x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn

From tackling climate change to developing more equitable healthcare access to restoring endangered Indigenous languages, these challenges are so complex that no one area of research can fully address them alone. Rather, the solutions lie in the collaboration and innovation that happens when diverse fields of knowledge and perspectives come together. This is why UBC Okanagan intentionally designed its newest teaching and research building as a place to foster collaboration and interdisciplinarity.

This innovative new building comes at a critical time in our campus history. Since opening the campus in 2005, student enrolment and research activities have tripled. The vital academic space we need for our students and researchers is at a premium, constraining research and funding opportunities, and our ability to attract new talent to our region. However, UBC Okanagan is committed to staying on our journey of supporting world-class research and innovation, and in 2025, we will open the doors of a game-changing building that will propel our academic excellence and growth.

Innovation driven by collaboration—under one roof

Generously named by our Syilx Okanagan partners as x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn—and meaning ‘a place to innovate through enlightening and informing one another’—this transformative facility will be a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation and community engagement. It will be a place where bright minds merge and pool their diverse knowledge and perspectives to achieve inclusive and progressive change.

This state-of-the-art technology housed within x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn will allow us to leverage existing expertise and recruit new talent to our campus. As the future home of our Interior Salishan Studies Centre, it will help advance meaningful collaboration with Indigenous communities, as well as bolster our resources to partner with local industries and organization. The diverse learning, research and gathering spaces within x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn will be a valuable resource for UBC and the Okanagan community for many years to come.

Help us build this beautiful new building, the first academic center at UBC Okanagan in 10 years. Your gift to x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn will support a space where collaboration and innovation can bring solutions to life.