Dear QAAS Companions, Honorary Fellows, Fellows and Members
I hope the year has started well for you all.
Your Academy has been very busy these last few months on a number of projects.
COVID_19 Round Tables: I have mentioned previously that we planned to convene a series of Round Tables early in 2023 on the topic ‘How should we manage the next pandemic?’. I’m pleased to say that two Round Tables were convened in late February and early March with 19 participants identified from various sectors, industries, backgrounds, educational institutions, states, etc. We were true to the mission of the Academy, namely,
· ‘To provide educational forums for the discussion of issues of major public policy interest to Australia’, and
· ‘To facilitate interaction among disciplines, thereby helping to further those pursuits which benefit Australian society and the broader international community.’
Under the expert moderation of QAAS Fellows Prof Hugh Possingham and The Honourable Justice Sarah Derrington, the participants engaged in a lively, evidence-based and in-depth discussion of how we should manage the next pandemic. Also attending were seven scholars from The University of Queensland’s Liveris Academy who are compiling the report from the two Round Tables under the guidance and supervision of a QAAS-led Editorial Committee. Our plan is to disseminate an e-publication from the Round Tables, and I look to you, our QAAS members, to circulate the report to your contacts, colleagues and collaborators. We hope to be able to send the final report to you in late April or early May.
I’ve attached a list of the Round Table participants to this email for your information. You will note a number of QAAS Fellows in attendance.
QUT and QAAS Data Science Webinar Series: The Academy’s collaboration with QUT’s Centre for Data Science continues into 2023 and the viewing statistics from the last two years (particularly from those who view the recorded event off the website) attest to its continuing popularity and value. By the end of March, two webinars will have already been presented. The link to the two 2023 webinars plus the library of all previous 33 webinars is here.
QAAS will take the lead on two webinars later in the year. Please email me if you have some ideas for topics or, even better, if you would like to coordinate one.
Food for Thought: QAAS Vice President Emeritus Prof Fred D’Agostino continues his engaging series entitled ‘Food for Thought’ when our colleagues are mentioned in the news or elsewhere. You can contribute to this also with interesting news and insights. The email can be sent from the QAAS website and the link is here. Simply click on the box marked Fellows and Members (see below) and type away.
Partnerships and Collaborations: This year, the Academy is looking to create some additional partnerships and collaborations with Universities, Not-for-Profits or charities, Government entities, companies, research institutes, etc whose mission and values align with ours. We envisage that these select partnerships might involve collaborating on events, webinars, editorials, opinion pieces etc. Are you interested or might you like to suggest an entity? Email me and let’s see where we get to. I’d love to hear from you.
QAAS website: We continue to navigate the complicated space around upgrading and enhancing our website. If you have some website or IT skills/knowledge and would like to offer some assistance to Council, it would be greatly appreciated. It is not a huge task – just uploading and editing information and keeping it tidy. Please email me if you’re interested.
All best wishes to you all as always and have a safe and happy Easter break which is nearly upon us.
Emeritus Professor Helen Chenery PhD GAICD FQA
President
Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences
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