The Network
UQ marketing and communications news
November 2017
Put your thinking caps on for 2017 UQ graduation stories
UQ graduates who completed their studies in 1913, pictured at their graduation ceremony the following year.
UQ has come a long way since it celebrated its first graduates, awarding degrees to two women and three men in 1913.
The 2017 December graduations comprise 21 ceremonies. More than 6000 people will be awarded UQ degrees – and OMC is looking forward to telling their stories.
Please share your ideas about newsworthy graduation stories. Who are our UQ heroes and who is going on to create change? Which graduates illustrate just how remarkable our students are?
You might find some inspiration in past graduation stories such as these: a touch football champion with a law firm in her sights, an architecture student pushing through cancer treatment to graduate, and a Small Change blog story of a graduate on her big day.
Please send your ideas to the Communications Team.
Global Impact website: access all of UQ's engagement stories and metrics in one place
In consultation with schools and faculty, UQ Global Engagement has developed a new, comprehensive web resource detailing UQ's global connectivity and impact: Global Impact.
Featuring nine regions and 16 countries, the site showcases UQ's existing and emerging research collaborations with world-leading universities, research institutes, funding agencies, industry, government bodies and community organisations.
Case studies and metrics – including those on research collaborations, co-publications, alumni, partnerships, student mobility and academic staff – can now be found in one central location.
The initiative ties into a suite of mechanisms Global Engagement have to strengthen UQ's international engagement and leverage its extensive network of global partnerships, with a view to create and maintain sustainable relationships with lasting value for all stakeholders.
Global Engagement aim to update Global Impact regularly throughout the year. Please help to ensure this is a university-wide activity by providing your feedback on the resource and keeping the team up-to-date with your school and faculty research projects and student and staff mobility programs.
Email details to Global Engagement.
Latest developments in social media
Polls in Instagram stories
ICYMI: Instagram has now launched customisable polls for Instagram stories. These are a great way to track engagement and encourage your audience to directly engage with you. Polls can be added in as stickers during story creation, and are updated in real time, with users able to see which of the two options is currently in the lead.
Longer tweets
In a super-size move, Twitter has expanded its character limit to 280 characters – doubling the previous character limit. But at this stage, the feature has only been rolled out for selected accounts. Twitter’s character limit was historically based on the maximum limit for SMS messages, but the platform has since enabled links and multimedia, in line with general tweeting trends.
3D Facebook posts
Facebook has begun trialling 3D posts, which will enable users to interact with virtual objects in their news feed. Facebook has been doing a lot lately to shake up the newsfeed, including the introduction of colourful statuses and 360 degree photos. 3D posts will be created by developers, using either Facebook Spaces or Oculus Medium, with users rotating their phone to view them from different angles and interacting with elements of the object through touch.
External linking from YouTube
In a move that is sure to anger many smaller creators, YouTube has disabled channel links to external websites for anyone who is not a certified YouTube partner. However, links will still be enabled in the video description itself. At the same time, YouTube’s new algorithm changes are apparently designed to assist smaller channels with growth, so it’s not all bad news for smaller accounts.
Snapchat ART filters
Snapchat will soon launch its new ‘ART’ filters, which enable users to come ‘face to face’ with great works of art in an immersive augmented reality experience. When users are near Snapchat ART, they’ll see a special lense pop up which they can focus upon with the camera to see the artwork projected in real time. Artists are currently being invited to submit their work.
Need a new podcast to listen to?
If you're looking for a new podcast to subscribe to, check out the Queensland Brain Institute's (QBI) A Grey Matter, which features QBI researchers and guests talking all things brain science, brain disease and brain health. The podcast was recently listed by Nova Entertainment in its top new podcast contest.
The latest episode features Australia's Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel, who shares his perspective on Australia's place in the brain's golden age, as the 2017 Merson Lecture speaker at QBI.
Not if, when campaign written style
With UQ's philanthropic campaign Not If, When – the Campaign to Create Change now in market, a number of communications staff have queried the written style of the campaign.
Here's the lowdown on how to write the name of the campaign:
• Campaign name when written in full (title case when using full title only, italicise the first three words, and use an en-dash not a full stop):
Not If, When – the Campaign to Create Change
• Campaign name when used within body text (first three words italicised and written in sentence case, with the word 'campaign' in lower case):
the Not if, when campaign
These guidelines are now available on UQ's Written style guide (search 'campaign').
If you have any ongoing questions about written style, contact the OMC Publications team.
Did you know?
Many people are confused about when to use 'which' and 'that'. It's one of the most common grammar errors in written communication – so why is it so hard to remember which is which (or should that be 'that')?
You can find plenty of eloquent explanations online (such as Grammarly and Grammar Girl), but here's a quick test to apply to choose the correct word:
• If the part of the sentence starting with 'which' or 'that' can be removed without the sentence changing meaning (i.e. if that clause is non-restrictive), use 'which':
The taxes, which are reasonable, will be paid.
Meaning: I will pay all taxes, and all taxes are reasonable – this sentence does not change in meaning if you remove the clause between the commas.
• If the part of the sentence is essential (i.e. a restrictive clause), use 'that':
The taxes that are reasonable will be paid.
Meaning: I will only pay for reasonable taxes.
Bonus quiz: do you know know the meaning of the words 'refute', 'enormity', 'fortuitous' and 'travesty'? You may be surprised! Take this ABC quiz to find out.
November event alert
External events:
1 November: World Vegan Day
1–30 November: E-Tea – Epilepsy Awareness Month
1–30 November: Movember
7 November: Melbourne Cup Day
11 November: Remembrance Day
11–18 November: Food Safety Week
12 November: World Pneumonia Day
12–18 November: National Psychology Week
12–18 November: Perinatal Depression and Anxiety Awareness Week
13 November: World Kindness Day
13–19 November: National Recycling Week
14 November: International Diabetes Day
16 November: World Philosophy Day
18–25 November: Schoolies Week
19 November: World Toilet Day
20 November: Universal Children's Day
21 November: World Television Day
25 November: White Ribbon Day
UQ events:
27 November: Summer semester 2017/2018 classes commence
Other dates to watch:
A range of events across Queensland is detailed at Events Queensland and Our Community. Check the calendar of internal UQ events here.
Please advise communications@uq.edu.au of any dates or events you think should be added to the next monthly calendar.
Marketing and communications staff update
Olivia Adlard has joined the UQ Idea Hub as Communications Officer. Olivia has a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) and Bachelor of Fine Art (Visual Arts), and a background in marketing, communications, brand management and events. You can contact Olivia at o.adlard@uq.edu.au.
Jo Hickman has joined the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences as Communications Officer in the Marketing and Communications team. Jo was previously with the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences as Marketing and Engagement Officer. The team is very excited to have Jo on board to assist with HaBS strategic communications. Contact Jo at jo.hickman@uq.edu.au or on 335 60384.
Jenny Johnston has joined the Australasian Kidney Trials Network, located at UQ's Translational Research Institute, as Marketing and Communications Officer. Jenny brings engagement, advancement and marketing experience from a broad base of industry, education and health sectors. She is also currently completing a Masters in eHealth. Contact Jenny at j.johnston2@uq.edu.au or on 344 37044.
Gemma Ward has joined the BEL Faculty Marketing and Communications team as Communications and Engagement Manager. She is responsible for managing BEL's media, communications, content, copywriting, strategies for promotional activities and profiling the Faculty and its units. Gemma has nine years' industry experience and was previously working in UQ's IMB team as Senior Communications Officer. Contact Gemma at g.ward1@uq.edu.au or on 334 60700.
Olivia Dwyer has joined the School of Architecture as Engagement and Communications Officer. For the last eight years, Olivia has worked for global architecture firm Woods Bagot. She has a background in business development, client management and interior design. Contact Olivia at o.dwyer@uq.edu.au or on 336 53861.
New to UQ? Just moved to a new unit, or leaving us soon? Let us know for next edition.
New photos on UQ Images
The following photo sets have been added to UQ Images in the past month. The list includes the OMC set number, which you can use to search for images.
5857 – Research Week Awards 2017
5913 – Puppies and Pancakes Event
5914 – UQ Sports Silent Disco Yoga
5843 – Thanksgiving Ceremony 2017
UQ Written Style Guide
The online guide to written style at UQ is an authoritative guide for staff when writing any internal or external communications and marketing materials across all print and digital media.
To ensure the guide remains current, usable and relevant, a working group of staff members from units across UQ meets regularly to discuss style issues and queries that arise in their day-to-day work.
If you are interested in joining the working group, email the Publications team – new members are encouraged.
Further reading
Three storytelling fundamentals for marketing in higher education: The American Marketing Association
Six ways to leverage student testimonials in marketing: mStoner
Your go-to social media image size cheat sheet: Hubspot
View previous editions of The Network on the OMC website.
OMC welcomes your feedback on The Network. Send your comments or suggestions to publications@uq.edu.au. Send any stories or ideas by the second Thursday of each month.