Executive Dean’s Message - September 2022
Dear colleagues,
It has been nice to have a quieter week this week, with students on mid-semester break and many of our staff taking the opportunity to do the same. I hope that those of you who took a break had a wonderful and well-deserved rest after a very busy first part of Semester 1.
The first half of September was marked by a frenzy of activities, including multiple events and celebrations in UQ Research week. An absolute highlight for me was attending the Jiro Kikkawa Memorial and Awards evening, hosted by the School of Biological Sciences on 14 September. A wonderful combination of tributes to the previous Head of the Department of Zoology, including by one of his PhD graduates, Sonya Clegg, now a Professor at the University of Oxford. This was followed by stimulating research presentations from Craig Franklin and Celine Frere, 3MT-style presentations by honours student prize winners Ilha Byrne and Sandy Hickson, and great company, including members of Jiro Kikkawa’s family. Congratulations to Gurion Ang and Steve Chenoweth and colleagues for a truly inspiring event!
Congratulations
Congratulations to Brooke Williams (SEES) for winning the 2022 Emerging Achiever Science Award in the Women in Technology (WiT) Awards! Congratulations also to finalists in the WiT awards, including Claudia Benham (SEES) (Rising Star Science Award) and Christine Beveridge (BIOL) (Excellence in Science Award).
Congratulations to new ARC DECRA Fellows in the Faculty of Science: Julian Steele (SMP), Andrew Letten (BIOL) and Jessica Harrison (SCMB), and new ARC Future Fellow: Rowan Young (SCMB).
Congratulations to the UQ Vaccine team (SCMB) and Vaxxas for winning a UQ Research Partnerships and Translation award, to Wendy Goodwin (SVS) for winning the Faculty of Science EMCR Industry Engagement award, and to Summa Bibby (SCMB) for winning the People’s choice award in the UQ level 3-minute thesis competition.
New funding for early-mid career women academics with caring responsibilities
I am absolutely delighted to announce two new funding schemes for early-mid career women academics who have caring responsibilities.
The Faculty of Science Parental Leave Return to Work Fund for Academic Women seeks to aid women academics who are relatively early in their careers and who have recently taken or are planning to take parental leave, to progress in their careers.
The Faculty of Science Travel Enabling Scheme for Academic Women seeks to facilitate the career progression of academic women with child-care responsibilities, by providing funding to cover the costs of additional expenses associated with being away from home.
Thank you so much to Rebecca Dunlop and Melissa Fitzgerald for their initiative and leadership of these schemes, and to members of the Faculty Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee and the Faculty Executive committee for their excellent input and feedback.
More information, including guidelines and applications can be found on the designated SharePoint page.
Distribution of disciplines update
I am pleased to report that the Faculty of Science distribution of disciplines project is progressing well and that we will soon be sharing the outcomes of our:
- Review of Environmental science courses and identification of opportunities to remove duplication, address low viability courses and collaborate in teaching, and
- Potential options for structural change, determined by assessing the potential benefits of new schools, relative to existing schools, by considering discipline coverage, scale, staff FTE, student EFTSL, benefits, risks, and viability.
Please look out for an invitation to attend a town hall meeting in mid-October, with opportunities for consultation and feedback.
Head to the Distribution of Disciplines Review SharePoint page for further information and updates on this project.
Have a great October!
Kind regards,
Professor Melissa Brown
Executive Dean - Faculty of Science