What's on
May events
UQ Art Museum: ‘These Entanglements: Ecology After Nature’
Until Saturday 14 June
UQ Art Museum’s new exhibition explores petroleum, chemicals, and bacteria have become agents of history. Humanity, or rather the settler-colonial project, has infiltrated every environment on a molecular level, resulting in anthropogenic climate crisis. ‘These Entanglements: Ecology After Nature’ gathers artists from across the globe exploring cross-disciplinary discourses that decentre the human subject.
Community garden workshops: Gatton and St Lucia
Thursday 22 May to Thursday 19 June
Did you know UQ has vibrant community gardens at both St Lucia and Gatton campuses? Join the upcoming workshops in May and June to learn about soil health, composting, growing herbs, and more. Staff, students and community members are all invited to volunteer in the gardens. It's a fantastic opportunity to explore a unique part of UQ, enjoy the outdoors, and gain new gardening skills.
Age-Ed Seminar: Decision-Making Capacity
Thursday 22 May
Do you support an older person or expect to in the future? Or, are you planning for your own future? Join the UQ Law School either in person at St Lucia or via Zoom for a conversation about decision-making capacity. This Age-Ed Seminar features a panel discussion with lawyer Miriam Barber, lawyer and social worker Anne-Louise McCawley, and general practitioner Dr Kimberly Haladyn.
Entangled Kin: Contaminant Conversations
Friday 23 May
Join the UQ Art Museum to hear from leading voices on emerging environmental contaminants: plastics, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and wastewater. Learn from Dr Elvis Okoffo, Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, UQ; Associate Professor Leisa-Maree Toms, School of Public Health and Social Work, QUT; and artist Norton Fredericks.
The Policy Landscape for Marine Interventions in a Changing Climate
Tuesday 27 May
As Australia confronts dual biodiversity and climate crises, nature-based solutions such as ecosystem restoration have emerged as critical strategies for mitigation. However, current regulatory and policy frameworks remain inadequately designed to evaluate and support these vital interventions. In this webinar, Centre for Policy Futures Research Fellow Dr Nicole Shumway will examine the regulatory challenges facing marine and coastal nature-based solutions in Australia through comparative case studies of several restoration initiatives.
Age-Ed: Carers' Café
Tuesday 27 May
Join Age-Ed for the very first ‘Carers’ Café’, a relaxed morning tea designed to bring together members of the UQ community who are care partners for older persons. This is a safe, welcoming space to connect with others who understand the challenges and rewards of being a care partner for an older person. Tea, coffee, and morning tea will be provided. Registration is essential. For further information please email Age-Ed@law.uq.edu.au.
The Mattick Lecture: Scientists in the Courtroom
Wednesday 28 May
In 2023, an Australian mother was released and acquitted after serving 20 years in prison, convicted by a jury of murdering her four young children over a 10-year period. She was convicted based on circumstantial evidence alone, without any physical evidence. She has always maintained that she is innocent. Hear from a group of Danish scientists about how they became involved in an Australian legal inquiry into her convictions and how their research, involving genetics, proteins and calcium signalling, played a central role in the process leading to her acquittal.
The Birth of Portraiture and the Divine
Thursday 29 May
Join Professor Alastair Blanshard as he revisits the birth of portraiture in ancient Greece. Hear the story of how art originally designed to represent images of the immortal gods was transformed to capture the faces of mortal men and women. This special event is presented by UQ Arts and Brisbane Portrait Prize.
Metabolic Scales: Online Reading Group
Thursday 29 May
Join the UQ Art Museum for an online reading group led by Open Spatial Workshop (Terri Bird, Bianca Hester and Scott Mitchell). Across three sessions we will discuss key research texts that either inform or expand on the concerns of their work Metabolic Scales 2022-2025. Open Spatial Workshop will be joined by expert interlocutors to deepen the thinking and discussion. Register to receive access to the readings and Zoom details.
UQ Neuroscience Symposium
Thursday 29 and Friday 30 May
UQ's Queensland Brain Institute and the UQ Faculty of Health, Medicine and Biological Sciences are holding their biennial UQ Neuroscience Symposium in May. Join your neuroscience colleagues from across UQ to hear the latest insights and research in the field.
June events
Orchestral Visions
Sunday 1 June
The University of Queensland Symphony Orchestra invites you to experience Orchestral Visions, an afternoon of bold symphonic storytelling under the baton of Paul Dean, Kinnane Professor of Music, in his highly anticipated debut with the orchestra.
BrisScience: Despots of the bird world
Monday 2 June
Could a native honeyeater really be among the most important threats to our woodland bird communities? In this lecture at the State Library of Queensland, UQ's Professor Martine Maron explores the intriguing world of noisy miners and how their unusual social structure allows them to dominate vast areas of habitat, reshaping entire bird communities.
Emerging cyber threats and the impact on universities
Tuesday 3 June
Join Alastair MacGibbon, Chief Strategy Officer at CyberCX for this informative webinar as he explores how the evolving cyber threat landscape is impacting large institutions, in particular universities, and what it means for their future security.
All Staff Forum
Thursday 5 June
At the first All Staff Forum of the year, join Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry as she shares updates from across UQ, celebrates our achievements, and outlines our focus for the rest of 2025. Join in person at St Lucia; with your colleagues at Gatton, Herston or Dutton Park; or via Zoom.
Hall Annual Lecture
Friday 20 June
Join UQ's School of Social Science for a compelling presentation that explores how research at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania is deepening our understanding of human evolution through an interdisciplinary lens. The lecture will be presented by Dr Jackson Njau, Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Indiana University and Research Associate at the Stone Age Institute.