The Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) is pleased to announce that The University of Queensland (UQ) has joined the network.
WUN warmly welcomes President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry AC and UQ colleagues to the network.
UQ is one of Australia’s leading teaching and research universities. More than 57,000 current students—including around 21,000 international students from 141 countries—currently study across 4 campuses in South-East Queensland.
The University’s five faculties, eight globally recognised research institutes, and more than 100 research centres attract an interdisciplinary community of around 2,500 scientists, social scientists, and engineers. This is reflected in UQ being the number one recipient of Australian Research Council Fellowships Awards nationally.
“On behalf of WUN, I’m pleased to welcome The University of Queensland. UQ brings new strengths to the partnership, enlarging the opportunities for collaboration on the major research challenges that WUN is so well-equipped to address,” Executive Director Peter Lennie said.
Professor Terry thanked WUN for welcoming UQ, saying the partnership opens new opportunities for researchers, students, and staff to connect with global expertise.
“Collaboration on an international scale is essential to driving innovation, advancing knowledge, and delivering research with real-world impact,” Professor Terry said.
“By connecting with leading institutions across the globe, we can amplify our collective efforts to foster the next generation of research leaders and drive innovation that benefits communities worldwide.”
UQ’s research strengths—ranging from energy transitions and sustainability to integrated health and medicine—align closely with WUN’s key focus areas.
In March, UQ announced it was designing nanotechnology that researchers believe could improve the way aggressive breast cancer is treated. Professor Chengzhong (Michael) Yu and the team at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) are developing novel nanoparticles that could dramatically increase the effectiveness of immunotherapies when treating triple-negative breast cancer.
Eight UQ researchers also recently secured more than $3.6 million in Australian Government funding to develop research and commercialisation in nationally significant areas. Recipients include Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) Research Fellow Dr Juliana Segura-Salazar, whose work addresses global sustainability challenges associated with sand supply and conventional mineral waste management.
Several long-standing partnerships exist between UQ and WUN members including Tecnológico de Monterrey, the University of Alberta, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. With the University of Exeter, UQ also leads the QUEX Institute to boost research relating to global sustainability and wellbeing.