UQPN Annual Conference 2025

Connected through purpose: Community as a catalyst for change

Registration

Conference registration has closed.

Summary

The UQPN Annual Conference will be held on Thursday, 23 October 2025 (full day program) at the Indooroopilly Golf Club - a beautiful new venue for our conference, close to UQ St Lucia.

This year's theme, Connected through purpose: Community as a catalyst for change, aligns with our focus pillar for 2025, Community and Connection. We’re shaping the conference around how purposeful relationships and shared values can drive personal growth, professional impact, and institutional change. Key themes we’re exploring include:

Building relationships: Creating connections across UQ that can lead to enhanced collaborations, or create future opportunities and share knowledge.
Personal branding: Enhancing visibility and credibility within one’s professional community.
Leadership through connection: How leaders can cultivate inclusive communities and drive change by connecting people to purpose.
Our shared purpose: How the work that you do within the UQ community contributes to equitable access to education and The Queensland Commitment.

Keynote speakers

Dr Terrance Fitzsimmons | The University of Queensland

Dr Fitzsimmons is an Associate Professor in Leadership with the University of Queensland Business School. He is the Managing Director of the Australian Gender Equality Council (AGEC), a body whose members comprise of 26 peak national industry bodies representing 400,000 women across industry sectors in Australia.

In February 2020, he released a report in partnership with the Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency examining leading practices in progressing workplace gender equality in Australia. In 2021, he released the ‘Towards Board Gender Parity’ report with the Australian Institute of Company Directors, examining how Australia became one of only three countries in the world to achieve 36%+ women on their ASX200 boards without recourse to legislated quotas. In July 2022, he released the ‘Experiences of COVID-19: The pandemic and work/life outcomes for Australian men and women.’ Looking at the gender differential experiences of COVID-19 in men and women. He is currently working with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Strong Women for Healthy Country network, as partners through an Australian Research Council Industry Linkage grant, on increasing Indigenous women rangers' representation in environmental and community decision-making.

He has published in the world’s leading journals on the topics of leadership and gender equality, advises many of Australia’s largest firms on issues of diversity and inclusion and speaks regularly in Australia and overseas on gender equality. He has served as national and state presidents of not-for-profit bodies, as well as being a CFO and a director on boards of Listed Public Companies in Australia and overseas. He is currently an Associate Editor of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.

Mikaeli Costello | The University of Queensland

Mikaeli leads the University of Queensland's Alumni and Community Engagement portfolio, overseeing alumni marketing and communications, programming and events, as well as UQ's annual fund and donor relations. Previous to this, Mikaeli held a fundraising role at UQ's Queensland Brain Institute.

In addition to her roles at UQ, Mikaeli has worked extensively in marketing, communications (internal and external), fundraising and stakeholder engagement both within the public and private sectors; nationally and internationally, including WorldSkills International, Dusseldorp Forum and the UK Government.

Shari Bent | Disaster Relief Australia

Shari Bent is the Associate Director of Community Preparedness at Disaster Relief Australia, where she leads national initiatives to strengthen disaster preparedness within communities. With extensive experience in community engagement and volunteer mobilisation, she plays a key role in leading the Big Map program, which helps communities understand risks and prepare for hazards. Drawing on her own lived experience of disaster recovery, Shari works alongside councils, agencies, and communities across Australia to deliver inclusive, community-led resilience initiatives

Supervisor support

We understand it can be challenging to carve out time during the work week, and it’s especially frustrating when you've set time aside but are pulled into other commitments. To help staff engage in this professional development opportunity and gain their supervisor’s support, we’ve included a sample email in the invitation that can be used to request approval.

FAQs

What is the UQPN Conference?
An annual conference hosted by UQPN and organised by the volunteers on the UQPN Committee. This event aims to provide an intensive morning of professional development and networking for members. This is a key event in the UQPN calendar.

Will there be an online option?
No, this is an in-person-only event. An integral part of the conference is the in-person networking and engagement with group activities. Unfortunately, this is not something we have the capacity to replicate in an online or hybrid option.

I am not available on this day. Will you be recording the sessions?
Unfortunately, we do not record the conference sessions. We always ensure to offer relevant and useful content to members, so if you would like to hear more from one of our speakers, please get in touch via uqpn@uq.edu.au and we can add to a future event.

How do I let my supervisor know I want to attend the conference?
To help our members broach this professional development opportunity and gain the support of their supervisor, we have drafted an email you can use to help gain your supervisor's endorsement. Please refer to your personalised invitation to view it.

Who is the Master of Ceremonies (MC) this year?
The MC is Chenoa Masters, Senior Project Manager, Office of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement), and a valued member of the UQ RAP Network.

What is the theme of the conference?
The theme is Connected through purpose: Community as a catalyst for change! Exploring how purposeful relationships and shared values can drive personal growth, professional impact, and institutional change.

I have accessibility and/or dietary requirements. How do I let you know?
Please include any requirements with your registration, and we will do our best to accommodate you on the day.

How much does the conference cost?
To support the delivery of this year’s conference, a non-refundable, non-transferable registration fee of $10 has been introduced (as professional development, this fee is tax-deductible). This nominal fee represents less than 10% of the actual cost per member to host the conference. We hope that this change will help to improve attendance and contribute to the increasing cost of delivering a quality event.

OK, but how much does it cost to host the event??
This year’s conference will cost roughly $100 per person to deliver. This includes the venue hire, catering, activities and marketing costs. Expenses are paid for in part from membership fees but predominantly through UQ funding and support. Please keep this in mind if you have registered and are no longer able to attend. We understand that things happen; however, if we don't get notice to fill your place, it can make for expensive empty seats.

I registered but am no longer able to attend. What do I do?
Please email us at uqpn@uq.edu.au. This is a very popular event, and if we don't know you aren't coming, we can't open the seat for another member. We want to make sure the room is full for the best networking experience possible.

Are tickets to the conference limited?
We’re thrilled to have secured a venue that allows more UQPN members to attend this year’s conference - up to 215 participants! While this is a significant increase from last year’s capacity of 120, spots are still limited due to venue availability. We encourage early registration to avoid missing out.

How do I get to the venue?
Indooroopilly Golf Club is located at 145 Meiers Road, Indooroopilly, Qld 4068 (Map). Ample parking is available at the venue. The St Lucia to Long Pocket shuttle service runs every 30 mins; however, this option would include a short walk (950m) to the Indooroopilly Golf Club down the road from our Long Pocket campus.

Is there parking available?
Ample parking is available at the venue.

Do I need to bring my own snacks and lunch food?
No, your food and beverages during the conference are included with your registration. The optional drinks and networking immediately following the conference is a self-funded activity and isn't included with your registration.

I am not a UQPN member. Can I still attend?
The conference is an exclusive event for UQPN members only. However, if tickets are still available, you are welcome to sign up as a professional staff member and then complete your registration.

The UQPN Committee sounds great. How do I get involved?
Unfortunately, we do not have any openings on the committee at this time. Feel free to note your interest via your preferences in your UQPN Member Profile; we will let you know if a position becomes available.

Contact

If you have any questions, contact our conference committee at uqpn@uq.edu.au.

Venue

Indooroopilly Golf Club
145 Meiers Road, Indooroopilly QLD 4068