Executive Dean’s Message - February 2025

Dear colleagues,

It is always wonderful to see our campuses come back to life after the summer break, with tens of thousands of new and returning students across St Lucia and Gatton ready for a new semester and the opportunity to pursue their career and personal goals.

In the lead up to this week there has been a huge amount of work and commitment from staff across the Faculty of Science, including preparations for O-week, helping students to navigate our campuses and programs, finalising course profile and developing and delivering stimulating curricula and complementary activities. Thank you to each and every one of you.

As part of O-week, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting with our Science Leaders directly after the Faculty of Science welcome events including the BSc/BAdvSc(Hons) Discipline Expo. I was so impressed with this cohort of committed and engaged students who are making a genuine difference to new science students through their guidance and mentorship. I also reflected on the establishment of the Science leaders’ program and how much it has grown over the years, with now more than 90 students participating in this program. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this over the years, with a shout out to Susan Rowland, Louise Kuchel and Aimee Clarke and team.

I am also looking forward to meeting with groups of students at St Lucia and Gatton over the next few weeks to hear about their experiences and ensure we are meeting their expectations.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Elizabeth Krenske (SCMB) who received a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning in the recent Australian Awards for University Teaching event in Canberra. Elizabeth inspires chemistry students to think beyond the laboratory, through an innovative research-led quantum chemistry curriculum that harnesses student-centred pedagogy to foster confident learning.

Congratulations also to David Ascher (SCMB) for being awarded an NHMRC Investigator grant valued at over $2.8M to undertake research into using protein structure to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Events

This week I have been in Canberra attending the Universities Australia Solutions Summit 2025, which brought together leaders from across the sector to discuss current opportunities and challenges in universities. Highlights included:

• Sessions on the power of research to enable effective decision making, potential changes to research funding and AI: Talks included the Kathleen Folbigg story in which genetic evidence demonstrated that she had been wrongfully convicted of murder in 2003 resulting in her being pardoned in 2023. A discussion paper proposing potential changes to the national competitive grant scheme, and several sessions on the promise and perils of AI.
• Sessions on student pathways, student experience and graduate careers: Multiple sessions covering a range of topics including enabling access and success for a broader range of students, leveraging AI to provide customized resources and personalised support for students, the need for coordinated careers advice, forecasting the demand for discipline and employability skills in the future, and (importantly) the value and benefits of a university experience beyond skills development.
• National Press Club Address: Luke Sheehy, CEO of Universities Australia focussed on the current and future opportunities and challenges for the Australian university sector followed by questions from the press. This is worth watching on iView.

It was also great to catch up with previous colleagues from the UQ including Jenny Seddon, Susan Rowland, Neena Mitter, Sarah Roberts-Thompson and Vicki Chen!

Pulse Survey

As we approach the release of the 2025 Pulse Survey on Monday next week, I would like to update you on some of activities that have been initiated in response to the 2024 survey results at the university and faculty level. Please see details at the end of this email. Your Head of School, School Manager or Portfolio lead will be able to provide more information on these initiatives and how they relate to your area of the Faculty of Science.

Opportunities

Each year, the Australian Academy of Science shines a light on researchers who have made outstanding contributions to science and to progressing the advancement of science in Australia by awarding prestigious honorific awards. Nominations are open until the 1 May 2025 for the Academy’s 2026 Honorific Awards.

Other news

International Women’s Day (IWD) is on Saturday 8 March. To celebrate, UQ is holding a week of activities from 3 – 15 March. Register now to attend the keynote address and panel discussion with Sara Shams, a healthcare professional and award-winning diversity and inclusion advocate, or one of the many other events.

Kind regards,

Melissa Brown

Executive Dean – Faculty of Science

Appendix 1: University-level and Faculty of Science and School-level responses to the 2024 Pulse Survey

University-level responses (top three areas of concern)

Unacceptable behaviours in the workplace

• Launched a UQ Psychosocial Health and Safety Master Action Plan and associated resources
• Delivered trauma-informed sexual misconduct training to >270 senior leaders
• Delivered Values-based leadership: Unacceptable behaviour workshops to >200 leaders

Career development

• Deployed the new teaching associate academic category, converting 59 casual staff to continuing roles across UQ
• Provided career development training to 540 staff via UQ Leadership Development programs
• Launched Study for Staff scheme providing access to UQ Graduate certificates for 150 staff

University level change

• Delivered Change leadership education sessions to Heads of School
• Delivered ‘Leading through change and disruption’ masterclass to >200 staff
• Developed tools and communication strategies for major change projects

Faculty of Science including Schools and portfolios (top three areas of concern)

Unacceptable Behaviours in the Workplace

• HR updates: Every fortnight, the HR team provides a deidentified summary of disciplinary matters from the University's complaint management system, Advocate, or directly reported to HR or supervisors. This ensures transparency and confidence in handling these issues, several of which have led to staff departures. Thank you for raising concerns, and please refer to the attached guide on reporting inappropriate behaviour.
• Education and awareness: Training and culture charter development. All Faculty-led committees now include a respect and inclusivity statement in meeting agendas. Supervisors have been encouraged to lead more direct conversations with staff during APDs.
• Integrity Sessions: The Integrity and Investigations Unit has delivered tailored sessions across schools to raise awareness on integrity, ethics, and conflict of interest.

Action to Support the UQ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)

• Indigenous Engagement Manager and Faculty of Science Indigenous Engagement Committee: Shaelene Lake appointed as the Faculty of Science Indigenous Engagement Manager. A Faculty of Science Indigenous Engagement Committee has been established. This committee, co-chaired by Sagadevan Mundree (AGFS) and including colleagues from across our schools, will support the implementation of Indigenous engagement as outlined in UQ’s Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2025-2027.
• An Indigenising the curriculum working group has been established. This committee is chaired by Karyn Johnson (ADA) and includes Deputy ADs from Science, ADAs from across UQ, Directors of T&L in Science School and Student representatives. The committee has made great progress developing principles and pathways for indigenisation of our curriculum.
• UQ-QYAC partnership: In August last year the Faculty of Science hosted a UQ-QYAC workshop with colleagues from the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) and from across the breadth of UQ. This has lead to a list of action and activities, including the drafting of a new Memorandum of Understanding to enable ongoing and new partnerships.

Workload Expectations & Work/Life Balance

• Workload models: A new process for determining and managing academic workload was developed and launched in 2024. All schools participated in this process involving significant consultation with staff.
• Academic program and course reviews: Ongoing academic program reviews and quality assurance programs enable excessive teaching workloads to be reduced by discontinuing non-viable courses and programs. An example of this has been the discontinuation of multiple programs and courses across the Faculty which has reduced academic and professional staff workloads without reducing domestic or international enrolments.
• Workforce planning: Data driven decision making is being used to ensure that replacement of departing academic staff are replaced by appointments in areas of greatest need in order to balance workloads.
• Smart Work Design: Representatives from Health Safety and Wellness and HR are completing a Smart Work Design course with a view to working with professional staff leaders to embed SMART work design principles to ensure efficient and effective work goals and processes.
• Mentoring program: We are currently refreshing the EMCR mentoring program, ScienceLink. More information can be found online.