Professor Rachel Parker, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Training)

Areas of responsibility

Professor Parker is responsible for strategic leadership for enhancing research performance and fostering the highest ethical standards in research. She provides oversight of research policies to ensure they support high quality and impactful research, as well as overseeing systems and services to provide efficient support for researchers.

Biography

Rachel Parker's research field is technology innovation systems and she has a discipline background in policy, governance and strategy. 

Rachel has 20 years’ experience in higher education research leadership as Director Higher Degree Research Studies (Political Science, UQ 2003-2006), Associate Dean Research (QUT Business School, 2009-2018), Dean Research Development (QUT 2014-2015), Director Centre for METS Business Innovation (QUT 2017-2020) and most recently as Executive Director, Research Translation and Impact (UQ 2022-2023). She has worked closely with State and Federal governments as an advisor on technology and innovation policy, research impact and university-industry research collaboration. 

Rachel's research focuses on the business and social dimensions of uptake and diffusion of science and engineering research across the economy and the creation of new economic opportunities from new technologies. She was Leader of the Industry Translation Capability and Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology and was the inaugural Director Centre for Mining Equipment Technology and Services (METS) Business Innovation (QUT 2017-2020), funded by Queensland Government, Mining 3 and with major projects funded by CRCOre. She has led large-scale multi-disciplinary partnerships including ARC, CRC and commercial research.

Rachel was a member of the social sciences panel of the ARC’s first Research Engagement and Impact assessment exercise, was an invited expert witness before the Senate Economic References Committee inquiry into Australia’s innovation system and was a member of the economic impact panel of the ATN/GO8 research impact assessment trial.  

Professor Rachel Parker
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)
PhD Qld., LLB(Hons) Qld., BA Qld.

  + 61 (7) 3365 9044

Level 3, Brian Wilson Chancellery Building (61A)
The University of Queensland
Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia

 
 

Wendy Whittington
Executive Assistant

  + 61 (7) 3365 9044
  w.whittington@uq.edu.au