UQ School of Languages and Cultures

16/10/2026

Join us for Transnational Art Flows: Japanese Visual Culture in Australia

How has Japanese art shaped Australia’s visual history? Explore more than a century of artistic exchange between Japan and Australia at this free one-day symposium at The University of Queensland.

📅 Friday 13 November 2026
🕘 9am to 5pm
📍 The University of Queensland

Scholars, curators, and artists come together for a day of presentations, performances, and conversation, including:

✨ A keynote address by Professor Melissa Miles (Monash University)
🎶 A musical performance by Linsey Pollak and Takako Haggarty
🎬 The premiere of a short documentary
🖌️ A keynote performance by multidisciplinary artist Hiromi Tango

Morning tea and afternoon tea provided. Attendance is free, but registration is essential as places are limited.

Register now: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/BGCXts43YH

08/10/2026

06/10/2026

🌿 Share your work at the Australian Languages Workshop 2027
The Call for Papers is now open for ALW2027, to be held 5-7 February 2027 on beautiful Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) at the UQ Moreton Bay Research Station.
ALW brings together people working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages to share research, projects, experiences and ideas.
📝 Submit a 300-500 word abstract for a 20-minute presentation.
⏰ Submissions close 6 November 2026, 5pm AEST.
Find out more: 🔗 https://languages-cultures.uq.edu.au/events/ALW2027

05/10/2026

⏰ Happening this Friday!

Don't miss the Brisbane Applied Linguistics Research Network Inaugural Symposium at UQ.

From multilingualism and language learning to AI-powered research tools, the afternoon features a keynote presentation, hands-on workshop, emerging research talks, and opportunities to connect with others across the applied linguistics community.

Whether you're a student, researcher, educator, or practitioner, we'd love to see you there.

📅 Friday 9 October | 1:00pm-5:30pm
📍 UQ St Lucia
🎟️ Register now: https://languages-cultures.uq.edu.au/event/session/11145

Join a new Brisbane-based network for applied linguists, featuring keynote session, hands-on workshop, HDR event updates, and more!

23/09/2026

Proud to share this one! UQ's own Samantha Disbray co-authored and co-curated Wangka Wakuṉutja, a special exhibition now showing at the National Library of Australia.

The exhibition tells the story of the Papunya community's Literature Production Centre, celebrating the extraordinary work of recording and producing language newsletters, booklets and learning materials that have preserved and shared language for generations.

🖼️ In Canberra? Visit in person.
💻 Not in Canberra? Explore it online.
📖 Or discover it in the pages of the beautiful accompanying book.
Huge congratulations to Samantha on this incredible contribution to language preservation and storytelling.

09/09/2026

🗓Save the date!
UQ, Charles Darwin University and AIATSIS are teaming up to host the 2027 Australian Languages Workshop (ALW2027), happening on Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island) from 5-7 February 2027.
Each year, the ALW brings together people working on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages (both traditional and new varieties) to connect with peers, share their research and projects, and dig into the wins and challenges of the work.
🌏More info on the call for presentations, registrations and program are coming soon - stay tuned https://languages-cultures.uq.edu.au/event/session/11143

02/09/2026

𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐀𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐫
Join us Friday 18 September for a reading with Danish-Australian author and artist Maria Speyer, followed by an optional translation workshop for bilingual and multilingual guests.

Maria will read from her picture book 'A Feather on a Wing' and share what it's like to write and illustrate across two countries and cultures. Stick around for afternoon tea, then dive into a hands-on translation workshop - help translate the book in your own language and every skill level is welcome.
🗓Friday 18 September
🕒3:00pm to 5:30pm
📍Sir Llew Edwards Building, The University of Queensland, St Lucia campus
🎟Free event, afternoon tea included
⭐️Register by Wednesday 16 September: https://languages-cultures.uq.edu.au/event/session/11142

Spaces are limited - reserve your spot today.

Author talk, book reading, and picture book translation workshop with Maria Speyer

11/08/2026

Participants wanted!
Did you study Japanese in high school and are still taking it at UQ? We'd love your help with an honours research project exploring the transition from high school to university Japanese.
What's involved? Four short questionnaires (~40 mins total) about your Japanese learning experience.
What's in it for you? Go into the draw to win a $30 Coles gift card! 🎁
📧 Interested? Email Ella John at [email protected] with your interest and availability.

06/08/2026

Congratulations to the graduates of UQ’s Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Language Revitalisation!
On 3 July, our graduating cohort attended the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sashing Ceremony, proudly hosted by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit. Surrounded by family, friends, community and colleagues, graduates were presented with a cultural sash ahead of their official graduation ceremony.
More than a symbol of academic achievement, the sash honours culture, identity, connection to Country, and the support of families and communities throughout each student's journey.
We are incredibly proud of our graduates and the important work they are doing to strengthen, revitalise and celebrate Indigenous languages for future generations.

30/07/2026

Go Borderless: Languages Experience Day 2026 🌏

What an incredible day! On Tuesday 14 July, we welcomed more than 450 Year 9 language learners from 20 schools across South East Queensland to our St Lucia campus for this year's Go Borderless: Languages Experience Day.

Students kicked off the day with an inspiring keynote, "Language is Your Employability Superpower," before diving into hands-on workshops across Chinese, Indonesian, German, Korean, Italian, French, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, Linguistics, and Translation & Interpreting.

Throughout the day, students explored the links between language, culture and career, practised new phrases, made connections across languages, and got a first taste of life on a university campus - for many, their very first time on campus! 🎓📸🍩

A huge thank you to the 20 schools who joined us, to our fantastic student ambassadors, and to everyone across the School of Languages and Cultures who helped bring the day to life. We loved seeing your curiosity, energy and passion for language learning in action and can't wait to welcome you all back to UQ!

A special mention to 4EB , who gave students the chance to get behind the mic and share their language journeys on air 🎙️, and to NAATI, whose involvement brought translation and interpreting to life for our future linguists. We were also glad to have the support of Languages Teachers Queensland on the day.