Dear staff,
I hope you’re well and that you had a great weekend.
I’m just coming to the end of my first real-life encounter with COVID-19, so I’m drafting this email from isolation. The good news is that my symptoms have been quite mild – much more like a cold, than a flu.
Nevertheless, I’m very thankful that I had my fourth COVID vaccine just a few weeks ago. I’m sure that’s given me extra protection at a crucial time – and, as such, I want to urge everyone across our community to keep your vaccinations up to date.
Prior to contracting the virus, I had enjoyed a busy start to Semester 2, representing UQ at both regional and international events over recent weeks.
The most recent stop on our Regional Roadshow was in the Moreton Bay region, where I participated in a strategic discussion with UQ stakeholders in Redcliffe. We also staged a very successful Open Day at UQ’s Moreton Bay Research Station on North Stradbroke Island, as part of that Roadshow.
Then, two weeks ago, I travelled to India, where I met with our partners from across government, industry, and the education sector. The highlight of the trip was a visit to our flagship partners at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) in order to meet the new Director of IITD, Professor Rangan Banerjee, as well as the students, staff and industry partners involved in our joint Academy of Research. It was also a great pleasure to be able to celebrate the milestone of enrolling our 100th student in the Academy’s PhD program.
On the topic of enrolling new students, it was great to welcome prospective students, their families, and our alumni community to the St Lucia campus on August 7 for the first in-person Open Day that we’ve staged since 2019.
The sun shone and there was a really vibrant atmosphere across campus, especially in the Great Court, which was the focal point of activities. In total, we estimate that around 20,000 people visited the St Lucia campus throughout the day and another 500 people participated in the online Open Day activities.
Thanks to everyone who gave up a portion of their weekend to make the day such an incredible success – and thanks, in anticipation, to everyone who will be helping out at the Open Day at Gatton this Sunday.
As we seek to bolster our undergraduate recruitment efforts over the second half of the year, we have just launched the University’s latest QTAC campaign, under the theme of ‘Own the Unknown’.
In a further boost to those recruitment efforts, I’m pleased to report that UQ is climbing in the most recently released rankings of global universities. It has been announced today that we moved up 4 places in the very prestigious Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), to now be ranked 47th in the world. We also jumped 5 places in the latest NTU Rankings to be ranked 33rd in the world. This improvement reflects the incredible strength of our team, working right across UQ.
Last week, I also had the pleasure of participating (via Zoom) in the launch of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success. The Centre is focussed on improving plant productivity, both in nature and agriculture. Congratulations to Professor Christine Beveridge and Professor Mark Cooper – the two UQ academics who are now serving as Director and Deputy Director of the Centre.
On a final note, I’m delighted to announce that we have appointed Professor Paul Bonnington as UQ’s next Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research Infrastructure). He will succeed Professor Joe Shapter, who retired from the position earlier this year. Professor Bonnington has worked at Monash University for the past 15 years, where he is currently serving as Director of the Monash e-Research Centre. I’m sure you will join me in making him feel welcome when he joins our team in October.
I hope you enjoy the week ahead. I’ll be back in touch tomorrow with an update on several of the topics that were raised at the recent All Staff Forum.
With best wishes
Debbie
