April 2025

FYI - Student Employees

When students become UBC employees, they are given a Faculty & Staff email (FASmail) account and ACCESS to accounts, software, network drives, etc. that they need for their employment. When their employment ends, they LOSE this ACCESS (after 7 days grace period) to ensure UBC data is secure and license agreements are met. If you have questions about student employee accounts and access, we're happy to set up a meeting to provide some answers.

Restricting DeepSeek at UBC

UBC conducted a review of public information and third-party assessments regarding DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence (AI) company, resulting in the decision to restrict the installation or use of the DeepSeek Applications on any UBC-owned or personal devices that are used for university business or that access a UBC system through user login. LEARN MORE...

Privacy Matters - April

In this month's newsletter: Cybersecurity isn’t just about technology—it’s about people. From phishing scams to digital identity theft, cyber-criminals exploit human behavior to gain access to sensitive information. Are you protecting yourself and UBC? Learn how to spot threats, safeguard your digital identity, and take control of your online presence. LEARN MORE...

Easier ARC Access

Did you know you can now access UBC's high-performance computing without the command line? ARC OnDemand lets Sockeye users start their computational tasks and launch applications without the command-line or batch scripting, making it easier for researchers to get started with their computational tasks. LEARN MORE...

UBCO IT Knowledge Base

To centralize IT knowledge across campuses, UBC IT Okanagan migrated IT help articles from KnowIT to the UBC Self Service Portal (ServiceNow). This transition aligns Okanagan’s IT resources with UBC Vancouver, creating a single, location for both IT and Workday knowledgebase articles. LEARN MORE...

DIY Lightboard

Want to create highly engaging and visually stunning videos to embed into your lecture, website, or study resources? The UBC Okanagan Lightboard Studio located in SCI 331 is available for use by any UBC faculty and staff. To learn how to use the lightboard or book the tool (if you have already had the orientation), please reach out to constellation.ok@ubc.ca.

Dell UBC Employee Deals

Dell is excited to announce their Spring Sale – a special event with impressive savings on top-performing tech. UBC employees can claim an extra exclusive discount with the Member Purchase Program coupon and shop online using the link in the coupon email. 

Get IT News in MS Teams

Join the UBCO IT Engagement MS Team for the latest news, advice and support on technology at UBCO. We share upcoming training, notifications of outages, and details on known issues that may disrupt your work. To join CLICK HERE.

Upcoming Maintenance

Please visit the Status Page for the most up-to-date information on planned upgrades and outages at UBC IT Status Page

Upcoming Events

  • M365 Training: Productivity Tips for Outlook, Teams, OneDrive and more!
    Various dates & times

    • Learn about Microsoft 365’s new features for Outlook (Exchange Online) Teams, OneDrive and more. Learn tips and tricks to enhance your collaboration and productivity.
      REGISTER

  • Cybersecurity Monthly Phishing Workshop
    | May 14 | 11:00-11:30 PST

    • Join the monthly 30-minute Phishing Workshop series hosted by the UBC Cybersecurity team. These workshops offer a unique opportunity to delve into real phishing campaigns that have targeted our university community since the previous session.
      REGISTER

  • Generative AI in Teaching and Learning Series

    • This year, AI has emerged as a significant tool in education, and faculty at UBC are grappling with its integration in the classroom. The UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) has introduced a new educational series, GenAI in Teaching and Learning. This series aims to help educators transition from concerns to understanding to seeing the opportunities generative AI presents.This series offers:

      • Weekly GenAI Support Clinics: One-hour drop-in clinics on teaching and learning topics to do with the use of tools such as ChatGPT, Stability AI, Google Bard and others, every Wednesday.
      • Integrating GenAI in Education at UBC 30+30 Workshops: 30-minute interactive presentations followed by 30-minutes of discussion designed to assist faculty and staff in navigating this new landscape.
      • AI in Teaching and Learning website: A hub for ongoing support and up-to-date tools and resources for leveraging Generative AI for teaching and learning.
    • View all sessions and register HERE

  • AI courses from UBC Extended Learning

    UBC Extended Learning just launched many new AI and cybersecurity offerings that ladder into UBC Senate-approved micro-certificate and certificate programs. Tuition waivers and employee group PD funds can be used toward course fees.

    Upcoming AI and Cloud courses

    • AI Strategy: Staying Competitive with AI – starts Apr 15

    • AI and Cloud Strategy: Fundamentals – starts Apr 29

    • AI Strategy: Leveraging Automation – starts May 13

QUESTIONS?

UBCO IT Engagement Services offers a single point of contact for departments and faculties at the Okanagan campus to access the information technology support and services they need to enable exceptional learning and research. 

Learn more about our team HERE or send us an email or submit a ticket via the UBC Self-Service Portal.