I am pleased to announce that Dr. Elisa Baniassad has been appointed as Academic Director of the new Learning Technology Innovation Centre (LTIC), for a five-year term commencing July 1, 2025.
Dr. Baniassad is a Professor of Teaching in the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, and has served as the Deputy Academic Director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology since July 1, 2022, as well as CTLT Acting Academic Director from July 2023 to December 2024. Recently, her work has involved a focus on issues of belonging in teams (in close collaboration with the CTLT, and supported by TLEF and SoTL Seed funds), and on alternative grading practices, including mastery learning, autograding, and ungrading. In 2021, Dr. Baniassad was honored with a Killam Teaching Prize and a CS-CAN/INFO-CAN Excellence in Teaching Prize, and was recognized as an OER Champion for her provision of free online materials for her Software Engineering stream courses. She has also been active in equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts at an institutional level, including her work on the Status of Women committee with the Faculty Association, and her prior work with the Gender Institute and Reconciliation Action Plan when she was on faculty at the Australian National University.
LTIC is a newly created innovation centre at UBC’s Vancouver campus that will bring together staff from CTLT and UBC IT currently in the Learning Technology Hub. LTIC will provision the core learning technology tools on which faculty rely for their teaching, as well as provide tailored support to faculty that they value through the work of the LTHub. LTIC will act as a catalyst for innovation, transforming faculty inquiry into teaching and learning technologies that improve the education experience. As emerging technologies such as AI continue to provide both challenge and opportunity to educators and learners, LTIC will be a key partner in helping faculty and units navigate this evolving space with purpose.
I look forward to working with Dr. Baniassad in her new role.
Simon Bates
Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning