President's Message

A Message from the UQPN President

Despite the chill, the University of Queensland Professionals Network (UQPN) maintains its momentum as we enter the latter half of the year. Behind the scenes, the committee and I are diligently planning exciting events for our valued members.

It’s with great pleasure that we recently announced the three winners of our Professional Development Scholarship. After careful consideration, Alison Karsh, Bronwyn Battersby, and Ramya Movva were selected as this year’s successful candidates. Their insights from their chosen professional development programs will be a highlight at this year’s conference.

The Events and Marketing sub-committee has been actively working on events focused on professional growth and networking. In May, we were treated to Brydie Bailey’s (Senior Consultant, Leadership Development, Organisational Culture and Capability) workshop titled “From Mediocre to Memorable: Leveraging the art of business storytelling”. I found this session very relevant to my current job and took away many insights. Bec Vargas (Senior Principal Consultant, Organisational Culture) enlightened us on “Strengths-based strategies: Elevating wellbeing at work” drawing excellent attendance in-person, online, and via satellite sessions from the Herson and Gatton campuses. It was a wonderful opportunity to unite, forge connections, and learn more about our strengths. Last month, Paige Willemse (Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition) presented her very popular session “Moving up HEW levels and applying for jobs at UQ” for the third year running. We are thankful for the generosity of our speakers in sharing their expertise and to our members for their enthusiastic engagement.

Internally, the Committee has implemented strategic changes to enhance our effectiveness and facilitate succession planning. Part of this was aligning the UQPN financial year with UQ. As volunteers, we’re dedicated to the UQPN mission and to serving the community of UQ professional staff. Upholding the long-term stability of UQPN remains a top priority as we forge ahead.

The highlight of our calendar, the Annual Conference, is set for late October. As the most exciting and anticipated event of the year, we’re busy with preparations. Stay tuned for more details to come.

Our LinkedIn profile continues to grow, attracting more followers by the day. If you haven’t connected with us yet, I encourage you to do so to stay informed about thrilling news and upcoming events.

Stay warm and see you at the next UQPN-hosted event! Also, don’t miss the chance to join us at the UQ All Staff Expo happening tomorrow.

Best wishes,
Felicity Engwicht, UQPN President