The biennial Dorothy Hill Symposium brings together our community of researchers and students who work and study in broad fields related to the environment, including earth science and resources, environmental management, human and physical geography, marine biology, ecology and oceanography, science communication and education.
Researchers from UQ and beyond, higher degree researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students, industry and government collaborators, secondary teachers and their students will share in a celebration of academic achievement and strength of our diverse, inclusive and vibrant community.
The symposium serves as a unique platform for career development and networking for earth and environmental scientists across disciplines and career levels.
In 2025, the Dorothy Hill Symposium will:
- celebrate and advocate for diversity and inclusion (especially of women) working in fields related to the environment
- provide the opportunity to reflect and consolidate on how we contribute to diversity and inclusion through the authentic experiences of women working in these fields
- provide professional development opportunities beneficial to researchers, industry collaborators and higher degree research students
- facilitate collaboration through opportunity for professional networking between the university, industry and our extended community
- excite our next generation of environmental practitioners through a curriculum-aligned future student program (with a focus on students studying QCE Earth and Environmental Science, and IB Environmental Systems and Societies).
Read more about the life and remarkable career of Dorothy Hill
Cost
The cost to attend the Research Symposium (includes refreshments for both days):
- UQ staff: $44
- External participants: $66
There is no cost for current UQ students to attend the Research Symposium, but registration is mandatory for catering purposes.
There is an additional cost for the conference dinner of $110.
All prices listed above include GST.
There is a post-symposium scientific writing workshop, with separate registration and additional cost of $50 in-person or $25 online (+ booking fee).
Registration
UQ staff and students and external participants register online for the symposium and dinner (registration for the writing workshop is separate):
School groups are invited to attend an embedded stream dedicated to our community of future students and their teachers on Day 1 of the symposium. There is no cost for school groups to attend, and bus subsidies may also be available to schools.
To register your school group, email Dr Gurion Ang with your school name, estimated number of students, and names and contact details of accompanying teachers: gurion.ang@uq.edu.au.
Researcher Symposium
The Dorothy Hill Symposium 2025 takes place over 2 days. (Please note: this schedule is tentative and subject to change.)
Day 1: Wednesday 5 November
9:30am–4pm
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9:30am | Acknowledgement of Country, Welcome and Housekeeping Opening Address Dorothy and Me Keynote Speaker |
| 11am | Break |
| 12pm | Careers-focussed panel: celebrating achievement, unpacking challenges and creating opportunities for all to thrive Facilitated by Associate Professor Teresa Ubide, School of the Environment |
| 1:15pm | Finding your superpower! Secondary school students will attend the student workshop: Australian Fossils and Deep Time |
| 2:15pm | Break |
| 3pm | Poster session for research students Call for posters now open (closing 26 October 2025). Note: research students submitting posters should also register to attend. |
| 4pm | Close |
| 6pm | Dorothy Hill Symposium Dinner Celebration This celebration will include prepared speeches, and a conferral ceremony for subject prizes awarded to our top performing undergraduate and Honours students. More information will be provided in due course. |
Day 2: Thursday 6 November
9:30am–4pm
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9:30am | Opening Address Keynote Speaker |
| 10:30am | Break |
| 11:30am | WOMEESA: The network for women in earth and environmental sciences in Australasia Tara Djokic |
| 12:30pm | Break |
| 1:30pm | Professor Huan Xie, Head of the College of Surveying and Geo-Information, Tongji University Shanghai |
| 2:30pm | AI in Industry Dr Frances Alexander, Senior Environmental Scientist, Hydrobiology |
| 3:30pm | Closing remarks, reflection, and vote of thanks Professor Gregg Webb, School of the Environment |
Post-Symposium Scientific Writing Workshop
Limited places (27 in-person and 30 online) are available for a post-symposium collaborative professional development workshop by Sandra McLaren, an editor, writer and geologist from Write.Edit.Review, hosted by WOMEESA and UQ, and sponsored by Geoconferences (WA) Inc:
Writing Workshop for Australian Geoscientists: Connecting Coast to Coast
Friday 7 November
10am—4pm
Bridge the gap between lab bench and publication with this intensive scientific writing workshop designed specifically for Australian geoscientists. Whether you're crafting your next research paper, preparing a grant application, or developing industry reports, this workshop will equip you with the essential writing skills that drive career success in geoscience.
Cost: $50 in-person or $25 online (+ booking fee).
For more details, including registration, visit EventBrite
After the workshop, participants are invited to attend dinner at 6pm in the REDROOM (building 21).
WOMEESA-Geoconferences Travel Bursary Grants
WOMEESA and Geoconferences (WA) Inc invite eligible applicants (WOMEESA members based in Western Australia) to apply for a bursary to support early career attendance at the Dorothy Hill Symposium and the post-conference writing workshop. Applications close Monday 6 October.
Dorothy Hill Symposium 2025 is held at UQ St Lucia campus. The UQ Accommodation website provides options for those coming from outside the Brisbane region.
Legacy of the Dorothy Hill Symposium
The symposium celebrates the life and remarkable career of Dorothy Hill. If the field of earth sciences is still largely dominated by men now – in 2025 – you can only imagine what it was like for Dorothy Hill when she began her studies at UQ in 1925. To have had the career she had, at the time she lived and worked, makes her not only an extraordinary researcher, academic and lecturer, but also a truly special woman – and a trailblazer.
Among her many career highlights and achievements, Dorothy was the first woman:
- to graduate from UQ with a gold medal, the highest accolade for an undergraduate at the time
- president of the Royal Society of Queensland
- professor at an Australian university
- fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
- president of the Australian Academy of Science.
She was an inspiration for generations of women and took her responsibility as a role model seriously, advocating strongly for young women to take up the study of science and to fight gender inequality.
The first Dorothy Hill Symposium was held in 2017 by the former School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. A key legacy of the inaugural symposium was the creation of the network for Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences in Australasia (WOMEESA), which today has 1,000+ members and has become a strong voice for advocacy and support of gender minorities in geoscience.