Planning for the conference is well underway and are excited to work with a dynamic team of colleagues in Brisbane. Here we introduce the conference co-chairs, representing three institutions joining together to plan OE Global 2024:
Our next challenge is to invite the team here to OEG Connect so you can get to know them better and have them available to answer any questions about the conference.
The little connect watcher bird let me know that @NairarbilTUQ has created an account and is in OEG Connect! Welcome! Perhaps step in with a reply here to say hello and introduce yourself?
Hello OE Global community! Here in Brisbane we are very excited to host the 2024 OE Global conference and planning is well underway. Wonderful to see so many conference submissions. If you have any questions regarding Brisbane, Queensland and/or Australia, please ask! We are happy to help.
And hello and welcome, Sarah. So you will cover all questions about Australia, eh?
Indeed we are looking forward to seeing the program that emerges from the proposal review process, can you remind the readers when that might be available?
I’ve been fortunate to have visited Brisbane twice, and excited to make it three. In fact, on my first visit in 2000 (ouch, I did the math), I even visited QUT to see a colleague I had known only online (my memory is failing now on his name).
I’ll ask a question I used yesterday when I did an OEG Voices podcast recording with Nikki Andersen at University of Southern Queensland-- beyond the well known places to see in Brisbane we might find in the tourists guide, as a local person, what is something really worth seeing or doing that one would not find on the brochure suggestion lists?
Haha! As someone who has lived in Brisbane her entire life…I will try! But seriously, there are so many things to do in Brisbane and the surrounding areas. As well as exploring the numerous wonderful libraries and galleries, there are mountains and wetlands with beautiful views. I love hiking and running along the trials to see the local wildlife and rainforests, or having a picnic with family and friends.
Great question @cogdog re program! Our plan is to release the program in early August. Watch this space!
Hi everyone! A little late to the thread, but hopefully I’ll catch up soon.
I’m Adrian Stagg, currently with the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba (we refer to this as ‘up the hill’ from Brisbane, in a classic example of the Australian tendency to understate ).
OE Global Conferences have been a great experience for me (I attended one in Delft, and then in Edmonton last year) and I’m hoping we can bring the same experience to our attendees this year.
We have a plan for regular communications here, not just about conference matters, but also showcasing the lifestyle around Brisbane so you can see what a wonderful place this is.
On that note, here’s a quick consideration: did you know there is a fully designed beach with lifeguards only a five minute walk from the conference venue? It’s in the middle of Southbank, renowned for excellent cuisine, and walking along the Brisbane River. November will be nicely warm, without the full heat of Brisbane summer (that comes later in December and January).
I could not resist looking up Toowoomba in Wikipedia and on the map. What is the elevation of the hills? My only experience in that topography was a train ride up into the Blue mountains from Sydney and also drive over the range from Canberra to near Woolongong.
It’s hard to resist the beaches of the sunshine coast, I got to spend a week or so in Cairns after a meeting in Brisbane, it’s much further north than I remember, but was beautiful. I’d be sure interesting in seeing some of the interior.
Glad to hear the weather might be optimal in November!
We’re about 990m above sea level, so the climate is much milder than Brisbane. At the moment, it’s winter, and so zero-degrees Celsuis is common in the mornings now. We’re know as ‘The Garden City’ and have the annual festival in September in which the entire city is really beautiful and gardens, and public spaces are amazing. We’re only about 80mins by car from Brisbane, and in November it’s still great, so I’d encourage people to consider a short trip.
There’s a lot to see, so I’d recommend looking at Picnic Point, The Japanese Gardens at UniSQ (the largest in the southern hemisphere outside of Japan), plus you can tour the ‘outdoor art’, get good food, and visit wineries nearby.
But seriously, there are so many things to do in Brisbane and the surrounding areas. As well as exploring the numerous wonderful libraries and galleries, there are mountains and wetlands with beautiful views. I love hiking and running along the trials to see the local wildlife and rainforests, or having a picnic with family and friends.
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