The Real YouQ: meet Professor Tracey Bunda, Professor of Indigenous Education at UQ
Published on: 25 March 2025
- Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this story contains images and names of deceased persons. In 1982, Eddie Koiki Mabo and 4 other plaintiffs initiated a legal case that would change Australia forever. Mabo, a Meriam man of Mer Island in the Torres Strait, was determined to get his people’s traditional land rights formally recognised by the High Court of Australia.
- Having déjà vu? The final instalment of the Mission: Impossible franchise has landed and we want to know one thing – why are we obsessed with the reboot? UQ’s expert-in-residence and PhD candidate, Talia Parker, unpacks Hollywood’s movie sequel mania and what makes a sequel great.
- In a world where nearly every click leaves a trace, is your online presence a liability or an asset? Contact talked to UQ Cyber expert Professor Ryan Ko to find out whether we should be cleaning up our act to protect future job prospects and safeguard ourselves from the millions of daily hacking incidents.
- We spoke to UQ experts Professor Jolanda Jetten, Head of UQ’s School of Psychology and Professor Alina Morawska, Director of the Parenting and Family Support Centre to unpack how online radicalisation works, how to identify potential warning signs and how to approach someone you care about if you think they need help.
- In September 2024, Queensland’s Parliament passed landmark legislation that will soon give donor-conceived people – individuals conceived with a donated egg or sperm, usually through a fertility clinic – the right to access identifying information about their donor parents. It’s a change that donor-conceived people and their allies have long advocated for.
- From Olympians to business leaders and entrepreneurs, we already have some extraordinary alumni committed to joining the program as mentors.
- With new campaign advertisements flooding social media feeds and traditional media channels, it can be hard for voters to understand where they sit on contentious topics. Contact asked UQ experts Professor Brenda Gannon, Dr David Morrison, Professor Shaun Bond and Professor John Quiggin to share their take on some key 2025 election issues.
- At just 21 years of age she launched Be Seen Socials, and 5 years on her social media agency’s success has earned her recognition as one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 Asia. Contact spoke to her about taking the leap into owning her own business, the power of manifesting your goals and how a personal brand could elevate your career.
- Over the years they’ve plucked some extraordinary items from the donation shed, all generously handed over by our community. To get us excited for this year’s bargain hunting, we asked some of our long-serving Book Group volunteers to tell us about their favourite-ever find.
Pages
- From Olympians to business leaders and entrepreneurs, we already have some extraordinary alumni committed to joining the program as mentors.
- From chance encounters to lifelong partnerships, these stories remind us that the university experience transforms our lives in ways that go beyond education.
- Critical care researcher Professor John Fraser and former Alumni Friends president Dr Catherine Lawrence are among members of UQ community recognised in today’s Australia Day honours. UQ graduate and Indigenous rights advocate Professor Megan Davis is one of only 6 Australians to receive the nation’s highest civil honour – the Companion of the Order of Australia.
- After almost a decade at the helm, this edition of marks the last for long-time 'Contact' editor Michael Jones. As he signs off on the "end of an era", Michael looks back on his 10 favourite stories published during his time as editor.
- October is just around the corner and the UQ jacarandas are about to be in full bloom. While jacaranda season and exams go hand-in-hand, it's the perfect time of year to a pay a visit to campus – perhaps for a picnic.
- As voters get ready to head to the polls for the Queensland state elections, how will the major parties plan to address the housing and rental crisis, and what policies need to be implemented urgently?
- Eight UQ Para-athletes have returned to Australia with 11 medals after a thrilling, empowering and inspiring performance at the 2024 Paris Paralympics Games.
- UQ has commemorated the 80th anniversary of the US Army's General Hospital's withdrawal from Gatton at a special event on 29 August, when more than 120 attendees reflecting on the impact to the community and acknowledged the service of the medical staff who saved so many lives.
- UQ alum Brenden Hall and student Lakeisha Patterson have claimed Australia’s first 2 medals in the space of 10 minutes on the opening day of the Paris Paralympics.
Pages
- Gendered pronouns have become a contested part of language since we became more aware of the effects pronoun usage have on transgender and non-binary people. Different languages have different solutions.
- As voters get ready to head to the polls for the Queensland state elections, how will the major parties plan to address the housing and rental crisis, and what policies need to be implemented urgently?
- Whether struggling to get in the zone at work or reading the same sentence of a book 20 times, all of us have experienced frustration at our inability to focus. UQ's expert on the science of concentration busts some myths and shares some tips.
- UQ Mythbusters gives you expert advice on what to do to stay safe when being swooped by a bird – and how to avoid being swooped altogether.
- The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and many other political leaders want to ban young Australians from social media until they turn 16. Is that a good idea or a regressive move that distracts us from the more important task of building forms of social media that enable young people to flourish?
- A new facility at UQ is set to provide Australian researchers with cancer vaccines tailored to individual patients.
- As the next Queensland election approaches, both major parties have promised to ‘crack down’ on youth crime. But while Queensland currently locks up more children than any other state, is putting children in detention a viable solution and does it reduce the rates of re-offending? UQ experts explain.
- Despite the endless array of products, advice, and pimple-popping YouTube videos, most of us probably couldn’t say with certainty what actually causes acne, nor which treatments are genuinely effective. UQ Mythbusters is here to clear that up.
- UQ exercise physiologist and sport scientist Associate Professor Emma Beckman will head to Paris with Paralympics Australia as part of a small group of experts doing on-the-ground sport intelligence data-gathering.
Pages
- In a world where nearly every click leaves a trace, is your online presence a liability or an asset? Contact talked to UQ Cyber expert Professor Ryan Ko to find out whether we should be cleaning up our act to protect future job prospects and safeguard ourselves from the millions of daily hacking incidents.
- UQ Mythbusters has enlisted the help of Professor Ian Godwin, Director of UQ’s Centre for Crop Science, to help uncover some dirt on what the real differences are when you buy organic and you might be surprised.
- What really goes on behind-the-scenes when we click ‘accept all’? Contact is on a mission to find out what a cookie even is in the first instalment of our new series ‘What even is…?’
- UQ alum and private wealth adviser Shayne Sommer covers some of the foundational steps to consider when investing for the first time.
- After 27 years at the helm, Professor Matthew Sanders, founder of Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, has retired from his role as the Parenting and Family Support Centre’s Foundation Director.
- One of Australia’s leading poets talks to Contact about how poetry has shaped her life, and winning the 2023 Stella Prize.
- 'Contact' checks in with Marcie the greyhound after her successful adoption from the UQ VETS Clinical Studies Centre and learns how you can help 'suppawt' the next generation of veterinary professionals.
- Dr Ellice E.P. Dart became a doctor and medical educator at a time when women were rare in both fields in Australia. The first woman employed by the University of Queensland’s fledgling Faculty of Medicine in 1936, she is being remembered in 2022 for her dedication to teaching and learning.
- After 40 years as an archaeologist, Professor Marshall Weisler has a treasure trove of stories from the field – from life on an uninhabited island to discovering the longest ocean voyage in prehistory.
Pages
- After almost a decade at the helm, this edition of marks the last for long-time 'Contact' editor Michael Jones. As he signs off on the "end of an era", Michael looks back on his 10 favourite stories published during his time as editor.
- October is just around the corner and the UQ jacarandas are about to be in full bloom. While jacaranda season and exams go hand-in-hand, it's the perfect time of year to a pay a visit to campus – perhaps for a picnic.
- UQ has commemorated the 80th anniversary of the US Army's General Hospital's withdrawal from Gatton at a special event on 29 August, when more than 120 attendees reflecting on the impact to the community and acknowledged the service of the medical staff who saved so many lives.
- Drama students are taking the stage at the revitalised Avalon Theatre, more than a century after construction of the original building in St Lucia. Following an 18-month refurbishment, the iconic theatre has reopened as a unique teaching and performance space for UQ.
- The University of Queensland community is remembering the achievements of activist, academic and author, Adjunct Associate Professor Merle Thornton AM, who died on Friday 16 August, aged 93.
- UQ exercise physiologist and sport scientist Associate Professor Emma Beckman will head to Paris with Paralympics Australia as part of a small group of experts doing on-the-ground sport intelligence data-gathering.
- The first Australian Indigenous woman to complete a university degree, Dr Margaret Valadian AO MBE, has been posthumously honoured with an Honorary Doctorate from UQ. The University will also record the late Dr Valadian’s remarkable contribution with a carving in UQ’s Great Court.
- UQ has secured third place overall at the 2024 UniSport Indigenous Nationals. Watch the video and view all the images.
- UQ is set to help Queensland welcome the world in 2032 with the launching of the Office of 2032 Games Engagement. Influential sporting, government and industry leaders attended the event, where a special panel discussed the road to 2032, UQ’s commitment to supporting the delivery of a successful Games and the lasting legacy that large sporting events leave behind.
Pages
- After almost a decade at the helm, this edition of marks the last for long-time 'Contact' editor Michael Jones. As he signs off on the "end of an era", Michael looks back on his 10 favourite stories published during his time as editor.
- As voters get ready to head to the polls for the Queensland state elections, how will the major parties plan to address the housing and rental crisis, and what policies need to be implemented urgently?
- Whether struggling to get in the zone at work or reading the same sentence of a book 20 times, all of us have experienced frustration at our inability to focus. UQ's expert on the science of concentration busts some myths and shares some tips.
- UQ Mythbusters gives you expert advice on what to do to stay safe when being swooped by a bird – and how to avoid being swooped altogether.
- The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and many other political leaders want to ban young Australians from social media until they turn 16. Is that a good idea or a regressive move that distracts us from the more important task of building forms of social media that enable young people to flourish?
- As the next Queensland election approaches, both major parties have promised to ‘crack down’ on youth crime. But while Queensland currently locks up more children than any other state, is putting children in detention a viable solution and does it reduce the rates of re-offending? UQ experts explain.
- Despite the endless array of products, advice, and pimple-popping YouTube videos, most of us probably couldn’t say with certainty what actually causes acne, nor which treatments are genuinely effective. UQ Mythbusters is here to clear that up.
- Is it possible to end a contract to purchase or sell a house simply because you’ve changed your mind?
- As an Olympian, I used to think mindset was about being harder, tougher, stronger. I used to think it was about eliminating stress and pressure. I used to think it was about setting goals and chasing them. It turns out I was way off.
Pages
- Eight UQ Para-athletes have returned to Australia with 11 medals after a thrilling, empowering and inspiring performance at the 2024 Paris Paralympics Games.
- UQ Wheelchair Rugby Club players Chris Bond, Beau Vernon and Josh Nicholson have won bronze medals for Australia at the Paris Paralympics.
- University of Queensland Cycle Club member Korey Boddington collected a gold medal and a Games record in the C4–C5 1000 metres time trial in his Paralympic Games debut.
- UQ alum Brenden Hall and student Lakeisha Patterson have claimed Australia’s first 2 medals in the space of 10 minutes on the opening day of the Paris Paralympics.
- Welcome to 'Contact' magazine's home of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Stay up to date with all the results from the UQ athletes in action in Paris.
- As the Olympic cauldron is extinguished in Paris, to be reignited in Los Angeles in 4 years, the magic carpet ride of 19 UQ athletes comes to an end, after 16 days of triumph, heartbreak and unforgettable experiences.
- UQ's Gabi Palm and Abby Andrews have helped create a powerful legacy by winning an inaugural Olympic silver medal. UQ alum Louise Evans reports from Paris.
- UQ alum Maddison Keeney has won the silver medal in the women’s 3-metre springboard, the first Australian in history to win an individual Olympic medal in a springboard diving event.
- UQ's Gabi Palm and Abby Andrews have helped make history, playing pivotal roles in defeating the 3-time Olympic champions USA in the women’s water polo semi-final. UQ Alum Louise Evans reports from Paris.
Pages
- After almost a decade at the helm, this edition of marks the last for long-time 'Contact' editor Michael Jones. As he signs off on the "end of an era", Michael looks back on his 10 favourite stories published during his time as editor.
- October is just around the corner and the UQ jacarandas are about to be in full bloom. While jacaranda season and exams go hand-in-hand, it's the perfect time of year to a pay a visit to campus – perhaps for a picnic.
- UQ has commemorated the 80th anniversary of the US Army's General Hospital's withdrawal from Gatton at a special event on 29 August, when more than 120 attendees reflecting on the impact to the community and acknowledged the service of the medical staff who saved so many lives.
- Drama students are taking the stage at the revitalised Avalon Theatre, more than a century after construction of the original building in St Lucia. Following an 18-month refurbishment, the iconic theatre has reopened as a unique teaching and performance space for UQ.
- The University of Queensland community is remembering the achievements of activist, academic and author, Adjunct Associate Professor Merle Thornton AM, who died on Friday 16 August, aged 93.
- Having sat idle and out of tune for 8 years, the familiar haunting tones of the UQ pipe organwill reverberate around the UQ Art Museum once more following the instrument’s restoration in March.
- Did you know that iconic UQ Army General Douglas MacArthur has a degree from UQ? For the first time, 'Contact' reveals the full correspondence between MacArthur and then-UQ Chancellor Forgan Smith in the lead up to MacArthur's honorary doctorate conferral.
- We're back with another edition of Love at UQ. From bench seats in Forgan Smith, to years spent on Heron Island, join us as we celebrate the special bonds that university life creates.
- To celebrate 110 years working, learning, researching and engaging in the regions, 'Contact' takes a look back at UQ's rich history across Queensland.
Pages
Connecting you with news from UQ's Indigenous community
About Contact magazine
Contact magazine is your pocket guide to navigating our changing world. Landing in email inboxes monthly, with added special editions covering timely topics, our features keep you informed and entertained. Contact brings together the best insights from UQ’s alumni, researchers and community, connecting our global network of ChangeMakers through storytelling.
Before becoming a digital-only publication, Contact was a print magazine. Visit our digital archive to explore print editions from the magazine's early years.