Dear staff,
I am currently in Canberra for a few days attending the Universities Australia Plenary and Solutions Summit. As part of the Welcome Reception, the 2023 Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) were presented. Congratulations to our UQ academics recognised at these important awards.
Professor Ann Black from UQ’s TC Beirne School of Law received a richly deserved Award for Teaching Excellence for her 2 decades as a pioneering law lecturer who empowers her students to learn about different legal systems across cultures.
In addition, the immense contributions of Professor Sabine Matook, Dr Frances Shapter, Associate Professor Christine Slade, Dr Ryan Williams and the Urban Design Challenge Team were recognised with Citations for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. The Urban Design Challenge Team was led by Professor Steven Kenway, and included Dr Paola Leardini, Associate Professor Ilje Pikaar, Dr Mojtaba Moravej, Ms Cathryn Chatburn and Ms Diana Navarro.
Also, congratulations to Dr Aude Bernard, who was recently awarded the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) Early Career Award (Asia and the Pacific) for her leadership and her work on internal migration.
Later this week, I’m looking forward to attending the Fulbright Gala Presentation Dinner to celebrate our 4 UQ 2024 Fulbright scholar recipients: Associate Professor Amirali Popat, Dr Sam Harvey, PhD candidate Kieran Gibson and Dr Dewan Rahman.
Government updates
On Sunday, the Government released the Universities Accord Final Report. The report is a bold, long-term vision for Australia’s tertiary education system that recognises the central role universities play in supporting our nation’s economic and social prosperity.
The clear focus on providing better financial support for students, putting in place a sustainable funding model to better support our educational mission, and addressing the educational inequality that continues to persist in our community, are very welcome themes in the report.
It was also very heartening to see the strong recognition of the need to protect and strengthen Australia’s research capability through a clear strategy to increase national research and development (R&D) spending as a proportion of GDP, a pathway to fully fund indirect research costs, an increase to Australian Research Council funding, and a minimum stipend level for PhD students, with tax-free arrangements for part-time students.
In the months ahead, we look forward to hearing the Government’s response to the Accord Report and understanding the timeline for the implementation of the core recommendations across both education and research, as we work to position UQ to play a key role in delivering on the report’s bold ambitions.
As part of the Accord, the government also announced an independent National Student Ombudsman. The Ombudsman will provide additional support for students to raise complaints about how their universities handle sexual misconduct matters. Ensuring our campuses are safe and respectful environments is a critically important area, and one that remains a very high priority for all of us at UQ.
UQ’s 2024 Plan on a Page
I would encourage you to take a few minutes this week to read the 2024 Plan on a Page and think about how your team can help us work towards these strategic priorities. This important document outlines our key priority areas for the year that feed into our broader strategic objectives, outlined in the UQ Strategic Plan 2022–2025.
Securing funding for research
Earlier this month we received wonderful news that 9 UQ research projects have secured more than $10.2 million through the 2023 Medical Research Future Fund schemes to address gaps in health and medical research. Congratulations to the researchers involved in these significant projects.
Congratulations also to Associate Professor Abdullah Mamun from the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, who was awarded more than $1.5 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council through the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases. Dr Mamun will lead a team in partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in Brisbane and Darwin to help address health inequalities among Indigenous children and adolescents living in Australian cities.
In addition, UQ optical scientist Dr Mickael Mounaix received a prestigious 2024 Westpac Research Fellowship – 1 of only 2 granted nationally – to progress research into light manipulation to help advance communications and biomedical imaging technologies. And congratulations to PhD candidate Brynlea Gibson, who has been named a 2024 Westpac Future Leader to support her research into the use of artificial intelligence in education.
2024 Alumni Award Nominations
Nominations for UQ’s 2024 Alumni Awards are now open. These awards are about recognising the extraordinary achievements of our alumni – people who have pursued their passions and who have accomplished remarkable things – in their careers and for their communities. Among those recognised last year were advocates for social justice, athletes, musicians, filmmakers, veterinarians, lawyers and entrepreneurs.
These awards are an inspiring program for our university, and I encourage you to nominate an alum who you believe embodies our goal to advance ideas that benefit the world. Full nomination details and the alumni award guidelines are available on our website.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your week.
Best wishes
Debbie
