Executive Dean’s Message - April 2025
Dear colleagues,
I hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Easter break. With a few short weeks in the mix, I hope you found time to rest, recharge and reconnect with family and friends. As we settle back into the rhythm of the semester, I’m looking forward to an exciting few months ahead across the faculty.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Teresa Ubide (SENV) for providing expert advice in a recent interview by the ABC on a volcano eruption in Iceland.
Congratulations to Nigel Perkins (SVS), Sagadevan Mundree (AGFS), Susan Frost (Gatton campus) and many other colleagues from across UQ on being awarded $21.8 million through the SEQ Innovation Economy Fund to upgrade the Queensland Animal Science Precinct (QASP) at Gatton. This funding will transform QASP into a state-of-the-art innovation hub, enabling industry partners to test, trial and scale technologies aimed at strengthening food security.
Congratulations to Julie Baglot (FoS) for being appointed as the SVS Interim School Manager and Ted Simmonds (FoS) for being appointed as the Acting Director of the Gatton Campus whilst Susan Frost is on well-deserved leave.
Congratulations to Steve Barakin, Gatton’s Grounds Supervisor, on his retirement. Steve has helped to maintain the beautiful grounds that make the Gatton campus so special. His leadership, expertise and warmth have made a lasting impact on the university community. We thank Steve for his wonderful contribution and wish him all the best for the next chapter.
New DVCRI
UQ has a new Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation! I am delighted to share that Sue Harrison, Executive Dean of UQ’s Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and IT has been appointed to this role and will commence on the 15th of May. Sue completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge and has extensive leadership experience in roles including being Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Internationalization at The University of Cape Town for 5 years prior to moving to UQ. She has also been a Visiting Professor at MIT, Imperial College London and Astra Zeneca.
Events
On the Tuesday 1 April, UQ welcomed Dr Tim Renick from Georgia State University to speak on the topic of Student success through proactive data-driven engagement. This was an inspiring and timely presentation given the changing landscape of universities and technology and our imperative to enable the success of a diverse cohort of students in alignment with UQ’s Queensland Commitment. The presentation can be watched here.
Increase in students and research
As outlined by the Vice Chancellor a few weeks ago, UQ student enrolments have exceeded expectations following census date for semester 1, 2025. In addition, our past research funding successes have resulted in an uplift in research secondary gains this year.
The Faculty of Science has contributed to this fantastic achievement which reflects the outstanding work of our academic and professional staff across our schools and professional service units. A proportion of the associated increase in revenue will be distributed in the coming weeks to support the impact of additional student numbers and to address some of the consequences of the very constrained budgets over the last few years. Further details will be shared as soon as possible.
2025 Pulse survey results
In more good news, I am delighted to share a summary of the very positive quantitative data arising from the Faculty of Science results from the 2025 UQ Pulse survey. Thanks to everyone in the faculty for their contributions to this outcome!
The highest scores were in response to the following questions: ‘Workplace health and safety is a priority in my organizational unit’ (83 per cent agree), ‘I feel supported by my supervisor’ (83 per cent), ‘My direct supervisor provides helpful feedback on my performance’ (80 per cent agree) and ‘The staff in my organisational unit enact UQ values’ (79 per cent agree).
I was also delighted to see a significant uplift in staff responses across the faculty to almost every question, relative to last year. Highlights include ‘Staff are held accountable for unacceptable behaviours in my organisational unit’ (agree up by 15), ‘My organisational unit demonstrates a commitment to social responsibility’ (up 8), ‘Staff wellbeing is taken seriously in my organizational unit’ (up 8) and ‘I am consulted before decisions that affect me are made’ (up 8).
We still have some work to do in a number of areas however with relatively low scores to several questions, including the response to ‘University-level change is handled well (38 per cent agree), I have confidence in the University Senior Executive Team (41 per cent agree) and ‘I am satisfied with the career development opportunities I can access at UQ’ (53 per cent agree). Action plans to address these and other matters will be developed shortly.
Opportunities
2025 UQ Excellence awards
Nominations are now open for the 2025 UQ Excellence awards. These awards celebrate outstanding contributions our colleagues make to UQ and the broader community. Nominations can be made for individuals or teams across seven award categories: Community, Innovation, Service, Reconciliation, Diversity and Inclusion, Mental and physical health, safety and wellness, and leadership. Nominations are now open and close at 5pm on May 30.
2025 UQ Alumni Awards
Nominations are now open for the 2025 UQ Alumni Awards and we need your help to identify members of our community who have made an outstanding contribution in their fields. These awards are an opportunity to celebrate the impact of our global community of UQ ChangeMakers. Nominations are open until Friday 16 May 2025.
2025 Faculty of Science Awards for Teaching Excellence
Applications are now open for the 2025 Faculty of Science Awards for Teaching Excellence. These awards recognise and reward the significant and outstanding contributions of individuals and teams to teaching and learning within our Faculty. Applications are a two-step process: an expression of interest (EOI) open from Monday 28 April and closing 9am Monday 9 June, followed by a full application which is by invitation only. Successful EOIs will be invited to submit a full application from week commencing 7 July 2025. Download the EOI form and submit by 9am Monday 11 August.
ABC Top 5 residencies
Applications for the ABC Top 5 residencies program are closing on Sunday 4 May 2025. This scheme is designed to nurture the media awareness of our emerging thinkers, to help them contribute to informed debate and communicate their research to a non-academic audience.
Please see additional opportunities in the main section of this newsletter!
Kind regards,
Melissa Brown
Executive Dean – Faculty of Science