UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan funding sees student projects get off the ground

Successful student recipients of the Indigenous Strategic Initiatives (ISI) Fund have been given the green light to start implementing their proposed Indigenous-focused, student-led projects with the backing of university funding.

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​​The Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Fund is a cross-campus initiative at the UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan campuses. The Fund directly supports the advancement of the eight goals and 43 actions of the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan (ISP).

In its inaugural year, the Fund amalgamates two years of funding for a total of $4 million across three funding streams. Successful student-led stream projects will receive up to $50,000 each for 12 to 18 month projects.

Funded projects from across both campuses include:

• Creating professional development opportunities for Indigenous students at the UBC Okanagan campus in science, engineering, technology and mathematics programs
• Fostering an environment that increases Indigenous engagement within the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC
• Organizing writing retreats for Indigenous graduate students and faculty
• Expanding First Nations collaborative education, development, advocacy, and research through the creation of an online hub for students, researchers, and the larger UBC community to enact reconciliation, on Indigenous terms
• Establishing community amongst Indigenous Masters of Physical Therapy students in the context of learning about healthcare within an Indigenous scope
• Creating a better understanding of Indigenous food security in Syilx Territory food systems and finding opportunities to revitalize and promote traditional knowledge
• Mitigating the health risks associated with ecologically unsound environments and revitalizing Indigenous ecological knowledge and practices in the DTES via community gardening and community education.

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