Great minds meet in Wollongong to turn ideas into action

February 29, 2016

Great minds meet in Wollongong to turn ideas into action

Leading researchers visit Wollongong for University Global Partnership Network conference.

Tackling medical challenges like obesity and arthritis, combating climate change with energy saving lighting and batteries and developing lightweight materials for aviation and defence technologies are just some of the issues world-leading researchers will grapple with when they gather in Wollongong this week.

The annual meeting of the University Global Partnership Network (UGPN), from Monday 29 February until Thursday 3 March, will draw together senior researchers and academics from four world-leading universities to collaborate on issues of global importance.

They will also explore ways to improve teaching methods, share research resources and create new opportunities for international student and staff exchanges.

Established in 2011, the UGPN is an international consortium of selected research-intensive universities focussed on turning ideas into action by developing sustainable world-class research, education and knowledge transfer.

UOW joined in November 2015, alongside founding partners North Carolina State University in USA, the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and the University of Surrey in the UK.

The network administers the UGPN Research Collaboration Fund, which provided seed funding for 27 projects over the last three years, resulting in a total research investment in excess of $US3.1 million.

Among the approximately 85 attendees will be the newly appointed University of Surrey Vice Chancellor, Professor G. Q. Max Lu, who has spent the last 20 years at the University of Queensland, is recognised among Australia’s top 100 most influential engineers, is one of the most widely cited academics in the world and is co-inventor of more than 20 international patents.

UOW Vice Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings CBE, said it was a great honour for UOW, as the network’s newest member, to be hosting the annual event.

“Each institution brings its own research strengths and there are many areas where we complement one another and can benefit from sharing ideas, knowledge and resources.

“By building international inter-disciplinary teams to work on areas of common interest we will increase our global impact, strengthen the quality of our research and teaching programs and open new opportunities for our staff and students.

“As the newest member of the network, we are honoured to welcome our UGPN partners and look forward to sharing our research strengths, building networks, planning future projects and showcasing our beautiful campus and city,” Professor Wellings said