Projects

UBC's CIC is a public-private collaboration between UBC and Amazon. A CIC tackles problems or opportunities that matter to the community, and provides subject matter expertise and CIC leadership to drive innovation and provide digital solutions. UBC’s CIC focuses on Community Health and Wellbeing.

Ground view of people gardening

Invasive Plants Identification App

  1. Invasive Plants Identification App

    Community gardeners face significant challenges when it comes to obtaining accurate and up-to-date information about the plants they purchase. Naming conventions are not standardized, and plants that are considered invasive in one region may not be so in another. This knowledge gap often leads to the unintentional planting of invasive species, which pose a threat to native species and ecosystems. As an example, seemingly harmless plants like English ivy can overwhelm British Columbian ecosystems, while being completely harmless in other regions. View Project

    View Project Mar 2024

Girl looking at laptop

Student Advising Assistant

The Faculty of Science Advising office at UBC collaborated with the UBC Cloud Innovation Center (CIC) to leverage large language models (LLMs) and generative AI to build a prototype with the goal to improve the advising quality and student experience. The prototype takes information from the Academic Calendar and other reliable UBC sources to provide around-the-clock service that responds to inquiries. The application conveys key information in a conversational manner, in the effort to minimize confusion for some students. View Project

  1. Student Advising Assistant

    The Faculty of Science Advising office at UBC collaborated with the UBC Cloud Innovation Center (CIC) to leverage large language models (LLMs) and generative AI to build a prototype with the goal to improve the advising quality and student experience. The prototype takes information from the Academic Calendar and other reliable UBC sources to provide around-the-clock service that responds to inquiries. The application conveys key information in a conversational manner, in the effort to minimize confusion for some students. View Project

    View Project Jan 2024

  2. Student Assistance with Smart Devices

    The UBC Cloud Innovation Centre, in collaboration with the Faculty of Science, enhanced the Student Advising Assistant with AWS Alexa integration. Users engage through voice commands, making academic support more convenient and accessible. View Project

    View Project Jan 2024

Child who is about to be sedated looks happy while on the bed, surrounded by trusted people.

Patient Dashboard for Optimizing Sedation

  1. Patient Dashboard for Optimizing Sedation

    Seeking to advance support for children and youth with behavioral complexity, a group of doctors at BC Children’s Hospital approached the UBC Cloud Innovation Center (CIC) with the idea for a dashboard that consolidates patient information and medical data to help with optimizing sedation. This innovation would enable authorized staff to view essential patient data to support upcoming medical procedures such as sedation. View Project

    View Project Nov 2023

An echocardiogram in motion.

Using the Cloud to Accelerate Machine Learning Models

  1. Using the Cloud to Accelerate Machine Learning Models

    A researcher from the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering contacted the UBC Cloud Innovation Center (CIC) to support a group of students in developing a prototype solution for storing, accessing, and processing echocardiogram (Echo) videos in the AWS cloud. This approach provides scalability, security, and ease of access. The solution references the COVID application, demonstrating reusability between projects at the CIC. View Project

    View Project Nov 2023

The picture contains the machines that the Hein Lab uses, with special emphasis on the robot that analyzes and tests drug samples.

Harm Reduction

  1. Harm Reduction

    The UBC Cloud Innovation Center (CIC) supported the Hein Lab in developing a prototype to track and view substance composition to better inform decision-making. Students can enter a public database of substance composition and access its details, alternatively, they are given the choice to get notified to speed up the process of tracking drugs. View Project

    View Project Aug 2023

A senior woman sitting in a wheelchair looking at a tablet.

Parkinson’s WoQ-19 Survey Application

  1. Parkinson’s WoQ-19 Survey Application

    A team of UBC researchers from the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre is conducting research to provide Parkinson’s patients with personalized information on when to take their medication to give them a better quality of life, through wearable sensors and advanced analyses. View Project

    View Project Aug 2023

The cover image of the project portrays a caregiver walking behind a senior woman.

Application to Assess Patients’ Balance Level

  1. Application to Assess Patients’ Balance Level

    To improve ways of collecting data and assessing patients’ balance level, Providence Health Care collaborated with the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (CIC) to develop the Balance Test prototype application. Balance Test is a web and mobile app that enables clinicians and patients to record data, store and access them for future analytics. The application offers a structured way to measure patients’ balance level and aid in clinical development of recovery plans. View Project

    View Project Jun 2023

The cover image of the project depicts a UBC professor standing at the front of a room teaching students.

Determining Course Flexibility from Syllabi

  1. Determining Course Flexibility from Syllabi

    Across the many faculties at UBC, there is an anecdotal sense of variation for the characteristics of flexibility that exist between courses. While UBC does not currently systematically measure variations nor the extent of them between each faculty, the Office of the Provost & Vice-President Academic (VPAO) approached the UBC CIC with a challenge to create a solution that would analyze course flexibility information. View Project

    View Project Jun 2023

User being recorded using the Video Streaming Solution for their online job interview.

Video Streaming Solution

  1. Video Streaming Solution

    To support assessments using video streaming technology, the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (CIC) initiated a project that optimizes efficiency for recording and uploading videos. The simple and intuitive interface can be used for interviews, web assessment, patient assessment or medical research, and more. View Project

    View Project Jun 2023

    Multi-Category Communications Manager: Uniting Federal Communications

    1. Multi-Category Communications Manager: Uniting Federal Communications

      Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), a Canadian federal government department, collaborated with the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (CIC) to develop a solution that unites government communications into one centralised platform where users can subscribe to topics of interest and receive related newsletters and communications. This platform makes it easy for users to receive all relevant communications regarding their interests while also simplifying the internal content distribution process for government agencies. View Project

      View Project Mar 2023

    Two researchers wearing lab coats and safety goggles examine a glowing green piece of equipment in a lab.

    Fostering Research and Innovation with the Researcher Expertise Dashboard

    With over 7,000 researchers located at UBC, decision makers seek data across disconnected platforms to amplify innovation. The UBC Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation’s Innovation Partnerships team has developed a solution alongside the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre that aggregates UBC and third-party data into a centralized dashboard. View Project

    1. Fostering Research and Innovation with the Researcher Expertise Dashboard

      With over 7,000 researchers located at UBC, decision makers seek data across disconnected platforms to amplify innovation. The UBC Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation’s Innovation Partnerships team has developed a solution alongside the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre that aggregates UBC and third-party data into a centralized dashboard. View Project

      View Project Dec 2022

    2. Researcher Expertise Dashboard – Phase 2

      In this second phase, the Innovation Partnerships team worked with the UBC CIC to add relevant federal grant information into the dashboard in addition to the researcher publication data developed in phase one. This helps amplify potential research collaboration opportunities. View Project

      View Project Mar 2023

    3. Researcher Expertise Portal – Phase 3

      The Innovation Partnerships team, in collaboration with the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (UBC CIC), has developed a prototype to aid in the identification of potential research collaborations. The prototype aggregates publicly available data, primarily from the STEAM area, on published research activity into one centralized portal. View Project

      View Project Apr 2023

    Accelerating Computational Chemistry Research with the Cloud

    With the UBC CIC, UBC Computational Chemistry researchers developed a solution that moves their existing program into the AWS cloud for greater control, flexibility, and efficiency. With this solution, the calculations and simulations to understand and predict molecular behaviour—previously run using a complicated, time-consuming program—can run faster within the cloud. View Project

    1. Accelerating Computational Chemistry Research with the Cloud

      With the UBC CIC, UBC Computational Chemistry researchers developed a solution that moves their existing program into the AWS cloud for greater control, flexibility, and efficiency. With this solution, the calculations and simulations to understand and predict molecular behaviour—previously run using a complicated, time-consuming program—can run faster within the cloud. View Project

      View Project Dec 2022

    2. Accelerating Computational Chemistry Research with the Cloud Phase II

      Faculty members at UBC who conduct research in Computational Chemistry engage in work that involves running complex calculations and computer simulations to understand and predict molecular behavior. To optimize the process by allowing greater control, flexibility, and efficiency of the researchers’ work, they collaborated with the UBC CIC to develop a solution that migrates their existing program to the AWS cloud. View Project

      View Project Jul 2023

    FHIR-Enabled Digital Questionnaire: Capturing Data for Patient-Centred Care

    1. FHIR-Enabled Digital Questionnaire: Capturing Data for Patient-Centred Care

      Basics for Health Society, in collaboration with the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre, has developed a solution that enables health care professionals to record and track patients’ health-related social needs in the electronic medical record, and incorporate this data into medical decisions so that patients can receive appropriate care. View Project

      View Project Dec 2022

    Open Source AI Model for COVID-19 CT Diagnostics and Prognosis

    In collaboration with radiologists at Vancouver General Hospital, L3-Net, an AI model to analyze medical scans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was developed. L3-Net has gone through 3 versions, with the most recent being published in December 2022. View Project

    1. Open Source AI Model for COVID-19 CT Diagnostics and Prognosis

      In collaboration with radiologists at Vancouver General Hospital, L3-Net, an AI model to analyze medical scans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was developed. L3-Net has gone through 3 versions, with the most recent being published in December 2022. View Project

      View Project Dec 2022

    2. Demo – Version 1

      On this page, you will find 9 interactive examples of lung CT scans. This L3-Net demo displays the predications of the lung involvement ratio and absolute volume. We hope that this will help researchers better assess patients with COVID-19 and help prognosticate patients into appropriate clinical outcome categories. View Project

      View Project Jul 2020

    3. Application – Version 2

      Version 2.0 of L3-Net model has been trained with more data from other sites and machines. This improves predictions made by the model, which can now predict likelihood of COVID-19 infection. As a result, Version 2.0 makes it easier to train the AI model and has improved accuracy. On this page, you will find the L3-Net application which can be used to upload and visualize data. View Project

      View Project Dec 2020

    4. L3-Net Version 3.0

      This is the most recent version of L3-Net. In Phase 3, the L3-Net model was trained on 18 384 axial CT slices from 670 CT series obtained from multiple hospital sites, with drastically increased performance on lung segmentation and pulmonary vessel exclusion using established methodologies for lung detection and vessel segmentation in the data pre-processing steps. View Project

      View Project Sep 2022

    Tapestry : A New Way to Connect Course Content

    1. Tapestry : A New Way to Connect Course Content

      The Tapestry Tool is an online learning platform that allows users to collaboratively develop and interact with content through “nodes” to improve conceptual understanding and engagement. In collaboration with Tapestry, the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (CIC) has employed graph database architecture to evolve the application beyond its limitations and enhance application efficiency and efficacy. View Project

      View Project Aug 2022

    Commit2Act – App to Combat Climate Change

    1. Commit2Act – App to Combat Climate Change

      In collaboration with TakingITGlobal, the UBC Cloud Innovation Center develops a web and mobile application called Commit2Act which allows for youth to submit, track, and visualize the progress of their environmentally-friendly actions, with the goal of educating youth to lead a more environmentally-sustainable lifestyle. View Project

      View Project Aug 2022

    Health Platform for People on the Autism Spectrum

    1. Health Platform for People on the Autism Spectrum

      Together with 2m Foundation, First Place Global Leadership Institute and Pacific Autism Family Network, the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (CIC) have developed an iOS app and web administrative application that enables care teams with a method to collect, store, monitor and access information on variables that may trigger or precede a seizure or meltdown for individuals on the spectrum. View Project

      View Project Aug 2022

    Heart Failure Patient Prognosticator

    1. Heart Failure Patient Prognosticator

      In collaboration with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Providence Health Care (PHC), UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (CIC) developed Machine Learning models to enable cardiologists to predict outcomes of Heart Failure patients, to better inform decisions regarding treatment plans and improve overall survival in patients. View Project

      View Project Jun 2022

    TapGives – Clean Water Subscription Service

    1. TapGives – Clean Water Subscription Service

      We Make Impact creates and manages potable water sites in rural Kenya and Uganda, in regions where clean drinking water is limited. To help manage water distribution, UBC CIC developed TapGives, a solution that can easily connect villagers to a nearby water site for a nominal monthly fee, using only a cellular phone and USSD technology. View Project

      View Project May 2022

    Microphone in front of a tie-dyed screen.

    Low-cost Transcription and Translation Tool

    1. Low-cost Transcription and Translation Tool

      UBC CIC develops T2, a prototype that transcribes and translates audio data for helping reporters obtain relevant information from recordings that are not in their primary languages. View Project

      View Project May 2022

    An orchestra is rehearsing.

    EC2Ensemble: Multi-Regional EC2 Instance Launcher

    1. EC2Ensemble: Multi-Regional EC2 Instance Launcher

      The UBC Cloud Innovation Centre, in collaboration with the Pacific Chamber Music Academy, has developed EC2Ensemble, a multi-regional EC2 instance launcher that facilitates JackTrip, an open-source music technology that enables low-latency audio transmission across the internet. View Project

      View Project Nov 2021

    Empowering Nonprofits to Make Decisions for Good: Unlocking Census Data

    1. Empowering Nonprofits to Make Decisions for Good: Unlocking Census Data

      The UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (UBC CIC) and Imagine Canada collaborated to develop a tool for charities and nonprofits to visualize Census Canada datasets in a user-friendly way. View Project

      View Project Oct 2021

    Leveraging the Cloud to Improve Hospital Occupancy Planning

    1. Leveraging the Cloud to Improve Hospital Occupancy Planning

      Trillium Health Partners (THP) Institute for Better Health (IBH) develops a prediction algorithm to improve hospital capacity forecasting and better match bed supply with patient demand. View Project

      View Project Oct 2021

    The Sea Around Us In The Cloud

    To improve data access, avoid time delays, and provide a better user experience to enhance meaningful analysis and research, broadening the impact of this valuable dataset. Sea Around Us in collaboration with UBC Cloud Innovation Center (UBC CIC), developed a solution that uses Jupyter notebooks, SAU data, and AWS services using a server-less architecture. View Project

    1. The Sea Around Us In The Cloud

      To improve data access, avoid time delays, and provide a better user experience to enhance meaningful analysis and research, broadening the impact of this valuable dataset. Sea Around Us in collaboration with UBC Cloud Innovation Center (UBC CIC), developed a solution that uses Jupyter notebooks, SAU data, and AWS services using a server-less architecture. View Project

      View Project Aug 2021

    2. The Sea Around Us in The Cloud – Phase 2

      Sea Around Us seeks to broaden the impact of their geospatial functionality and allow users access to additional analyses and data filtering options. Sea Around Us in collaboration with UBC Cloud Innovation Center (UBC CIC), developed a solution that uses Jupyter notebooks, SAU data, and AWS services using a server-less architecture View Project

      View Project Nov 2021

    UBC Okanagan: Student Connect Application

    1. UBC Okanagan: Student Connect Application

      The University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) builds a prototype that can connect first-year university students to their preferred activities, clubs, and campus news feeds, tailored to each student's interest. View Project

      View Project Aug 2021

    Digitizing Medical Forms

    1. Digitizing Medical Forms

      The IBD Centre of BC has automated data ingestion from dictated consultation letters, improving the efficiency of the digitization process. View Project

      View Project Aug 2021

    Virtual Communication for Remote First Responders

    1. Virtual Communication for Remote First Responders

      The Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) increases critical care support for first responders in remote areas by creating a new communication platform to provide medical and logistical assistance in emergencies. View Project

      View Project Jul 2021

    Hand wearing a surgical glove holding a small bottle of the SARS-CoV-2 Viral Vector Vaccine.

    Vaccine Distribution Supply Chain Prototype – UBC/MCG

    1. Vaccine Distribution Supply Chain Prototype – UBC/MCG

      The UBC CIC worked with faculty members in the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia and start-up MCG to develop a prototype that demonstrates how distributors could review information from a dashboard and decide to take action if a vaccine batch begins to exceed its temperature requirement. View Project

      View Project May 2021

    Virtual Assistant Tool: E-Comm Connect

    1. Virtual Assistant Tool: E-Comm Connect

      E-Comm Connect is a virtual assistant tool that provides real-time recommendations to call takers, enabling them to be more efficient and engaged when taking non-emergency calls from the public. View Project

      View Project May 2021

    Photo of Orchard Commons Residence at UBC.

    People Density Meter: UBC Orchard Commons Residence

    1. People Density Meter: UBC Orchard Commons Residence

      The University of British Columbia Food Services builds a prototype that demonstrates how live queue information could be captured so that student residents could plan their visits to the dining hall. View Project

      View Project Apr 2021

    Preparing a Pandemic Response: The Open Virome

    1. Preparing a Pandemic Response: The Open Virome

      “The Open Virome” is preparing the global medical and research community with the tools and knowledge to better anticipate and respond to the next pandemic. View Project

      View Project Apr 2021

    Blue stethoscope on a wooden table.

    Antimicrobial Dashboard

    1. Antimicrobial Dashboard

      The UBC Department of Medicine partnered with the University of British Columbia Cloud Innovation Centre to create a prototype enabling clinicians to efficiently prescribe antimicrobials. View Project

      View Project Mar 2021

    Screenshot of a PDF displaying archival economic data in a tabular format.

    Automating Large-Scale Data Extraction from Archival Documents: University of Toronto Mississauga Department of Economics

    1. Automating Large-Scale Data Extraction from Archival Documents: University of Toronto Mississauga Department of Economics

      Researchers at the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Department of Economics build a database of trade information with the help of automatic data extraction. View Project

      View Project Dec 2020

    CIC-NET : A platform for UBC CIC alumni students

    1. CIC-NET : A platform for UBC CIC alumni students

      Current and previous UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (UBC-CIC) student employees, with a passion for innovation, can now stay connected and up to date with CIC updates, challenges and events. The UBC-CIC has launched the Cloud Innovation Centre Network (CIC-NET), a platform designed to keep student alumni engaged with CIC challenges and activities after their co-op work term is over. View Project

      View Project Dec 2020

    Automatic Zoom Transcriptions

    1. Automatic Zoom Transcriptions

      As classes transition online for the fall, universities are working to lessen the impact on students’ learning and the strain on instructors working to adapt to these new circumstances. Accessibility is one of the major areas disrupted by this change, and the UBC CIC investigated this challenge with the tools and solutions available to us. View Project

      View Project Nov 2020

    BC Smart Access to Guide Emergency care

    1. BC Smart Access to Guide Emergency care

      The BC Smart Access to Guide Emergency Care (SAGE) is a result of a collaboration between the Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia (RCCbc), the BC Emergency Medicine Network, and the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre. The purpose of SAGE BC is to provide emergency workers with important logistical, medical, and regional information when treating and transporting individuals in rural BC communities. This repository allows healthcare services in these communities to be delivered in a more efficient and time-effective manner. View Project

      View Project Oct 2020

    White-on-black image of an MRI scan.

    Vancouver Coastal Health MRI Project “CAN’T WAIT”

    1. Vancouver Coastal Health MRI Project “CAN’T WAIT”

      The Lower Mainland MRI Central Intake Advanced Neural Network for Triage and Waitlist Management of MRI Exam Scheduling. View Project

      View Project Aug 2020

    Serratus: Ultra-high throughput discovery of new coronaviruses

    An Open Science project for ultra-rapid discovery of known and unknown coronaviruses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by screening all public RNA-sequencing data. View Project

    1. Serratus: Ultra-high throughput discovery of new coronaviruses

      An Open Science project for ultra-rapid discovery of known and unknown coronaviruses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by screening all public RNA-sequencing data. View Project

      View Project Jun 2020

    2. Serratus: Ultra-high throughput discovery of new coronaviruses – Phase 2

      Serratus is an Open Science project for ultra-rapid discovery of known and unknown coronavirus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. View Project

      View Project Oct 2020