learning. The Master of Biomedical Visualization and Communication (MBMVC) program, currently in development, is an example of how the HIVE can support innovative program design. Many MBMVC courses will be housed in the HIVE, as they rely on access to collaborative design space, prototyping tools, and visualization technologies. Beyond MBMVC, other departments will have the opportunity to design new interdisciplinary courses that bridge traditional academic divisions.
The Value of an Arts Degree in a Changing World
The Value of an Arts Degree in a Changing World
The Faculty of Arts is at a crossroads, shaped by the rapid evolution of technology (particularly AI) and shifting political and economic landscapes that impact the workforce. In this environment, Arts graduates need to develop intangible, transferrable skills that will prepare them for a future of adaptability and interdisciplinary collaboration.
The HIVE will provide a space where students can develop and apply "Skills for Success"—the nine essential competencies identified by the Government of Canada (2021) that support long-term employability. These include:
Collaboration & Communication – Working in interdisciplinary teams to co-create solutions.
Problem-Solving & Innovation – Using design thinking, prototyping, and visualization to explore complex challenges.
Adaptability & Continuous Learning Mindset – Engaging in iterative making, where failure is part of the learning process.
Digital & Media Literacy – Gaining hands-on experience with emerging technologies in a creative, low-barrier setting.
By creating a learning environment centred around Skills for Success, the HIVE will help Arts graduates stand out in a rapidly changing job market. Rather than being seen as separate from fields like science, technology, and business, the HIVE will demonstrate that human-centred design, storytelling, and critical thinking are essential components of innovation across all sectors. Not only will the HIVE prepare students for future careers, it will help redefine the value of an Arts degree in the 21st century.
Engaging Communities for Greater Impact
Engaging Communities for Greater Impact
The HIVE has potential to serve as a third space—a place distinct from home, work, or study—where students, faculty, staff, and community partners can connect, collaborate, and create. Many existing spaces on campus are designed for formal learning, administration, or social gatherings, but few support interdisciplinary, hands-on experimentation in an accessible, welcoming environment. The HIVE will provide an open, dynamic space for cross-community collaboration and encourage partnerships both within and beyond UBC.
Building Relationships with Musqueam
Building Relationships with Musqueam
As part of the Faculty-wide initiative, the HIVE is committed to respectful, reciprocal, and relationship-based engagement with Musqueam. We recognize that the HIVE has operated on the unceded, ancestral, and traditional territory of the Musqueam and can certainly do more to engage critically with reconciliation and decolonization. Rather than assuming what forms of engagement would be most meaningful, the HIVE intends to enter conversations with Musqueam with a commitment to listen first, exploring opportunities for co-creation that align with Musqueam-led priorities. This could include discussions on:
How might a collaborative space for making and experimentation be of value to Musqueam students, artists, knowledge keepers, and educators?
How might the HIVE support Musqueam-led storytelling or visualization projects, should there be interest?
How might the HIVE be a place for Musqueam community members to share knowledge in a way that is mutually beneficial and led by their expertise and goals?
By maintaining an open and evolving dialogue, the HIVE will ensure that any engagement with Musqueam is meaningful, sustained, and guided by Musqueam leadership and perspectives. This aligns with the Faculty of Arts' commitment to reconciliation and Indigenous resurgence, ensuring that the HIVE remains a place of respect, listening, and relationship-building rather than assumption or extraction.
Local and Global Partnerships
Local and Global Partnerships
The HIVE will serve as a connection point between Arts and external partners, which will establish and strengthen long-term, reciprocal relationships that amplify the impact of Arts research beyond academia. This includes:
Work with industry partners to explore applied research, emerging media, and ethical technology development. Potential areas of collaboration include: human-centred AI and & UX design, data visualization & digital storytelling, and prototyping for social impact initiatives.
Partner with community organizations on projects that support local initiatives and knowledge-sharing. Examples include: developing accessible public communication tools, supporting arts-based social justice projects, and co-creating media and visualization resources for advocacy groups.
Engage with global partners to explore interdisciplinary, cross-cultural projects that connect UBC with institutions, artists, and researchers worldwide. The HIVE could host: visiting scholars & creative residencies, international design sprints & hackathons, or virtual collaborations with institutions that share a commitment to hands-on learning.
Engaging Students Through Clubs & Outreach
Engaging Students Through Clubs & Outreach
The HIVE will provide opportunities for students to connect beyond coursework, supporting extracurricular collaboration through student-led initiatives and outreach. Clubs that are focused on design, emerging media, and interdisciplinary collaboration can meet, prototype, and test ideas in the HIVE. A natural fit for this is the UBC UX Hub, a student club dedicated to user experience (UX) research, design, and strategy. The HIVE could support the UX Hub's work by:
Offering space for UX design projects and usability testing.
Connecting students with faculty and industry members, or other community members.
Providing access to prototyping and visualization tools.
Outside of UBC, the HIVE can also serve as a gateway for high school students to explore visualization, prototyping, and creative collaboration before entering post-secondary education. Possible initiatives for outreach with secondary students include:
Hands-on workshops for high school students interested in design, media, and digital humanities—especially in collaboration with programs such as the Summer Science Program.
Bridge programs introducing high school students to UBC's creative and research-driven learning opportunities—such as the Future Global Leaders program offered through UBC Extended Learning.
Prioritizing Sustainable Futures
Prioritizing Sustainable Futures
Sustainability at the HIVE extends beyond environmental responsibility. It encompasses ethical resource management, inclusive accessibility, and financial sustainability to ensure long-term impact for the Faculty of Arts community.
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental Sustainability
The HIVE will integrate low-waste, resource-conscious practices into all aspects of its operations, ensuring that experimentation and creativity are balanced with environmental responsibility. This includes:
Prioritizing recycled, repurposed, and biodegradable materials for prototyping and making.
Encouraging a circular economy by establishing a material reuse program for donated and salvaged supplies.
Minimizing energy consumption by selecting efficient tools and equipment, maintaining high air quality standards, and maximizing the use of natural light in the space.
Inclusive Accessibility
Inclusive Accessibility
The long-term success of the HIVE also depends on ensuring that its resources are accessible, inclusive, and equitably distributed. This includes:
No-cost or low-cost access to tools, materials, and workspace for students, faculty, and staff.
Flexible and adaptive infrastructure to meet the needs of diverse learners and disciplines.
Ongoing consultation with the broader Arts community to ensure the space remains responsive, relevant, and community-driven.
Financial Sustainability
Financial Sustainability
For the HIVE to remain a permanent and growing resource in the Faculty of Arts, it must establish a balanced financial model that extends beyond initial funding. By focusing on existing expertise, unique educational offerings, and strategic partnerships, the HIVE can generate ongoing revenue while maintaining its commitment to low-barrier access for students, faculty, and staff in Arts.
Click on each of the options below that could be explored to ensure the HIVE has the financial sustainability it needs.
Summer Term Programs for International & Pre-University Students
Summer Term Programs for International & Pre-University Students
During the summer term, when fewer UBC students are on campus, the HIVE could offer:
Vancouver Summer Program (VSP) courses for international students focused on interdisciplinary visualization, prototyping, and collaboration. The HIVE already supports Faculty of Medicine VSP courses, providing the necessary technology and space.
Future Global Leaders (FGL) courses for high school students. The HIVE currently offers Virtual Anatomy: Inside the Human Body in 3D and Neuroanatomy: The Human Brain, both of which are already fully booked for Summer 2025. Expanding FGL course offerings could generate consistent summer revenue, while also providing opportunities for graduate students at the HIVE to gain teaching experience.
Licensing & Expanding VanVR Digital Assets
Licensing & Expanding VanVR Digital Assets
The HIVE developed VanVR, a virtual anatomy lab that used 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry to create highly detailed digital models of anatomical sciences. VanVR is currently a working prototype that is integrated into the MD Undergraduate anatomy curriculum, and being validated by HIVE PhD candidate Leena Alkhammash.
The app could be refined with the support of a dedicated software engineer for the following revenue opportunities:
Licensing VanVR to other medical schools that require high-fidelity anatomy models, especially for rural and remote healthcare education or global institutions grappling with unreliable and potentially unethical source for their body donation programs.
The HIVE has recently started a collaboration with UBC Pathology and UBC Studios to digitize over 400 specimens at Vancouver General Hospital. This scanning technology could also be offered as a service to other institutions.
Partnering with UBC museums (Museum of Anthropology, Beaty Biodiversity Museum, etc.) to digitize rare artifacts.
Tuition Allocation from COurses held in the HIVE
Tuition Allocation from COurses held in the HIVE
A small portion of tuition from courses hosted in the HIVE could contribute to operational costs, similar to the Visual Arts Studio model. This would:
Cover material costs and staffing for studio- and project-based courses.
Ensure sustainability for programs that heavily rely on the HIVE, such as the proposed Master of Biomedical Visualization and Communication (MBMVC), which will integrate the HIVE as a core learning space.
Exploring a Student Fee or Membership Model
Exploring a Student Fee or Membership Model
While unprecedented in the Faculty of Arts, a nominal opt-out student fee could help cover operational costs, similar to how student fees support campus recreation spaces.
Alternatively, the HIVE could offer a term or annual membership, with a reduced rate for Arts students, for access to equipment, workspaces, and staff support. Membership fees could be used to manage space capacity, student safety, and liability.
Public & Community Workshop Offerings
Public & Community Workshop Offerings
The HIVE ha the expertise to run paid workshops for external organizations, educators, and community groups on topics like prototyping, visualization, and emerging media. Examples of previous workshops that HIVE has offered include:
Anatomy maker challenges for middle school field trips.
Visualization workshops for Indigenous and marginalized youth at the Summer Science Program and D'Hope Program.
Educational conference workshops on collaborative design methods and visual representation of intersectional identity (e.g., UBC Culturally Responsive Education Symposium, October 2024).
Expanding these workshops to external partners could generate revenue while strengthening community engagement.
Reimagining the BMVC Certificate into Stackable Microcredentials
Reimagining the BMVC Certificate into Stackable Microcredentials
The Certificate in Biomedical Visualization and Communication (BMVC) currently runs as a one-year, part-time online non-credit program. With the anticipated launch of the Master of BMVC, the certificate will need to be redesigned. The HIVE is exploring:
Transitioning the certificate into stackable microcredentials that focus on science communication, prototyping, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Targeting healthcare professionals who seek professional development and continuing education (rather than a career change), which could increase enrolment if offered at a lower tuition rather than the current certificate program.
Expanding into additional microcredential offerings, allowing professionals in education, arts, and emerging media to upskill while contributing to the HIVE's financial sustainability.
Transforming Arts through Digital Empowerment
Transforming Arts through Digital Empowerment
The HIVE will play a key role in advancing the Faculty of Arts' digital strategy, providing students, faculty, and staff with the tools and means to engage critically and creatively with digital technologies. As the Faculty strengthens its commitment to digital innovation, literacy, and accessibility, the HIVE will act as a hub for exploration, prototyping, and application of emerging media in research, teaching, and community engagement. More specifically, the HIVE will enable:
Interdisciplinary digital scholarship, supporting faculty and student researchers in testing and refining digital methods.
Hands-on digital skill development and media literacy, ensuring students gain experience with interactive media and collaborative design.
Exploration of ethical and human-centred digital practices, reinforcing the Faculty of Arts' leadership in critical digital studies and innovation.
The HIVE presents an opportunity to future-proof Arts education, research, and community engagement and ensure that the Faculty of Arts remains at the forefront of digital scholarship and creative technology development in this evolving digital age.
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