Executive Dean’s Message - July 2024
Dear colleagues,
Welcome back to those staff who were able to take a break or attend a conference between Semester 1 and Semester 2. I hope you had a great time and are suitably refreshed for the remainder of the year.
The semester has certainly taken off with a vibrant O-Week program and a busy and engaged first week. Thank you to the many staff and students who contributed to welcome events during O-Week, and lovely to see so many students back on campus, with Market Day once again being a big attractor.
It was also wonderful to see the opening ceremony and commencement of the Paris Olympics over the weekend. Despite the rain, the celebration of an amazing city and exciting event was truly inspiring.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Professor Mark Blows (SENV and Office of the DVCRI), for being appointed as the next Provost of UQ. An outstanding outcome for UQ and much excitement and pride from Mark’s colleagues in Science!
Congratulations to Associate Professor Poh Wah Hillock (SMP) and Associate Professor Jody Peters (SCMB), who have been named as finalists in the Australian Financial Review Higher Education Awards 2024. Poh is in the Teaching and learning excellence category for her project “Transforming First-Year Mathematics: Opening Doors to Success” and Jody is in the Industry engagement category for her work advancing chimeric vaccines and diagnostics for the veterinary field and beyond. Best of luck to both of them!
Congratulations also to Associate Professor Rowland Cobbold (SVS) who has been appointed as the Professional Program Director of Veterinary Medicine at Southern Cross University. Thanks, farewell and good luck to Rowland who has been a fantastic leader, contributor, citizen and colleague.
Congratulations to Elizabeth Scott, for winning the Queensland Training Award: ‘Equity Student of the Year’ in the Darling Downs South-West Regional Finals, held in Kingaroy on 19 July. Lizzy is a recent graduate from the Certificate II program in Animal Care, delivered by UQ Skills. She will now head to the QLD State Training Awards on 7 September at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Events
We have a fantastic schedule of events planned for our Open Day this Sunday 4 August at St Lucia and then on 18 August at Gatton. Thanks so much for all the hard work our Marketing, Communications and Future Students team has done to prepare for and promote these events and a big thank you also to our dedicated academic staff and science student ambassadors who will be volunteering their time on the day to meet and inspire potential students and their families.
It was wonderful to attend the Faculty of Science 3MT Final last Wednesday, I am always impressed by the exceptional talent our students display in these competitions and acknowledge how hard it is to communicate years of work in just three minutes. Well done to everyone who made it to the Science final and best of luck to those heading to the Wildcard event and UQ Finals later this year.
I’m looking forward to next Monday 5 August when UQ will host Mr Cameron Costello and other representatives from the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) to discuss the renewal of our Memorandum of Understanding and explore ways in which we can continue to enhance our engagement with one another. Please let me know if you are interested in attending.
Other news
I’m pleased to confirm that the Faculty of Science finalised and submitted the Bachelor of Science Review submission last week. The submission is a delight to read, full of unique insights and interesting data. Congratulations to the team (Karyn Johnson, Lydia Kavanagh, Louise Kuchel, Gurion Ang, Robyn Allsopp and Chantel Veldhoen) who have been working non-stop to pull everything together, and a big thanks to everyone who contributed throughout the consultation process. You can access the Faculty Submission to the BSc Review on our Faculty intranet. The panel will undertake their review between the 26 and 29 August. You should have received an invitation to come and hear the recommendations of the review panel from 2-3pm on Thursday 29 August in 42-216.
UQ has reopened the Career Progression for Women Program, which is a UQ professional development aimed at supporting Level C Academic women and non-binary people to develop their leadership and networking skills and strengthen their future promotion application.
The Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation and the Queensland Chief Scientist have launched the Future Queensland Science Strategy 2024 – 2029.
Kind regards,
Professor Melissa Brown
Executive Dean - Faculty of Science