Dan Walker

The Deputy Director (HDR Governance) role, established in 2018 as the result of a restructure of the Graduate School has operational and strategic oversight of the compliance, governance and administration of Higher Degree by Research programs at UQ. As a member of the Graduate School Executive, I work with the Director, Dean and Deputy Dean on matters relating to student grievances, admissions and examination processes, and student progression issues. I provide policy proposals for the University HDR Committee and Academic Board, and liaise with international colleagues on the management of our Joint PhD programs. My teams manage the administration of the program from application, including scholarship rounds, through to conferral of the degree.

Achievements:

• Implemented a review and reconfiguration of HDR milestone process with new Progress Review structure;
• Operationalised the introduction of Oral Examinations to the HDR examination process;
• Led teams through a unit restructure, a program review and internal re-alignment to support smoother delivery of the HDR program;
• Built new partnerships with central units to improve program compliance checkpoints, and with partner enrolling units to support student experience

As Candidature Manager, and later Admissions and Candidature Manager in the Graduate School, I was responsible for leading the teams that administer the assessment of applications and candidature of HDR students at UQ. I had oversight over relevant policy and procedure developments, providing advice to the Graduate School Executive.

Achievements:

• Recruited and trained a team of highly effective, customer service-focussed officers;
• Was instrumental in the roll-out of the new online Candidature Management Portal, managing new workloads, changed expectations among stakeholders, and outright complaints;
• Took on further duties as manager of the Admissions and Scholarships team;
• Reviewed candidature processes, seeking to address inefficiencies and potential for error.

This short-term project reviewed and evaluated the UQLink Scholarship program, which offers financial support to undergraduate students from low socio-economic backgrounds. A Federal Government HEPPP-funded endeavour, the program aims to improve educational outcomes for all students.

The New Orleans Healing Center was developed in the years following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, as a response to a need for individuals to have access to healing services. It brings together businesses that provide physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological healing services. It is housed in a 55,000 sqf building, has nearly thirty tenant businesses, and straddles three downtown New Orleans communities. The Healing Center is steered by a Board of Directors, and currently has an annual turnover of more than half a million US dollars.

Achievements:

• Redeveloped the staff team to become focussed on customer service, rather than purely administration;
• Addressed a $80,000 deficit in the budget;
• Established new partnerships with medical centres, community engagement businesses, and a national health insurance provider;
• Introduced new tenant businesses, and renegotiated a dozen expiring leases;
• Developed and implemented a new Strategic Plan, with associated businesses and operating plans, and a suite of complementary policies;
• Developed and implemented new community engagement programs which increased our reputation in the community, and customer visits to the Center;
• Produced four major festivals in line with the Center’s marketing and engagement plans.

The Equity Office was responsible for facilitating the development of strategies, initiatives, policies, programs and procedures that enabled the University to fulfill its commitment to equity and diversity in education and employment.

Achievements:

• Reviewed significant programs, including the Promoting Women Fellowships program, the Discrimination and Harassment Contact Officer role, and the UQ Ally Network. The DHCO program and the Ally Network reviews required an overhaul of the related Staff Development programs, which I oversaw and implemented, to ensure appropriate relevance and diversity of content;
• Developed and implemented programs and initiatives to improve inclusion and engagement for identified minority or disadvantaged groups (eg, LGBTIQ, staff or students with disability, those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, etc);
• Developed relationships with faculties to create discipline-specific policies;
• Enhanced relationships with the UQ Students’ Union, to promote work on the areas that support under-represented or disadvantaged groups.

The Youth Affairs Network Qld, Inc (YANQ) is the peak body for the youth community services sector in Queensland. YANQ advocates on behalf of young people in Queensland, especially disadvantaged young people, to government and the community. It promotes and supports cultural diversity and encourages the development of policies and programs that respond to the rights and needs of young people in Queensland.

Achievements:

• Organised, prepared and delivered cross cultural competency training for youth workers in the sector;
• Represented Queensland on a national network (Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network) that developed youth policy at a federal level;
• Consulted with the sector to identify issues of concern, and used these as a foundation from which I planned and managed a bi-annual state-wide youth services conference;
• Negotiated with State Government to extend funding for multicultural work for a further two years after defunding.

While I worked on my doctoral dissertation at The University of Queensland, I also worked as a casual academic in the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, and at the Australian Digital Futures Institute at USQ

I worked on several ARC-funded research projects in the areas of Online Education and Community Development, using my community sector contacts to support and enhance this work.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the department responsible for promoting and protecting the interests of the British people, government and businesses around the world.