Giving Day is officially over! And what a day it has been. It’s been overwhelming to see how generous and passionate the UQ community is. We’ve now completely beaten our goal and have reached over 1300 donors for causes across the university. Some donations are still being processed, so we’ll come back with a final update in the next 48 hours.
Thank you again to everyone who was involved. Your dedication is inspiring, and you’re all ChangeMakers!
The University of Queensland has continued a stellar year in global rankings, jumping three places in the highly regarded Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.
In a field of almost 1400 research-intensive institutions, UQ is celebrating its move to 66th in the world, maintaining fourth position in Australia.
Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Aidan Byrne said the achievement was gratifying in an increasingly competitive sector.
“I am thrilled to see UQ make a leap in these important rankings and sit comfortably among the top universities in the world,” Professor Byrne said.
“To put this achievement another way, UQ is ranked in the top five per cent of institutions globally.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone at the University, because they have all played a role in this fantastic result.
“It is a testament to the continued hard work of our academic and professional staff who strive to keep UQ’s place among the top world universities despite increasing competition from international institutions.”
The five performance indicators for the 2020 THE World University Rankings were teaching, research, citations, international outlook, and industry income.
“In a challenging funding environment for the sector, a strong performance is of critical importance both to UQ and to the local economy,” Professor Byrne said.
UQ climbed to its highest ever position of 54th globally in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) and moved up to 47th in the 2020 QS World University Rankings.
The University maintained its number one position in Australia in this year’s Nature Index, and was 40th in the National Taiwan University (NTU) Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities.
Media: UQ Communications, communications@uq.edu.au, +64 7 3365 1120.
As UQ’s premier event of the year in New York, the dinner features a panel of renowned Australian and international rugby legends, the awarding of the esteemed Dr Mark Loane AM Medal and raises funds for The University of Queensland in America, Inc. (TUQIA) priorities, the UQ Rugby Club and Play Rugby USA.
This year’s stellar line-up includes ex-Wallaby Captain, Stephen Moore AM, former Wallaby and Fox Sports commentator, Drew Mitchell, former Springbok, Pedrie Wannenburg and former British and Irish Lions player, Tom Court.
Event details:
Date: Thursday 7 November
Time: 6:30pm – 10:00pm
Location: Manhattan Manor, 201 W 52nd St, New York, NY
Cost: Individual ticket US$250; Tables from US$2,300
Details: Ticket includes a three-course dinner, beverages (including premium spirits) and the chance to win fantastic rugby paraphernalia and auction items.
RSVP: By Thursday 31 October 2019
Sponsored Table Offering
Captain’s Table: USD $7,500 (*USD $500 of your overall table cost is tax deductible)
Platinum Table: USD $5,000 (*USD $500 of your overall table cost is tax deductible)
Gold Table: USD $3,500 (*USD $500 of your overall table cost is tax deductible)
Corporate Table: USD $2,300 (*USD $500 of your overall table cost is tax deductible)
Individual Ticket: USD $250 (*USD $50 of your overall table cost is tax deductible)
2019 Panellists
Drew Mitchell (70 Test Caps for the Wallabies)
Brisbane born and bred, Mitchell was educated at St Patrick’s College in Shorncliffe and played his junior rugby for the Pine Rivers Pumas Rugby Union club before going on to play for the University of Queensland Rugby Club.
Mitchell made his international debut for the Wallabies against South Africa in 2005, after being selected off the back of a season with the Queensland Reds in which he scored 11 tries and was named Australia’s rookie of the year.
Mitchell is Australia’s highest try scorer in World Cup history.
Today, Mitchell is a Rugby Commentator at Fox Sports and enjoys running marathons.
Tom Court (32 Caps for Ireland)
Court was born in Brisbane, Australia and began his sporting career as a shot-putter. He was the Australian University Champion for three years running and attended Olympic trials in 2002.
In 2004, Court started playing rugby at The University of Queensland at 24 years of age.
In his first season at UQ, Court went from playing 6th grade to starting in the Premier Grade Grand Final. After a short stint in the New Zealand NPC for Manawatu, Tom returned to Australia and was selected to play for the Queensland Reds only 12 months after his first game.
Court went on to represent the Ireland A side at the 2006 Churchill Cup only 16 months after playing his first game of rugby union.
Court achieved his first international cap for Ireland against Italy in the 2009 Six Nations where Ireland went on to win the tournament and claim the Grand Slam for the first time in 61 years.
Court was named as part of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup Squad in 2011, and played in the Irish 15-6 victory over Australia on 17 September 2011.
In 2013, Court was named in the British and Irish Lions team for their tour of Australia.
Since retiring in 2017, Tom Court has since returned to Australia and is working at The University of Queensland at the Graduate School.
Stephen Moore AM
Moore began his rugby career in Queensland, playing schools rugby for the Rockhampton Pioneers and Brisbane Grammar school prior to joining the University of Queensland Rugby Club, where he went on to represent the Australian under 19s.
He made is Super Rugby debut in 2003 for the Queensland Reds against the Bulls.
Moore first made the Australian Wallabies squad in 2005 where he debuted against Samoa.
In early 2009, Moore moved from Brisbane to Canberra to represent the Brumbies where he played until 2016.
In 2014, Moore was first named captain for the Wallabies squad.
Moore is the only Australian hooker to have played 100 Tests and is Australia’s most capped Super Rugby player of all time.
Since his retirement from rugby, Moore has joined North Australian Pastoral Company as General Manager.
Earlier this year, Moore was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his “significant service to rugby union, and to charitable organisations”.
More speakers to be announced…
On the night, we will be awarding one of the University’s most prestigious sports medals, the Dr Mark Loane AM Medal, to America’s most outstanding high school rugby player.
The funding from Bowness Family Foundation will support research into aphasia – a language and communication disorder that occurs in one-third of all strokes and affects about 120,000 Australians.
The $1 million gift, announced during National Stroke Week, follows an anonymous donation of $500,000 in 2018 and will help fund the first rehabilitation centre in Australia dedicated to aphasia.
The Queensland Aphasia Rehabilitation Centre (QARC) will bring together researchers and clinicians to help treat patients with complex rehabilitation needs.
UQ’s Professor David Copland, Director of QARC, said the funding would unlock much-needed new approaches to aphasia management.
“This generous donation will help us explore more innovative approaches to managing aphasia after stroke,” Professor Copland said.
“This includes new clinical treatments that enhance everyday function, and new ways to predict recovery and determine who needs what type of therapy.
“The QARC team will take a people-centred approach and explore new technologies including the use of brain imaging and computer-based therapies to improve outcomes for stroke survivors.”
Existing treatments for aphasia are highly varied and have unpredictable outcomes.
The condition is often lifelong, and is commonly associated with increased risk of depression and social isolation.
Stroke is one of the country’s biggest killers and a leading cause of disability – with one Australian experiencing a stroke every nine minutes.
More than $5.5 million in philanthropic donations have been pledged to support UQ’s efforts to prevent, treat and beat stroke since UQ’s Not If, when – the Campaign to Create Change launched in 2017.
Construction of QARC is anticipated to be completed by 2020.
UQ’s Professor Neena Mitter said the team from the newly launched $17.5m Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformational Research Hub for Sustainable Crop Protection was building on UQ’s BioClay technology to create a ‘smart’ form of biological crop protection.
“We will be bringing biological-based fungicides to Australian broadacre and horticultural crops, resulting in reduced chemical use, increased crop productivity, and improved sustainability across the supply chain,” she said.
“This technology involves topical application of RNA interference using clay particles as carriers.
“There is no genetic modification and the clay is completely biodegradable.”
Professor Mitter said that meant the BioClay would not result in chemical residues in food or run-off into waterways.
“Globally, an estimated 40 per cent of food grown is lost to crop pests and pathogens.”
She said the fungal pathogens targeted by the Hub were selected in close consultation with Research and Development Corporations and industry partners.
“We will tackle issues such as fungicide resistance or targets where no effective control measures are currently available.”
The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation project involves staff from Australian Institute Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, School of Chemical Engineering and Centre for Policy Futures.
