Enabling applications of AI in teaching and inquiry
The office of the Associate Vice President and Vice Provost Teaching and Learning allocated $2M across two years (Academic years ’24-’25, and ’25-’26) for innovation in the application of AI in the pedagogical transformation at UBC. This funding was made available through a Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund special call.
LTIC is supporting this initiative in two ways: by providing infrastructure through a Sandbox platform upon which transformation projects can be developed and run, and by providing an Incubator – developers on retainer who can assist in all levels of technical help, including hiring and managing technical staff and ensuring that data and ethics requests are performed as needed.
AI Inquiry Sandbox Architecture
The Incubator and Sandbox are available both to projects from the TLEF pool, and are available to all at UBC with funding to apply AI in teaching and learning transformation and inquiry.
Funding allocations across all special call projects
The software development and computational elements of the special call projects comprise roughly 75% of the cost of project work.
| Academic Year | Cloud Compute | Storage | Development |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | $100k | $50k | $550k |
| 2025-26 | $150k | $50k | $550k |
Selected Incubator Projects
LTIC’s incubator is responsible for managing $650k/year in incubated projects.
Note: Budget breakdowns are approximate projections only
Generating Interactive Learning
PI: Kayli Johnson, Science
| Total | Development and other technical costs | Compute |
|---|---|---|
| $38,552 | $33k | $3k |
Next milestone: Beta launch, end Sept 2025
GRASP: Using Generative AI to Efficiently Provide Spaced, Elaborative, Interleaving Formative Assessments
PI: Kayli Johnson, Science
| Total | Development and other technical costs | Compute |
|---|---|---|
| $116,883 | $115k | $1k |
Next milestone: Beta launch, end Sept 2025
EngE-AI: A GenAI-augmented Tool to Enhance Engineering Education in Cultivating Critical Thinking
PI: Alireza Bagherzadeh, Applied Science
| Total | Development | Compute |
|---|---|---|
| $87,198 | $75k | $12k |
Next milestone: Beta launch, end Sept 2025
Meet BIOCBOT, A GenAI Biochemistry Study Buddy tool designed to help you learn-by-teaching
PI: Eden Fussner-Dupas, Medicine
| Total | Development | Compute |
|---|---|---|
| $40,657 | $21k | $20k |
Next milestone: Beta launch, end Sept 2025
Conversational AI for Clinical Confidence: Supporting the Transition to Real-World Patient Care in Medical Education
PI: Justin Student, Medicine
| Total | Development | Compute |
|---|---|---|
| $35,718 | $31k | $8k |
Next milestone: Beta launch, October 2025.