The UBC Sauder Learning Labs officially opened in September of 2014, and represents a manifestation of our vision for the future of business school education. At UBC Sauder, we believe the student experience must evolve to ensure our graduates are ready for whatever the future holds. We articulate this vision by of offering students a transformative educational experience. The Learning Labs were born from the efforts of senior executive leadership (previous Dean Dan Muzyka, current Dean Robert Helsely, and Associate Dean Brian Bemmels) but in particular, three key faculty (Paul Cubbon, Dr. Darren Dahl, and Dr. Moura Quayle). The labs are supported by key units within UBC Sauder (Sauder Finance, Sauder Learning Services) and UBC (UBC Media Services).
Contrary to common practice in educational institutions worldwide, these labs were NOT designed by large consultation or collaboration, nor were they designed after exhaustive reviews of curriculum and/or learning objectives. To quote an anonymous source, “had we followed this practice, we would have ended up with tiered lecture theatres with document cameras and one projector with a whiteboard….” Rather, they were designed based on the vision of transformative educational experiences, and the belief that learning spaces can (and should) drive curriculum innovation. We believe this is best achieved through the following key principles:
- Students require experience working with teams and group collaboration (small and large) as a core design structure to support our program goals of:
- Critical thinking
- Analytical decision making
- Effective communicators, both written and oral
- The idea of room capture (capturing the instructor and the students working and collaborating) over lecture capture with the ability to broadcast to the world on any platform and to bring the best minds of the world to our students (virtually).
- Our graduates need to be eager to take on the challenge of joining global/multinational organizations and having to work and collaborate with other colleagues, consultants and/or contractors. Students entering the workforce need to learn how to interact in a world where neither time nor space is a restriction, but rather a competitive advantage.
- Technology must run in the "background" and supported as required, because the complexities and variables of the technology need to known and managed, in order to properly facilitate class. Technology can sometimes "get in the way" of the actual lesson, and while students need to learn these kinds of troubleshooting skills, IT must not detract from the actual content to be covered in the course.
We welcome inquiries for either a face-to-face or a virtual tour, but in particular, we are very interested in connecting with other institutions globally that are like-minded, and explore partnerships wherein your students are working with our students.
Please email Learning.Labs@sauder.ubc.ca for more information.