Unlocking Economic Growth Through Partnerships: How UBC is Leveraging Innovation into Impact

British Columbia is navigating a time of economic uncertainty. From tariffs to rising costs of living, people across the province are feeling the impact.

Yet within this turbulence lies opportunity. B.C. has the resources, talent, ideas, and ambition to drive an economic revival. But seizing this moment requires more than just conversation—it demands collaborative action.  

In his second annual address with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon highlighted the power of partnerships in driving B.C.’s economic growth. He spoke about how, through purposeful research partnerships, UBC is working with industry, government, and community partners to translate discovery into innovation—demonstrating that progress happens when sectors work together toward shared goals. 

UBC is one of the most impactful universities in Canada, with over 70,000 students and $936 million in annual research funding. Over the past two decades, UBC researchers have launched more than 270 spin-off companies that have generated over $13 billion in sales across multiple sectors. And this is just the beginning.

That culture of innovation thrives on collaboration. When UBC’s cutting-edge research meets entrepreneurial ambition, it sparks companies like AbCellera—now a biotech leader with a global impact.

Dr. Veronique Lecault, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of AbCellera, was a PhD student working out of her supervisor Dr. Carl Hansen’s lab at UBC on new ways to study single cells using microfluidics. They saw the potential to use this technology to speed up the discovery of antibody drugs. The idea flourished into AbCellera, a clinical biotech company discovering and developing antibody medicines. It is now valued in the billions and employs 600 people.  

Developing industry partnerships early on helped AbCellera develop its technology. Today, the company is able to advance programs for potential new medicines from discovery to Phase 1 clinical trials. Those clinical trials are currently being conducted locally, which ensures Canadians are the first to receive investigational treatments and helps pave the way for other companies to keep their innovations in B.C. for the benefit of local patients.  

“We want to be able to invent, develop, and commercialize ideas here in B.C. and it starts by believing that we can take those ideas all the way,” Dr. Lecault said.  

Arca Climate Technologies is another example of a B.C. business incubated in UBC labs. By working with graduate students and industry partners, Dr. Greg Dipple found a way to speed up the natural process of carbon mineralization, effectively stabilizing the climate by pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and locking it into rocks − permanent carbon storage.  

Dr. Dipple and Arca’s two other co-founders went through the Entrepreneurship@UBC program, a small business accelerator that educates, creates ventures, and seeds funding.  

“For our situation, that was great. We didn't want to just take this technology within three years and spin it out and sell it off. We're really trying to build a solution,” Dr. Dipple said.  

Vancouver has one of the biggest mining hubs in the world, and the connections that Dr. Dipple grew out of UBC never gave him a reason to move Arca away from the university or the city, effectively commercializing in B.C. 

UBC also fosters collaboration to propel innovation in-house. At the Data Science Institute, and the newly founded AI and Health Network, Director Dr. Raymond Ng and his team are working with hospitals, health authorities, and the Ministry of Health to create AI tools that predict patient risks, reduce patient wait times, personalize treatment, and reduce diagnostics errors.  

This type of AI application isn’t limited to health care. When handled responsibly, AI can transform every sector—an example being the mineral mining industry—into functioning with efficiency, saving time, reducing costs, and growing our economy, said Dr. Ng.

As President Bacon highlighted, the path forward for B.C.’s economy begins with purposeful partnerships, but collaboration represents only part of the equation for growth. While post-secondary institutions shape the economy, part of that lies in attracting global talent to B.C., which has become more challenging amid international student caps put in place by the federal and provincial governments.  

“The pains that we face now in recruiting talent is the pain that the business community will face 10 or 20 years down the road,” Dr. Bacon said. “So, we need the support of the business community, and we need the support of the government.”  

To build the talent pool, UBC strives to be a magnet that attracts both domestic and international students. Talent follows opportunity, and that’s exactly what’s offered with Innovation UBC. By working with researchers, Innovation UBC supports and accelerates their findings into economic impact through commercial venture creation as well as licensing. UBC also has teams dedicated to forming partnerships, connecting industry leaders with leading researchers. 



The B.C. business community can help bolster these opportunities by collaborating with UBC, in turn building out the potential the province holds.

As President Bacon said: “Now is our moment. If we pull together—business, government, community, and universities—at this critical time, we can make B.C. a global leader in purposeful partnerships and economic growth.”

To learn more about UBC’s mission, read the university's refreshed strategic plan, Strategic Directions 2025-2030.