As part of Queen's 180th anniversary, staff are invited to share their favourite Queen's memories for a chance to win some mystery prizes. Whether you've just joined or have decades of experience, we'd love to hear the highlights of your time at Queen's.

• Submit your memory here by Sunday 13 July
• Watch the 180 campaign feature video here

The Staff Wellbeing Physical Activity Programme will return for Summer 2025 on week commencing 22 July, offering Yoga and Tone 'n' Trim hybrid classes. All staff are welcome to take part.

• Online booking will open from Wednesday 9 July at 9am.
• To find out more about any of the sessions in advance of registering, please contact activecampus@qub.ac.uk.

Applications are invited for the Queen’s University Teaching Awards 2025. The closing date for receipt of applications is 4.00pm on Thursday 31 July 2025. Queries can be directed to Liz McDowell on e.mcdowell@qub.ac.uk.

• Full details are available on the Centre for Educational Development (CED) website.

After more than a week of celebrations, Summer Graduation 2025 concluded on Friday 4 July.

The ceremonies and garden parties, hosted in the Whitla Hall and on the lawns of Queen's beautiful and historic Quadrangle, were supported once again by a large number of colleagues working together across all Schools and Directorates, offering an important demonstration of how much we care about our students.

• View Summer Graduation 2025 in pictures here.

The University is currently recruiting to a number of positions internally.

Staff can view internal and external vacancies through iTrent Employee Self-Service.

To facilitate the year end process, please note the following arrangements for raising sales invoices to customers for activities carried out prior to 31 July 2025:

Qfis Sales order invoices

• Up to 31 July 2025: All sales orders relating to activities completed prior to 31 July 2025 should be fully approved and posted to QFIS by 4pm on Thursday 31 July 2025. Invoices in progress but not fully approved by 31 July 2025, will be posted to the new year.
• Friday 1 August 2025 – Friday 8 August 2025: Sales order function will be available on QFIS but during this period there will be a delay in the email and posting of invoices. Invoices raised during this period will be emailed to initiators and posted to QFIS in the August 2025 period (202501) from 8.00am 11 August 2025.
• Any sales orders raised from 1 August 2025 relating to activities carried out in the period prior to 31 July 2025 should be clearly identified as relating to financial year 2024-25 using the GL reference field and the invoice text. By exception and where material, manual adjustments will be made by the Accounting Services section of Finance to the 2024-25 accounts.
• From Monday 11 August 2025: Sales order invoicing will operate as normal. All fully approved sales orders will be posted in financial year 2025-26.

If you have any queries, please contact the Accounting Services section of Finance by emailing sorequests@qub.ac.uk.

As part of the University’s ongoing commitment to supporting managers across Queen’s in leading their teams through change, we’re pleased to launch the Leading Change Toolkit. 

This toolkit is designed for anyone who manages people and is responsible for delivering change within their area.

The Staff Round Up Summer schedule begins today, Monday 7 July. Three further Summer editions will issue fortnightly as follows:

• Monday 21 July
• Monday 4 August
• Monday 18 August

The Staff Round Up will resume its weekly schedule from Monday 1 September.

We are developing a digital strategy that will improve your experience at work, enhance how we deliver for our students, and enable us to operate more sustainably, both environmentally and financially.

• Read the latest update on our digital transformation journey.

All Queen's staff and students are invited to the annual Queen’s Pride Picnic on Wednesday 23 July from 12.00pm to 2.00pm. This free celebration event will include music, entertainment, food trucks, drinks and an ice-cream cart.

The first 200 registrations will receive a free meal and ice-cream ticket. There will also be the opportunity to purchase from the food trucks and ice-cream cart on the day.

• Register here.

Step away from your desk and into nature! Join Active Campus every Wednesday this Summer for a refreshing stroll through the beautiful Botanic Gardens, taking time to relax, recharge and connect with colleagues in a calm and scenic setting.

• Every Wednesday at 1.15pm for a 20-minute walk
• Meet at the front of the Lanyon Building

The following courses are available to support staff wellbeing within Queen’s. Please register via iTrent Self-Service,* unless otherwise indicated. *Search for 'Wellbeing' to see available courses.

• Understanding Alcohol: 9 July (online)
• Financial Advice 1-to-1 Sessions: 29 July and 30 July (in person). Book directly via the provider here.
• Substance Misuse Awareness: 20 August (online)
• Communicating with Empathy and Understanding Through Change: 28 August (online)
• Working through Change and Building Resilience: 17 September, 22 October, 20 November and 17 December (online)
• Stress Management Policy – The Line Manager's Role: 23 September

Colleagues are invited to sign up for the next Campus Football and Campus Badminton series. These activities cost just £5 per person for the full eight weeks.

• Campus Football: 1.00pm to 1.45pm on Tuesdays from 8 July to 26 August (eight weeks) in OTF 1 and 2, PEC
• Campus Badminton: 1.00pm to 1.45pm on Thursdays from 10 July to 28 August (eight weeks) in the Minor Hall, PEC

Please register here.

• Queen’s Sport Summer Programme: Enrolment now open. Courses begin on 14 July
• New Membership Price Plan - August 2025

The University and the Students’ Union encourage all staff to familiarise themselves with our online reporting tool, Report and Support. This system enables students to request support if they have experienced or witnessed:

• bullying;
• harassment;
• hate crime;
• and/or sexual misconduct.

There is also an option for staff or students to make a report on behalf of another student and anonymous reports can be made too. Advice and Guidance for staff on supporting disclosures is available from the Safe and Healthy Relationships website.

Nominations for the Postdoc Awards 2025 close tonight, Monday 7 July, at 11.59pm.

These awards aim to recognise postdoctoral contributions to research, citizenship and outreach, and support. All staff are encouraged to nominate Queen's postdoctoral researchers who have excelled in their contributions to each of these categories. 

• Find out more and nominate here.

The current Co-Chairs of iRise – the University's Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network – are completing their term. Expressions of Interest are now invited for the two Co-Chair positions, which opens a development opportunity for new colleagues to be involved in the network.

• Staff interested in the roles are asked to please complete this Microsoft form before close of business on Friday 1 August.

The next event in Queen's Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Forum will take place in the new academic year. Ahead of this, colleagues are invited to share ideas for future themes as well as feedback and reflections on previous events.

• To submit your feedback, please contact Dr Liang Wang at: liang.wang@qub.ac.uk 

As part of the University’s commitment to fostering an inclusive, accessible, and supportive workplace, we’re pleased to announce that all Queen’s staff – and their families – now have free access to Read&Write for Work. 

Originally developed to assist neurodivergent users – including those with dyslexia – Read&Write for Work offers a suite of discreet, user-friendly tools to help individuals of all abilities with reading, writing, and communication.

• Learn more and download the software today. 

A reminder that staff leaving the University must return all university-issued IT equipment prior to their employment end date. This includes, but is not limited to: 

• Laptops, desktops, and monitors 
• Mobile devices, such as phones or tablets 
• Peripheral hardware, including monitors, headphones, keyboards, mice, docking stations and power supply 
• Storage devices such as external hard drives or USB drives 

The equipment should be returned to the IT Helpdesk or to a designated IT Officer.

The Postdoc Society is delighted to announce the return of the Postdoc Showcase 2025 in celebration of Postdocs and Research Staff on 26 September from 9.30am to 6pm in The Canada Room/Council Chamber. 

The theme of this year's event is 'Voices of the Future: Postdocs Shaping Tomorrow'. This event is an opportunity for all research staff at Queen's to showcase their research, learn about others' research, and network with other postdocs.

• Find out more and register here.

Recent posts from Queen's Policy Engagement (QPol):

• Cold public attitudes in the face of the climate crisis, by Professor Katy Hayward, Dr Jonny Hanson and Dr Paula Devine
• The new African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, by Dr Ronagh McQuigg
• The Serendipity of Science: COVID's Silver Lining, by Professor Mark Lawler
• Saving the National Cancer Plan: The triumph of evidence over opinion by Professor Mark Lawler

The Conversation is a news website featuring articles by academics, often republished to global media outlets. Articles by Queen's academics published in The Conversation have been read by 23.8 million people internationally.

Read the latest:

• Is your cat vocal or quiet? The explanation could be in their genes, by Dr Grace Carroll
• Iran air strikes: Republicans split over support for Trump and another 'foreign war', by Richard Hargy
• Another public inquiry into institutional abuses – why they so often fail to deliver justice for victims, by Anne Marie McAlinden

Read the latest staff news stories on the Staff News and Community Gateway:

• In Pictures: Summer Graduation 2025
• Queen's researcher co-winner of ‘Outstanding Pharmacy Early-Career Researcher Award’
• Queen’s Reboot Café wins Innovation in Student Experience Award at the CUBO Awards
• Queen’s Professor hosts international critical care trials conference in Belfast
• Queen’s recognised for commitment to Fairtrade standards with Fairtrade University Award

Queen's new sustainability podcast, The Ripple Effect, explores how we can all create change through inspiring conversations with Queen’s staff, expert insights, and practical tips for a more sustainable future.

• Episode 1: Art and Sustainability Inspiring Positive Change
• Episode 2: Wild Ideas - Biodiversity at Queen's
• Episode 3: Volunteering for a Greener Future

Joining Queen's as a student and then as a lecturer in French, Dr Poppy Boyd now works as a Language Support Officer and is one of the Staff Forum representatives for the Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility Directorate. 

• Profile: Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility Directorate Staff Forum Representative, Dr Poppy Boyd.

The brand new Lanyon magazine is now available. In the new-look magazine, we talk to Gary Neville about life off the pitch, celebrate 180 years of Queen’s having an impact across the world, take a peek at the lives behind research, and hear from our graduates about what makes Queen’s so special to them.

• A limited number of hard copies will be available but, in the meantime, staff can read the magazine here.

Queen’s University is launching a new award/s to encourage early career clinical academics to develop confidence in working at the interface of academia, industry, and healthcare.

Applications are invited from early career researchers who have demonstrated the value of industry collaboration in advancing their work and ‘making NI a region of choice for clinical trials’.

• Applications must be submitted here by 12.00pm on Tuesday 26 August.

• Postdoc Parents Network: Established in 2025, this is a new peer-led community designed to support and connect postdoctoral researchers at Queen’s who are also parents or caregivers.
• Who are your Postdoc Representatives: Established in 2022, the PDC Representatives' Network includes postdoctoral researchers and academic staff from Schools across all three Faculties of the University.

The network is currently seeking additional postdoctoral representation from Schools within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) and in the School of Mathematics and Physics (EPS). Postdoctoral researchers interested in representing their School are encouraged to contact Dr Lisa Douglas, PDC Officer at: l.douglas@qub.ac.uk

Details of ongoing works being carried out across the University campus can be found on the Estates Directorate webpage.

This week’s new and returning films at Queen’s Film Theatre, your cinema on campus.

• 28 Years Later
• Hot Milk
• Ran

The Naughton Gallery invites staff to its latest sports exhibition, 'CRYIN' AT THE GYM'. All are welcome. Admission is free.

The Gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11.00am to 4.00pm.

Staff can read the latest news and updates from the Seamus Heaney Centre here.

Learning and Development's July programme of events is now available. From Learning for all, Leading and Managing and Queen’s, LinkedIn Learning, Nature Masterclasses, and Recruitment and Selection Training, there are courses to suit everyone.

• AI in Research Writing
• Gemini in Google Docs
• How to lead through a downsizing or restructuring programme
• Advanced Python: Top tools for Data Science and Engineering

• Watch the AI Hub's AI Case Studies of Queen's staff.
• View and use AI Self-Help Guides on the AI Hub;
• Find recordings of the AI Hub's AI Building Blocks sessions;
• Listen to Jisc's Beyond the Technology Podcast, featuring Queen's.

Additionally, a set of new resources located on the AI student support page have been developed to offer practical support:

Applications are invited for the SEDA Leading Education for Sustainable Development in the Curriculum programme. The programme is open to Module Co-ordinators or Programme Directors, or members of staff who have significant influence over the curriculum development and design of credit-bearing courses.

The programme will run from September to December 2025. Places are limited to 15.

• Find out more and apply via iTrent.

The Business Alliance Team has launched the 2026 Collaborative Studentship call. The University has committed to a number of studentships*, commencing in October 2026, for projects across the institution that will involve significant work with a non-academic partner. Partnerships with private sector industry, government departments, agencies and voluntary sector organisations that meet the above criteria will all be considered.

• Full information on the call can be found on the Business Engagement and Partnering SharePoint site.
• Applications should only be made via this form.

The comprehensive Preparing for Queen’s resource (formerly Getting Started at Queen's) is now live on the My Queen’s website, supporting both prospective and incoming students as they consider or prepare for university life at Queen's.

Staff are invited to explore and share the resource now to help their students get started.

The Pre-Semester Welcome Programme supports new and returning students as they begin or continue their journey at Queen's. The main events run from 8-12 September with daily activities designed to help students connect with peers and engage with campus life before classes begin. Further events continue throughout the following weeks until October, supporting students as they settle into university life. Staff are invited to explore and share this non-compulsory programme to help their students get involved.

• View the full event details here.

Researchers from the School of Psychology are hosting a Patient Engagement Event for Stroke Survivors on Thursday 7 August from 11.00am to 3.00pm in Riddel Hall. Lunch and tea/coffee will be provided. This event aims to bring together stroke survivors to share experiences, foster meaningful discussions, and generate valuable insights to support ongoing research. Staff are kindly asked to help spread the word to ensure a healthy turnout.

• 60 places are available. Please register here to attend.