Since 2017, the Eminence Program has invested more than $10 million into funding 23 Research Clusters across the UBC Okanagan campus.
With this level of investment, and given the fact that the Outlook 2040 vision is currently being reviewed, we have begun a review of the Eminence Program to ensure it is delivering on its stated aims and impacts, and to help identify any necessary program modifications to help us achieve further research success. This review will seek feedback and draw data from a range of sources, including research cluster leads, members, researchers and support staff, external funding successes, research outputs and research cluster annual reports.
The aims of the Eminence Program are to:
- Contribute to, and leverage, existing and emerging research strengths aligned with the strategic plans of units, faculties, campus and the university
- Encourage new collaborative, interdisciplinary research and/or artistic creation that address key questions facing society
- Support the recruitment and training of highly qualified students and personnel
- Foster new knowledge and enable knowledge transfer with business, government and community partners that will have a transformative impact on UBC and society
- Support and catalyze new research success in order to attract further external research funding
- Enhance UBC’s academic reputation
- Support UBC’s commitment to respectful engagement with Indigenous and local communities and to equity, diversity and inclusion
VPRI will be working closely with the Associate Deans of Research from each of the faculties and schools to conduct the program review and to draft a final report and recommendations. We hope to produce a final report by March 2024.
If you wish to provide input into the Eminence Program review, please send thoughts to vprawards.ubco@ubc.ca
We look forward to staying in touch with further updates, as appropriate, and to sharing the recommendations from the review when they are available.
Rob Shave
Professor, Special Advisor
Office of the VPRI