What started as a one-day workshop in 2002 is now a two-day event that regularly attracts over 100 participants. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the UNBC Teaching and Learning Conference.
The 2025 UNBC Teaching and Learning Conference will be held this year on the following dates. Conference sessions will take place over two days at the Prince George UNBC Campus:
- Wednesday, August 27
- Thursday, August 28
As we look toward the future of teaching and learning at our university, this year’s conference is grounded in the priorities and vision of the READY Roadmap: Academic Plan 2025–2031. The Academic Plan outlines a bold path forward—centering student success, academic innovation, Indigenous engagement, and regional program integrations as key pillars of our collective academic mission.
In alignment with these priorities, this conference invites faculty, instructors, and academic staff to explore and share practices that support student learning, engagement, and retention in diverse and meaningful ways. We encourage proposals that reflect both individual and collaborative efforts to enhance teaching and learning, drawing inspiration from our shared commitment to excellence, equity, and community impact.
To support a wide range of contributions while providing a clear framework for the conference, we have organized this year’s call around three broad themes:
Supporting Student Success and Retention
This theme invites proposals that focus on fostering student success across the academic journey—from recruitment to graduation and beyond. Topics may include strategies for improving retention, enhancing academic support and student experience, creating inclusive and accessible learning environments, implementing technology-enhanced learning, or offering innovative support for student engagement and well-being. We particularly welcome proposals on how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines and principles are being incorporated in teaching and learning. Proposals aligned with supporting student academic success and access to support services are also encouraged.
Decolonizing Education and Inclusive Pedagogies
This theme welcomes presentations exploring inclusive and equity-minded teaching practices, with a particular focus on decolonization. Instructors might share approaches for integrating Indigenous knowledge, community-led course design, culturally responsive assessment, or ways to support diverse learners in UNBC’s distinct context. Contributions that reflect the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action or elevate Indigenous voices are especially encouraged.
Place-Based and Community-Engaged Learning
Reflecting UNBC’s commitment to serving the North, this theme highlights learning and teaching grounded in regional, community, and place-based contexts. Proposals could include community partnerships, local curriculum design, remote and regional access to programming, or strategies for connecting learners to the unique social, economic, and ecological contexts of northern British Columbia.
The conference invites proposals for the following types of sessions:
- 1-hour panels
- 1-hour and 3-hour interactive workshops
- 10-minute lightning talks
A panel proposal should:
- Identify panel participants
- Identify session title
- Identify key concepts, themes, or aims of your panel (maximum 300 words)
- Explain how the panel is relevant to the conference
- Include a short bio (100 words) for each participant
- Identify technological and room set-up requirements
A workshop proposal should:
- Identify workshop facilitators
- Indicate length of workshop (1 or 3 hours)
- Identify session title
- Identify key concepts, themes, or aims of your workshop (maximum 300 words)
- Explain how the workshop is relevant to the conference
- Include a short bio (100 words) for each facilitator
- Identify technological and room set-up requirements.
A lightning talk proposal must:
- Identify the speaker
- Identify the title of the talk
- Provide a short, 2-3 sentence description of the topic
- Be limited to no more than 10 minutes