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USQ
April-May 2015
USQ profile special
featuring
- Prof de la Harpe
- Prof Karstadt
- Dr Yusaf
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Students, family and staff celebrate Toowoomba’s first
ceremonies
It was a sea of black robes and mortarboards as the graduates
came from across the country and overseas as they processed,
grinning and waving proudly during the first of USQ Toowoomba’s
graduation ceremonies held at the Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre.
Health and Community and Sciences led the way in the first of four
ceremonies which shifted this year to a Friday. Valedictorian Lucy
Galea encouraged her fellow graduates to continue to shine in her
address, watched on by more than 440 graduating students. Young
Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Queensland CEO Kate Tully was
the morning ceremony’s guest speaker and Dr Stephen Brown, CEO of
the Queensland Education Institute, delivered the key address at the
Education Graduation Ceremony in the afternoon.
USQ Toowoomba autumn graduations end with
celebration
Previous page: Goondiwindi family Matthew Lane,
Christine Border and children Oscar and Bronte Lane
Top: (L to R) USQ Vice-Chancellor and President
Professor Jan Thomas, Laura Fischer, Wendy Olsen,
Taylah Brackin, Verity Thorburn, Nicole McMahon, Rachel
Spies and USQ Chancellor John Dornbusch
Left: Jozef Borja-Erece at just 18 years became USQ’s
youngest graduate with a Bachelor degreee
Right: Andrew Atkinson (valedictorian); Bernie-Anne King;
Patrick F Taylor
Thousands of family and friends looked on, cheered and applauded
as more than 500 Business, IT, Law, Creative Arts, Engineering, and
Humanities students were welcomed as USQ alumni at the University’s
graduation ceremony on April17.
Among those who graduated was USQ’s youngest Bachelor graduate,
Jozef Borja-Erece who at 18 years of age pipped the previous record by a
few months.
Toowoomba identity Mr John Minz, Chief Executive Officer of Heritage
Bank Limited, gave the graduation address at the morning ceremony
while Dr Janson Yap, Innovation Leader for Deloitte Southeast Asia
encouraged students to change ideas and opinions in the afternoon
ceremony presentation.
USQ students graduate in Kuala Lumpur
More than 180 overseas students celebrated the successful completion
of their studies at USQ’s Malaysian Graduation Ceremony held in March.
USQ Chancellor Mr John Dornbusch and Vice-Chancellor and President
Professor Jan Thomas were on hand to congratulate the graduates
in Kuala Lumpur. Professor Thomas said the USQ community was
multicultural, stretching across many international borders.
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3
Freedom of speech and
the role of universities
By Jan Thomas
A few weeks ago at a university in
Sydney a small group of protesters
noisily interrupted a speaker that
the pro-Palestinian group believed
to be pro-Israeli. Leaving the
specific politics aside, the incident
has generated significant debate
about freedom of speech and the
role of universities in supporting
public debate. Does one group
have the right to attempt to silence
another that they disagree with?
How should universities act in
relation to public debate?
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Professor Jan Thomas has been sharing her
thoughts on various topics on LinkedIn Pulse
which is available to any person with a LinkedIn
account
In response to the first question,
rigorous public debate is an
essential part of a rigorous
democracy. If we disagree with
another, our aim should be
to convince them rather than
to suppress them. There are
boundaries in that this should, of
course, occur within the accepted
moral and legal framework of our
society and the debate should
be based on fact. Hence, I do
not support the right for people
to preach hate or to promote
ideas based on generalisations
or untruths, for example. So
freedom of speech does not mean
open slather, it must be couched
within a framework of individual
responsibility As to the role that
universities should play in public
debate: serving as a critique for
society has been a key role for
universities for centuries. And in
this context the same rules apply:
the debate must be conducted
within the accepted moral
and legal framework and the
arguments must be solidly based.
In this regard it is important to
appreciate that universities are
places where people learn how to
think and not what to think.
The key to maintaining a
rigorous democracy is not to
breed sameness but to enable
a diversity of ideas, perspectives
and viewpoints to harmoniously
co-exist. Sometimes public debate
will take us to places that many
of us would rather not go. But
ultimately this will make our
democracy stronger so long as the
process is sound, the participants
are responsible and mutual
respect is maintained.
Never miss a post
and follow the
Vice-Chancellor
on LinkedIn Pulse
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HES Executive Dean has big plans at USQ
Professor Lyn Karstadt
has brought a wealth
of leadership skill and
experience to her role as
USQ’s Executive Dean for
Health, Engineering and
Sciences (HES).
Since November 2013, she
has led the HES Faculty which
is comprised of six schools:
Agricultural, Computation and
Environmental Sciences; Civil
Engineering and Surveying;
Health and Wellbeing;
Mechanical and Electrical
Engineering; Nursing and
Midwifery; and Psychology
and Counselling.
Professor Karstadt has more
than 20 years’ leadership
experience in Higher
Education administration
and management, and her
teaching and research profile
is known internationally
across a wide academic
discipline.
She came to USQ from
the United Kingdom – a
move that presented a few
obstacles.
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“I have to say that my
biggest challenge in moving
to Toowoomba was fitting
everything I needed into two
standard suitcases.”
Now fully settled, Professor
Karstadt said she was
enjoying her time in
Toowoomba and at the
University.
“USQ is a vibrant community
that I want to support,”
Professor Karstadt said.
“Everyone works together to
give the students the best
possible experience. I am
keen to enhance this and
to enhance the concept of
community.”
Looking ahead, Professor
Karstadt has short, medium
and long term goals.
“I am working with the
individual Heads of School
to grow student numbers
generally,” she said.
“I am particularly keen
to grow the on campus
undergraduate provision in
Health and Engineering and
hope that the acquisition
of the Ipswich campus will
enhance this aspiration.
“I am particularly keen to
grow the number of offshore
PhD students - a venture
which has already begun in
both Malaysia and Sri Lanka.”
On a personal note,
Professor Karstadt hopes to
coax her family to join her
down under.
“My family are still in the UK
which has been a stabilising
influence,” she said.
“I do constantly endeavour
to balance their needs with
my own and am hopeful that
they will join me here in the
longer term.”
Whilst providing considerable
input into the future direction
of UH, Professor Karstadt
also brought an innovative
and entrepreneurial
management style to her
Faculty, which resulted in
fiscal and reputational gain
for the University.
Her personal philosophy
is that students should be
in the centre of everything
that we do, with educational
excellence celebrated in
an innovative, creative and
professional atmosphere.
Prior to her commencement
at USQ, Professor Karstadt
was the Associate Director
of International Health
Developments at the
University of Hertfordshire
(UH). Before this she was
Operational Dean of the
UH Faculty of Health and
Human Sciences (similar in
size to USQ’s, consisting of six
academic Schools).
Professor Lyn Karstadt, Executive Dean, Faculty of
Health, Engineering and Sciences
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BELA Executive Dean to hit milestone with a smile
This May marks 12 months
since Professor Barbara de
la Harpe started as USQ’s
Executive Dean of the Faculty
of Business, Education, Law
and Arts (BELA).
Moving from Melbourne to
Toowoomba, she couldn’t
be happier with her job, the
people she works with and
her new city.
“It is so striking after 12
years in a capital city of four
million people, how beautiful
and green Toowoomba is,
how clean and tidy it is, how
easy it is to get around, and
how friendly and helpful the
people are,” she said
“I grew up in a large regional
town so this feels like coming
home to me.
“I have not missed a thing
yet (not even the Melbourne
coffee). For me, Toowoomba
has it all.”
Professor Barbara de la Harpe, Executive Dean,
Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
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Professor de la Harpe
has been involved in the
education sector for over 20
years holding a number of
senior leadership positions at
the Royal Melbourne Institute
of Technology (RMIT) since
2001.
As BELA Executive Dean, she
coordinates its six schools:
Arts and Communications;
Commerce, Law and
Justice; Linguistics, Adult
and Specialist Education;
Management and Enterprise;
and Teacher Education and
Early Childhood.
Previously Professor de la
Harpe was Acting Pro Vice
Chancellor and Vice President
at RMIT’s College of Design
and Social Context. Prior
to taking up the role, she
was Deputy PVC (Learning
and Teaching) and Dean
(Academic Development).
Professor de la Harpe said
her focus at USQ was to
provide strategic direction,
including leadership and
management, to maximise
the BELA’s contribution to
achieving the University’s
vision of personalised
learning, focused research,
and enriched communities
and engaged enterprise.
“This requires the
development of a
constructive, collaborative
and innovative culture
across the Faculty, as well as
staying connected to and cooperating with appropriate
professional and industry
organisations, community
services, and government
bodies locally, nationally and
internationally,” she said.
“Most important is achieving
and maintaining a high
performing and cohesive
Faculty, including a vibrant,
relevant and viable academic
program portfolio; high
quality teaching; and
applied research that makes
a difference locally and
internationally.
“From July 2013 USQ moved
to a new organisational
structure. So part of my
initial focus has been on
contributing to the bedding
down of the new Faculty and
School structure as part of
the USQ Academic Division.
“In the longer term, it is
very exciting to be part of
a growing enterprise like
USQ that prepares students,
through lifelong learning, to
be global professionals for
the contemporary world and
to contribute to research that
makes a difference in our
community.”
With an extensive teaching,
research and publications’
record and the winner of
numerous national funding
grants, Professor de la Harpe
has been acknowledged
by the Higher Education
Research and Development
Society of Australasia
(HERDSA) as a leader in the
field of Higher Education
curriculum and pedagogy.
Professor de la Harpe’s
contribution has been
recognised also through
various awards including
the Walter D Neal Medal
for Excellence in Research,
an Australian College of
Education Prize for Excellence
in Teaching and a Citation for
Outstanding Contribution to
Student Learning.
“In the longer term, it is very exciting to be part of a
growing enterprise like USQ that prepares students,
through lifelong learning, to be global professionals for the
contemporary world and to contribute to research that
makes a difference in our community.”
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Spotlight on USQ International ‘s
Dr Talal Yusaf
Each morning Talal Yusaf
farewells his four young
children and busy GP wife
to oversee the education of
thousands of students from
around the world.
As the Executive Director
of USQ International and
Development, Dr Yusaf is a
very busy man.
“It’s a big job, and challenging
at times, but I enjoy it very
much,” Dr Yusaf said.
USQ is a proud multicultural
community and endeavours
to provide all international
students with opportunities
to further their education.
And that dedication has
resulted in more than 3000
international students
attending the University this
year.
Dr Yusaf said there were
many reasons why people
choose to study at USQ.
“It provides international
experience and intercultural
skills in addition to quality
education,” he said.
fluent in English, Arabic and
Malaysian.
“USQ is a multicultural
university with over 90
different nationalities making
up the student community.
In the last five years Dr Yusaf
has placed USQ on the
International horizon through
his contact with Ministries,
Embassies, Cultural
Attachés and International
Associations.
“Our international students
have their very own Student
Relationship Officer for
support such as answering
any questions they might
have.”
Dr Yusaf has a long history
with the University, going
back to his time as a
Mechanical Engineering
Research Fellow in 2001.
His career has taken him
around the world with
previous positions in
Malaysia, Middle East and the
United Kingdom. Dr Yusaf
has also written or co-written
more than 140 journal
articles, books/book chapters,
and conference papers.
His language skills come in
handy as USQ International
Executive Director - he is
“As a product, the number of
international higher degree
research (HDR) students
from ME and Malaysia has
increased significantly,” he
said.
“Recently I have organised
high level delegation
meetings led by Malaysia
General Director of Ministry
of Education Dato’ Professor
Dr Asma Ismail with USQ
senior management.
the International student
cohort at USQ, and develop
a greater understanding
and awareness of cultural
differences around the world.
“USQ currently has students
worldwide enrolled in its
programs,” Dr Yusaf said.
“The development team
has been actively seeking
to identify institutions and
cities the world over to
partner with, to meet the
overall vision goal of USQ of
developing local communities
of excellence.
“I foresee great things ahead.”
“This engagement will
enhance the relationship
USQ currently enjoys with
Malaysian universities.”
Looking ahead, Dr Yusaf
said the University’s ongoing strategy is to diversify
Dr Talal Yusaf, Executive Director, USQ
International and Development
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USQ Annual Report
USQ Bookcase
2014 stats at a glance
Student details
Student Headcount
compared to 2013
Up 758
28,095 vs 27,337
Commencing students
compared to 2013
Up 1031
The first round of writers
appearing at USQ Bookcase
2015 has been announced.
Architecture and Building(93)
Non-award (371)
Mixed Field (54)
Society and Culture
(3232)
Creative Arts (2716)
Natural and Physical
Sciences (1493)
Student
headcount
Education (5686)
Management and
Commerce (6897)
Engineering and Related
Technologies (4467)
Information
Technology
(1121)
12,326 vs 11,295
Health (1965)
Financial details
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First round of presenters announced for Revenue
compared to 2013
Profit
compared to 2013
Up
$30,922,000
Up
$20,309,000
$307,647,000 vs
$276,725,000
$47,528,000 vs
$27,219,000
You can find the full Annual Report here
Three immensely successful
and talented USQ alumnae
– award-winning children’s
book author and illustrator
Narelle Oliver, criticallyacclaimed romance novelist
Kylie Kaden and best-selling
fantasy author Kylie Chan –
will head the line-up for the
University’s annual writers’
festival at USQ Toowoomba
on Saturday 18 and Sunday
19 July.
USQ Vice-Chancellor
Professor Jan Thomas said
she was delighted to be
bringing the University’s best
authors and writers together
to share their stories and
ideas with the community.
“Over the years USQ has
produced a number of
wonderfully talented authors
and writers – many of whom
are award winners,” Professor
Thomas said.
“Whether you’re a writer
or a book lover, there is
nothing like meeting and
hearing about the journey of
a successful author who has
poured their heart and soul
into telling a story.
“That’s why we are so proud
that our alumni are only
too happy to return to USQ
and share their knowledge,
skills and expertise with our
community.”
With less than two months
to go, this year’s program
is shaping up to deliver a
diverse array of stimulating
and engaging workshops and
discussions with some of the
University’s most celebrated
authors and writers.
From romance novels
to poetry, memoir, short
stories, travel, journalism,
blogging and everything in
between, the festival will offer
something for avid writers
and readers of all ages.
The musically inclined will
also have the opportunity
to learn from the best with
ARIA nominee and APRA
award-winning songwriter
Mark Scholtes, who wrote
and produced the music
for USQ’s latest marketing
campaign, presenting a song
writing workshop.
This year there’ll also be great
prizes on offer including
iPads and a weekend for
two at the Sunshine Coast
provided by the Central
Apartment Group.
Early Bird registrations will
be open from June 1 when
the full presenter list and
entire range of feature
events, workshops, panels
and launches will be unveiled.
Attendees are advised not to
wait until July to register for
workshops as last year many
were filled to capacity.
The festival is open to the
general public and will run
from 9.30am to 4pm on both
days. Entry is $5 per person,
with children under 12 free.
To ensure you don’t miss
the latest information and
the opportunity to enter
competitions stay tuned to
the USQ Bookcase website or
join the Facebook event page.
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USQ boards
Precision Agriculture Flagship
USQ’s position as a leading
agricultural research centre
was confirmed through its
affiliation with the Regional
Universities Network (RUN)
Precision Agriculture Flagship
project.
The flagship is the first of its
kind in Australia signalling
the importance of precision
agriculture in delivering
environmental, economic and
social benefits to regional
communities throughout
Australia.
“Through our work in
practical sensing, and control
and automation of farming
operations, USQ has long
recognised the importance
of precision agriculture,”
Professor Steven Raine,
Executive Director of USQ’s
Institute for Agriculture and
the Environment, said.
“We are delighted to be part
of the Precision Agriculture
Flagship project which
complements USQ’s Future
Farm research to transform
Australian agriculture through
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the application of robotic
and automation technologies
integrated with big-data
analytics.”
to develop new machine
automation and control
systems that improve
agricultural productivity.
Future Farm, which is
currently being evaluated
by the Federal Government,
is a multi-million dollar
proposal that USQ has
developed in collaboration
with the Grains Research
Development Corporation
(GRDC), the Cotton Research
Development Corporation
(CRDC) and Australia’s CSIRO
and seven other university
and state-government
partners.
Initially, the RUN Precision
Agriculture Flagship will
establish and fund eight
PhD scholarships to be
cross-supervised by USQ in
conjunction with the three
other flagship members,
Central Queensland
University, Federation
University and the University
of New England.
“Future Farm is all about
delivering technologies that
increase farm productivity,
reduce costs and enable
better management of
production and business
risks.”
USQ’s agricultural research
footprint has also been
valued by global agricultural
equipment and services
provider, John Deere through
a collaborative partnership
The flagship initiative was
launched by Federal Minister
for Agriculture, the Hon
Barnaby Joyce MP, as part
of the RUN Regional Futures
Australia initiative.
Professor Steve Raine , Executive Director,
Institute for Agriculture and the Environment
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The nation’s humanities experts joined
USQ for Network launch
USQ recently hosted the
Australasian Consortium
of Humanities Research
Centre (ACHRC) workshop
‘Humanities in the Regions
Workshop: Building Capacity
Through Connectivity and
Knowledge’ which brought
together academics from
across the country.
USQ Vice-Chancellor and
President Professor Jan
Thomas officially opened the
event.
“More than 60 researchers
participated in the workshop
with a variety of speakers
from every state in Australia,”
she said.
“That included
representatives from almost
every non-metropolitan
university in the country.
“Events such as these
are about fostering
strong partnerships and
collaborations in the interests
of enhancing regional
research.”
Professor Robert Mason (USQ), Professor Jan
Thomas (Vice-Chancellor), Associate Professor
Robert Phiddian (Flinders University) and Dr Jane
Mummery (Federation University) at the
Humanities in the Regions Workshop held recently
at USQ
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USQ’s Institute for Resilient
Regions is a member
organisation of the
Consortium.
Council for Humanities, Arts
and Social Sciences.”
USQ Senior Lecturer (History)
and ACHRC board member
Dr Robert Mason said the
workshop was designed
to build research capacity,
connectivity and institutional
knowledge for humanities
research in the regions.
Dr Mason said the event
formally launched the
‘Humanities in Regions
Network’.
“It featured presentations
on practical aspects of
working on humanitiesprojects from the regions,
expertise in collaboration and
grant writing partnerships,
and workshops aimed
at generating research
outcomes,” he said.
“We welcomed a number of
keynote speakers, including
the University of South
Australia’s Research and
Education Dean, Professor
Susannah Radstone.
“Another keynote, the
Director of the Centre for
Social Transformation at the
University of Wollongong,
Professor Ian Buchanan, has
been sponsored by the
He will be co-chair of the
new initiative with Dr Jane
Mummery of Federation
University Australia.
“Humanities in the Regions
is a member initiative of the
ACHRC and is a network
dedicated to promoting
humanities-based research in
regional Australia,” Dr Mason
said. “The network will hold
annual events to support
collaborative research across
institutions; advocate for
humanities-based research
and researchers in regional
areas; and engage with
communities to communicate
the value and impact of this
kind of research.
“This is about working
together to get the best
outcomes for researchers
and local communities.”
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USQ
Feb - Mar 2014
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