Dear staff,
With the Semester 1 exam period ending last Saturday, it’s now noticeably quieter across our campuses – and that will continue over the next few weeks, through to the start of Mid-year Graduations on Monday 8 July, and then Semester 2 O-Week, which begins on Monday 15 July.
But despite the current lull in campus activity, there’s still been a steady stream of great news from across the UQ community recently.
Celebrating a Queensland Great
A couple of weeks ago, Emeritus Professor Peter Andrews AO was named a Queensland Great for his role in helping to foster our state’s knowledge economy.
Emeritus Professor Andrews was the founding Co-Director of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) from 2000 to 2003, when it was established as UQ’s first research institute – and he subsequently served as Queensland’s inaugural Chief Scientist from 2003 to 2010.
This is a particularly significant accolade because it celebrates the extraordinary contributions that Peter, alongside some of his pioneering UQ colleagues, made to establishing Queensland’s now thriving biotechnology sector.
Order of Australia Awards
The broad scope and impact of the UQ community across Australian society was on full display, once again, with the release of the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours list, early last week.
Among the prominent award recipients from the UQ community were: Ms Vanessa Elliott AM (an Industry Fellow with the UQ Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining); Emeritus Professor Ron Weber AM (a former UQ staff member); and Emeritus Professor Michael Pender AM (a former Director of the UQ Neuroimmunology Research Centre, and the UQ Multiple Sclerosis Research Centre).
I’d like to convey my sincere congratulations to the more than 30 UQ staff, alumni, and friends who were recognised with Awards and thank them for their outstanding service.
Looking ahead to Brisbane 2032
On Tuesday night we officially launched UQ’s new Office of 2032 Games Engagement with an event at GOMA for our partners from across government, industry, and sporting bodies.
Led by Professor Bruce Abernethy AM, this new Office will be the central point of coordination for all of UQ’s Games-related activities and partnerships in the lead up to hosting the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.
And they’re off to Paris 2024
While we’re on the topic of the Games, I’d like to congratulate the 9 UQ students and community members who have now confirmed their place in the Australian team that will compete in Paris.
UQ students Elizabeth Dekkers and Thomas Neill have secured their spots in the Australian Dolphins Olympic Swim Squad, following their strong performances in the Australian Swimming Trials held in Brisbane last week. In addition, Abby Andrews and Gabi Palm have been selected as members of the Aussie Stingers women's water polo team, and Maddison Keeney will represent Australia in diving at the Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, UQ students Lakeisha Patterson OAM and Rachael Watson, UQ alum Brenden Hall, and UQ Swim Club member Jack Ireland are also heading to Paris as members of the Australian Paralympic swimming team.
I’m sure we will all be cheering them on over the coming months.
Warwick Solar Farm
And on a final note, I wanted to let you know that we have commenced a market review to consider the possible divestment of the Warwick Solar Farm. This work is being led by the Chief Operating Officer portfolio.
Renewable options were limited when UQ decided to build the solar farm in 2018, and although it is capable of generating more energy than UQ consumes, we still need to purchase power when it’s not generating. While storage options remain expensive, market advances now provide an opportunity to achieve our 100% renewable energy target.
No decision on divestment will be made until a detailed assessment has been prepared and a final report considered by Senate. This is likely to occur towards the end of this year. In the meantime, the farm will continue to operate as usual.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the week.
With best wishes
Debbie
