Photo credit: City of Surrey
Today UBC President Arvind Gupta and Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner met to discuss transit, the regional economy, the Innovation Boulevard initiative and ways UBC can strengthen our connection with communities across the province.
UBC has many significant links with Surrey. Over the past five years, the number of students from Surrey enrolled at UBC increased by almost 20% since 2009 and thousands of UBC alumni call Surrey home.
UBC faculty are also leading and participating in a wide range innovative research collaborations with Surrey partners focused on issues that impact the quality of life in the city and around the region. Surrey Memorial Hospital is a campus for UBC’s Faculty of Medicine and is the base for a number of programs, including the Surrey South Fraser site for the UBC Family Practice Program.
More recently, the City of Surrey partnered with UBC to launch of a new Masters of Urban Design program within the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. As part of their degree, students create innovative responses to urban design challenges in the City of Surrey.
UBC’s women’s softball program has also confirmed their plans to make Surrey’s internationally recognized Softball City facility their home field. In addition to playing 14 home games a season starting this spring, the team will provide clinics to local female softball players and support Surrey’s plans to host the 2016 International Women’s Fastball Championships at Softball City.
UBC looks forward to exploring greater connectivity the community of Surrey, through collaborations that promote economic and social development, better transportation connections and sustainable regional growth.