September 14, 2022

Message to students

Dear students, the global Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) road race event begins this Sunday in Wollongong, running 18th-25th September 2022. This event is recognised globally as one of the top road races in the world (alongside the Tour De France and Giro d’Italia) and is an incredible opportunity to showcase Wollongong on the world stage, with over 300 million viewers tuning in and 300,000 visitors to our city.

We hope all of our students will have the chance to experience and enjoy this monumental event for our region. Please keep an eye on your SolsMail and UOW Inbox for messages regarding campus restrictions and changes to classes next week due to the UCI event taking place.

During Science Week last month, I mentioned the seminar series that was happening alongside the Antarctic Futures exhibition. This seminar series takes place today at 5.30pm and focusses on the life and rapidly changing character of Antarctica, which is a vitally important topic of discussion. If this is something that you might be interested in, find out more and register here.

I’d like to send a big congratulations to UOW alumni Shahira Mohseni who was awarded the 2022 Rotary Australia Young Inspirational Woman. Shahira’s advocacy for Women’s Rights and refugees, especially women and girls from Afghanistan is truly inspirational. As someone who grew up in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, Shahira has felt drawn to the advocacy of women and especially their right to an education. She gives presentations for refugee support organisation SCARF on her personal experience and writes for media organisations, building understanding and empathy. What an impressive human!

Finally, if you’re keen to know more about the UCI Road World Championships and why it’s taking our city by storm, I highly recommend reading this about that career path of UOW graduate, passionate cyclist, and chair of the board for the 2022 UCI Road World Championships. Here’s a quote from Dean Dalla Valle to give you an idea: “Unless you’re in the cycling community, most people wouldn’t appreciate the size of this event. This is one of the top five cycling events in the world. Hundreds of millions of eyes will be watching Wollongong from around the world and it’s only awarded to a city outside of Europe once every five years…”

Have a wonderful and productive remainder of the week.

My best,
Trish