Alumni Spotlight: Sina Agunbiade

Sina Agunbiade’s interest in building performance and sustainable design began in the second year of his architectural training when he attended an international summer school in the UK. A field trip to the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus – an example of green architecture – left a lasting impression.

“It was eye opening,” he says. “When I returned to my studies I took courses on sustainable design and building performance, and in my graduate project I focused on passive design strategies for a museum."

After graduating, Sina worked as an architectural designer on a range of projects in his home country of Nigeria, including single-family residential projects, tenant improvements and institutional buildings. Throughout the early years of his career, he continued to advance his knowledge of healthy buildings, earning his LEED, WELL and EDGE accreditations.

But Sina wanted more. While researching graduate programs that would help him advance his knowledge in sustainable building, he discovered the UBC Master of Engineering Leadership in High Performance Buildings. The program appealed due to its one-year length, emphasis on integrated design, and its location in Vancouver, a city known globally for its sustainable design practices.

Learning in a practice-focused cohort

The MEL in High Performance Buildings is open to both architects and engineers, creating an integrated cohort of students who learn from each other and from local practitioners in sustainable design, energy modelling and regenerative development.

“One of the most applicable courses for my current role was on regenerative development,” Sina says. “While I had a foundation in sustainability, going deeper into regenerative approaches was transformative.”

A course on contemporary practice broadened his professional network and understanding of what sustainable design looks like in Vancouver. “Typically someone from industry would come and talk to the class about different frameworks or approaches, and we also visited buildings on campus that exemplify some aspect of sustainable design.”

Students in High Performance Buildings complete two capstone projects that provide opportunities to apply in-class learning on energy performance, energy modelling and regenerative thinking into a real-world context. In the first, Sina proposed ways to improve the energy efficiency of New Vista Place, a seniors’ facility. In the second, he developed a new concept for an existing educational building at a post-secondary institution, including developing a preliminary embodied carbon model.

Expanding leadership and business skills

About 40 percent of the MEL curriculum is taught through UBC Sauder’s Robert H. Lee Graduate School of Business, giving students grounding in leadership, strategy, innovation and sustainability. Sina says that the focus on group work accelerated the development of his communication and leadership skills.

“You are constantly working in teams where you need to make decisions, build consensus and deliver on projects – skills that are essential and impactful.”

Developing a toolkit for the City of Burnaby

Sina was selected to participate in the Sustainability Scholars program, a paid summer internship that matches students with community partners on applied sustainability research.

In the summer of 2023, he worked with the Climate Action & Energy Team at the City of Burnaby to develop a building retrofit toolkit for the City’s Climate Action Framework. The toolkit helps owners and managers of multi-unit residential buildings understand retrofitting options to withstand extreme heat – an urgent priority after the heat dome in June 2021, when Burnaby had one of the region’s highest rates of heat-related deaths.

Sina interviewed stakeholders, identified barriers to retrofitting and made a series of recommendations, ranging from behavioural changes to deep retrofits. He recommended that the City launch a pilot program to serve as a case study, and elements of his project contributed to the development of the City of Burnaby’s Zero Emissions Building Retrofit Strategy. (Sina’s work was profiled in Burnaby Now and you can read his report.)

Launching a career in regenerative practice

Graduating into a tight job market, Sina was deliberate and intentional about the kind of work he wanted to do. “I was looking for an organization where I could contribute to meaningful projects focused on sustainable buildings and building performance.”

Since August 2024 he’s been a green building coordinator for Light House, an organization known for its leadership in regenerative development and circular innovation. His work focuses on guiding teams through certification processes – from early-stage goal-setting and target development to reviewing submissions and advising consultants. He also contributes to climate risk assessments and provides advisory services to government agencies.

It’s a role that brings together his architectural background and the new knowledge gained in the MEL. “For example, although I don’t generate energy models in my job, having done the energy modelling course I am able to interpret results and speak with other experts about how different parameters affect outcomes and decisions.”

Reflections on the MEL experience

Sina chose to live at St. John’s College, a graduate residence for international students that has an active roster of extracurricular activities, making it easy to meet new friends. He recommends the convenience and community of living on campus to others

"The MEL program has had a significant impact on me and my career,” he says. “During my job interview, I was able to talk about different aspects of my experience that were directly relevant to the role. For people who are considering the program, I’d advise you to set goals for yourself and what you want to achieve during the MEL program. The program is thoughtfully structured, and there is a lot of support from staff and your fellow students. It’s up to you to make the most of those opportunities.”