Building eco-literacy through applied ethics: enter the great debates

The training needed to respond to today’s ecological realities is often seen as technical, from skills in green building design to electric vehicle infrastructure development to environmental restoration. However, as students in Michael Bourke’s BCIT Applied Ethics class come to learn, technical skills can be just the beginning of their journey. “For the first two … Read more

From designer to business owner: How Kelsey Grant is helping small businesses succeed

We followed up with Kelsey Grant, a Front-End Web Developer alumna, to learn more about where she is today – running her own business and choosing her projects – and how she’s impacting the world around her. Where did you start your career? I started working as a graphic designer at a local newspaper right … Read more

Rejection to opportunity: Interior designer, TV host, and BCIT alumna Jillian Harris couldn’t have designed a more fulfilling career

For Jillian Harris, interior design was a side hustle in the beginning. In between shifts as a salesperson at a home décor store and as a server at Cactus Club Café, she freelanced as a design consultant taking on small jobs as she could. When the co-owner of Cactus Club Scott Morison heard about her … Read more

BCIT Rivers Institute celebrates a decade of protecting and restoring BC waterways, lakes, and wetlands

Like the path of water itself, the Rivers Institute’s Dr. Ken Ashley has traveled through varied terrain over the course of his career.  And while his experiences have ranged—from civil engineer to limnologist to ecological restoration instructor to documentary film producer—the Director of BCIT’s Rivers Institute has always maintained a clear purpose and direction. “Ever … Read more

BCIT Alumni Association AGM: Inspiring alumni to achieve and celebrating 40 years of success

To be a leader in the 21st century, you need to be agile, collaborative, and tenacious. BCIT alumni are all these things, leading teams, organizations, and industries as they tackle some of the world’s biggest problems. “In leadership, pressures can force you to learn, grow, and evolve” said Kevin Lawrence, a strategic advisor, coach to … Read more

Eco apps: Students design software solutions for ecologically restorative living

If you had five weeks to make an app to save the world, what would you create? That was the challenge put to over 200 software development students in their first year of Computer Systems Technology this past month. Over the course of five intense weeks, teams of five students worked (and cried) together to … Read more

BCIT introduces an Indigenous Vision: a commitment to Truth, Reconciliation, and Indigenization

BCIT Indigenous Plan 2019

The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is honoured to introduce an Indigenous Vision (Vision). This document represents the Institution’s deep and continuous commitment to taking sustainable actions that build awareness and understanding around Truth, Reconciliation, Indigenization, the legacy of Colonization, and the contemporary reality of Canada and Indigenous people. “As we celebrate 25 years of … Read more

The bike mechanics module that gives back

Tim Sorensen and his custom bike jig

With bikes being popular among high school students, it is natural to include a bike repair module as part of the Technology Teacher Education (TTED) program at BCIT. So, Roger Bortignon, Program Head, integrated a five-week bike mechanics module into the Power Technology course. During the module, students learn how to dismantle an entire bicycle, … Read more

These environmental studies can help you get a green job in Canada

green jobs

Nearly a decade ago, green jobs like energy management did not exist. However, with many countries such as Canada and the UK having declared a national climate emergency, sustainability is becoming increasingly top of mind for industry, government, consumers, and more. As a leader in sustainability research and education through partnerships with industry, BCIT is … Read more

Rethinking e-waste: How BCIT diverted 6.5 tonnes of electronic waste from the landfill in just one summer

Michele Morrison doesn’t have a job that makes you think of waste reduction or recycling. As a manager in BCIT’s IT Services department she’s responsible for all the computers found in computer labs and used by instructors and staff. But she also helps to lead efforts that have seen six and a half tonnes of … Read more