Staff updates

From Tuesday 28 January, UQ Union coffee outlets will have a surcharge for disposable coffee cups. Menu prices displayed will be for reusable cups. You can do your part to help save the planet – get prepared and make sure you have your reusable cups ready. For more information, contact the UQ Union at (07) 3377 2200.

Consider giving these animals a home of their own. A selection of cats are currently up for adoption at only $50 each. For more information or to make an appointment, call the UQ VETS Clinical Studies Centre on 5460 1868.

UQ is investing in an on-campus student residence and a health and recreation centre, as well as a new CBD campus.

UQ Fitness Passport is UQ's corporate fitness program. It allows UQ staff and their immediate families to pay one membership fee to receive access to more than 200 pools and fitness facilities. See the website for participating facilities and membership pricing. For more information, contact hsw@uq.edu.au.

Nominations open on Monday 3 February for the 2020 UQ Awards for Excellence, which provide an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of colleagues whose commitment and hard work underpin UQ's continued success. For more information, contact awards@uq.edu.au.

Submissions are invited to the review of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, which will be conducted by the Academic Board during 18–21 May 2020. The terms of reference for the review are available via the Academic Board website. Submissions should be sent to the Review Coordinator at academic.board@uq.edu.au by 13 April 2020.

Professional fixed-term and continuing staff members HEW 1–7 can find the 2020 timesheet online now. This Excel file contains all fortnights for next year. Your flex/VBT balance will roll over to next fortnight automatically. The timesheet has main Queensland public holidays, but any town-specific holidays will need to be entered manually. For more information contact your local HR.

A new year is a great time to start new habits. A resolution to keep better records will bring you multiple benefits in 2020 as a few simple steps now will save time and stress later. Not sure where to start? The Records Management and Advisory Services team can help. For more information, contact uqcentralrecords@uq.edu.au.

The Property and Facilities Division (P&F) has published its fifth edition of P&F News, which will provide an insight into P&F's many services, sustainability efforts and major projects across our campuses. Keep up to date with news and initiatives by reading the latest edition and subscribing to future editions.

Applications to join the TEDxUQ Crew are open! TEDxUQ is an annual event that brings together students, academics, and members of the wider Brisbane community to share innovative ‘ideas worth sharing’. Apply to volunteer with an incredible crew from across UQ, grow your networks, and build professional development skills. For more details, email apply@tedxuq.com.

P&F are working to rectify a blue-green algal bloom at UQ St Lucia’s lakes, and advise staff and students to avoid contact with lake water. Visit the P&F Noticeboard for more information.

The ITS Record Keeping Improvement Project finishes this month, leaving a robust, secure and adaptable system to better safeguard the University’s high-value and high-risk records. This lays the foundation for all business units to continue improving their record-keeping practices.

Looking for a great read now that the holidays are close? UQMedicine is out now with stories from across the Faculty of Medicine. For more information, email med.media@uq.edu.au.

Workplace Diversity and Inclusion are pleased to launch the UQ Staff Disability Travel Fund which provides funding to cover the additional costs associated with disability when staff with disability are travelling for work-related purposes, as per the University Travel Management Policy and other relevant policies.

Throughout the holiday season we tend to travel more, make more online purchases and organise more parcel deliveries, and this creates opportunities for cyber criminals to obtain our personal and payment information. Here are some tips from our cyber security team, to help you avoid the holiday scams.

To assist those who are doing an end-of-year tidy up, and in preparation for the start of the first semester 2020, P&F is supporting our campus clean-up by providing skip bins for the removal of large items between 5–19 February. A reminder email will follow early in the new year with the skip locations.

A new Insurance Coverage and Management of Claims Procedure has replaced the Insurance Coverage Policy. Insurance Services will be closed 13–28 January 2020 – to help us meet your needs during this period, please request assistance as early as possible before the holiday break. For more information, contact Lucy Kenny at l.kenny@uq.edu.au.

For just $20, enjoy a 300g grass fed cape grim rump with chips, house salad, sauce and your choice of drink. Terms & conditions apply. See the website or in-store for more details.

Collaboration among staff from across the University has led to significant improvements in the way UQ manages its knowledge, as part of a project to boost UQ’s record keeping practices. Read more in the article.

Help us understand how digital technologies influence your approach to teaching, or support for teaching. Share your experience and expectations to contribute to the design of services that support you and the teaching you deliver. If you have any questions about the survey, contact Kathleen Smeaton at k.smeaton@library.uq.edu.au.

Effective 26 November 2019, all Student Services information will be available in my.UQ's Student support section. The website content has been rewritten in user-friendly language. It takes student feedback into account and addresses their need to quickly find relevant information on various study and well-being topics. For more information, contact Student Services.

Due to the misuse of antibiotics across the world, an army of superbugs are on the march and they are resistant to our only defence - antibiotics. This five-part series sits down with world-leading experts to tackle antimicrobial resistance from every angle. Listen to Med Talks – Superbug Series, out now.

UQ takes the protection of your personal information and University data very seriously. To safeguard this information, we are introducing a new functionality, called multi-factor authentication (MFA), which adds another layer of security to your UQ username and password.

After a comprehensive review, Information Technology Services (ITS) has created new policies and procedures to help you understand your roles and responsibilities in relation to UQ’s ICT resources. Find out more about the changes and register for the upcoming information seminar.

As part of a strategy to streamline processes and cross charging, from Friday 1 November 2019 ID cards for UQ staff will be issued and replaced free of charge. At this stage, staff will still need to complete the ID card request form to confirm authorised access. Further efficiencies will include embedding the ID card process through the HR system as part of the new on-boarding process.

Earlier in 2019 UQ moved to the latest version of Adobe’s Creative Cloud. From 30 November 2019, old versions of Creative Cloud software (e.g. InDesign, Illustrator and Acrobat Pro) may become inaccessible. If you haven’t already, find out how to install the latest version of Creative Cloud and update your software.

A cyber security website has been launched to increase the availability of information on cyber security – both general and UQ-specific. Find comprehensive yet understandable content on how to recognise cyber security threats and protect yourself from them to stay cyber secure, as well as links to report cyber security incidents.

Credential phishing is an email scam that targets your login details. Learn how to spot a credential phishing scam and protect your sensitive information in this month’s cyber awareness update.

UQ has recently moved from a preferred supplier panel to an approved supplier list. We now have more than 20 approved photography and videography suppliers, giving staff a range of options, both in style and price point. All suppliers must be set up in UniFi for payment, and non-approved suppliers will be blocked. Send requests to add new supplier to brand@uq.edu.au.

Academic promotion recognises our staff's significant contribution to their discipline, our students, the University and the broader community. UQ offers its congratulations to the academics who have been promoted from 2020. View the full list.

In July 2019 UQ launched automated invoice processing, introducing optical character recognition (OCR) technology and changing the way the Accounts Payable team manage processing supplier payments. OCR technology significantly streamlines the payment process, however suppliers are required to meet specific requirements to ensure an efficient payment process.

Learn how to protect yourself online. UQ’s ‘Staff cyber security awareness – Essentials’ training module provides essential information for protecting yourself and the University from cyber threats. All UQ staff are required to complete this training every three years. Optional modules are also available to help further your knowledge. Access the online training >

Business email compromise occurs when an employee receives an email from a senior staff member requesting important documents or payment. Find out how to spot a fraudulent business email, and protect yourself from a potential attack.

An update of the UQ Corporate video is now available. If you currently embed the corporate video on a website, please ensure you are using the Vimeo link. The Vimeo link allows for automatic updating of future changes. If you are responsible for digital screens currently showing the old corporate video, please ensure you update these as well. A research-focused version of the corporate video can also be accessed here: https://vimeo.com/349765740.

UQ's Australian Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCERT) has joined an exciting new initiative that aims to protect the higher education sector from cyber threats, at a time when cyber security attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Get up to scratch with a UQ Sport First Aid and CPR Short Course. Open to all students, staff and public, and taking enrolments all year round – it's never too late to get certified. Click to see upcoming dates and enrol today.

Did you know that emailing multiple support accounts actually increases the time taken to respond to your query? Find out how to contact support teams correctly, to ensure a faster response.

Academic promotion recognises our staff's significant contribution to their discipline, our students, the University and the broader community. UQ offers its congratulations to the academics who have been promoted from 2019. Click to view the 2019 academic promotions.