From the Nominator

Over a 10 week period, the alumni UBC Baking Challenge ran online, with a goal of engaging alumni in a lighthearted way during the early days of the pandemic. This was when there was great uncertainty and people needed comforting, nostalgic content to distract from the heaviness of the world around us. The Baking Challenge was undertaken by one staff member while working from home and was very much on trend with the baking pastime that many people around the world had taken up, as was evidenced by the short supplies of flour, yeast, and other supplies on store shelves. The production quality also had a very “made at home” feel, to match the environment in which many of our alumni found themselves.

This campaign was a significant shift from our typical programming, which had been up until that point focused on either creating high-level educational content, opportunities for alumni to connect in a professional capacity, or celebrations of outstanding alumni.



We started the series by filming a tutorial on how to make UBC's most famous recipe, the UBC Cinnamon Bun. It was a great success and, with views accumulating, we asked alumni to try the recipe themselves and post photos of their attempts from home. We then followed up with 10 more weeks of baking videos and social media posts. Over the course of campaign, we achieved three times as many video views as in the entire previous fiscal year, and grew our Facebook and Instagram followers.

From the Judges

Baking was a sweet escape for several people during the pandemic, especially at the beginning, and the University of British Columbia played off this to spotlight an edible campus tradition and to interact with nostalgic alumni. The content is mouthwatering. It encourages alumni to come back for more. We want a cheese scone!