2023 UQ Awards for Excellence

UQ Alumni Book Fair Team 

The 2023 UQ Alumni Book Fair and Rare Book Auction was a collaborative effort between Alumni and Community Engagement and Alumni Friends, showcasing successful partnerships with Patina Restaurant, James Mackay Councillor for Walter Taylor, UQ Centre for Critical and Creative Writing and 106 student volunteers. With an impressive attendance of 7,540 participants, 71% increase on the previous year, the event exceeded expectations raising $212,729.39 to support research and needs based scholarships. In addition to raising funds, the team increased awareness of Alumni Friends membership and engaged with a broad audience of staff, students, alumni, and the wider Brisbane community. 

• Ms Amanda Briggs 
• Ms Kathryn Cowe 
• Mr Braden Asujamaa 
• Ms Nina Gardiner 
• Ms Greta Openshaw 
• Ms Taylor Bartels 
• Ms Hayley Lees 
• Miss Camille Brandon 
• Ms Britt Wilkins 
• Mrs Renae Bourke 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit (ATSISU) Outreach and Engagement Team 

The InspireU program brings Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students from across the state for a week-long camp on our St Lucia campus. The ATSISU Outreach and Engagement team works to provide students an opportunity to participate in a range of interactive activities, led by UQ academics and our industry and community partners. The program emerged to raise aspirations and break down barriers and strengthened access to university education, and ultimately empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to not only see themselves at UQ, but also be adequately informed to navigate the subject selection and application process. 

• Ms Raqual Nutley 
• Mrs Robyn Donnelly 
• Mr Kieren Marr 
• Mr Jackson Paton

Associate Professor Shiralee Poed, Associate Professor 
School of Education 

Educators employed outside Greater Brisbane do not have easy access to professional development. Associate Professor Shiralee Poed is fulfilling the Queensland Commitment by extending the reach of UQ to educators in Northern Queensland, from Cape Tribulation to Townsville and Thursday Island. Since 2021, Shiralee has worked with the Diocese of Cairns to customize a three-year implementation plan addressing student disengagement. Equipping teachers with innovative practices, Shiralee helped the schools tackle issues of student behaviour. Her success has led to future projects with the Diocese and attracted the attention of Catholic Education in Toowoomba, and Brisbane. 

UQ Regional Training Hubs 

The University of Queensland Regional Training Hubs (RTH) operating in Central Queensland, Wide Bay and Southern Queensland, complement the existing investment in rural training for university medical students and seeks to strengthen the pathway to rural practice for both GPs and specialists. The RTHs create coherent and connected rural career pathways for junior doctors and work to improve the retention of medical graduates to our regions. This is achieved by a range of initiatives supporting medical learners and their supervisors across the medical education and training continuum. 

• Ms Clare Butters 
• Dr Pene Prasad 
• Mrs Rhianna Hardie 
• Associate Professor Sneha Kirubakaran 
• Dr Samantha Nind 
• Dr Rebecca Lyon 
• Dr Kim Gidall 
• Mrs Kerry Rodda 
• Mrs Madison Smith 
• Mrs Laurene Bardsley 

RRM team 

With the workforce maldistribution of doctors in Queensland, many communities outside of Brisbane do not have adequate access to medical care. Positive rural placement experiences positively influence the intention to practice rurally for medical students who are undecided and are a reinforcing experience for students who are already interested in rural practice. The Mayne Academy of RRM team has developed and implemented an innovative approach to successfully evaluate rural placement quality and provide feedback to regional and rural placement providers to ensure students are provided with a high-quality rural placement experience. 

• Professor Bruce Chater 
• Dr John Ridler 
• Mrs Jo Wakefield 
• Ms Bridget Lowe 
• Miss Tarin Stewart 

Lets Yarn about Sleep 

Let’s Yarn About Sleep program is globally recognised for innovation and leadership in sleep health equity through community engagement. Between 2020 and 2023, the team consulted with over 300 stakeholders from First Nations communities, industry partners, and policymakers to co-develop sleep health education, training and employment pathways for rural and remote Queensland communities. These efforts resulted in UQ-led delivery of Australia’s first Indigenous Sleep Coach training, research roles for community members, and integration of sleep health programs in remote schools and services. The team is now collaborating with 11 communities to strengthen local capacity and capability for sleep health equity. 

• Associate Professor Yaqoot Fatima 
• Ms Roslyn Von Senden 
• Ms Karen Chong 
• Professor Simon Smith 
• Dr Dwayne Mann 
• Dr Kalina Rossa 

Nanomedicine Workshop Team 

A team led by academic and professional staff worked together to develop a Nanomedicine Workshop as a scientific outreach activity for high school students. The workshop includes a scientific presentation from researchers, a hands-on nanomedicine experiment, an instruction sheet, and a worksheet with questions. The hands-on activity is a polymer cross-linking reaction to illustrate the formation of nanoparticles loaded with medicine. The Nanomedicine Workshop was first implemented as part of the Holiday Program in Engineering. Early exposure to science and engineering enhances overall interest levels and can increase the number of students pursuing engineering careers to address pressing healthcare challenges. 

• Dr Dalila Iannotta 
• Dr Jenifer Pendiuk Goncalves 
• Ms Raluca Ghebosu 
• Dr Ali Shokoohmand 
• Mrs Helen Burdon 
• Ms Kellie Colahan 

CJCADR 10 Year Anniversary Campaign 

To commemorate QBI's 10th anniversary of the Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research (CJCADR), the #RememberUs fundraising and awareness campaign was developed highlighting the need for progressing dementia research. Every three seconds, someone develops dementia - now Australia's second biggest killer. #RememberUs reflected a warm and compelling campaign designed to raise community awareness of the world-class dementia research in Queensland. The campaign, supported by the goa billboards community partnership, expanded the campaign's reach, prompting the greater Brisbane community to support those living, and working to cure, dementia. The campaign, 10th anniversary event, and UQ Giving Day achieved extraordinary success. 

• Mrs Andrea Markey 
• Ms Merrett Pye 
• Ms Elaine Pye 
• Mr Quinn Jones 
• Ms Pip McConnel-Oats 
• Mr Marc Colette 
• Mrs Bianca McCracken 
• Mr Steve Francis 
• Dr Lavinia Codd 

Uniquely Australian Foods 

The team of staff, researchers, students, Indigenous Advisory Board, Indigenous Enterprise Group and industry within QAAFI’s ARC ITTC for Uniquely Australian Foods (UAF) have worked in long-term partnership and collaboration with Indigenous Enterprises from across Australia to create new economic opportunities in the native botanicals industry. The work done by the team towards the shared goal of building an Indigenous owned and led native botanicals industry has delivered enormous economic and social impact, and built the capability and capacity of Indigenous communities, industry, UAF staff, researchers and students, and furthered strategic government dialogue and action in this industry. 

• Professor Yasmina Sultanbawa 
• Mrs Henrietta Marrie (OAM) 
• Ms Carol Ballard 
• Associate Professor Heather Smyth 
• Professor Brad Sherman 
• Dr Kamalesh Adhikary 
• Dr Anh Phan 
• Dr Olivia Wright 
• Professor Janeen Baxter
• Dr Allison Fish
• Dr Michael Netzel
• Emeritus Professor Mike Gidley
• Professor Jason Stokes
   

KeyPoint team 

Researchers across all domains have critical needs to access and collaborate on sensitive data. This comes with accessibility, scalability and privacy concerns from industry, governments and partners. KeyPoint is an exceptional data infrastructure that revolutionises research practice at UQ. The innovative digital solution enables researchers to access, manage, analyse, and share sensitive data in a scalable, fully governed and highly secure environment. KeyPoint establishes a trusted research environment for seamless collaboration between researchers and external partners, surpassing performance expectations. This innovation now plays a vital role in key UQ projects in Health and is being expanded for Agriculture research. 

• Professor Jason Ferris 
• Mr Michael Mallon 
• Mr Jake Carroll 
• Associate Professor Clair Sullivan 
• Professor Len Gray 
• Mr Paul McElwee 
• Professor Andrew Burton-Jones 
• Ms Vicki Hobson-Green 
• Mr Tim Saul 
• Mr Jonaa Eva 
• Dr Dominique (Dom) Gorse 
• Mr Vitaly Gnyubkin 
• Mr John Perry 
• Mr Mark Hoffmann 

It starts with Arts 

Where can a Bachelor of Arts take you? That was the question answered by a small marketing and communication group over the past two years. In response to 2020 JRG fee increases and concerns expressed by potential BA students, they answered that question by developing a unique on-line tool to help potential students recognise they could turn their passion (+ a UQ BA) into a career. UQ’s share of domestic BA first preferences increased since it was launched. This year they released  "It Starts With Arts", telling the stories of 38 graduates and where their BA took them. 

• Mrs Melinda Kopanakis 
• Mrs Kristen Johnston 
• Mr Kyle Manning 

UQ Founders Pledge 

UQ Founders’ Pledge is an Australian-first new approach to philanthropy by partnering with entrepreneurs to ‘pay it forward’.  Delivered in partnership between Advancement and Community Engagement and UQ Ventures, the program operates similarly to a bequest program where founders pledge their support for a future date and are cultivated and stewarded as donors along the way.  This innovative approach to philanthropy allows entrepreneurial networks at UQ to make a lasting impact. Launched in 2019, the program has been warmly received by UQ's entrepreneurial community, with membership spanning across the world. 

• Ms Tara Turner 
• Mrs Maritza Messina 
• Mr Nimrod Klayman 
• Mr Jerome Delangle

Dr Hung Hong, Laboratory Services Coordinator 
School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability

Dr. Hung Hong has developed a number of creative and innovative methodologies in chemical analysis that have a global impact for researchers and students. The novel methods for quantification of anthocyanins, carotenoids, allicin (important bioactive compounds promoting health benefits to human) have been published in high impact factor journals in the last two years. His current achievement is the development of ground-breaking method for determination of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 below 5 ppt) tracer technique in cattle using Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detection. This achievement places UQ as the first university in Australia that can work with SF6 at environmental concentration levels. 

This has been achieved in a short period and increased accuracy and efficiency for both his fellow UQ researchers and students, and for the wider global community through publishing these methods in internationally recognised high rating chemistry journals. This has allowed his fellow UQ researchers to confidently quantify important phytochemicals such as carotenoids, anthocyanins, and sulphur-containing compounds beyond that previously possible, and is a credit to UQ. 

Dr Chris Perren, Lecturer in Music Technology 
School of Music 

The UQ School of Music launched its in-house record label, Corella Recordings, in 2022. Designed as an intensive work-integrated learning experience, Dr Chris Perren leads a team of UQ students who work together to record, distribute, administrate, and promote the label’s releases, giving students hands-on industry experience and skills. The label’s releases have included collaborations with industry-leading musicians as well as UQ students and alumni. The impact and reach of the label’s first releases has exceeded expectations, with major airplay and rotation on national radio and international streaming platforms, significant media interest, and the formation of new industry relationships. 

UQ Professional Network Committee (UQPN) Mentoring Program 

UQPN Mentor Me 2023 program led by Anita Kelly, Gilbert Kruidenier and Tracy Lawrence demonstrates that there are innovative ways to fulfil the UQ Strategy: by providing an excellent complimentary mentoring program to UQ staff. This program is enormous investment in UQ staff through professional development opportunity: either becoming a mentor or joining in as a mentee and 54 staff already capitalised from this opportunity. Anita, Gilbert and Tracy prove that UQ staff can implement an innovative and effective workplace practices through volunteering their time and creating the program for other staff to thrive and increase their personal capabilities. 

• Ms Anita Kelly 
• Mr Gilbert Kruidenier 
• Mrs Tracy Laurence 

The Generative AI Technologies for Teaching and Assessment Taskforce 

The Generative AI Technologies for Teaching and Assessment Taskforce, consisting of Dr Aneesha Bakharia, Dominic McGrath, Associate Professor Hassan Khosravi, and Dr Simon Collyer, have pioneered innovative practices at UQ. Leveraging their deep expertise in Generative AI, they are successfully guiding the UQ community in understanding, exploring, and applying AI technologies for teaching and assessment. Their collaborative efforts have led to the development of valuable resources, workshops and key strategies that are elevating UQ's educational practices and bolstering its reputation in the field of innovation. Their work exceeds normal expectations, laying a robust foundation for AI-infused learning experiences at UQ. 

• Mr Dominic McGrath 
• Dr Hassan Khosravi 
• Dr Aneesha Bakharia 
• Dr Simon Collyer 

THE Campus+ Initiative 

UQ’s partnership with THE Campus provides opportunities for colleagues across UQ to showcase their innovative work and gain global recognition in teaching, learning and the student experience. The UQ support team promotes, curates and manages UQ’s strongest presence as an Australian university and a top contributor globally with 50+ articles with a readership of over 100,000 unique views, UQ content regularly features in the “top five” list of most popular resources. This enhances the University’s international profile as a leading teaching institution and enables UQ staff to demonstrate their leadership in teaching, research, and citizenship and service in contemporary ways. 

• Professor Paul Mills 
• Professor Karen Healy 
• Dr Carl Sherwood 
• Mrs Lynette Dawson 
• Miss Michelle Quinn 

Media and Production Support (MaPS) 

The fields of Journalism and Communication have transformed rapidly in recent years, primarily propelled by the advent of the internet and digital media. The Media and Production Support team (MaPS) was created as a unique and specialist production training unit within the School of Communication and Arts that equips students with the skills to engage with this new landscape. This small and dedicated team perform an outsize role in offering a high standard of production training to all SCA students, enabling course conveners to incorporate digital media into coursework and assessment, and empowering students to develop their own multimedia portfolio. 

• Mr Paul Smith 
• Miss Courtney Barnes 
• Miss Evangelene Dickson 
• Mr Joshua Darrah 
• Miss Alynna Wong 
• Miss Rose Rishani 
• Mr Matthew Butler 
• Miss Aryana Mohmoud 

Ms Jacqueline (Jackie) Mergard, Assistant Manager, Engagement
Faculty of Science

Jackie Mergard is a dedicated science outreach facilitator committed to raising science literacy and a lifelong love of science amongst Queensland school students and their teachers and to encourage and grow our talented UQ Science community. Her enthusiasm for excellence, and inherent values of respect and inclusivity, sees her outreach efforts extend beyond UQ into myriad voluntary roles in teacher associations and community groups where her communication skills and strong work ethic have supported their success. Jackie’s nearly 30 years of science outreach has conservatively reached around 60,000 students and their teachers through dedication, inspiration, aspiration, and lots of perspiration. 

Rural Clinical School Team 

The UQ Rural Clinical School's four Regional Clinical Units (RCU) has been providing excellence in medical education in the regions for over 20 years. Each RCU consistently provides outstanding and exceptional service to medical students, the medical community and the broader community. RCS students not only receive an excellent medical education, but they are also supported to engage in their often-new community they call.  The close ties and work of the RCU teams, has embedded UQ into these communities, built the reputation of UQ in these communities and has been the bedrock of the formation of the Medical Pathways. 

• Ms Clare Butters 
• Mrs Renay Marshall 
• Dr Gina Watkins 
• Ms Kerry Marles 
• Dr Rudi Prasad 
• Ms Jo Cabot 
• Associate Professor Sunday Pam 
• Mrs Angela Cameron-Tomkinson 
• Dr Doogie Whitcombe 
• Miss Trudy Stone 

Associate Professor Judith Greer, Principal Research Fellow
UQ Centre for Clinical Research

Associate Professor Judith Greer is a worthy nominee for the UQ Awards for Excellence. With a particular focus on the HDR and ECR community, Judith actively models the UQ values of excellence, integrity and respect and inclusivity. Judith models strong leadership skills and importantly is at the forefront of championing a positive work culture with UQ Centre for Clinical Research. Judith is passionate about sharing and championing new and emerging researchers and their research strengths and impact to the wider community. She actively champions and drives a number of initiatives within UQ Centre for Clinical Research and the Faculty of Medicine aimed at both career and personal development. 

Ms Karen Wheeler, School Manager, School of Social Science
School of Social Science

Karen Wheeler has given exemplary service for 25 years in various faculty and central roles, but it is in her current position as School Manager in the School of Social Science where her service is deserving of an Award for Excellence. Karen brings to her work a rare combination of attention to detail, a clear sense of process, strong social relationships, and strategic vision. Through understanding the connection between central and local and academic and professional, Karen is an exemplar School Manager. She has fundamentally transformed the School of Social Science and provided leadership across the Faculty and University.

UQ Professional Network Committee (UQPN) 

UQ Professionals Network’s (UQPN) purpose is to foster excellence for UQ’s professionals, through a networking, knowledge sharing and professional development at all career stages.  Professional staff volunteer their time around their full-time jobs to make UQPN a success.  The committee has worked tirelessly over the last 18 months to modernise UQPN and grow the community by hosting an event schedule relevant to professional staff from across UQ, organising networking events to break silos between functional units and developing a fantastic mentoring program ‘MentorMe’.  UQPN has become a community of professional colleagues with a common interest in friendship and professional development. 

• Dr Jodi Li 
• Ms Felicity Engwicht 
• Mrs Monika Waters 
• Miss Rachel Axon 
• Ms Rachael Woodman 
• Mrs Emily Eyles 
• Ms Anita Kelly 
• Miss Madeleine Butler 
• Mrs Margaret Dunne 
• Mrs Lucy Bryce 
• Dr Carol Bell 
• Miss Katarina Brac 
• Ms Sarah Waters 
• Mrs Tracy Laurence 
• Mr Gilbert Kruidenier 
• Ms Rose Linke 
• Ms Tanya Spresser 
• Ms Trish O'Hara 
• Mrs Karli Kollegger 

Ms Phoebe Baldwin, Supervisor, Communications and Engagement, Centre for Plant Success
School of Biological Sciences

ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success is a newly established research centre, developing innovative tools and strategies to improve the productivity of plants and their resilience to heat and drought. Plant Success is administered by UQ with Phoebe overseeing the communication and engagement function, providing support to over 200 members across 19 partners. Within two years, establishing during COVID-19 upheaval, she has led the development and rollout of a suite of activities that has seen the Centre gain an international presence and be acknowledged for world-class research but also the manner in which it is communicated to the community.

Miss Miho Hamada, Senior Coordinator, Sponsored Students
Global Partnerships

Miho has gone above and beyond her role and provided significant support for the university. For instance, through supporting our international scholarships and in particular the GCS and the soon 2,000+ students enrolled at UQ. She has done these tasks which would normally require a whole team of staff to complete. Worth noting is that she has done this on top of her normal workload. Moreover, Miho has provided support across Global Partnerships and is now acting Senior Regional Coordinator, leading the Sponsored Students Unit and the revamp of the UQ service delivery to Australia Awards students, sponsored by DFAT.

Mr Michael Jones, Publications Editor
Marketing and Communication

Michael Jones is a true exemplar of UQ’s values. As ‘Contact’ magazine editor, each day he demonstrates creativity in story design; edits, writes and commissions excellent content with consummate skill to showcase UQ’s truth; shows integrity in his choice of articles depicting both sides of the story; is courageous in content choice, when necessary; and automatically respects and includes our diverse UQ community. In transitioning from print to electronic delivery of UQ news, he has reduced costs without compromising the University’s reputation. And he is quietly professional in the office, even investing in extensive personal development to improve his skills.

Ms Libby Kelly, Executive Assistant to Head of School Public Health
School of Public Health

Libby Kelly is an incredible asset to the School of Public Health team and has become QCMHR's "go-to" person for assistance with a range of issues that impact on the operational efficiency of our programs of research that are linked to the School. Libby offers exceptional service with humour and patience, and at all times is professional, loyal to her School, and proactive, working with incredible attention to detail and efficiency to resolve issues as they arise.

Associate Professor Carissa Klein, Principal Research Fellow
School of the Environment

Carissa embodies excellence in service to UQ. Firstly, she has consistently gone above and beyond as a supervisor, ensuring supervisees have a positive experience at UQ and supporting their academic success. Secondly, her exceptional ability to bring out the best in others is evident through her remarkable record as a supervisor and collaborator. Lastly, Carissa's work extends beyond academia and makes a significant contribution to the wider community. Her team’s research on sustainable marine environments and seafood has local and global impact, positioning UQ as a leader in this important field.

Mr Christopher Lewis, Client Facility Coordinator
Properties & Facilities

Outstanding service, building relationships with key stakeholders, demonstrates high standards to work, actively contributes to improve workplace environment and culture.

Ms Diana Marsh, HDR Liaison Officer
Graduate School

Ms Diana Marsh, HDR Liaison Officer (HLO), is a senior member of the Graduate School’s administration for support of higher degree students, their academic advisers and their respective schools. For almost six years she has provided exceptional service, advice and guidance to higher degree students across the University, and as an HLO team member for the School of Communication and Arts, Ms Marsh has been integral in ensuring its students and staff have received the highest quality of positive and proactive support. She represents, and has led by example, the best qualities the University has to offer.

Mr Adam Massingham, Senior ICT Procurement Specialist
ITS

Adam is an unsung hero of ICT Procurement; he exemplifies the qualities and expectations of a UQ employee everyday by going above and beyond in relation to his service provision within UQ. Adam's knowledge of all things UQ in particular procurement and financial processes makes him an invaluable asset to ICT Procurement. The consistent support he provides to the ICT Procurement team, ITS Governance Team and UQ community, in particular with systems support and advice using the recently piloted UQProcure has been integral to beginning to mature the ICT Procurement and Contract Management functions within this system.

Mrs Rebecca McEwen Smith, Office Administrator
Institute for Social Science Research

For years, Rebecca McEwen Smith has been the glue that sticks not just ISSR, but the Long Pocket Precinct together. As the first point of contact, Rebecca has supported and touched the lives of countless students, staff, and visitors. Her service goes beyond the call of duty, making herself available to all, supporting, listening, and guiding for positive outcomes - all with a smile and a laugh. Whoever has been fortunate enough to deal with Rebecca in any shape or form will testify to her unparalleled commitment and care in delivering service excellence to students, staff, and the wider community.

Mr Sean McIntyre, Senior Information Security Analyst
ITS

Sean is the quiet achiever of the CSOC team. If anyone (staff or student) needs assistance He's always the first one to jump in and respond. He always takes his time to actively listen to what has occurred, only asking necessary questions to ensure you are not feeling interrogated.   Sean’s approach to actioning cyber security reports fosters a safe reporting environment that allows individuals to feel comfortable reporting their concerns without feeling ashamed or embarrassed. He is a great role model for the junior & intermediate analyst in his team, he is always willing to share & pass on his knowledge.

Mr Matthew Proctor, Senior Manager, Insurance and Risk
Governance & Risk

Matthew exemplifies excellent service at UQ through his consistent integrity, knowledge sharing, and prompt responsiveness. Matthew's expertise, insights, and best practices are generously shared, benefiting teams and colleagues throughout UQ. Moreover, Matthew goes above and beyond by providing valuable training that enhances the skills of teams across UQ. He ensures matters progress appropriately while considering the right level of risk, further contributing to the university's success and ability to work effectively with our partners. Matthew's exceptional service not only elevates UQ's collaboration with industry partners and collaborators but also strengthens the institution as a whole.

Mr Timothy Sheehan, Research Partnerships Manager
DVCRI

Mr. Timothy Sheehan's contribution to UQ, as our Partnerships Manager, has been nothing short of exemplary. He has demonstrated exceptional proficiency and dedication in managing and executing our contracts with an unmatched attention to detail. Tim's professionalism, combined with his extraordinary negotiation skills, has been instrumental in both nurturing and maintaining pivotal partnerships, thus strengthening UQ's academic and research footprint. His work has not only streamlined operational efficiency but also resulted in substantial cost savings. Much like a bridge, Tim has seamlessly connected UQ with various stakeholders, embodying the spirit of collaboration and service that defines the excellence of UQ.

Mr Zak Williams, Associate Director, Strategic Project Management
Properties & Facilities

Zak Williams has provided outstanding service to UQ by demonstrating strong leadership as the Senior Project Manager during the construction of the Andrew N. Liveris building. Zak has always exemplified high integrity while dealing with UQ internal and external stakeholders, e.g. UQ Properties & Facilities, UQ Org units, architects, the builder, and Project Superintendent. Zak’s sparkling yet courageous personality made sure the real-world construction challenges were thoroughly thought through and resolved to the highest standard. Overall, Zak’s strong leadership made sure UQ received value for money in this project, which is evident from the high-quality build and fit-out of the Liveris building.

Enterprise-Wide Complaints Management System

Until 2023 the University of Queensland (UQ) did not have an Enterprise-Wide Complaints Management System. A group of dedicated staff members guided many others on a 3-year journey to deliver a complaints and appeals system that in excess of 300 trained specialists use every day. The system helps manage a myriad of issues that a large, complex and diverse organisation must deal with on a daily basis. In a UQ first this team has delivered an Enterprise-Wide system that has high level reporting capacity that will enhance its ability to contribute to the delivery of the strategic plan.

• Ms Rowena Bower
• Mr Ken Aberdeen
• Mr Stephen Ross

UQ U21 team

Teresa Winch and Irini Cavalliotis demonstrated exceptional leadership to deliver the 2023 Universitas 21 Annual Network Meeting and Presidential Symposium in April. This three-day event was a unique opportunity to showcase UQ to more than 80 university leaders and researchers from 18 countries. Universities from the 28-member network competitively bid to host this prestigious event each year. This was the first time UQ has hosted since 2004. This event has broadened UQ’s international reach and cemented its standing as a world-leading, research-intensive university. Teresa and Irini demonstrated outstanding project management and communication skills, championing diversity and integrity at every stage.

• Ms Irini Cavalliotis
• Ms Teresa Winch

University of Queensland Biological Resources - Genetic Research Services

Over time, the increasing complexity of genetics and the impacts on the researchers' breeding schemes, has seen the UQBR-Genetic Research Services team excel and provide not only exceedingly high-quality results, but also the expertise and guidance far beyond the scope of what genotyping usually entails. The team is always friendly, highly professional and striving to ensure their processes are reflective of the faith and accuracy their role requires.

• Mrs Leanne Clarke
• Miss Tiana McLaren
• Mr Kheng Wai Sitoh
• Mrs Helen Hargreaves
• Mr Chris Smith
• Ms Kirstin McKenzie

UQCCR Research Support Team

I am pleased to nominate the research support team, Dr Sara Gollschewski (Research Development Manager), Roheen Gill (Research Development Officer) and Sabine Sand (Research Partnership Manager) at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR). This team provides outstanding and significant excellence in service to students and staff within UQCCR and the Faculty of Medicine. They have streamlined resources, strategies and approaches to deliver a cohesive research support program. This self-initiated program of work was delivered to the highest standard. They are approachable, friendly and always willing to help, even after hours always providing a consistently high level of service.

• Dr Sara Gollschewski
• Mrs Roheen Gill
• Ms Sabine Sand

SCIE1000 Online Workshop Redevelopment Team

Olivia Jessop, Sarah Hampson and Liam Timms have demonstrated sustained exceptional high quality workshop teaching in the course SCIE1000: Theory & Practice in Science and have shown an extraordinary commitment to improving the student experience through their efforts to overhaul the design and delivery of SCIE1000 online workshops to ensure a more engaging, accessible and equitable experience for all externally enrolled students. Olivia, Sarah and Liam have made a lasting contribution to advancing approaches to workshop teaching in this course that are empathetic to student needs and innovative in design.

• Miss Olivia Jessop
• Miss Sarah Hampson
• Mr Liam Timms

Gift Administration Team

The Gift Administration team have had an enormous and positive impact on UQ’s Advancement and Community Engagement team and the wider community of donors and philanthropists. This team goes above and beyond to ensure that all gifts that UQ receives, large and small, are directed to maximise donor intent and create true impact for our students and researchers. Without the team’s dedication and careful balancing of internal policy and donor requirements, countless philanthropic gifts to UQ would not be possible. They have successfully shifted institution-wide practices to implement a donor-centric framework, empowering frontline fundraisers to prioritise meaningful relationships with donors.

• Ms Jacqueline Koutsis
• Mrs Carolyn Novello
• Mrs Eileen Zhai
• Ms Jay Lee
• Mrs Nicole Weatherley
• Mr Peter Nolan
• Miss Jesscia Wight

BEL Education Team

Starting university is a critical point in time, both for commencing students and the institutions who support them. Orientation attendance rates of 29% suggested a need for redesign. In response, the BEL Education team took an evidence-based, collaborative approach creating a more caring and welcoming experience for students. Partnering with students and staff, the team has developed a sustainable model, focusing on engaging students, building an inclusive community, and fostering a sense of belonging. Qualitative and quantitative indicators show the redesigned service model provides a significantly enhanced student experience, increased rates of engagement, satisfaction, and opportunities for students to connect.

• Ms Jessica Leonard
• Ms Aliisa Mylonas
• Ms Bec Wood

LD Junctions

Learning Design (LD) Junctions is an institution-wide network of Learning Designers (LDs) collaborating in multimodal ways to enhance the teaching, learning, and assessment experiences for all students and teachers at The University of Queensland (UQ). LD Junctions exemplifies social network theory and a distributed leadership model, breaking down silos and fostering rapid transmission of innovations and expertise. This agile network improves practices and outcomes for academics and students, embodying UQ's values of creativity, inclusivity, and excellence.

• Mr Dominic McGrath
• Ms Aliisa Mylonas
• Ms Belinda Benes
• Dr Charlotte Young
• Mr Chris Frost
• Mr Paul Goldacre
• Ms Marnie Holt
• Mr Sam Harris

UQ Brisbane City Venue Opening Team

The Opening Venue Team of UQ Brisbane City have delivered exceptional service to provide a welcoming environment to enable post graduate teaching; community and government engagement and a unique space in the CBD for Alumni to meet.

• Mr David Parrett
• Mr Ian Eilander
• Mrs Bohanda Gibson
• Ms Jacqueline Wang
• Mrs Bec Malloch
• Mr Ben Hawley
• Mr Rainier Mestido
• Mr John Offenhauser
• Mr Andres Orduz Rueda

UQCCR Facilities Team

UQCCR required replacement of its external building cladding, and rectification of long-standing building issues. With no additional decant space, the Centre juggled people between floors throughout the project, setting up temporary desks in the auditorium, and condensing staff into the workspace available. At any time, up to three floors of the building were closed off. Extensive water damage and mould spread was found early in the project, blowing out timelines for completion. The Facilities Team, led by Dr Maxine Preston, did a fantastic job in assisting people through these challenges, while ensuring that the lab-based research work continued all year.

• Dr Maxine Preston
• Dr Tracey Harvey
• Ms Dominika Butkiewicz

ReMeDE committee, SBMS

Established in early 2021, the ReMeDE (REcruitment, MEntoring, Development and Equity) committee has brought about genuine cultural change in School of Biomedical Sciences (SBMS), creating a productive, engaged, collegial, and healthy workplace. Since its inception, ReMeDE has prioritised exceptional welcoming, onboarding, mentoring, career development, promotion support, and equity within our SBMS staff, and transparent processes for engaging affiliate/honorary/Amplify and external fellows into SBMS activities. The committee's efforts have resulted in tangible improvements in staff development, cohesiveness and wellbeing. This unique UQ team, comprised of diverse and dedicated individuals, includes TF, T&R, RF and professional staff, at all career stages.

• Associate Professor Kylie Tucker
• Dr Sherry Wu
• Dr Julia Pagan
• Associate Professor Kay Colthorpe
• Associate Professor Brad Launikonis
• Dr Charlotte Young
• Associate Professor Karin Borges
• Dr Frederik Steyn
• Mrs Tracey Langfield

Associate Professor Michael Westaway, Associate Professor, Archaeology
School of Social Science

Michael Westaway is an outstanding community-based archaeological researcher, with a highly laudable record of community partnerships to empower Indigenous communities (Dunghatti, Kuarareg and Mithaka) in managing and interpreting their cultural heritage. His partnership with the Mithaka is exemplary: through two ARC Linkage grants, an ARC Discovery grant and a Future Fellowship, he has worked closely with Mithaka representatives in developing best practice models for cultural landscape management and interpretation. In these endeavours A/Prof. Westaway has demonstrated genuine and sustained commitment to fostering a respect and understanding of Indigenous culture and heritage within UQ, and in effectively communicating research outcomes.

Tracey Bunda and Katelyn Barney

Tracey Bunda and Katelyn Barney’s relationship models for all of UQ a strong, mutually beneficial relationship between Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous staff. Tracey (a Ngugi/Wakka Wakka woman) and Katelyn (a non-Indigenous woman) have worked together collaboratively on a number of projects and teaching over the last 5 years demonstrating how Indigenous and non-Indigenous people can work closely and respectfully together. Through this relationship, they have built a collection of innovative resources, grounded in their research and designed to guide and support others to embrace changes into their own practice in a relaxed and non-judgemental manner.

• Professor Tracey Bunda
• Dr Katelyn Barney

"Camps, Cottages, and Homes: A brief history of Indigenous housing in Queensland" Exhibition team

The highly acclaimed “Camps Cottages and Home: A brief history of Indigenous Housing in Queensland” (UQ Anthropology Museum, August 19 – October 28, 2022) was a ground-breaking exploration of housing for Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the twentieth century. The exhibition, and accompanying catalogue (O’Rourke & Mapar, eds), provided important new insights into Queensland’s First Nations histories. A program of community engagement events for indigenous and non-indigenous participants, the scholarly catalogue provided a permanent record of this important exhibition and enabled research findings to be disseminated beyond Brisbane.

• Dr Timothy O'Rourke
• Professor Paul Memmott
• Mr Michael Aird
• Miss Mandana Mapar

Mr Shawn Kelly, Program Coordinator
Student Services

The Blak Market event was designed with many elements to engage an audience both from UQ and wider community. The event kicked off with a panel session, leading into market stalls, food stall and live entertainment. This event was part of a new style and concept to help educate, provide an experience and connect community to a wider sense of belonging to both UQ and Country.

Miss Emma Lane, Brand Advisor
Marketing & Communications

Emma Lane has become the primary contact and brand custodian of the RAP Artwork for all applications across the university including marketing collateral, print and digital assets, merchandise and apparel. She is the first point of contact for all requests and has established trust with the RAP Team to take on the majority of RAP Artwork approvals, only deferring to them in exceptional circumstances. She is a passionate advocate for respectful use of the RAP Artwork and champions the use of the RAP Artwork to reflect the reconciliation activities of the University, University staff and community.

UQ Ventures

Held for the first time in 2022, with support from the QLD government, UQ Ventures delivered the Strong Spirit program, an exceptional initiative for First Nations women to make connections and develop their entrepreneurial and leadership skills. This ground-breaking initiative was developed on the success of UQ Ventures LeadHers program series and in consultation with colleagues from the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Engagement, and Murawin, an indigenous-owned indigenous voice consultancy. The program's unique approach brought together strong leaders from various sectors and marked a significant milestone as the first of its kind to empowering indigenous women.

• Mr Nimrod Klayman
• Mr Jyrah Hodges
• Ms Beth Lawrance
• Ms Olivia Adlard
• Miss Jemma Short
• Ms Jacqui Niblett
• Mr Jason Curtis
• Ms Vennetia Tzanis
• Professor Bronwyn Fredricks

Ms Karen Perkins, Faculty Executive Manager
Faculty of EAIT

Karen Perkins has initiated an exceptional amount of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives in the EAIT Faculty. Karen “makes things happen”; she is a driving force behind the EAIT EDI Committee and its working groups: the EAIT Ally Working Group, the EAIT Women’s Working Group, the EAIT Indigenous Working Group, as well as groups for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse staff and a Disability Inclusion Group. Karen had an instrumental role in formulating EAIT’s Reconciliation Action Plan and is currently working on establishing an Indigenous Garden for the Faculty.

UQ Art Museum Engagement Team

Under Danielle Harvey's leadership, the UQ Art Museum (UQAM) Mediation team is transforming art accessibility through diverse engagement. Their innovative program employs cultural mediation, a pioneering initiative in Australia, enabling all visitors to engage in safe, exploratory conversations and experiences of UQAM exhibitions. D&I principles are woven through their work, with inclusive adjustments for staff and visitors, continuous learning in D&I, and a UQAM-specific Disability Action Plan and Dementia Friendly Audit implementation plan which will shape enhanced building accessibility and art's wider accessibility. Additionally, they host events for significant D&I days, and extend cultural mediation training to regional galleries nationwide.

• Ms Danielle Harvey
• Mr Justin Chen
• Ms Shaneeza Fugurally
• Ms Raluca Ghebosu
• Miss Kealey Watson Griffiths
• Miss Sam Huynh
• Mr Darby Jones
• Ms Isabelle Lawrence
• Dr Carol Masel
• Ms Lucy Milne
• Miss Mansi Miryala
• Miss Hann Ng
• Mrs Alexandra Poiner
• Ms Luisa Randall
• Mrs Samatha Rowe
• Ms Meghan Shannon
• Miss Nikia Tester
• Miss Meseret Vermeer
• Ms Myfanwy Halton
• Miss Jocelyn Flynn

Professor Matthew Davis, Professor
School of Mathematics and Physics

Professor Matthew Davis has demonstrated outstanding and sustained leadership in promoting diversity and inclusion at UQ, culminating in his recent appointment as chair of the School of Mathematics and Physics (SMP) EDI committee. Matthew has been an influential change agent, responsible for the implementation and promotion of initiatives that enhance the experiences of underrepresented students and staff in STEM. Matthew has been a student voice champion and has forged a strategic partnership between SMP and the School of Psychology that will ensure a long-term injection of expertise vital to the continued success and growth of EDI capacity within the School.

Neurodiversity Program

UQ Neurodiversity Hub is the result of a recent collaboration between the Student Advice team and Learning Advisers, underpinned by work done by Students as Partners. The aim of the UQ Neurodiversity Hub is to improve and maintain the well-being of neurodiverse students by supporting them to support each other. The team for the Neurodiverse program delivered 5 different initiatives to support and engage neurodiverse students through transition to university. Throughout the offerings of the program the team were able to engage students prior to orientation and sign post them to opportunities throughout the semester.

• Ms Tania Kapp
• Ms Sara Nest
• Dr Kevan Jones
• Mr Locky Kaye
• Miss Brooke Szucs
• Mrs Aileen Alexander

Ms Beverly Coulter, Senior Lecturer
School of Chemical Engineering

In the 10th year of the Women in Engineering program we recognise the important contribution that Bev has made to the success of our hands on workshops for outreach activities, encouraging more women to consider the diverse careers available in engineering. WE also recognise Bev's continued support of our events with high school students, current engineering students and industry to welcome, connect and support women in engineering. WE thank Bev for her time running tours of the Andrew N. Liveris Building, for many years, and acknowledge her role in 54% of the 2nd year chemical engineering class being women.

Dr Ava Greenwood, Lecturer
School of Mathematics and Physics

Ava is a dedicated lecturer, committed both to her students and the continued development of her supporting staff. She goes above and beyond to promote diversity and inclusion in her school, consistently representing herself as a UQ Ally, and having overseen major inclusivity projects in the School of Maths and Physics, for example in the development of school-wide classroom inclusivity protocols. She includes younger academics in research projects which helps to develop their research identities, providing clear and accessible support to develop their teaching philosophy, and understanding of pedagogical literature.

Dr Pauline Pounds, Associate Professor
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Pauline joined Ally Action Committee this year. She has featured in UQ's promotional media as a leading researcher and transgender woman. She has a major part in SBS's national diversity and equity training video series. Pauline speaks at UQ events such as Wear it Purple Day, Trans Day of Visibility. Her ethics publication "The Montreal Criteria and uterine transplants in transgender women" gives hope to millions of transgender women who would carry their own children. She is founder of OTF, a transgender community with over 180 members worldwide, and the co-founder of 'Marko's Legacy', a philanthropic foundation sponsoring medical treatment.

Associate Professor Jacqui Romero, Associate Professor
School of Mathematics and Physics

Associate Professor Jacqui Romero shows an unwavering commitment to improving EDI. As part of UQ’s Science in Australia Gender Equity team, she led the crafting of UQ’s action plan for flexible working and management of career breaks. Through her advocacy as chair of the SMP EDI committee, SMP launched courageous initiatives which include women-only recruitments and a student-staff partnership project to probe the experience of gender-minority students. She brings people along through mentoring, empowering a network of EDI advocates within SMP and UQ to share the important task of building a welcoming community for everyone.

translatE project

translatE is an innovative and world-leading project that tackles language barriers to promote diversity in science. Since its launch at UQ in 2019, its research and dissemination activities have transformed people’s view of language barriers, and led to a number of positive movements both globally and at UQ to mitigate the consequences of language barriers in science. It demonstrates three of the University’s values, Creativity (its innovative approach to tackling language barriers), Excellence (its publication record), and Respect and inclusivity (its contributions to promoting diversity in science), and has established UQ’s reputation as a global leader in diversity and inclusivity.

• Dr Tatsuya Amano
• Miss Violeta Berdejo-Espinola

SPH EDIC

The School of Public Health is working together to improve the health and wellbeing of populations in a changing and inequitable world. Since inception in 2019, the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee (EDIC) at SPH embodies this vision through its work to create and promote our safe spaces for our broad community. EDIC comprises a unique combination of academic and professional staff, and students from our postgraduate and undergraduate programs. Most members are part of the UQ Ally or Mental Health Champion communities. Individuals recognise their unique circumstances and reflect on the intersectionality of our community to effect significant change.

• Associate Professor Lisa Fitzgerald
• Miss Mikaela Wheeler
• Associate Professor Allyson Mutch
• Dr Yibeltal Alemu
• Dr Victoria (Vee) Sullivan
• XuanXiu (Grace) Toh
• Mr Francis Nona
• Ms Roma Pregarc
• Dr Preetha Thomas

Ms Jacqui Dean, Wellness Consultant
Health, Safety and Wellness

The UQ People @ Work program facilitates a psychosocial risk management process in line with the Managing the Risk of Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2022. This program was piloted in 2021 and has since been rolled out across 13 schools and institutes across UQ, with a further two work areas underway at present (as at June 2023). Jacqui has customised this program for UQ, and led its implementation. The outcomes are assisting UQ in managing identified matters in these local areas, as well as informing an approach more broadly for dealing with work-related psychosocial risks.

AIBN Infrastructure and Safety Team

This dedicated and highly competent team has consistently demonstrated outstanding commitment to ensuring safety within the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) while surpassing compliance requirements. Recognising the importance of creativity and future building, the team developed an innovative solution that fosters a culture of safety, compliance transparency and enhances the laboratory user experience. A web-based, QR-coded, interactive ‘Online Grey Folder’ was created to replace the paper versions required in each certified PC2 laboratory. The implementation has enhanced operational efficiency and was recently praised by the regulator who proposed consideration of this system for all certified facilities at UQ.

• Mrs Kyra Cottrell
• Mr Luke Matthew
• Miss Sophie O'Neill
• Ms Heather Pegg
• Mr Colm Cahill
• Dr Colette Godfrey

Dr Kelly Cosgrove, Senior Manager, Work, Health and Safety
Faculty of Science

Faculty of Science Health, Safety and Wellness Manager, Kelly Cosgrove, led a cross campus project to remove time sensitive chemicals from St Lucia and Gatton Campus. Kelly is an experienced chemist so knew this required immediate attention, was time sensitive and a high priority. Her ability to assess the situation, work with colleagues on the logistics required and provide a detailed communication plan with follow up was essential to the success of the project. Kelly has contributed to the protection of physical health and safety of our staff, students and broader community by actively reducing and eliminating this health and safety risk.

QAEHS GreenStart Team

GreenStart was formed by students and staff at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) to unite the students and staff across the Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence (PACE, i.e., School of Pharmacy and QAEHS) through the learning - and application of - sustainability strategies. GreenStart was guided by the overarching beliefs in the importance of work/life balance and positive, sustainable progress using a ‘grassroots’ approach to workplace engagement. As such, GreenStart embodies a diversity of initiatives, events, and resources that support workplace sustainability and environmental stewardship, foster a sense of community, and promote active and healthy minds and bodies.

• Ms Chun-Yin (Julia) Lin
• Mrs Christina Carswell
• Lily Weir

UQ Work Injury Management Team

The Work Injury Management (WIM) team manages UQ’s workers’ compensation self-insurance licence for all UQ staff. This small but dedicated team receives all claims, determines liability of each claim and manages each claim to ensure the best outcomes for UQ staff. The team’s aim is to ensure the best decisions are made on claims, and high quality management of claims to provide the best care and treatment to staff and if necessary, a rapid, safe and planned return to work. In 2022 WIM underwent the scrutiny of a regulator-led audit achieving excellent outcomes, contributing to the renewal of UQ’s licence.

• Ms Kate Thurbon
• Ms Deb Allen
• Ms Glynnis Richardson
• Mrs Grace Smith

Dr Danila Elango, Supervisor, Work, Health and Safety
QAAFI

Danila Elango has been instrumental in creating and establishing a highly functional Wellness Program at QAAFI. Building a committee comprised of volunteers, Danila has developed a program aimed to engage and support all QAAFI researchers. With a goal to engage and connect with all members of QAAFI. Striving to bring togetherness to an institute which could easily suffer from isolation due to the wide spread of physical locations across multiple campuses and regional sites. Danila’s ambitions and diligence has created a robust program of events and activities which has resulted in vast improvements in connectivity and personal wellbeing at QAAFI.

Dr Sarah McGregor, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences

Sarah investigated and implemented a chemical inventory system which enhances accuracy of chemical inventory records and management of higher risk chemicals. The inventory also permits synthesised chemical information to be recorded and allows the inventory to be searched by molecular structure. Sarah initially implemented this software on a chemical inventory for a research laboratory, which included barcoding chemicals with chemically resistant labels. Sarah has subsequently shared her knowledge on utilising the software with other research groups and the broader Health, Safety and Wellness community.

Dr Kate Smith, Senior Prinicipal Consultant
Health, Safety and Wellness

Dr Kate Smith, UQ Workplace Psychologist, is nominated for her outstanding contributions and exceptional support in providing assistance to employees who are facing challenges in terms of mental well-being, productivity, illness and performance impacts. Kate is consistently displaying an unwavering commitment to promoting the mental well-being of our employees and she is instrumental in offering invaluable support to our HRCP team in managing complicated matters. Kate’s dedication and expertise have made a positive impact on our clients and her compassion and support is highly valued by our team and our clients.

Library test & tag team

To ensure excellent and safe services for all library users, the Library implemented an in-house electrical testing and tagging program, which included creation of a bespoke web application for the documentation, management of testing outcomes, schedules, and compliance reporting. This initiative has contributed to improved compliance with electrical safety guidelines, and will provide increased consistency and cost efficiency in activities necessary to manage electrical safety hazards.

• Mr Rob Bowen
• Mr David de Groot
• Mr Aki Sato
• Mr Jayson Whitely
• Mr Aiden Cattle
• Mr Andrew Martlew
• Ms Lea de Groot

Rural Clinical School - Wellness Ambassadors

Jo Cabot and Jules Bennet are dedicated UQ Wellness Ambassadors working to support the health and wellbeing of regionally based staff and students from the Rural Clinical School in Hervey Bay and other regional sites. Beyond their normal roles, Jo and Jules plan an annual wellbeing program with initiatives to promote social, physical and mental wellbeing. These initiatives help to embed a culture of wellbeing that will serve medical students in their future careers, as well as continuing to promote a healthy place of work and study.

• Ms Joanne Cabot
• Ms Jules Bennet

ANFF-Qld

This dedicated and highly competent team has consistently demonstrated outstanding commitment to ensuring safety within the ANFF-Qld research facility within the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) while surpassing compliance requirements. Recognising the importance of safety awareness, the team developed an innovative safety process that fosters a culture of safety, compliance transparency and enhances laboratory user experience. The hazard identification project involves staff reviewing their work areas and identifying hazards, no matter how small, before they become incidents. This proactive approach is great practice but not everyone does it. It increases safety culture developing awareness in a work environment.

• Mr Anthony Christian
• Dr Sampath Ranasinghe
• Professor Justin Cooper-White

UQ Wellness Program Team

This small, dynamic team packs a punch well above its weight and impacts the positive wellbeing of staff across all campuses. The team leverages external programs and internally driven initiatives to ensure every staff member has the opportunity to participate in programs such as skin, heart and health checks, wellness ambassador program, mental health champion network, mental health first aid scheme, well-being pop-up clinics, regular health challenges, EAP, Fitness passport, monthly newsletters, Wellness Insights, and the roll out of the Alteus well-being app. The team is currently focussing on UQ’s response to identifying and managing psychosocial issues at work.

• Ms Jacqui Dean
• Mrs Rachel Stewart-McLean
• Dr Kate Smith

UQ Workers' Compensation Self-insurance Licence Renewal Project

Staff from across UQ were brought together in 2022 to work on the common goal of obtaining UQ's renewed licence for workers’ compensation. Staff were involved in the planning, preparation and implementation stages of the project and came from central divisions and Faculties, Schools and Institutes, and across campuses. The project involved activities where UQ's performance was measured by external regulators/auditors regarding our OHS systems, claims management systems and rehabilitation processes. The stand-out factor of this project is that it involved a coordinated approach from many different areas of the university, working to a common aim, with a successful outcome.

• Ms Libby Humphries
• Mr Tyson Cronin
• Dr Simon Nevin
• Mr Ryan Anderson
• Dr Cindy Tan
• Mr Chris Pye
• Ms Deb Allen
• Mr Jonathan Read
• Mrs Julita Greda-Tomaszewska
• Ms Kate Thurbon

SMI Yoga and Mindfulness

Danellie and Lynda took the initiative to introduce a yoga and mindfulness program at the Sustainable Minerals Institute, benefiting staff and students alike. With a deep understanding of the power of these practices, they crafted a program that incorporated yoga sessions and mindfulness exercises tailored to the demands of the workplace environment. By creating a serene and inclusive space, they fostered an atmosphere of stress reduction, mental clarity, and enhanced well-being. Participants embraced the opportunity to recharge and find balance during their work day. This inspiring initiative positively impacted the entire SMI community, promoting a mindful work and learning environment.

• Dr Danellie Lynas
• Dr Lynda Lawson

EAIT WHSCs

The EAIT faculty WHSCs produced outstanding results across a broad range of HSW measures in 2022. The not only achieved the best performance against UQ’s 2022 HSW KPI performance, they also excelled with lead HSW indicators and other initiatives.

• Mr Jonathan Read
• Mrs Cindy Mossop
• Ms Steph Lynch
• Ms Katie Gollschewski
• Dr Timothy O'Rourke
• Dr Chris Lilburne
• Ms Shohreh Sabbagh Tabrizi
• Mr Stuart Janson
• Dr Andrea Hernandez Vallejo
• Mr Kelvin Heng
• Mr Andrew Lagrosa

Student and Staff Health Promotion

As part of Queensland Mental Health Week, The Health Promotion Team (Student Services) partnered with the Health, Safety and Wellness Team to create the first ever UQ Wellbeing Festival in October'22. Over 40 activations were run across the Herston, Gatton and St Lucia campuses, in addition to Wellbeing Festival packages sent to 30 of UQ’s regional teaching, research and affiliated locations across Australia. This event showcased UQ’s strong commitment to supporting physical, emotional, social, spiritual, environmental and financial wellbeing of staff and students with a fun and lively program, including panel discussions, internal and external stall holders and engaging activations.

• Ms Kayley Taaffe
• Mr Katsu Shike
• Ms Jacqui Dean
• Ms Kate Bailey
• Mr Matt Parsons
• Mrs Rachel Stewart-Maclean
• Dr Kate Smith

UQCCR Wellbeing Committee

Wellbeing Committee's (WC) nomination highlights their outstanding contributions and achievements in fostering a positive and inclusive work environment. Their initiatives such as the Tea Trolley, Album Club and Gratitude Tree have exceeded normal expectations by promoting employee wellbeing, engagement, and collaboration. The WC has gone above and beyond in their efforts this year, and for context UQCCR has undergone considerable disruption due to COVID and a cladding project. These exceptional efforts have positively impacted morale, created a sense of community and demonstrated a commitment to the University's core values. Their dedication and exceptional results make them deserving recipients of recognition.

• Dr Steve Wallis
• Ms Jennifer Ebbott
• Miss Daner Ball
• Dr Aakanksha Dixit
• Associate Professor Judith Greer
• Mr Kaijie Tang
• Dr Kate Beecher Matthews
• Dr Robert Nona
• Dr Ji Hyun (Julia) Yang
• Ms Tiffany Au
• Dr Amy McCart Reed
• Miss Haarika Chittoory
• Ms Sara Bell
• Dr Tracey Harvey
• Mr Chris Shannon
• Dr Hafiz Abdul-Aziz
• Mrs Lisa Dingwall
• Dr Patty Mitre 

Associate Professor Sean Tweedy, Associate Professor
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences

Sean Tweedy’s 39 year career has been dedicated to empowering people with disabilities to improve their functioning and well-being through physical activity. When Brisbane was announced as host of the 2032 Paralympics he seized the opportunity to enlist the support of UQ’s senior leadership and pursue establishment of a Paralympic Centre of Excellence. His international standing helped secure the single largest government commitment to sports infrastructure for people with disabilities in Australian history. The UQ-based facility will set a world-class benchmark for service delivery and applied research in rehabilitation, para sports performance and skilled workforce development.

Dr Erik Van Oosterom and Ms Sarah Armstrong

Dr. Erik van Oosterom, Academic Director, and Ms. Sarah Armstrong, Operations Manager, Plant Growth Collaborative Research Platform, demonstrated exceptional performance and exemplary leadership following catastrophic flooding that impacted multiple campuses. Their remarkable leadership efforts in flood recovery extended beyond the confines of standard operating procedures, serving as an inspiration to the wider UQ community. By fostering a positive team culture and their dedicated and exemplary efforts, interruptions to existing research projects were minimised. Additionally, state-of-the-art glasshouses and phenotyping facilities were established at Gatton, further enhancing UQ's research capabilities. These leadership achievements have significantly underpinned UQ's research reputation in this field.

• Dr Erik Van Oosterom
• Ms Sarah Armstrong

Professor Ruth Hubbard, Masonic Chair of Geriatric Medicine
Centre for Health Services Research

Change leadership is calling for change; creating direction and a shared purpose; role modelling behaviours; creating space where people can experiment, learn, grow, and make improvements; and then bringing them along to join everything up. This is Prof Ruth Hubbard, a practicing Geriatrician and founder of the Australian Frailty Network. Prof Hubbard is an inspirational leader whose vision is to create sustainable change to improve outcomes for frail patients. Prof Hubbard is driving this vision by embracing a consumer-driven frailty research agenda to address the challenges faced by healthcare systems due to an aging population.

Professor Ryan Ko, Chair & Director, Cyber Security
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Ryan's leadership at UQ Cyber has propelled it to national eminence in just 3.5 years. He is an internationally sought-after figure in cybersecurity, advising governments, addressing academia and shaping curriculum and pedagogies for future cyber professionals, revolutionising the discipline. Ryan leads by example, inspiring his team and attracting top academics and corporate collaborators. He is widely recognised by media for his insights and knowledge. Ryan's impact is undeniable, with exceptional teaching, prestigious appointments, and transformative funding initiatives. He is the epitome of visionary leadership.

Mr Matthew Taylor, Video Production Manager
Media and Communication

Matthew Taylor is a purposeful and remarkable leader, exemplifying excellence as the Video Production Manager at the University of Queensland. Matthew's leadership led to the establishment of a Video Production Team and a purpose-built Production Studio at UQ, significantly enhancing the University's in-house capabilities. Moreover, his commitment to UQ values is evident as he ensures a positive, collaborative, and creative team culture, while delivering high-quality, high-value work for the advancement of the University. Matthew consistently prioritises the best interests of the University and the wellbeing of his team, actively driving change and innovation, building positive culture, and exemplifying UQ values.

UQ SPARK

The UQ SPARK team developed and delivered the SPARK Program, a Training Program designed to develop the industry engagement skills of level B and C academics through interactive workshops facilitated by industry-engaged academics, professional staff, and end-users from Industry. This outcome-focused Program has been extremely well received and helped an initial cohort of 24 academic staff understand academia-industry synergies and opportunities and tailor their own industry engagement strategy. This Program develops academics, who are already proficient researchers, to become adept industry problem-solvers, setting the foundation for a new standard in the research culture of academia-industry interaction at UQ.

• Dr Laura Garcia Carrascosa
• Mr Paul Nicholls
• Mr Tom Court
• Professor Kim Wilkins
• Mr Nimrod Klayman
• Professor Martie-Louise Verreynne
• Professor Mark Western
• Dr Madonna Devaney
• Dr Alisa Becker
• Ms Michelle Claxton

Ms Lara Atzeni, School Manager
School of Mathematics and Physics

This nomination is to recognise Lara’s sustained, excellent contribution to the School, the Faculty and the University as SMP’s School Manager, in particular in the areas of Service, Innovation and Diversity & Inclusion. She has successfully led a diverse team of professional staff, both as a line-manager and as a mentor and advocate for those whom she doesn’t directly supervise.

Professor Karen Benson, Director, Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation
Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation

This nomination recognises Karen, an exemplary leader at the Institute of Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI), for her tireless advocacy for teaching quality and innovative practices. Karen's work, a testament to creativity, courage, and integrity, consistently goes beyond expectations, profoundly impacting the UQ community. Her initiatives, including the facilitation of new pathways into professional learning, the championing of authentic assessment and academic integrity and digital teaching transformation, have considerably enhanced the learning environment at UQ.

Dr Kirat Chand, Research Fellow
Greater Brisbane Clinical School

Dr Kirat Chand is an exceptional researcher with a trajectory to be an exemplary leader. He is a champion of HDR students and ECRs and actively mentors and inspires the cohort in UQ Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR). He demonstrates his leadership across a number of committees at both UQ Centre for Clinical Research and at the Faculty level, with a particular focus on ECRs. He is a genuine, hardworking, ever helping, champion of others who actively mentors and promotes the careers of others. Kirat actively models the UQ values of excellence, integrity and respect and inclusivity. 

Associate Professor Nadeeka Dissanayaka, NHMRC Boosting Dementia Research Fellow
UQ Centre for Clinical Research

Associate Professor Nadeeka Dissanayaka is an exemplary leader demonstrating core UQ values through her actions, which are evident in the research team she leads at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR). Her leadership of key UQ strategically significant projects in core value areas has been critical to the success of these endeavours. Her leadership in Consumer and Community Engagement and striving to make UQ a dementia-friendly workplace is highly commendable. Her core strengths in leading multidisciplinary teams, managing innovative organisational initiatives, strong interpersonal skills and forging collaborations with key external partners have been instrumental in establishing and leading these initiatives.

Dr Aakanksha Dixit, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
UQ Centre for Clinical Research

Dr Aakanksha Dixit is an early career researcher who in spite of her career status, demonstrates strong leadership traits. She models exemplary leadership characteristics in both her research and service contributions and demonstrates a strong desire to mentor and help HDR and ECR students in the Faculty of Medicine. Her academic performance, strong leadership and personal qualities, show Aakanksha’s dedication to achieving a successful and independent academic research career. She is a confident, passionate researcher and a strong asset to the University of Queensland.

Associate Professor Judith Greer, Principal Research Fellow
UQ Centre for Clinical Research

Associate Professor Judith Greer is a highly deserving candidate for the UQ Awards for Excellence. She exemplifies UQ's values of excellence, integrity, respect, and inclusivity, with a particular focus on the HDR and ECR community. Judith displays strong leadership skills and plays a pivotal role in fostering a positive work culture at UQ Centre for Clinical Research. She is passionate about promoting and advocating for new and emerging researchers, showcasing their research strengths and impact to the broader community. Through her active championing and drive, Judith leads various initiatives within UQ Centre for Clinical Research and the Faculty of Medicine, dedicated to both career and personal development.

Mr Daniel Hili, Cyber Security Operations Centre Manager
ITS

Dan is a natural-born leader. Dan is technically talented and spent most of his career ‘on the tools’ before recently moving to management. He leads with understanding, empathy, compassion and knowledge. Dan takes the time to understand each individual employee’s unique strengths, areas of development, and most importantly communication and working styles. He is approachable, level-headed and calm in times of crisis – something particularly unique for a Cyber Security Manager during incidents! He brings the cyber security operations center (CSOC) team together, playing to their strengths, and encouraging them in building relationships with their various stakeholders.

Professor Monika Janda, Director of Centre for Health Services Research
Centre for Health Services Research

Professor Janda exhibits exceptional leadership in her roles as Professor in Behavioural Science and Director at the Centre for Health Services Research (CHSR).  As Director, she led the development of the CHSR strategic plan which aims to develop innovative health service solutions through partnership with communities, researchers, clinicians and government and increase UQ’s research reputation. Professor Janda leads the Australian Centre of Excellence in Melanoma Imaging & Diagnosis (ACEMID) Research Committee which aims to increase digital innovation in melanoma early detection. Professor Janda provided critical leadership for funding schemes, recently awarded as CIA in NHMRC CRE & Synergy grants.

Dr Kate Beecher Matthews, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
UQ Centre for Clinical Research

Dr Kate Beecher Matthews is an outstanding researcher who within a short amount of time as an early career researcher has achieved milestones which would normally take much longer. In her academic capacity she has already published more than 20 papers and she represents ECRs on numerous committees. Kate is the most sociable, reliable and empathetic person who is an excellent communicator and can teach lessons on perseverance. Her never give up attitude and being there for you at all times models the UQ values of excellence, integrity and respect and inclusivity, particularly within the HDR and ECR community.

Dr Cassie Rauert, Research Fellow
QAEHS

Dr Cassie Rauert embodies the qualities of an exemplary leader who supports a positive culture while fostering respect, inclusivity, and excellence. She is extremely approachable and is a supportive mentor to her students, students in our wider group, her team and her colleagues. Cassie exemplifies UQ values by genuinely caring for others, always makes time for her team and colleagues, and makes everyone feel empowered and valued for what they bring to the team. Cassie is a UQ Ally, is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment, and strongly advocates for procedural fairness and equality for UQ’s staff and student community.

Mrs Felicity Ray, School Manager
School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability

Felicity Ray is instrumental in implementing positive change and direction through strategies widely adopted and supported by the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability (AGFS) community. These include workplace culture initiatives and creating service improvements directly impacting the working environment, staff satisfaction, communication and service delivery. Felicity espouses a workplace culture founded on respect and inclusivity. In action this has meant focusing on those areas identified by the School's Pulse survey results and delivering a range of initiatives that support new staff and early career researchers, as well as promoting School culture and cohesion.

Dr Jonah Rimer, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Convenor Post Graduate Cyber Criminology
School of Social Science

Dr Jonah Rimer is nominated for his exemplary performance of duties and leadership of the Postgraduate Cyber Criminology program. From program inception in 2020, Jonah has tirelessly led the development and delivery of foundation and specialist courses in cybercrime, coordinated industry engagement and the supervision of Capstone research projects in the Cyber Criminology Field of Study. The significant increase in student enrolments seen over the last four years and the expanding recognition of UQ Cyber as a centre for Cyber Criminology teaching and research excellence are directly attributable to his determination, perseverance, and professional qualities.

Dr Zoe Rutherford, Senior Research Fellow (Mental Health Evaluation)
Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR) - School of Public Health

Dr Zoe Rutherford has created a new mental health evaluation research program at QCMHR that has initially secured more than $2 million in funding. This research is informing the way that community and clinically based mental health services are supporting mental health treatment, management and recovery statewide. Zoe has since secured the sustainability of the evaluation research program by leading development of a business case to Queensland Health. As a result, Queensland Health have committed recurrent funding to support a core evaluation team at QCMHR, additional to discrete project funding, and commissioned more than 10 new program evaluations from 2023-2027.

Mr Gordon Scott, Senior Manager, Asset Perform & Services
Properties & Facilities

Gordon Scott, a Senior Manager at Properties & Facilities division of UQ, deserves the Award for Excellence. Managing the complex Archibus platform for the Properties & Facilities, he adds new features based on demand, maintains database consistency, and resolves data inconsistencies. With comprehensive knowledge of all Properties & Facilities teams, he creates and distributes numerous reports, leveraging technologies like Tableau, PowerBI, RMarkdown, Shiny, Reactjs, Nextjs and so on. Gordon's unwavering dedication, including responding to emails at all hours and during holidays, sets a leading example for his team. His exceptional contributions have transformed reporting and elevated operational efficiency.

Dr Rahul Sharma, Senior Lecturer
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Dr. Rahul Sharma, a Senior Lecturer at The University of Queensland, has displayed exceptional leadership by establishing Solar F2D2 (now Solaris.ai) through UQ, a company specializing in predictive maintenance for solar farms. The Saas platform developed by his company identifies maintenance flaws and predicts soiling on solar arrays, leading to substantial cost savings and increased energy efficiency. Dr. Sharma's visionary approach and ability to attract significant investment highlight his leadership skills. His contributions have brought transformative outcomes, including financial savings, optimized performance, and a broader push towards renewable energy sustainability.

Associate Professor Peter Simpson, Associate Professor
UQ Centre of Clinical Research

A/Prof Peter Simpson exemplifies exceptional leadership through his contributions to research, teaching, mentoring and service at UQ. His dedication is evident in his outstanding commitment to guiding and supporting undergraduate, honours, post-graduate, MD students as well as staff, especially ECRS and MCRS. A/Prof Peter Simpson generously contribute his time, knowledge and experience as an excellent mentor who fosters positive, inclusive and safe environment for students and researchers to engage. He actively models strong leadership skills that align with UQ core values.

Mr Gary Stefano, Associate Director, Customer Support Services, UQSchoolsNet
ITS

Gary has demonstrated to the entire ITS and anyone he encounters at UQ what true leadership entails. Not only does he engage with everyone in his team, as well as other departments and areas, but he is also constantly seeking ways to develop his staff and empower them to achieve better outcomes. Gary ensures that managers receive the necessary support to accomplish their projects. He maintains regular check-ins while also granting them autonomy, avoiding micromanagement and fostering innovation. He serves as a driving force of positivity, inspiring managers within his team to provide exceptional customer service.

Dr Jake Tickner, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
UQ Centre for Clinical Research

Jake is a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher. He is an emerging research leader, where he dedicates his time to the development of cutting-edge molecular tools to characterise antimicrobial resistant pathogens. In addition, Jake is also an active member of the UQ Centre for Clinical Research Wellness and social committees, where he is passionate about creating a unique sense of community and inclusivity, which has been rated as one of the most appreciated features of working at UQ Centre for Clinical Research. This would not be possible without the hard work of Jake and is the reason for his nomination for the UQ Awards for Excellence in Leadership.

Mr Jan Wisgerhof, Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure and Security
DVCRI

Mr Jan Wisgerhof is the perfect nominee for the UQ Awards for Excellence due to his exceptional leadership, innovative thinking, and commitment to UQ values. He balances forward-thinking with respect for tradition, treats everyone with respect, and fearlessly makes the right decisions, even against popular opinion. His integrity and courage, combined with his ability to foster collaboration and mutual support set him apart as an exceptional leader, making him a deserving candidate for this award.

Business Enhancement

The Business Enhancement team provides leadership in the delivery of system enhancements and service improvements related to student administration. This nomination recognises specific effort in driving innovative solutions with a strong student experience ethos, in delivery of enrolment policy-related changes effective from 2023. Business Enhancement have shown leadership in the design, development, delivery and post-implementation phases of this project work. They have effectively managed requirements gathering and design validation between a range of faculty and central stakeholders across multiple functions. The delivered outcomes are imbued with the UQ Values of Creativity and Excellence, with student experience considerations at the core.

• Mr Mark Badans
• Mrs Diana Velez Velez
• Miss Bih Huey Soon
• Mr Shane Lee

Queensland Brain Institute Advancement

The Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) Advancement team has continually led the way in progressing neuroscience and medical research at The University of Queensland (UQ). The team, led by Andrea Markey, highlight, and support the valuable and excellent research conducted at QBI, from raising the profile of scientists, to holding gala dinners to raise money for ground-breaking research. However, the team have shown outstanding leadership over the past 12 months, shining a spotlight on two anniversaries, and launching an endowment fund which helps QBI’s goal of being recognised as one of the top neuroscience research institutes.

• Ms Andrea Markey
• Dr Lavinia Codd
• Ms Erin Pearl
• Mrs Chrissie Peppin
• Mr Steve Francis

Age Friendly Steering Committee 

As the first southern hemisphere member of the Age Friendly University (AFU) Global Network, UQ embraced the call for a more age-inclusive society in this Decade of Healthy Ageing. The Age Friendly Steering Committee (AFSC) provided the roadmap for the UQ Age Friendly Initiative. In 3 years, the AFSC effected substantial impact via: improving age-inclusive student orientation experiences; guidance to researchers on older participant-focused and/or led enquiry; training in dementia experiences for improved inclusivity; aligning UQ’s Strategic Plan and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion portfolios in a university-wide Age-Friendly Action Plan; strategies to increase intergenerational engagement with alumni and retired staff.

• Professor Nancy Pachana
• Professor Greg Hainge
• Associate Professor Remi Ayoko
• Dr Annette Broome
• Ms Celina Campas
• Dr Bernadette Cochrane
• Associate Professor Marisa Cordella
• Emeritus Professor Fred D'Agostino
• Professor Di Eley
• Professor Craig Franklin
• Ms Sophie Griffiths
• Professor Tim Kastelle
• Professor Lydia Kavanagh
• Associate Professor Elizabeth Krenske
• Dr Jack Lam
• Dr Catherine Lawrence
• Professor Shuang Liu
• Miss Emily McCann
• Aditya Neurgaonkar
• Ms Julie Oates
• Dr Andrea Petriwskyj
• Dr Kate Power
• Miss Amanda Salmon
• Dr Rebekah Scotney
• Dr Lucy Thomas
• Dr Pia Wohland
• Dr Peter Worthy
• Dr Dino Wilcox

UQ Art Museum Sustainability Team

In 2022 UQ Art Museum received carbon neutral certification from the Australian Government’s certifying body Climate Active for the Semester 1 exhibition “Oceanic Thinking”. This was the first time a UQ business unit of any kind had been certified and is also the first time a Queensland-based museum or gallery received certification. It also made UQ Art Museum only the fourth Australian museum or gallery to have an exhibition certified as carbon neutral. This project was led by UQ Art Museum’s Sustainability Team as part of their broader efforts to support sustainable practice within the institution.

• Ms Peta Rake
• Mr Brent Wilson
• Dr Alex Tuite
• Mr Sean Rafferty
• Ms Effie Skoufa-Klesnik
• Ms Isabella Baker

Brooke Szucs

As a student, Brooke co-founded UQU Minorities in Media Society (MiMS), successfully providing a welcoming group for a variety of students, especially queer students with intersecting identities. After graduating, she’s stayed in touch with MiMS about new initiatives to help the Society widen its connections in the University. As a UQ staff member, Brooke has shown leadership above and beyond her position in response to repeated incidents where Ally network posters have been removed from buildings and vandalised around UQ. At personal cost, she has put hours of her own time into visiting affected people and offices to replace missing posters multiple times, and let affected individuals know they are not alone. She continues to encourage others to display support for LGBTQIA+ people, and her direct efforts have led to broader action at the university. Her prompting and ongoing response and outreach have been invaluable in increasing visible support for LGBTQIA+ people. Brooke truly exemplifies the role of a UQ Ally and the purpose of the Network.

Meredith Burgess

Meredith is a staunch Ally and advocate for the rights for transgendered people and LGBTQIA+ people more broadly. Meredith places flags and posters around her workspace, provides a safe space for staff and students to talk about diversity and challenges and educates people who make passive homophobic/transphobic statements even when others are sure "it wasn't meant like that". Meredith's PhD is focused on access to health care for sexual minority women and she continues working in the health care space for better intersectional inclusion of a number of minority peoples. Meredith recently spoke to a large group for IDAHOBIT about biphobia and its relevance in health care and the workplace. She was passionate and persuasive, and the power of her research and work were clear. 

Victoria (Vee) Sullivan

Vee has always been a wonderful active listener, compassionate, enthusiastic and consistently champions LGBTQIA+ inclusion at UQ. She encourages everyone in the First Nations Cancer and Wellbeing Research Program at the School of Public Health to be involved in LGBTQIA+ days of significance, including sending out reminders to attend morning teas or dress up, sharing further information about the day and encouraging others to participate. She’s purchased LGBTQIA+ flags, stickers, lanyards, and all things pride to decorate and share with our team members. Vee has helped drive Pride events at Herston and seeks to ensure that LGBTQIA+ staff feel connected to Pride events by creating space for LGBTQIA+ voices to be amplified for others to learn from.

Aideen McInerney-Leo

Dr Aideen McInerney-Leo is an amazing role model in the UQ Frazer Institute striving to make our workspace a positive and healthy environment. She has helped make the Institute a safe, welcoming and inclusive space for LGBTIAQ+ people, being vocal and public about her support for the LGBTIAQ+ communities. She supports Pride events and Wear It Purple Day every year, wears a pronoun pin, advocates for people, organises workshops and encourages diversity, equity and inclusion wherever she is.  Aideen is the chair of our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee, and has been a UQ Ally since she began at UQ.  

Hayley Chow

Hayley Chow has fostered an inclusive, safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community on their team, faculty and beyond. Hayley is dedicated to ensuring the safety of others by the way they speak up. In doing so, Hayley thoughtfully addresses these issues with empathy and courage. The quiet but consistent impact of Hayley's ongoing work as an Ally, has positively impacted staff who are not out at work.

Professor Katharine Gelber

Ten years ago, Kath Gelber began campaigning for Qld law reform to protect the rights of the donor conceived to gain access to their genetic histories. This involved many meetings with government ministers and experts, coordinating with advocacy organisations, and amending the platform of the Qld ALP to recognise the rights of the donor conceived. In 2022 her advocacy led to the Inquiry into Matters Relating to Donor Conception Information. The Qld government accepted all recommendations of the Inquiry report, giving hope that law reform will soon follow. Recommendations included the establishment of a state register with donor information provided by clinics, and allowing donor conceived people to access identifying information about their donor. Because of Kath’s advocacy, thousands of donor conceived people from LGBTQIA+ families in Australia will have access to their genetic history.

Cara Pearson

Cara passionately and courageously advocates for people who identify as LGBTQIA+. She champions the UQ Ally Network by engaging in activities such as market day stalls, and promoting Ally events throughout the Medical School. Cara is committed to creating a safe environment and is not afraid to call out behaviours that don't align to UQ values to achieve this.  She acts as a role model and inspires those around her to engage in LGBTQIA+ inclusion.  For example, she encouraged Medical School staff to wear their rainbows in solidarity with ACU staff and students, and continuously strives to educate herself and others on inclusive language.  In a short period of time, Cara has created a caring, inclusive and empowering environment for her colleagues.  

Sara Nest 

Sara demonstrates her never wavering commitment to being an Ally and has ensured that the practice in the student advice team is inclusive of diversity and supportive of LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Sara's quiet, but steely determination to ensure that all UQ students are treating with dignity and respect is legendary within the team, and she has passionately advocated in the UQ community for the rights of the LGTBQIA+ community for over a decade. Sara herself is a humble but fierce Ally and her commitment to ensuring all members of the UQ community feel heard, safe and supported have helped to achieve better outcomes for staff and students.

Katsuhiko Shike

Katsu works tirelessly and professionally towards improving the wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ people at UQ and beyond. Notably he is a member of the UQ Ally Action committee, the project lead on UQ's Sexual and Reproductive Health Online Resource, and recently led and launched the ‘For Crying Out Loud’ Campaign. ‘For Crying Out Loud’ is an innovative, primary prevention campaign highlighting the sexual violence and harassment experienced by LGBTQIA+ communities at university, and calls for social change to end this violence. They are also an active member of Out For Australia and involved with the local LGBTQIA+ Brisbane community. Katsu's impact is felt through their gentle, respectful ability to challenge and empower all members of the community to support sexuality, sex and gender diversity. 

Kate Power

Dr Kate Power brought IGALA2023 to UQ through a globally competitive bid, marking its Australian debut as the pinnacle conference in gender, sexuality, and language research. She then secured leading researchers as Keynote Speakers and developed the program in hybrid format with participation by 90 delegates. Showing her commitment to education, she recruited and supervised a team of student volunteers, who also participated in the program, engaging with world-leading research. This conference drew international attention to UQ’s Ally Network, AWEI Gold status, and the Senate Committee for Equity Diversity and Inclusion, and benefited LGBTQIA+ communities by furthering international networks and scholarly knowledge about language-related issues affecting the communities. 

Daniel Chancellor

Daniel has organised and run over 35 events for the Queer Collective this year so far, with 36 planned for this coming semester. He’s worked incredibly hard to engage with groups that don’t typically engage with the Collective, such as helping the international officer translate the Collective’s guides to reach a wider audience. He’s had an amazing impact on the Collective, and it’s been brilliant to see how it’s thrived with his leadership. 

Liam Timms

Liam is a visible and valued Ally in the School of Mathematics and Physics (SMP). In addition to wearing his Ally and pronoun badge, he’s participated in an Ally photoshoot and is committed to furthering dialogue on inclusivity in SMP. In particular, Liam was a key contributor to SMP’s Inclusive Classrooms project developing resources to help students and staff understand their rights and responsibilities to creating inclusive and safe learning and working environments. The project empowers all SMP members to take action if they experience or witness inappropriate behaviour. SMP has distributed the resources on their website and Blackboard. Liam’s work has helped to make UQ’s mathematics and physics spaces more welcoming for LGBTQIA+ people. 

Nina Gardiner

Nina has championed the UQ Pride Hats project for the past 2 years, bringing it to launch in June 2023. These caps and bucket hats are available to the entire UQ community, and help us increase visible and financial support for the LGBTQIA+ community, with 15% of all sales from this range going to the UQ LGBTQIA+ Bursary for students. It is Nina’s dedicated leadership that has brought this to fruition.