2024-25 Winners

• Queen's 180 Award - Prostate Cancer Centre of Excellence
• Exceptional Contribution - Miss Brenda Flynn
• Celebrating Innovation - Academic Appeals Digitisation Project Team
• Best Collaboration - Recording of Teaching Policy/Lecture Capture Working Group
• Delivering Excellence - Dr Darragh Lydon
• Outstanding Leadership - Ms Anya O’Connor
• Student Choice - Mr John Carberry

A huge congratulations to all the winners and nominees! Your hard work and commitment make a real difference to the University community.

“Story and Song: 180 Years of Queen’s” – filmed at the Whitla Hall to celebrate almost two centuries of the University, and 60 years of the Ulster Orchestra – was broadcast on radio and TV on Friday 27 February and Sunday 1 March by BBC Northern Ireland.

Please contact the Relocation team with any queries.

Queen’s pension schemes provide staff with long-term financial security and stability.

Key benefits include:

• Financial security: a guaranteed monthly income upon retirement;
• Provision for loved ones: support for your family should circumstances change;
• Long-term value: assisting staff with confident planning and future financial wellbeing.

Learn more here about the University's Pension Schemes and how they can support future planning.

Timely submission is essential to support accurate reporting and ensure smooth processing around this busy time of year.

Any requests received after the deadline will be processed after the Research Finance Team returns from the Easter leave period in April.

The draft strategy represents an important step forward in strengthening how equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are embedded across all areas of university life.

Your feedback will help shape a Strategy that meaningfully reflects the experiences, priorities, and needs of our university community.

More information

• The consultation will close at 5.00pm on Thursday 19 March 2026.
• If you have any questions or experience difficulties in accessing the feedback form, please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Team by email: eqdiv@qub.ac.uk.
• Further information is available on the EDI webpages.

Queen's has many initiatives to support staff who cycle to campus, as a Platinum Cycle Friendly Employer, it has extensive cycling infrastructure and activities, including regular Community Bike Rides and access to Ireland's first e-bike facility.

• Find out more about Sustainable Travel at Queen's.

Spring into Action Programme – Save the Dates:

• W/c 9 March – Public Transport week
• W/c 16 March – Get Active Week
• W/c 23 March – E-bike Demo Week

To find out more, or for any queries, contact the Sustainability Team at sustainability@qub.ac.uk.

This session will provide an opportunity to share emerging themes and priorities and highlight key opportunities to strengthen and further integrate the Graduate School provision.

The session will begin with a short presentation outlining the current Graduate School offering, followed by a series of breakout discussions with each team across the following topics intended to support future planning and delivery:

• Training and Development
• Student Engagement
• Employability and Enterprise + Doctoral Training Entities

As part of the University's 180th anniversary celebrations, Queen’s has proudly sponsored 36 teams to take part in the Belfast Marathon. This virtual programme is designed to support those signed up for the relay.

This event begins with lunch and networking, followed by opening remarks from Professor Judy Williams, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students. A panel discussion and Q&A will feature staff and students sharing their lived experiences. Afterwards, an exhibition area will showcase support services and resources, including a CPR demonstration using a female manikin, delivered through a Swan-funded project aimed at addressing gender inequality in CPR training.

• AI Lightning Talks (open to all staff). Tuesday 31 March, 10.00am to 12.00pm, online.
• Webinar: What's new in AI in 2026 (webinar recording). Staff can also view the session resources here.
• AI for Educators Course: Self-paced Canvas course for student-facing staff to build confidence using AI in education. Explore four modules (Basics, Teaching & Learning, Assessment & Feedback, and Research), with practical AI Skills Build activities and discussion. Complete what’s most relevant to you, or finish all four to earn a Digital Certificate of Completion, signed by Professor Judy Williams (PVC Education and Students).

More information

AI Lightning Talks: A morning of insight, ideas, and conversation about the future of AI in education, featuring a series of short, engaging talks showcasing how colleagues across the University are already putting AI into practice.

Webinar: What's new in AI in 2026. The Digital Learning Institute recently hosted a webinar exploring new developments and trends in AI in 2026, facilitated by Joe Houghton, unpacking how AI is changing how we design, deliver and manage learning.

Please contact the team at AI-Hub@qub.ac.uk with any queries.

• Please email the Student Surveys Team with any queries.

National Student Survey (NSS) 2026

This survey gives students the opportunity to provide feedback on their whole time at Queen's, from the teaching on their course to the library and other resources. The responses help to highlight the great things we do in Queen's and identify areas for continued improvement.

• Students will have received a personalised invite to the survey from Ipsos and will receive reminder emails, texts and phonecalls over the coming months.
• Students can complete the survey and get more information on the NSS website.

• Students can find out more on the Careers Fair webpages.
• The fair is currently ‘live’ for students to view on the Careers Management Tool, MyFuture. Using their Queen’s login, students can log on to MyFuture online or via the MyFuture App to register and access exhibitor profiles.

Quiet Time and Employer Accessibility

To support the diverse needs of our students, this year’s Spring Careers Fair will again feature a period of ‘quiet time’ from 2.00pm to 2.30pm, when numbers will be restricted, lighting dimmed and noise levels reduced.

More information

In the coming weeks, Careers, Employability and Skills will be promoting the Spring Careers Fair across University screens, and through posters and social media. Please help spread the word of this important event for our Queen’s students and engage with our social media across all platforms, including Instagram and LinkedIn; key hashtags to use include: #QUBCareersFair and #QUBCareers .

To contribute an article to Queen's Policy Engagement, please email Kevin at qpol@qub.ac.uk.

• In Pictures: 2026 Sustainability Student Summit
• Queen’s launches free late-night shuttle service for students
• In Pictures: Queen’s launches free late-night shuttle service for students
• Professor Christopher McCrudden Awarded 2026 RIA Gold Medal in the Social Sciences
• Queen’s Secures Race Equality Charter Bronze Award
• Queen’s University Professor appointed to new UK national mathematical sciences academy fellowship
• Queen’s on track to help plant one million trees as part of Belfast City Council initiative
• Deborah Levy announced as the inaugural International Visiting Chair for Creative Writing
• Queen's celebrates Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Week 2026

* Findings from a European Research Council Advanced Award: 'The Social Identity Model of Traumatic Identity Change: A Novel Theory of Post-Traumatic Stress, Resilience and Growth'.

This webinar, outlining the project 'Enhancing Education for Soil Health: Needs, Challenges & New Resources', will include the introduction of a range of new open access educational tools and resources developed during the project, and discussion around the urgent need for expanding and improving education for soil health. Attendees will hear from the UK LOESS Team as well as a range of educators and practitioners working at different levels of the formal and informal education system.

Dr Brian Kwoba is Associate Professor of history and Director of the African and African American Studies (AAAS) programme, University of Memphis, USA. This event is the UK book launch for 'Hubert Harrison: Forbidden Genius of Black Radicalism' (UNC Press, 2025).

Postdoc Life Session: Maximising Your Researcher Profile: Boost your researcher profile at this Postdoc Life session. Learn how to use Pure effectively, link your ORCID and Scopus IDs, and get to grips with Scopus and SciVal to track your research visibility and impact. For postdocs, a strong, accurate profile is key to funding, fellowships and career progression. We’ll show you how to make sure your outputs are correctly attributed and working for you.

Managing Challenging Conversations: In research, difficult conversations are necessary for addressing concerns and resolving grievances. Open communication is vital for progress and wellbeing. This session combines exercises and research insights, blending theory and practice.

The Postdoctoral Leadership Programme is a two-day course that builds leadership understanding and core skills, exploring how leadership applies across diverse roles, including academic research. Participants complete an Insights Discovery questionnaire in advance, informing a workshop on cognitive diversity, vision, coaching, and leadership styles. The course is facilitated by Dr Louise O’Meara, an expert in collaborative leadership with over 25 years’ experience.

Thinking Beyond Academia? This new online lunch and learn session will provide Postdocs and Research Staff with information on how KTPs offer job opportunities at the intersection of research and industry. Delivered through the UK-wide Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme, KTPs connect universities with forward-thinking organisations to drive innovation, growth, and real-world impact.

• Workshop: Here and There: Is the Grass Greener? Saturday 7 March, 1.00pm, The Seamus Heaney Centre. Fourth and final workshop in the series exploring ideas of place, home and origin.
• Write Night with KARIS KELLY. Tuesday 10 March, 5.30pm, The Seamus Heaney Centre. 'In Conversation' event with playwright and screenwriter Karis Kelly.
• Guest lecture: Lessons From the Sacred Heart: Life Writing, Then and Now. Wednesday 11 March, 4.30pm, The Seamus Heaney Centre. Presented by Carolyn Dever (Dartmouth College)

Bodies, Vulnerabilities, Empowerment – Symposium: Employing creative ethnography, poetry, and other modes of artistic exploration, papers at the symposium will explore how inequalities related to intersectionalities of gender, sexuality, race, religion, class, age, and/or disability are embodied and experienced, embedded in wider societal structures, politicised and resisted.

* To register, please email Amanda Lubit (amanda.lubit@dcu.ie), with the subject heading 'AUDIENCE REGISTRATION - BODIES, VULNERABILITIES, EMPOWERMENT', indicating your name, affiliation, and whether you wish to participate in the morning, the afternoon, or the whole day. 

• Palestine Comedy Club
• The Secret Agent
• "Wuthering Heights"
• After the Credits: Film Discussion Group
• Irish Language Week: Aontas + Q&A
• Othello
• Oscars 2026
• Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
• Cinemagic On the Pulse
• A Quiet Love
• NT Live: The Audience
• Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

Staff tickets are priced at £8.50. Staff and students aged 26 and under can join LUMI to get tickets for £6.00 every day, all year round.

Oliver Jeffers is well known for his award-winning picture books. Beyond his literary success, he is an internationally recognised painter and sculptor. Jeffers’ work, with its distinctive simplicity, beauty, and humour, invites people to engage with big ideas, offering fresh context, hope, and a renewed sense of purpose in these rapidly shifting times.

The Gallery is open daily from 11.00am to 4.00pm.

Under the guidance of goldsmith Diane Lyness, each participant will be taught traditional jewellery-making techniques such as piercing, soldering, shaping, texturing, and polishing, to create a beautiful knotted silver ring to take home.

In Case You Missed It:

• Dermot Whelan's Practical Tools for Smart Living
• Raising Kids in an AI World
• Simple Practices for Gratitude and Self
• How We Break the Cycle: Stress

• Automatic start/stop: Recordings begin five minutes after the scheduled start time and stop five minutes before the end. You do not need to open Panopto manually.
• Privacy sweep: Everything displayed on the teaching PC screens is captured. Close emails and other sensitive material before recording begins.
• Recording indicator: A red light on the teaching bench confirms when recording is in progress.
• Pause or stop: Press F9 to pause or resume. Press F10 to stop the recording entirely.
• Editing window: Recordings are hidden from students for 48 hours, giving you time to review or edit if needed. You can adjust this timeframe.
• Canvas access: Embed recordings on the relevant Canvas page so students can easily find them.

For queries contact panopto-support@qub.ac.uk.

Please feel free to contact the University Safety Service at safety@qub.ac.uk or 028 9097 4613 should you have any queries or training requirements.

• If you are interested or have any questions, please contact DEFI-GDM@qub.ac.uk or phone 07823 368446. Participants will receive a £200 voucher reimbursement.

What’s involved?

• Two study visits (one x 3.5 hour and one x 2.5 hour) at the Centre for Public Health, Belfast
• Consuming study breakfast (scrambled eggs and toast)
• Weight and height measurement
• Appetite questionnaire
• Blood glucose measurements
• Two blood samples at each visit
• Completing two food diaries
• Voucher reimbursement

* You may be suitable to take part if you are:

• aged 18-50 years old;
• between 24-37 weeks pregnant and have GDM;
• not using antiemetic (anti-sickness) medication;
• not experiencing Hyperemesis Gravidarium (severe nausea and vomiting)
• have no history of Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus