The QUEX Institute aims to bolster global research impact by bringing together leading experts from both The University of Queensland (UQ) and the University of Exeter.
The mission of the Institute is to strengthen research that address global challenges, unified by the central issue of ‘Global Sustainability and Wellbeing’. Four themes (Healthy Living, Global Environmental Futures, Digital Worlds and Disruptive Technologies and Mineral Security and Sustainability) underpin its work.
The research conducted contributes to the shaping of future government policy and initiatives across the world through the generation of high-level policy reports.
The Insitute works to achieve these goals by bringing together leading experts from both The University of Queensland (UQ) and the University of Exeter, working in collaboration with industry and business. Each year, the Institute awards a range of research grants, designed to facilitate these working collaborations. The Insitute further supports the next generation of researchers, through the QUEX PhD program.
Key themes
Working under the overarching banner of ‘Global Sustainability and Wellbeing’, the QUEX Institute will focus on the following crucial interdisciplinary themes.
The QUEX Institute drives cross-disciplinary research that provides insight into critical global issues, including climate change.
A recent paper in Global Change Biology, led by QUEX student Jen McWhorter, indicated parts of the Great Barrier Reef will be hit with extreme levels of coral bleaching five times each decade by the middle of this century, unless global warming is kept below 2oC. Using the latest climate models, the scientists added extra information about the depth, tides and winds around reefs to give a more detailed projection of how much bleaching could occur over different areas.
Jennifer is pursuing her PhD through the QUEX Institute. Using various climate and ecological modelling techniques, she hopes to improve our spatial knowledge of coral reef stressors. Her previous experiences in marine spatial planning, ocean observations, and marine policy will help give perspective to climate modelling research.