UQ’s global focus and commitment to addressing global issues are evident in our strategic academic networks:

Group of Eight

UQ is founding member of the Group of Eight (Go8), a leading group of Australian universities that collectively enrols one-third of all university students and conducts 70 per cent of all university research in Australia.

Through our Go8 membership, UQ has international agreements with: 

The China 9 (C9) research universities
C9 includes some of China’s leading research-intensive universities, which have been selected by the Chinese Government to receive intensive funding for investment in world-class research infrastructure and staff. C9 universities are the first choice for the very best Chinese school leavers.

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)

EMBL is Europe’s life sciences research flagship and the highest performing research institution (based on analysis of citation data) outside the United States. The Go8 and EMBL collaborate on the joint award of PhD qualifications in molecular biology. 

The Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH)
The Go8 and CRUCH are committed to cooperating and collaborating in a number of areas including research commercialisation, technology transfer and qualifications recognition.

Universitas 21

UQ is one of only three Australian members of Universitas 21 a select international network of comprehensive, research-intensive universities committed to world-best quality and practice. 

The network’s purpose is to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between the member universities and to create opportunities for them on a scale that would otherwise not be possible, such as student exchanges, research conferences and summer schools.

In 2012, the Universitas 21 Consortium led and engaged in a suite of activities underpinned by its principles of fostering global citizenship and innovation through research-inspired teaching and learning.

Some of the UQ-connected highlights for the year included:

• the strategic development of the International Collaboration on Educational Program of Medicine and Health Sciences;
• the inaugural Universitas 21 workshop for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) n the theme of Energy and Environmental Sustainability;
• the U21 Heads of Administration group workshop on Managing University Finance in Challenging Times; and
• the Lund University Centre for Sustainable Studies (LUCSUS)-initiated water research theme on urban water governance as part of U21’s Water Futures for ‘Sustainable Cities’ project.

The McDonnell International Scholars Academy

The McDonnell International Scholars Academy, one of UQ's most highly engaged partners, provides graduate and professional student from University Partners around the world with an extraordinary experience at Washington University in St. Louis.

A select group of research universities from outside the United States are partners with the McDonnell International Scholars Academy. 

The University of Queensland has agreements, links and relationships with 373 institutional partners in 48 countries. In the United States alone, the University has linkages with 45 institutional partners. 

The Confucius Institute at The University of Queensland was established under an agreement between UQ and the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) in China, and in partnership with Tianjin University, China. 

The Institute promotes the learning of Chinese language at UQ and in the broader community as well as deepening links and collaborative opportunities with China.

Find out who our institutional partners (PDF) are.

The University of Queensland has linkages with world renowned industry bodies including: 

• NASA
• TATA, Leadership with trust
• DOW
• EMBL - European Molecular Biology Laboratory
• Rio Tinto
• Boeing
• Vale

The University of Queensland works together with a  number of global NGO partners to find solutions to the world's biggest problems. Below are some of NGOs we have linkages with:

• UNESCO
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• The Altantic Philanthropies 
• The World Bank
• Global Environment Fund
• Wellcome Trust

The University of Queensland has over 200,000 alumni in 160 countries. The University has alumni networks in Australia, Asia, Europe and the United States. 

Find out more about UQ's Alumni Community.

The Partner Engagement Framework (PEF) measures engagement with international partner universities using indicators related to various aspects of institutional collaboration and linkages.

The framework will allow the University to assess areas of current strength, potential future engagement and where further development is needed to maximise the mutual benefit made possible by these partnerships.

The PEF includes 13 indicators under the broad categories of Learning, Staff and Research:

Data for inclusion in the PEF was compiled in March 2012 and includes 203 partners in priority countries as well as U21 partner institutions. This data will be updated again in late 2013.

Download the full PEF methodology and launch the PEF dashboard (UQ staff only)