UQ and the Pacific

From good neighbours to strategic partners

As our closest international neighbours, UQ and the diverse countries of the Pacific share longstanding relationships. With an emphasis on medicine, health, science and international development, we are working together to strengthen economic , governance, health and social systems throughout the Pacific. One of the world’s most biodiverse regions, our collaborative efforts also contribute to understanding and protecting the oceans, crops and animals that its communities rely on.

Fast facts

Excludes Australia.



144

Students from the Pacific enrolled at UQ


311

Pacific-UQ co-publications


85

academic staff born in the Pacific


63

research project collaborations


2,148

alumni in the Pacific


9

agreements with 8 official partners

Fast facts show full year 2023 data. 

Collaboration in action

  • UQ’s most successful and largest NCP Scholar cohort to date was announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) today. All 11 shortlisted UQ students were awarded NCP Scholarships.
  • This year’s UQ New Colombo Plan Scholar Liam Lyttle has recorded a video from where he is currently studying at the Laucala campus at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji.
  • UQ New Colombo Plan Scholar Liam Lyttle is Australia’s inaugural Pacific Fellow, currently studying at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. Among other significant experiences, his short documentary Mudgumbo – Bikini recently premiered at the 4th Pacific Human Rights Film Festival in Suva. In this film he explores the scale and impact of more than 300 nuclear tests conducted by the US, UK and France in the Pacific region between 1949-1996.
  • After a competitive selection process, 17 initiatives have been awarded funding totalling $217,174 for the second round of The University of Queensland (UQ) Global Partnerships Funding Scheme, launched in 2024.
  • When embarking on a mid-career return to study, preparation and connection are key to successful completion. In July 2024, Australia Awards scholars from Papua New Guinea spent time with UQ Sponsored Students Regional Coordinators Holly Peel and Rachel Panousis, who travelled to Port Moresby for the Australian Study Mission.
  • #AustraliaAwards scholarships are valued for its unique characteristics: program quality and consistency of delivery, pastoral care and support for family. For father of two Nelson Sukwianomb, the choice was clear when he commenced his Scholarship at the The University of Queensland.

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Alumni

UQ has more than 2,148 alumni in the Pacific (excluding Australia). Alumni with strong links to the region include:

Papua New Guinea

Member of Parliament for Alotau electorate, Minister for Planning, Papua New Guinea (Bachelor of Economics, 1989)
Kiribati

President of Kiribati (Master of Economic Studies 2002)
Samoa

Law lecturer, School of Law University of South Pacific (PhD, 2013)
Fiji

Leader of the National Federation Party, Shadow Minister for Finance, Planning and National Statistics, Fiji (PhD 1998)
Papua New Guinea

Director of the Papua New Guinea National Research Institute (PhD Applied Economics 2013)
Papua New Guinea

Member of Parliament for Gazelle Open and Minister Transport & Infrastructure (Masters of Agribusiness 2002)
Kiribati

Commissioner of Police & Superintendent of Prison at Kiribati Police and Prison Service (Master of Philosophy 2004)
Brisbane/Tonga

Summer and Winter Olympian for Taekwondo and cross-country skiing representing Tonga (Bachelor of Engineering 2007)