Staff updates

Expressions of interest for a media training session for early- to mid-career researchers close this Friday 26 July. This one-hour session will be hosted by UQ’s Marketing and Communication team on Wednesday 31 July at St Lucia. Come along to learn how the media works, what journalists are looking for and how to confidently handle interviews.

Submissions are invited to the review of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit (ATSISU)/Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement), which will be conducted by the Academic Board from Monday 2 to Thursday 5 September. The terms of reference for the review are available on the Academic Board website. Submissions should be sent to the review coordinator at org.reviews@uq.edu.au by Monday 29 July.

As a UQ staff member, you have access to many great discounts and benefits. When you travel on non-work trips, you can now take advantage of exclusive new discounts on airfares for Singapore Airlines and Air Canada flights.

UQ’s Institute of Modern Languages (IML) is offering online and face-to-face courses to staff, students and the community in Semester 2. Starting in late July, the courses are designed for beginner learners of languages from Spanish and Mandarin to Classical Latin.

Throughout July, UQ Wellness and the School of Public Health are running an awareness campaign around vaping and its potential health risks. Get involved by completing a survey to help the team understand the UQ community’s views on vaping. You can also register to attend an expert panel event on Friday 26 July.

If you use Learn.UQ (Blackboard), take some time to review and declutter your course site in preparation for Semester 2. Cleaning up your course site should make it easier for you, your teaching team and your students to use and manage. The eLearning team has put together a decluttering checklist with tips to help you.

The UQ buying community is encouraged to recognise the significant value that engaging Indigenous suppliers adds to the University. A new webpage on engaging with Indigenous suppliers at UQ has been launched this week, which includes new resources for staff.

Motor Active is a children's physical activity program run by third-year UQ clinical exercise physiology students. The program aims to improve foundational motor skills in a fun, unique, non-threatening and inclusive environment, focusing on motor development and the ongoing improvement of physical, social and cognitive wellbeing.

Academic staff are invited to participate in an anonymous survey conducted by an ARC project team based at the UQ Business School and School of Psychology. The survey is an opportunity to share experiences of performance appraisal processes at UQ, particularly metric-based performance data. Please note the research team is an independent group of researchers, and this study is not being undertaken at the request of the University.

The Microsoft 365 student mailbox migration is now complete. This transition means that from Monday 8 July, students will have expanded access to tools like OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, OneNote, and Forms. Due to the migration, staff and students now share the same Microsoft 365 environment. While there is no direct impact to staff, these changes will affect your digital presence at UQ.

A draft of UQ’s inaugural Disability Inclusion Research and Innovation Plan is now open for consultation. The Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) has gathered feedback via a survey and focus groups and now it’s your chance to have a say. The Plan will launch in September during Research and Innovation Week.

If you use Learn.UQ (Blackboard), you can preview the latest version of Blackboard courses by emailing the e-learning help team to request an Ultra Course preview site. The preview site is not accessible to students, so you can explore Blackboard's new functionality in a test environment.

Cool weather means more warm drinks! If you’re getting a takeaway beverage to heat up your winter mornings, don’t forget to bring your own cup. Many cafes on campus offer discounts for BYO cups – read UQ Sustainability's updated list.

Teaching staff can visit the new Library Digital Learning Hub to find modules, guides, videos and interactive content for courses. These resources can help students with research, referencing and learning digital skills.

UQ is implementing a new email security protocol called DMARC (Domain Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), designed to protect you against imposter emails and ensure your messages are delivered without interruptions. If you are an email system owner, applications to have DMARC applied to your system immediately are now open. From late 2024, email services that do not use DMARC will be quarantined and emails sent will be undeliverable.

A new admissions system is coming. In October, StudyLink will replace UQ’s current domestic and international admissions systems. Find out more about this exciting project on the Admissions Reimagined and Transformed project page.