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Jump-start your mind and heart


The UBC Connects speaker series is currently on hiatus. In the meantime, join us at UBC Connects at Robson Square, a public engagement program featuring events such as film screenings, town halls and pop-up concerts.

UBC students, faculty, staff and alumni—as well as community partners working in collaboration with UBC—can apply for funding to host UBC Connects at Robson Square events.

Learn more about UBC Connects at Robson Square events


Previous Speakers

Fran Lebowitz
Dr. Roland Paris
Michelle Good
Maaza Mengiste
Gurminder K Bhambra
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

See all speakers


Social Commentary

November 15, 2022

UBC Connects with Fran Lebowitz

An evening with Fran Lebowitz

Media

October 27, 2022

UBC Connects with Tanya Talaga

Covering the Apocalypse: What it is like being an Indigenous journalist in Canada

Geopolitics

April 20, 2022

UBC Connects Masterclass with Dr. Roland Paris

The Ukraine Crisis and Europe’s Future: A New Cold War?

Social Theory

January 25, 2022

UBC Connects Masterclass with Gurminder K Bhambra

Decolonising Social Theory

Resilience

December 2, 2021

UBC Connects with Michelle Good

Education through dialogue: the human cost of colonialism

Pluralism

May 18, 2021

UBC Connects Masterclass with Maaza Mengiste

Pluralism: Strengthening respect for diversity

Social Justice

March 12, 2021

UBC Connects with Desmond Cole and Robyn Maynard

Beyond the Police state: a conversation with Desmond Cole and Robyn Maynard

Representation

March 4, 2021

UBC Connects Masterclass with Kevin Kwan

Represent, Represent: The stories we tell change the world around us

Justice

November 3, 2020

UBC Connects with Justice Edwin Cameron

Prisons and the F-word: Has the time come for a fundamental rethink?

Identity

September 23, 2020

UBC Connects with James Makokis and Anthony Johnson

“Our Existences Are Political”: Identity and History as Pathways for Transformation

Biodiversity

July 31, 2020

UBC Connects Masterclass with Vandana Shiva

The Future of Food and Farming in a Pandemic World

Bassem Youssef

Freedom

March 2, 2020

UBC Connects with Bassem Youssef

The Middle Eastern Monologues

Donna

Physics

November 25, 2019

UBC Connects with Donna Strickland

Laser Focus: Insight from a Nobel Laureate

Ziya

Science

November 4, 2019

UBC Connects with Ziya Tong

Blind Spots: Rethinking Your Reality

Helen

Love

September 10, 2019

UBC Connects with Helen Fisher

Swipe, Right?: The Future of Romantic Relationships in the Digital Age

Chimamanda

Author

March 13, 2019

UBC Connects with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an award-winning Nigerian author whose work has been translated into over thirty languages.

Tarana

Activist

March 6, 2019

UBC Connects with Tarana Burke

A movement that empowers: “Me too” and the role of empathy in healing and change

John Kasich

Politician

February 26, 2019

UBC Connects with John Kasich

Two-term former Ohio Governor John R. Kasich is a politician, a New York Times best-selling author, and a Senior Political Commentator for CNN

Michael

Plants

February 11, 2019

UBC Connects with Michael Pollan

Food, plants and psychedelics: Revolutionary approaches to human health and well-being

Isabel Allende

Literature

November 20, 2018

UBC Connects with Isabel Allende

The Alchemy of Truth: The power of story to change the world

Michio Kaku

Physics

September 26, 2018

UBC Connects with Michio Kaku

The Universe in a Nutshell: Why physics is the key to pretty much everything

Waneek Horn-Miller

Society

April 19, 2018

UBC Connects with Waneek Horn-Miller

The Wisdom of Reconciliation: A roadmap for multiculturalism

Jeremy Rifkin

Economics

March 8, 2018

UBC Connects with Jeremy Rifkin

The Third Industrial Revolution: Can we prevent the next mass extinction of life on Earth?

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