When we think about preparing for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we think about building the world-class venues, an athlete village and the transport infrastructure needed to move crowds of spectators to and from events. Of course, we need to build these.
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However, an event of this scale will also require a highly skilled, adaptable workforce, and meeting this demand will require more than filling vacancies. It will mean equipping people with the expertise, innovation and practical experience needed to deliver a global sporting event and its enduring benefits, and universities stand ready to help make that happen.
At The University of Queensland (UQ), we are already laying the foundations. Last month, we launched the International Testing Agency’s Academic Centre for the Oceania region, following the agency’s approach to UQ last year. As Brisbane 2032 nears, demand for a highly trained anti-doping workforce will only grow, and this partnership will help deliver the skilled professionals we will need, with expertise in sports integrity, governance and science.
We are also contributing in less obvious ways. For example, Professor Janet McColl Kennedy from UQ’s Business School recently led the Feeding the Brisbane 2032 Games White Paper through Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA). The report highlights the complex challenges involved in feeding millions of visitors and participants – from supply chain resilience and workforce shortages to sustainability, climate risk and rising costs – and offers recommendations for how these can be addressed.
And just as importantly, we are inspiring the next generation. At UQ’s recent Skills Open Day in Gatton, students from the Lockyer Valley explored the remarkable diversity of careers that underpin major sporting events. From engineering and health to logistics, communications, event management and sustainable design, they saw first-hand that the Games will create opportunities for Queenslanders in every corner of the state.
Universities are home to many of Queensland’s leading thinkers and problem-solvers, with expertise spanning food systems, health sciences, engineering, urban planning, sustainability and technology.
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UQ, of course, is also home to state-of-the-art sports facilities, a world-class school of Human Movement Studies, the Queensland Centre for Olympic and Paralympic Studies, and outstanding equine care and agistment facilities at our Gatton campus. And by bringing together these facilities and expertise, we can help ensure that we have the people power here in Queensland to deliver a truly successful Games.
Brisbane 2032 is far more than a sporting event. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in people, strengthen industries and build lasting capability. And universities are not waiting for the Games to arrive – we are already helping shape the workforce that will make them memorable and create a legacy that will endure long after the final medal has been awarded.