Dear staff,
I hope you’re having a great week.
I am currently travelling in India as part of an Australian government delegation of university leaders that’s focussed on promoting institutional partnerships and boosting collaboration between our two nations. The delegation is being led by the Minister for Education, the Honourable Jason Clare MP, and includes 11 Vice-Chancellors from universities across Australia.
While in India this week, we have renewed the Memorandum of Agreement between UQ and IIT Delhi, effectively extending the agreement that underpins our joint UQ-IITD Academy of Research for a further five years.
During the visit, Minister Clare also signed an agreement with his Indian counterpart, Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, for the mutual recognition of academic qualifications which will help facilitate student and professional mobility between our two countries.
Australian Awards for University Teaching
Speaking of the Education Minister, it was wonderful to be in the audience at the Universities Australia Conference Dinner in Canberra last Wednesday, where Minister Clare presented Dr Poh Hillock, from UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics, with the prestigious award for University Teacher of the Year.
It is a thoroughly deserved accolade for Dr Hillock who, over the past decade, has helped literally thousands of commencing first year UQ mathematics students bridge the gap between high school and university maths studies.
Aside from Dr Hillock, there were four other UQ staff whose contributions to university teaching were recognised in the 2022 Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT):
- Associate Professor Jodie Copley from the UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences received an Award for Teaching Excellence in Health for her commitment to learning innovation in clinical education.
- Mark Tanner, Associate Lecturer in the UQ Business School, received a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning for the Taking Flight program, which challenges advanced business students to build their employability skills.
- And Associate Professor Hassan Khosravi and Nick Joseph, from the RiPPLE team in ITaLI, received Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning for their work on developing an adaptive educational system that transforms student learning into an active, social, and personalised experience.
UQ continues to be the nation’s most awarded university in the 25-year history of the AAUT awards.
And looking ahead…
Next Wednesday 8 March is International Women’s Day (IWD) – an important date on the annual calendar in which we celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political contributions of women all over the world.
I’m looking forward to participating in an IWD roundtable discussion next Wednesday morning in the Great Court at St Lucia, where we will explore the topic: ‘Cracking the code: Women in non-traditional industries’. UQ staff, students and alumni are all welcome to register to attend the roundtable, which also coincides with Employability Week at UQ.
Later next week, I’m looking forward to travelling to Gladstone and the UQ Heron Island Research Station, as the first stop on our Regional Roadshow for 2023.
And, on a final note, you may be aware that the Queensland Government has started to develop the Brisbane 2032 Legacy Plan, which is about defining how we will seek to take advantage of hosting the Olympics and Paralympics and create lasting benefits for Queensland and Australia after the Games.
As part of the process of developing that Plan, the Government has been conducting the Hopes and Dreams Survey to capture community views of the potential Games legacy. The survey period ends today – but, if you get a chance, I’d encourage you to go online and share your views on what you’d like to see as a lasting legacy from hosting the Games.
With best wishes
Debbie
