VC column: end of year message
By CQUniversity Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Nick Klomp
As we close in on the end of 2023, I have to ask: does it feel like every year just goes by faster and faster? It’s not just you – there is a scientific explanation for it.
According to a recent Harvard research paper, the rate at which we process visual information slows down over time. This gives the illusion of time ‘speeding up’ as we age. So now you know!
As this is my final column for the year, it’s a great opportunity to highlight some of the milestones that CQUniversity has achieved, while offering some insights into what lies ahead in 2024.
This year at CQUniversity, we have again performed well in international rankings, won a number of prestigious awards, established many meaningful partnerships, released some incredibly impactful research findings, and held eight graduation ceremonies with more than 1,000 students crossing the stages across our regions to receive their qualifications.
In March, we officially opened the new School of Mining in Rockhampton. In August, a new national Sesame Central Research and Innovation Hub was launched at our CQIRP facility in Rocky, and just last month we turned the sod on stage one of the planned CQUniversity TAFE Centre of Excellence at the Rockhampton North campus.
Some other notable highlights include ranking number one in Queensland for student satisfaction, number one in the state (and 12th best in the world!) for gender equity in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, and in the top 100 of universities worldwide for addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
This year CQUniversity also saw a refreshed leadership team that has been working incredibly hard to continue driving our University forward, including the development and release of our new Strategic Plan 2024-2028: We Change Lives, which will be rolled out in the new year.
And although I’ve mentioned the Universities Accord ad nauseum this year, it’s an important, once-in-a-generation process that will see major changes brought about to university legislation, policy and funding.
Our hope is that the Accord will bring positive change to the whole university sector, but especially to regional universities like CQUniversity, that play a critical role in cultivating skilled regional workforces, driving applied research, and advancing outcomes for under-represented groups in remote and regional areas.
The consultation process has now finished, and the federal government is finalising the report, which is expected to be released in the coming weeks, so I will bring you more on the that in the new year.
In closing, I would like to wish all of our students, alumni, colleagues, stakeholders, CQ Today readers and the entire Central Queensland community a safe and joyous holiday season and a terrific 2024.
