Join us online for a special update from UQ Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Deborah Terry AC, on UQ’s recent achievements and future aspirations.
Then, Dr Rolf Gomes – a 2022 UQ Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award recipient – will join the live broadcast for a conversation about his extraordinary personal story as the founder of the game-changing rural health service, Heart of Australia.
The UQ alumni and community symposium offers a unique forum to celebrate UQ’s extraordinary global community of ChangeMakers. We hope to see you there.
Date: Monday 6 November 2023 AEST
Time: 6–7:15pm AEST / 9–10:15am London / 4–5:15pm Singapore
Event format: Online
Use this easy time converter if you're in a different time zone.
If you're unable to join us live, register to receive a unique link to watch it on catch-up after the event.
Introduction
Adjunct Professor Ian Kemish AM
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) '87
Chair of the UQ ChangeMakers board
Speakers
Professor Deborah Terry AC
Vice-Chancellor and President
The University of Queensland
Dr Rolf Gomes
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery '01
2022 Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award recipient and founder of Heart of Australia.
Dr Rolf Gomes is a former electrical engineer turned cardiologist who founded Heart of Australia in 2014; a mobile healthcare program transforming the way specialist medicine is delivered in rural and remote communities.
It was during his years as a junior doctor that Rolf realised the lack of accessible healthcare options for country Australians compared to those living in major metropolitan areas. To challenge this health inequity, he came up with a simple idea: mobilise specialists and their equipment and bring them to the doorsteps of our rural and remote people.
Dr Gomes combined his technical engineering skills and medical knowledge to design a semi-trailer, clinic-on-wheels that could deliver medicine anywhere, no matter your postcode. With the support of his family, he built the first Heart Truck and began servicing a route of five communities in rural Queensland.
Today the Heart of Australia program consists of five mobile Heart Trucks, each fitted with state-of-the art equipment and technology that would be found in any city-based clinic.
Dr Gomes and his growing team of specialists and medical professionals now visit over 33 communities across rural and remote Queensland, providing a wide range of services including cardiology, endocrinology, neurology, gynaecology, radiology and respiratory screening.
Moderator
Madonna King
Bachelor of Arts '85
Award winning journalist, commentator and author.
Enquires
Alumni and Community Engagement
Telephone: +61 7 3346 3166
Email: uqchangemakers@uq.edu.au
About Alumni events
UQ alumni and community events take place in-person and online, across the globe, throughout the year. UQ alumni are invited to join the UQ ChangeMakers platform to access early event registrations, benefits and discounts.
