Partners in the global economy
China is one of UQ’s most significant global partners—shaping deep connections across education, research and innovation. UQ’s engagement with China spans extensive student mobility, world-class research collaboration and growing commercialisation partnerships. These strong linkages have been built over decades through trusted relationships with leading Chinese institutions, particularly the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as collaboration with influential industry and funding bodies.
Fast facts
13,104
Chinese students enrolled at UQ
1,372
China-UQ co-publications
251
academic staff born in China
28
research project collaborations
38,314
alumni in China
138
agreements with 89 official partners
Fast facts show full year 2025 data.
Collaboration in action
- PhD student Michael Meriades spent a month in Shanghai working for a startup company, thanks to the China Mobility Program. A self-confessed language geek, Michael found his skills were in demand.
- More than 400 University of Queensland students will have the valuable opportunity to travel to the Indo-Pacific region to gain practical experience next year under the New Colombo Plan Mobility program.
- UQ students Daniel Hutchison and Daniel Parnell spent four weeks in Tianjin as part of the Confucius Institute’s 2017 UQ Research, Study and Experience Tour to China. They reflect on their time abroad, and their exposure to a new culture and language.
- Six University of Queensland students have been awarded Westpac Bicentennial Foundation Asian Exchange Scholarships. The $12,000 bursaries fund students to spend a semester studying at a leading Asian university.
- Visiting the world’s largest hydropower dam will be a highlight for three University of Queensland Bachelor of Environmental Management (Honours) students who are undertaking three months industry placement in Wuhan, China this semester.
- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met students from The University of Queensland in Dalian, China when he was visiting for the World Economic Forum’s ‘Summer Davos’ event early this month.
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Chinese culture at UQ
UQ has a long history of providing Mandarin language and Chinese culture programs, with the first Chinese classes held as early as 1967. Today, UQ students can study Mandarin Chinese through the School of Languages and Cultures, which offers more than 50 Chinese courses including Techniques in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, and Chinese Translation and Interpreting.
The Institute of Modern Languages (IML) also offers Chinese courses (Mandarin and Cantonese) for the wider Brisbane community, as well as translation and interpreting services.
Alumni
China is home to a significant UQ alumni network - UQ has 30,161 alumni living in China. Alumni with significant links to China include: