Metadata
Title
SDG 4 – Quality education
Category
international
UUID
0a2fc84b6f304bda9cf21bdb8666506e
Source URL
https://about.uq.edu.au/strategy-values/sustainability/sustainable-development-g...
Parent URL
https://about.uq.edu.au/faculties-institutes/bel/about/contact
Crawl Time
2026-03-11T06:23:33+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown

SDG 4 – Quality education

Source: https://about.uq.edu.au/strategy-values/sustainability/sustainable-development-goals/sdg-4-quality-education Parent: https://about.uq.edu.au/faculties-institutes/bel/about/contact

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

2024 progress

As a university renowned for excellence in teaching innovation and a leader in teacher education and educational research, The University of Queensland (UQ) is advancing SDG 4: Quality Education. We develop graduates who are highly capable, motivated and prepared to succeed in their chosen field. Equity and access is woven into our approach with targeted outreach, scholarships and inclusive learning environments.

Through The Queensland Commitment, we aim to ensure equitable access to education for all across Queensland, including underrepresented groups, with an immediate focus on students from low socio-economic backgrounds, regional or remote areas, and those identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

In research, UQ directly contributes towards shaping policy and practice across the education sector, with strengths in Indigenous education, curriculum and pedagogy, teacher preparation, adult literacy and the application of digital technologies in learning.

We are a premier provider of postgraduate learning opportunities, and offer lifelong learning support through publicly available resources, professional development programs, community education events and vocational training. Through these integrated efforts in teaching, research and outreach, we continue to create and share knowledge that empowers individuals and strengthens communities — locally, nationally and globally.

Read our SDG 4 2024 report (PDF, 304.19 KB)

See how we make a difference across key areas:

Lifelong learning

UQ aspires to become a leader in high-quality lifelong learning opportunities, with internationally competitive offerings for our graduates, alumni and the broader community. Appreciating the importance of flexibility for lifelong learners, we develop new digital platforms with industry-leading partners, ensuring we’re using the best technologies to deliver flexible and accessible high-quality education.

Our commitment is reflected in our diverse pathways. Formal education, in the form of pathways to undergraduate and postgraduate study, is offered by UQ College, while professional development is available through our suite of executive education courses and other accredited and non-accredited short courses via UQ Skills. Alumni and Community coordinates free public learning opportunities, and the library offers an array of open-access resources.

Public resources

We provide free access to educational resources for those not studying at UQ.

UQ Library access

Our libraries welcome visitors not studying at UQ to:

UQ’s institutional repository, UQ eSpace, also contains open access resources, including digitised items from Fryer Library which can be accessed by anyone online.

Open educational resources website

UQ Library’s Open educational resources website connects the public to a range of educational resources that are freely available, often through a Creative Commons or other open licence. These include:

Podcasts and webinars

UQ regularly publishes expert-led content on current topics, freely available to the public through various UQ websites. These include:

Public events

UQ hosts a range of educational events that are open to the general public through a variety of initiatives.

Alumni and community

Alumni and community events run throughout the year and include public lectures and seminars and often feature leading academics and industry experts.

Art Museum

UQ’s Art Museum regularly hosts exhibitions, events and learning opportunities that are freely open to the public. Examples from 2024 include:

School of Music

The UQ School of Music holds regular concerts that are free and open to the public via their ongoing Live at UQ series. Examples of 2024 performances include:

Global Partnerships

Global Partnerships events, such as free talks and seminars. 2024 examples include:

Vocational training events

We regularly host vocational training events that are open to the general public, including short courses for people who are not attending UQ.

Community Access Program

The Community Access Program allows individuals to study UQ courses that support their personal or professional development goals, without enrolling in a full degree. Students attend classes and complete assessment alongside students enrolled in degree programs. Most courses are available to non-award students.

UQ Executive Education

UQ's Executive Education delivers high-impact programs designed to empower professionals with the skills and capabilities needed to lead in a rapidly evolving world. Offerings include:

2 flagship offerings demonstrate UQ’s commitment to impactful lifelong education:

MicroMasters® Program in Business Leadership

MicroMasters® Program in Business Leadership is an online vocational program that includes 5 courses on business leadership, integrating current academic theories with the experience of leaders. This offers an entry pathway into the Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics at UQ, and learners who successfully earn the program certificate may be eligible for credit towards UQ’s Master of Business Program.

UQ Skills

UQ Skills provides practical, industry-aligned training and offers accredited vocational education and training (VET) in areas such as agriculture, business and health. These programs are open to the public including high schools, school leavers, industry and government, and often include flexible delivery options. Examples from 2024 include:

Institute of Modern Languages (IML)

​​​​​​The ​Institute of Modern Languages (IML) offers a diverse array of language courses for personal and professional development, open to anyone. 17 courses were offered in 2024. Some examples include:

UQ Ventures

UQ Ventures offered several entrepreneurship programs in 2024 that were open to the alumni community (in addition to staff and students), such as:

Education outreach activities beyond campus

UQ undertakes educational outreach activities (including lectures and demonstrations), beyond campus in local, regional and remote schools and communities. Particular highlights in 2024 include:

We collaborated with the following organisations and others to deliver local and regional events that supported community links, and engaged with more than 2,000 Year 7 to 12 potential future students:

Examples of other programs and initiatives that we delivered are listed below.

UQ's Future Students Team In-person Presentations and School Expos

UQ’s Future Students team conducts in-person visits for presentations and school expos at high schools in Queensland and northern New South Wales, or presented virtually to schools around Australia. Presentations can cover a range of topics for Years 9 to 12, such as:

In 2024, the Future Students team conducted over 500 school visits to more than 100,000 students located in major cities, inner and outer regional areas of Queensland ranging as far as Thursday Island, Mackay, Cloncurry and Injune. These events included:

UQ Life's Outreach Program

UQ Life’s Outreach Program supports the aspirations of high school-aged students by providing opportunities to build their capabilities and confidence to succeed in secondary school and beyond. The Outreach Program delivers 12 different sessions, each specifically tailored to the needs of each grade from Year 7 to Year 12. UQ works in partnership with selected schools from across the south-east and south-west areas of Queensland which are part of the Queensland Government Widening Participation Consortium.

UQ Science Demo Troupe

The UQ Science Demo Troupe conducts school visits that include either science demonstration shows or science workshops (interactive sessions where the students do hands-on science activities). Realising that there is a need for science outreach in regional and remote places, the Science Demo Troupe spends a day or two several times a year at various schools across Queensland and parts of Australia.

During 2024, the Science Demo Troupe delivered workshops and demos to over 3,000 students across several schools and locations, including:

Travelling to Far North Queensland, the Demo Troupe conducted a trip jointly funded by PowerLink and Iberdrola, reaching 800 students at 5 different school campuses across 4 of the Torres Strait Islands. They also brought these learning opportunities to students at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander InspireU Camp, to the general public at the Regional World Science Festival community days in Toowoomba and Chinchilla, and via the Channel 7 Sunrise Morning Show.

Archaeology Education Program

The Archaeology Education Program caters to all year levels and is run by the School of Social Science. It offers archaeology and archaeological science learning opportunities, delivering practical hands-on lessons or lecture style talks to schools in south-east Queensland and in rural, regional and remote areas. In 2024, the program was delivered to approximately 275 students at a number of different schools such as the Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology, and at Redbank Plains High School.

UQ International Development (UQID) Education and Training

In 2024, UQ’s International Development unit (UQID) was honoured with the prestigious International Education and Training Award at the Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards 2024. This recognition underscores UQID’s significant global impact and commitment to empowering communities worldwide through outstanding success in the field of education and training.

An example of their educational outreach impact on communities during 2024 was delivery of 'Responding to the Climate Change Challenge', a short course on climate change for the Australian Government’s Australia Awards Myanmar. One participant, Dr Khin Myat ‘Soe’ applied her expertise in both agriculture and aquaculture with what she learnt on the short course to deliver further capacity-building training in agri-aqua farming with zero waste to 3 organisations. Soe and 6 other Australia Awards Short Course participants have collectively reached 180 (53 men and 127 women) students and learners (farmers, educators, scientists), exchanging expertise in areas such as environmentally friendly aquaculture, climate-smart farming practices, and inspiring youth groups from various ethnicities to take action on climate change.

Lifelong learning access policy

UQ’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025: Toward 2032 makes a commitment to becoming a premier provider of high-quality lifelong learning opportunities, including launching UQ’s professional academy to deliver market-responsive programs and credentials for postgraduate and lifelong learners, supported by our landmark Brisbane CBD facilities and new online platforms. UQ aims to ensure that access to lifelong learning activities is accessible to all, regardless of ethnicity, religion, disability, immigrating status or gender.

How we are achieving this

Flexible study options

As stated in the UQ Learning and Student Experience Roadmap, it is a priority for UQ to 'offer a modality of courses at each stage of our students’ learning journey designed to best enhance their learning development within disciplinary contexts to balance flexible learning opportunities and student sense of belonging'.

Learning support

We ensure that our programs are accessible to learners of all backgrounds, and offer the following forms of support to facilitate this.

Age-Friendly University membership

UQ leads the Oceania Region of the Age-Friendly University Global Network, an international network of over 100 higher education institutions. The network is dedicated to addressing the needs of older people, including:

Explore our progress

Read more about how we're making progress toward other Sustainability Development Goals.

No poverty

Decent work and economic growth

Reduced inequalities