On Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 May, University of Queensland Press (UQP) is offering UQ staff a 30% discount on all books purchased via their website. Choose from a wide range of award-winning fiction, non-fiction, children’s and poetry titles. Use the code UQSALE at the checkout to redeem the discount.
UQ staff are receiving a higher than usual number of email scams, with many resembling a UQ email address. Stay alert and remember to never click on a link or open an attachment without first verifying the sender’s legitimacy. Read UQ’s email scams guide to learn how to recognise and report email scams.
Don’t forget to nominate a colleague or team in the 2024 UQ Awards for Excellence before midnight on Friday 14 June. The awards celebrate the outstanding achievement and contribution of UQ staff. Recognise the hard work of your colleagues by nominating an individual or team in 1 of 7 award categories.
The new Study for Staff pilot program offers significant staff discounts on a select range of Graduate Certificates at UQ. Available exclusively to UQ staff, this new initiative is tailored to help you advance professionally. Invest in your future and apply now to secure your spot for Semester 2 2024 or Semester 1 2025.
On Thursday 13 June, UQ is offering media training for early- to mid-career researchers. In the 90 minute in-person session led by Lyndal Byford, Director from the Australian Science Media Centre, you’ll learn how the media works, what journalists are looking for and how to confidently handle interviews. Submit an expression of interest to attend the session, being held in the Hawken Engineering Building Learning Theatre at St Lucia.
The UQ Marketing and Communication team is looking for staff volunteers to participate in a photo shoot on Friday 7 June at the St Lucia campus. Images will be depicting general staff on campus for use by marketing and HR. The day will be broken into 4 90-minute sessions to limit the disruption to your workday. Participants will receive a $15 Patina gift certificate.
To help preserve and strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, UQ has created the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ancestral Remains and Significant Cultural Objects Policy, articulating our ethical and legal responsibilities. As an act of restorative justice, repatriation of ancestral remains and significant cultural objects contributes to healing and promotes more dignified relations between Indigenous communities, and collecting and research institutions.
Are you looking for a new furry friend? Two kittens and a pair of working dogs have found their way to UQ VETS at Gatton and are urgently looking for new homes. Kelly the Kelpie and her friend Bingo the cattle dog would love to find a home together. Two sweet male kittens are also both looking for their new family. If you can help these pets in need find forever homes, get in touch with UQ VETS via their Facebook page or phone (5460 1868).
Are you looking for more ways to get involved in sustainability at UQ? UQ Sustainability runs a range of programs and initiatives throughout the year including training sessions to help you reduce waste in your workplace, volunteering opportunities, and the Green Fund to support you to implement new sustainability ideas.
Project idea submissions for Round 4 (Semester 2) Student–Staff Partnership (SSP) projects close on Sunday 16 June. The SSP program empowers students and staff to collaborate on projects to shape teaching and learning, student experience, and governance and strategy at UQ. Visit the SSP website to learn more about the program and to submit your project idea. Sign up for an upcoming information session to learn more about the program and how to submit a project idea.
On Wednesday 15 May, we gathered to watch students and staff take part in UQ’s oldest tradition: the Great Court Race. Congratulations to team UniQuest, who won the staff relay, and to our student winners. Thank you to everyone who came out to support our colleagues and students. You can view an album of photo highlights on the UQ DAM.
At St Lucia, Gatton and Herston campuses last week, UQ staff came together to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) at the Great Rainbow Bake Off. The UQ community put their baking and decorating skills to good use to raise money for the Alumni Pride Scholarship, which supports LGBTQIA+ students to pursue their academic dreams at UQ. UQ has a range of initiatives available to LGBTQIA+ staff and students, including the Ally Network, which you can read about below.
There’s still time to register for a UQ team in 2024 The Push-Up Challenge. Each participant is challenged to complete 3,249 push-ups between Wednesday 5 June and Friday 28 June to raise funds for Lifeline and shine a light on mental health. If you're not a fitness pro, there's also options to complete half the number of push-ups or substitute push-ups for an alternative exercise. You can go solo or sign up as a team of up to 10 staff members. Registrations are now open.
Each May, Queensland marks Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month. This year’s theme is ‘It’s in our control to end coercive control’. UQ is hosting 2 workshops during May to help staff learn about coercive control and help managers support staff who are experiencing domestic and family violence. On Tuesday 28 May, join UQ Life for an LGBTQ movie night for LGBTQ Domestic Violence Awareness Day.
Over the winter break, UQ’s Institute for Modern Language (IML) is offering Winter Survival Courses. Through a 5-week interactive online course, you’ll learn basic conversational skills in a language of your choice with the help of skilled tutors. There are 12 courses on offer, with languages ranging from French and Mandarin to Classical Latin. Registrations are now open, and you’ll pay a discounted ‘early bird’ fee if you book before Monday 27 May.
From Monday 3 June, the desktop recording software Kaltura will be placed in read-only mode. Going forward, the EchoVideo Deep Linking tool will need to be used for embedding new videos in Learn.UQ and for student video submissions. For Semester 2, 2024, all videos hosted in Kaltura will be moved automatically to Echo360 and re-linked to Learn.UQ.
UQ is a Major Partner of the 2024 Brisbane Writers Festival, which is running from Thursday 30 May to Sunday 2 June. All UQ staff and students can receive 10% off Brisbane Writers Festival tickets (excluding the Marion Taylor Gala and festival passes). Use the code UQSTAFF or UQSTUDENT when checking out.
Nominations are now open for the 2024 UQ Awards for Excellence. These annual awards are a great opportunity to recognise the hard work and dedication of your colleagues and give them a chance to take home a monetary prize. There are 7 award categories: community; innovation; service; reconciliation; diversity and inclusion; mental and physical health, safety and wellness; and leadership. Nominations are open until midnight on Friday 14 June.
Expressions of interest (EOIs) are now open to present during Teaching and Learning Week (Monday 28 October – Friday 1 November). The theme for this year is Future Ready. UQ staff are invited to share their knowledge and experiences in line with these 3 sub-themes: UQ’s future student cohorts, preparing students for the future, and shaping UQ’s teaching and learning future. EOIs will close at 9am on Monday 17 June.
As part of UQ’s IT security improvements, ITS has introduced Windows Hello for Business (WHFB). Staff now have the option to enable WHFB's advanced authentication technology to log into their Windows devices. WHFB improves useability, by allowing you to sign into your device using a PIN or biometric data (such as facial or fingerprint recognition) instead of a traditional password.
One outcome of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was the establishment of the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme). The Scheme provides support to people who have experienced child sexual abuse within Australian institutions prior to 2018. To ensure appropriate support is provided to anyone who may have experienced historical child sexual abuse at UQ, the University has voluntarily joined the Scheme. Support can be provided by applying to the Scheme directly.
UQ is implementing a new email security protocol called DMARC (Domain Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), designed to protect you against imposter emails and ensure your messages are delivered without interruptions. If you are an email system owner, applications to have DMARC applied to your system immediately are now open. From late 2024, email services that do not use DMARC will be quarantined and emails sent will be undeliverable.
Did you know UQ has mandatory suppliers for some of our goods and services? Our ‘where to buy’ guide has information about commonly purchased goods and services, like software, printing, custom services and photography. View the guide and learn more about purchasing for UQ on our procurement webpage. You can also subscribe to the UQ finance newsletter Our bottom line to stay informed about procurement and other financial updates.
UQ recently introduced new electronic time sheets via the MyAurion system for HEW 1 to HEW 7 professional staff and professional research staff. The Human Resources team is holding online information sessions throughout May where you can learn more about the new time sheet system. You can also find MyAurion reference guides on the Systems Training Hub.
If injury is impacting your exercise or your ability to play sports, see a sports and exercise physiotherapist at the new UQ Sport and Exercise Injury, Participation and Performance Clinic (UQ-SPRINT). UQ staff and students, as well as their spouses and dependents, receive a 15% discount on clinic fees.
UQ has released The Queensland Commitment Roadmap, detailing 58 strategic actions UQ will take to achieve equitable access to education by 2032. The roadmap clearly defines how we will continue to work in partnership with government, communities and donors to make this a reality. The actions outlined also overlap with the recommendations from the recently announced Australian Universities Accord.
UQ's bullying and harassment prevention and response course supports supervisors to understand their obligations under anti-discrimination, harassment, and anti-bullying legislation. It also outlines how this legislation applies in the workplace and how to effectively respond to discrimination, harassment and bullying. Supervisors can register to attend the next training session, being held at St Lucia on Wednesday 29 May.
Do you want to embed career development and employability opportunities into your course or program? UQ's Career Development team offers a range of face-to-face workshops, online modules, and My Career Adviser, an online flexible career development and employability learning resource. Join a virtual drop-in session on either Tuesday 21 May (1–2pm) or Thursday 13 June (10–11am) to find out more information. Semester 2 requests close on Sunday 16 June.
Entries are now open for this year’s Australasian Green Gown Awards. Sustainability initiatives, from academic courses to operational improvements, are eligible for awards. Categories include environment, climate, social impact, student engagement, and diversity and equity. UQ has a long and proud history with the awards. In 2023, we were a finalist and a winner for 2 projects. Find out more on the Green Gown Awards website or contact the UQ Sustainability team for tips on entering the awards.
Face-to-face training around managing unconscious bias is now available, and you can register on Workday. This new Capstone course will provide you with practical strategies to help you address and manage unconscious bias in workplace decision-making. Staff must complete the online introductory course around unconscious bias before they register for the new Capstone module. The introductory online training can be accessed at any time, and the next face-to-face class will run on Tuesday 21 May.
The UQ Food Drive is now open at our St Lucia campus. Members of the UQ community are invited to donate non-perishable, unopened foods that have a minimum 4-week shelf live. Donated food will directly support the UQ Union’s welfare programs for students experiencing hardship, including Kampus Kitchen and grocery hampers. Donations can be brought to the UQ Union building at St Lucia, opposite the Lolly Shop.
Don’t miss out on ITaLI’s new generative AI workshop series, exploring AI and digital learning practices. These sessions provide insights and interactive experiences to show you how AI can enhance your work and teaching. Multiple sessions of these 3 workshops are being held throughout the year, so you can attend as many as you like.
Registrations for the Ally Workshop 2024 are now open. This workshop, running throughout the year at St Lucia, Gatton and Herston, will qualify you as an official UQ Ally and member of the Ally Network. Develop a basic understanding of LGBTQIA+ issues and knowledge that will assist you in your role as a UQ Ally. The Ally Network provides a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for staff and students.
Volunteer for a UQ research study
Get involved in UQ research by volunteering for a wide range of studies. Your participation may be vital to solving medical mysteries or answering important research questions.