W100 Representative
Lara McKayVice-President, Engagement
With over 25 years experience in the public sector, Lara is a senior executive who has worked in portfolios as diverse as education, health, government, sport and major events. Lara is currently Vice President, Engagement and Chief Marketing Officer at QUT, one of Australia’s most dynamic universities which prides itself on its real world focus. Prior to joining QUT, Lara was the Master and CEO of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne, Australia’s largest residential college. Lara has previously held positions leading the marketing and communications functions at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and at the University of Melbourne where she led the development of the award winning ‘Collisions’ and ‘Made Possible by Melbourne’ campaigns which won numerous international awards for creativity and effectiveness and were widely recognised for breaking HE category conventions.
QUT is a major Australian university with a global reputation and a ‘real world’ focus. Their courses equip students and graduates with the skills they need for the world of today and tomorrow. They are an ambitious institution, with a rapidly growing research output focused on technology and innovation. The Times Higher Education 2020 ranked QUT in the top 180 universities in the world and the best young university in Australia.
The university’s strategic plan, Blueprint 6, establishes QUT as ‘the university for the real world’, and charts our provision of transformative education and research that is relevant to our communities.
With approximately 50,000 students, QUT places a premium on the national and international accreditation of our professional degrees. They are transforming the learning experience and embed work-integrated learning in courses and have a strong focus on developing entrepreneurial skills. They offer academic programs in fields spanning business, creative industries, education, engineering, health, law, science, and social justice across five faculties.
The Latest from Queensland University of Technology
A real-worlduniversity
The Brisbane campuses of QUT are situated on the land of the Turrbal and Yugara people. As thought leaders in the wider Australian community, QUT know it is beyond time to properly attend to the Indigenous context. Their ‘Blueprint’ has a strong focus on ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices are heard, through increasing the Indigenous Australian staff and research focus and further developing Indigenous Australian researchers. It is also committed to increasing the indigenous student intake and providing dedicated support to Indigenous students.
As well as their indigenous commitment the university also offers a more global outlook. QUT partners with over 200 top universities in 43 countries around the world and is home to over 9,000 international students.
QUT Business School’s agreement with the MIT Sloan School of Management is a strategic collaboration that provides our students and staff with multiple advantages including academic exchange, an immersion program for MBA and EMBA students while access to MIT’s global entrepreneurial networks enhances our entrepreneurship program.
Purpose & Priorities
- Purpose: To provide transformative education and research relevant to our communities
- Priorities:
- Aspiration & Inclusion
- Creativity and Entrepreneurship
- Digital Transformation & Technology
- Health & Wellbeing
- Indigenous Australian Engagement, Success, and Empowerment
- Professional Engagement & Ethical Leadership
- Sustainability & The Environment
Ranked 1st in Australia for Media and Communications (QS)
$92M+
Total research income in 2019
2,954
Research outputs in 2019
QUT has been named one of the fastest rising universities in the world, and top in Australia, for scientific research in the 2019’s Nature Index of high-quality research outputs
QUT’s vision is to be the university for the real world and Blueprint 6 (their strategy for the future) outlines their ambitions to provide research relevant to their communities.
The university will:
- prioritise partnerships and the quality of their research outputs to enhance their reputation, relevance, and impact
- facilitate co-creation and co-authorship, and focus on the real-world difference their research can make
- ensure their research outputs remain trusted and respected by upholding the highest standards of ethics and integrity.
With the support of their executive leadership, the university is ensuring that women in science, technology, engineering, maths, and medicine (STEMM) receive every opportunity to succeed.
QUT are also dedicated to sponsoring increased Indigenous research participation among their research students and academics.
At the university’s Kelvin Grove campus, the Creative Industries Precinct provides outstanding studio spaces for the performance disciplines while the Education Precinct demonstrates QUT’s commitment to technology and the digital world.
Well known for their strong links to industry and government, the high impact of QUT’s research which involves multidisciplinary teams can be seen across areas as diverse as climate change mitigation, digital media, materials science, and biomedical innovation.
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The World 100 Reputation Network is a group of the best universities in the world, delivering research that enhances reputation and offering leaders the chance to develop their own careers on a global stage. Members benefit from events and study tours, training, monthly media monitoring, and unique reputation research to provide institutional advantage.