Staff updates
News, events and updates from and for UQ staff. Submit your news item.The Flexible Work Policy is now available via the UQ Policy and Procedures Library (PPL). The Policy outlines the options available to staff and provides guidance to managers responding to flexible work requests. Under the new Policy, staff can make requests for flexible work in 3 categories – to reduce working hours, to change workdays, or to request to work from home. Following wide-ranging staff consultation, the previous ‘Telecommuting Procedure’ and ‘Job Sharing Guidelines’ will be rescinded and removed from the PPL. Flexible work applications can be made via Workday under the ‘My Flexible Work’ menu. If you have any questions, contact AskHR on (07) 3365 2623 or at askhr@uq.edu.au.
UQ’s updated Disability Action Plan 2023–2025 is now available. The new Plan includes a range of important commitments related to achieving best practice accessibility, making changes to our physical and digital environments, attracting talent, and nurturing a culture that is supportive of people with disabilities, as well as those who care for them. The implementation of the Plan will be vital to advancing UQ’s goal of becoming a truly inclusive, supportive, and accessible place for both students and staff.
Explore more news, events, calls for volunteers, staff deals, and other updates from around UQ...
This year, as members of Pride in Diversity, UQ is participating in the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) Employee Survey. This is a national benchmarking study that allows us to assess our progress with the inclusion of people with diverse sexualities and genders. The results also help us to compare our progress with that of other workplaces across Australia. Employees of all genders and sexualities are encouraged to participate in this anonymous survey.
UQ Sport will be running a Kids Holiday Camp from Tuesday 11 – Friday 14 April from 9am to 3pm with aftercare available from 3:30pm to 5pm. The Kids Holiday Camp is an opportunity for kids to stay fit and have fun during the holidays, giving them the opportunity to participate in a range of different sports and activities including tennis, cricket, soccer, campus walks and more. Registrations close on Wednesday 5 April – register soon so you don’t miss out.
Ventures LeadHers Online is open to women of all backgrounds and experience levels who are students, staff or recent alumni. The program supports participants to become more confident in their leadership capabilities while exploring common challenges faced by leaders throughout their career. Applications close at 12pm on Thursday 20 April.
Applications are now open for the next UQ Ventures Startup AdVenture in Singapore. The Ventures Singapore Startup AdVenture this June is an opportunity for UQ students to learn first-hand about founding, investing, and growing an early-stage business from innovative startup communities. Encourage your students to apply before Friday 14 April.
Small acts of sustainability can add up to big impacts, and that’s exactly what the UQ Green Fund is for. The fund helps UQ staff and students bring their sustainability ideas to life, and 2023 applications are now open. Past projects include an innovation to reduce single-use plastic in labs, 2 new community garden spaces, and a workshop that recycled old mugs into desktop plant holders. Not sure if your idea is the right fit? Read more at the link below and contact UQ Sustainability for a chat.
Human Resources at UQ is announcing the launch of the new Workday Benefits Dashboard. Bringing together helpful information on leave options, discounts, recognition/rewards, benefits and wellbeing, the new Workday Benefits Dashboard showcases services and opportunities that are available to UQ staff in an easy-to-use centralised platform. To explore the available offerings, either click the ‘My Benefits’ tab via ‘Menu’ in the top left corner of your Workday home page, or click ‘View All Apps’ underneath the ‘Quick Tasks’ list.
Want to make your classroom more sustainable this semester? UQ Sustainability offers ideas for teachers from all disciplines who are thinking creatively about sustainable studies, from inviting sustainability practitioners into the classroom to embedding sustainability case studies into your content.
The UQ Researcher Development Team is proud to be participating in the EURAXESS international program, which promotes collaboration and support between researchers in the European Research Area (ERA) and EURAXESS Global countries. Participate as a mentor or mentee (early-career researcher) in this 6-month program.
New advice from ATAGI recommends that adults aged 18–64 consider a 2023 booster dose if their last COVID-19 vaccine dose or confirmed infection (whichever is the most recent) was 6 months ago or longer. Staff and students can continue to book their free COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters with UQ Health Care St Lucia or Annerley, or to find a vaccine clinic closer to their location.
The UQ Recognition and Reward Framework is an important part of recognising our people and celebrating our achievements and performance. An easy informal way to recognise and reward a colleague or team member is with an immediate sincere and personalised appreciation of their efforts, such as a verbal or written thank you. The new Thank You Cards, available on the UQ Digital Asset Manager, are an easy way to say thank you. The cards can be printed for a handwritten message or filled out electronically and emailed.
Do you have students who might be interested in completing the UQ Sustainability Award? Requiring 100 volunteering hours, the award recognises student achievements and efforts in the sustainability space and can be an excellent addition to a resume. Participation is best planned from the start of semester.
There has been a recent increase in reports of swooping birds on campus. It has been identified that a family of opportunistic crows are swooping on people eating outside of Duhig North, Duhig Tower and the surrounding pathways. Please take care in this area and follow the safety advice to protect yourself.
The restoration of the Avalon Theatre will commence this week. The new theatre, which is expected to reopen in early 2024, will include 2 modern performance spaces, complete with state-of-the-art technology and tiered retractable and adjustable seating. Our web page provides further information on the project, including renders of the new theatre, and a brief overview of its history.
UQ’s 2023 Read and Publish agreements are now available. These agreements support open access publishing for UQ authors on selected titles from a range of publishers. UQ authors can publish research articles as open access in these journals more easily because of negotiations made with publishers by the Library in collaboration with the Council of Australian University Librarians.
Submissions are invited to the review of the School of Economics, which will be conducted by the Academic Board between Monday 22 and Thursday 25 May. The terms of reference for the review are available via the Academic Board website. Submissions should be sent to the Review Coordinator at uqreviews@uq.edu.au by Monday 17 April.
Submissions are invited to the review of the School of Education, which will be conducted by the Academic Board from 8–11 May 2023. The terms of reference for the review are available via the Academic Board website. Submissions should be sent to the Review Coordinator at uqreviews@uq.edu.au by Monday 3 April.
Want to find out about the latest research discoveries at UQ? Stay up to date by subscribing to the new Research newsletter. Each month, the most compelling findings will be delivered straight to your inbox, so you can see exactly what our experts are up to before they appear on TV or in the newspaper.
You may have heard soft plastic collection has recently been suspended at major supermarkets. Fortunately, UQ’s soft plastic collection is unaffected. Staff and students are encouraged to continue recycling soft plastic via existing procedures. For staff, this means using the soft plastics bin in your office or logging a waste request in Archibus. Get more information on the UQ Sustainability site.