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
- Elliott Johnson was selected as a volunteer for the Agribusiness Stream during this month’s Australia Week in China (AWIC), led by the Minister for Trade and Investment Steven Ciobo and attended by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
- A world of opportunity has opened for UQ students and researchers with The University of Queensland (UQ) and Chinese conglomerate Dalian Neusoft Holdings Company Limited (Neusoft Holdings) signing a Memorandum of Understanding for Academic and Research Cooperation (the MOU).
- University of Queensland alumnus Tom Gole has been selected as one of 15 young Australian leaders to take part in a high-level forum on Australia-China relations this December.
- The concept of 同舟共济, or tong zhou gong ji, translates from Mandarin as ‘people on the same boat should assist each other’, reflecting a mutual commitment to research and education that underpins UQ’s relationship with China.
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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: