Queen's University Management School

Dr Chris Colvin

A Queen’s University lecturer has been named the 2013 Economics Network Best New Lecturer.

Dr Chris Colvin, a lecturer in economics at Queen’s University Management School, won the national teaching prize in recognition of exemplary teaching practice that encourages understanding of and interest in economics.

The award, judged by the Conference of Heads of University Departments of Economics, is designed to recognise the best economics lecturer working in the UK who is less than three years in first post.

Speaking about his award, Dr Colvin said: “I am honoured to have received such recognition for my work.  Queen’s is devoted to excellence in teaching and learning and I am delighted that my contribution to that has been recognised in this way.  I intend to continue to deliver world-class economics education here at Queen’s.”

Professor Rob Gilles, Head of the Queen’s University Management School, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Chris’s excellent work in the classroom has been formally recognised in this way.  Through his innovative teaching and assessment methods, Chris has really made economics come alive in the classroom.  Students have been very receptive to the approaches he has taken and to his overall enthusiasm and passion for the subject area.”

The Economics Network supports the higher education economics community and aims to enhance the quality of learning and teaching in economics higher education. It does this by developing and disseminating teaching resources, undertaking research into economics education, running training events and conferences and recognising outstanding teaching though an annual awards scheme.

Dr Alvin Birdi, Undergraduate Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law at the University of Bristol, who coordinates the Economics Network, said: “The judging panel was impressed by how well-thought out Chris’ industrial economics module was both in terms of teaching and assessment. In particular, Chris stood out compared to the other nominees because of the range of innovative teaching methods he uses, making an exceptionally engaging and effective economics module, worthy of an award.”

Chris teaches second-year and final-year undergraduate students at Queen’s University Management School as part of its rigorous up-to-date economics programmes which have a proven track-record of preparing students for graduate study and careers in areas such as management, consultancy, financial services, teaching and public service.

For more information about Dr Chris Colvin and Queen’s University Management School visit http://www.qub.ac.uk/mgt/

Ends

Media inquiries to Claire O’Callaghan, Queen’s University Communications Office, Tel: +44 (0)28 9097 5391 email: c.ocallaghan@qub.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

·         Dr Chris Colvin is available for interview.  Interview bids to Claire O’Callaghan Queen’s University Communications Office, Tel: +44 (0)28 9097 5391 email: c.ocallaghan@qub.ac.uk

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Welcome Week for Year 1 undergraduates took place from Monday 23^rd September- Thursday 26^th September 2013. Resources are provided below from the sessions that took place.

Monday 23^rd September

QUMS Induction – Click on the links for powerpoint slides for sessions one and two

Tuesday 24^th September

Accounting Induction – Click here for powerpoint slides

Actuarial Science and Risk Management Induction – Click here for powerpoint slides

Wednesday 25^th September

Business Management and International Business with a Modern Language Induction – Click here for powerpoint slides

Business Management Induction - Click here for powerpoint slides

International Business with a Modern Language Induction - Click here for powerpoint slides

Thursday 26^th September

Economics Induction – Click here for powerpoint slides

Finance Induction – Click here for powerpoint slides

For further information, please contact your peer mentor (you can identify them using the attached list) or speak to one of your lecturers. Additional information is available in the School Handbook, which will soon be available on the School Website

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A Queen’s University student has fought off competition from across the country to be named UK Intern of the Year by leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP.

Samantha Rogers, from Limavady, and a final year accounting student at Queen’s, fought off competition from 72 other penultimate year university students from across the UK to win the award.

Samantha, who completed a six week internship in the Belfast branch, was shortlisted as a regional finalist and was named the winner after delivering a stand out final presentation.

Speaking about her win Samantha said: "I am delighted to have won the intern of the year award - it is such an honour and I am very grateful to Grant Thornton. As President of the Accountancy Society at Queen’s and final year student I appreciate the importance of internships such as these and I am thankful to Queen’s for the opportunities afforded to me so far."

Mrs Danielle McConville, Lecturer in Accounting at Queen’s University Management School said: “Queen’s is committed to providing our students with much more than a degree. We encourage our students to take placements and summer internships so that they are workplace-ready when they graduate and liaise closely with employers to ensure such opportunities are available.  Samantha is a shining example of the benefits of such internships and reflects Queen’s commitment to employability.”

Samantha’s internship manager at Grant Thornton, Padraic Little, said: "We have undoubtedly secured a really enthusiastic and driven trainee for the future here in Belfast. Samantha had a model internship with us, and we're extremely proud that she takes such a positive view of our firm back to her Queen’s University peers."

Partner and National Leadership Board member at Grant Thornton, Sacha Romanovitch, who judged the presentations, said: "The Summer Intern programme plays an important role in taking early opportunities to engage with and attract future employees. Interns get the chance to see what it’s like working with us, and we in turn get to find out if they are a good fit for our organisation. Last year, more than 80 per cent of our interns went on to become trainees with the firm – probably one of the reasons we were recently voted 'top placement and internship employer' by RateMyPlacement.co.uk. Grant Thornton is rated no.1 company on the site for under-graduate placements.”

Samantha will continue her final year of study at Queen’s University before joining the Belfast office within the audit department.

Ends

Media inquiries to Claire O’Callaghan, Queen’s University Communications Office, Tel: +44 (0)28 9097 5391 email: c.ocallaghan@qub.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

·         Samantha Rogers is available for interview.  Interview bids to Claire O’Callaghan Queen’s University Communications Office, Tel: +44 (0)28 9097 5391 email: c.ocallaghan@qub.ac.uk

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Professor Matthias Beck

Dr Sara Melo

Dr Sara Melo and Professor Matthias Beck of QUMS have won the Best Developmental Paper Award of the Public Management and Governance Stream at the recent 2013 British Academy of Management Conference in Liverpool for their paper “Guidelines versus flexibility in healthcare management”.

The way staff interact with colleagues from the same or other professional groups within healthcare facilities has been the subject of extensive long-standing research.  In healthcare,  the evidence-based medicine movements has had a crucial impact on the re-shaping of the medical and nursing professions, resulting in changes on how these professionals interact with their peers and colleagues from different professional and occupational groups.

The award-winning paper highlights the tensions between guidelines versus flexibility in healthcare management and adds to the critical understanding of the challenges faced by modern healthcare providers.

For further information or a copy of the paper please contact Dr Sara Melo, s.melo@qub.ac.uk, +44 (0)28 9097 4820 or Professor Matthias Beck, m.beck@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 4131

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Welcome to Queen’s and specifically to your degree programme in the Management School. We hope you enjoy the next 3-4 years with us.  Please click here for further information.

Please click on the link for the Campus Map

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Welcome to Queen’s and specifically to your degree programme in the Management School. We hope you enjoy the next year with us. 

International MBA students please click here for further information. 

Executive MBA students please click here for further information.

Full-time students please click here for further information.

Part-time Students please click here for further information.

Please click on the link for the Campus Map

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As the beginning of the new academic year approaches, we will be writing to you with some information about enrolment and registration.  You will be able to re-enrol online using the Registration Wizard from 16 September. 

Attached below, by programme, are the modules which you will have to complete in any given year. 

Accounting

Actuarial Science and Risk Management

Business Management

Business Economics

Economics Single Honours

Economics and Accounting

Economics and Management

Economics Major with Finance

Economics Major with another subject

Finance

International Business with a Modern Language

Part-time Degree in Management and Business Studies

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To view photos from the prize-giving ceremony click here

The recent QUMS Presentation of Awards and Prize-Giving Ceremony, hosted in the beautiful surroundings of Riddel Hall, recognised the academic excellence of the undergraduate students from first to final year. 

Gratitude was expressed for the continued support of QUMS' sponsors, some of whom have long-standing relationships with the School.

Sponsors: Allstate Northern Ireland, ASM, Barclays, BDO, Bombardier Aerospace, Buck Consultants, The Company of Actuaries Charitable Trust Fund, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Financial Times, KBC Bank Ireland, KPMG, Mercer, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Randox Laboratories, UTV, Xafinity Consulting, Equinity Claybrook, Allen & Overy, CIMA, Baker Tilly Mooney Moore, SCOR Global Life, Spence and Partners, ASG, Belfast Telegraph, Ulster Bank, and the family of Brian O'Reilly.

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The Association of Business Schools (ABS) recently held its first Irish Policy Network as part of a wider series, this event brought business schools and stakeholders from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland together at Queen’s University Management School to discuss issues around:  Is it Possible to Balance Student Demands with Business Needs?

This event provided a platform for key stakeholders in higher education (HE) policy and business school practice to engage in debate and discussion around pressing issues. The Irish network session has allowed challenges and opportunities to be explored in relation to the specific HE policy and business school environment in Ireland.

Kirsty McManus, Assistant Director, CBI Northern Ireland gave a keynote presentation on the importance of linking business schools to businesses in Ireland and the integral role that business schools and their stakeholders play, she said:

“Business need strong leadership and solid management will  be essential to compete in today's diverse, globally-dispersed, super-connected and resource-constrained organisations. Business Schools have a key role in up skilling our business leaders to compete in this global environment”.

Stephanie Strickland, Assistant Director (Projects and Governance) said:

“With the recent announcements re the Business School MSB Task Force-Business School/Mid Sized business (MSB) Collaboration, the ABS Innovation Report and new Advisory Board network, ABS is in a prime position to use the feedback from these policy networks to drive the HE policy agenda forward.

It is imperative that business schools and businesses work together, more effectively and efficiently to help grow UK Plc and make Britain’s businesses stronger and more nimble”.

The themes identified provide clear channels to pursue a collaborative agenda in Ireland, in an effort to align government priorities, industry requirements and business school best practice.

Developing these relationships across a triple-helix of stakeholders will help ensure that the research, advancement and teaching within Irish business schools is effectively communicated and therefore best positioned to further innovation and economic development.

These aims are fundamentally related to ensuring that graduates from business schools are fully equipped with the necessary skills and presented with the best possible opportunities for their long-term employability.

Findings from this event and the Scottish, Welsh, Canadian, Australian and four London sessions will be presented in a policy brochure later on in the Summer and findings discussed at all three of the major party conferences at ABS fringe events.  

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L-R, Lisa Burns, Professor Sir Peter Gregson President and Vice-Chancellor, Jill McGrath

The Team Award 2013 for Excellence in Teaching was presented by the Vice-Chancellor to Jill McGrath and Lisa Burns from the Placement Office in Queen’s University Management School.  The award was presented for the development of a mature, thorough Placement Learning Module which incorporates a wide range of good practice.  In receiving the award Jill said “we are extremely supportive of our students and facilitate their development of important employability skills through a student-centred approach. We actively seek out and respond to student feedback to improve the module, and have received excellent feedback from employers.”

Jill and Lisa are delighted to receive this team award as recognition for Excellence in Teaching, this provides acknowledgement to the additional efforts they have made to support students over the last few years during the difficult economic climate.  As a result of this the students undertaking a placement have achieved a high success rate into graduate employment and are well equipped for life in a global society.   Jill said “we have developed a wide portfolio of extremely supportive employers who we would like to express our gratitude to”.

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Aveen Connolly with Peter Ryan - Deputy Consul General

Seven Queen’s University Belfast students who undertook their placement in June with leading financial firms in New York are back in Belfast after two successful weeks. Three of the students – Eoin Cunning, Aveen Connolly and Ryan Armstrong who are from the Queen’s University Management School collectively said “They had an experience of a lifetime”.

Ryan Armstrong who is studying his degree in finance was placed at Fortress Investment Group.  Ryan said “I feel I grew a lot during the scholarship and developed a sense of confidence.  I learnt not to be intimidated by large figures or companies dealing with billions of dollars of money.  He added  “It was also a great opportunity to network and make lasting connections in the financial capital of the world.”

The student also joined our New York Association members on Thursday 6^th June for a welcome reception at the 59E59 Theater off Broadway.  Hilary Tuohy, Queen’s University New York Association President said  “We were delighted to welcome the students to New York.  It gave them the opportunity to meet with our Queen’s University alumni who have been living in New York and to ask questions about living and working here in the longer-term”.  She added “I think the students were surprised to see how much we stayed connected to the University”.

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CIM is the leading professional body for marketers worldwide and exists to develop the marketing profession, maintain professional standards and improve the skills of marketing practitioners. Queen's University Management School has joined forces with CIM to give our students the opportunity to gain CIM professional qualifications through their Multi Award Pathway (MAP). CIM qualifications are highly sought after by employers, and MAP alongside our own degrees, ensures we are equipping our students with the best opportunities for a successful marketing career.

Upon successful completion of the MSc Marketing programme students will have maximum exemptions from the CIM's Professional Diploma in Marketing, CAM (Communication Advertising Marketing Foundation) Diploma in Digital Marketing (awarded by CIM) and CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing. Students of the MSc Marketing programme will be registered as students with CIM and will have access to all CIM resources.  Students will be able to attend local CIM branch events and seminars, which will offer networking opportunities and the chance to keep abreast of current marketing thinking and practice.

Read more ...

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Peer Mentors pictured last year

Over 40 Year 1 and 2 Accounting students recently attended two Insight Events at the offices of KPMG in Belfast. The events were organised by the Accounting Peer Mentors – Year 2 and 3 Accounting students who volunteer to support our Year 1 students in settling into university life.

The events included talks from staff at a range of levels in KPMG, offering a general insight into the firm, their audit, tax and advisory departments, and their graduate opportunities and training schemes. Students also had the opportunity to question and chat informally with a range of staff (from trainees to partners) about their experiences with the firm.  

Danielle McConville from the Accounting Group in Queen’s University Management School, commented that 'This is just one of nearly twenty events held with Accounting employers in 2012/13, with real benefits for the students attending the events and in this case for the mentors who liaised with one of our major graduate employers to arrange the event. The great relationships we have with our graduate employers help our students in making informed decisions about their career paths and reinforce our reputation with those employers as providers of excellent graduates.'

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QUMS will be holding two open evenings for prospective part-time and full-time postgraduate students as follows:

QUMS Part-time Postgraduate Open Evening

This event will be held on Wednesday 22 May from 5.45 pm to 7.30 pm in Riddel Hall.  This event is specifically for those interested in the following part-time programmes:

Executive MBA
MSSc Organisation and Management
MA Human Resource Management

QUMS Part-time and Full-Time Open Evening

This event will be held on Thursday 20 June from 5.00-7.00 pm in the Teaching and Conferencing Block at Riddel Hall.  This event is open to prospective students interested in any of the following programmes

Full-time
International MBA
MSc Accounting and Finance
MSc Computational Finance and Trading
MSc Finance
MSc Human Resource Management
MSc Management
MSc Marketing
MSc International Business
MSc Risk Management and Financial Regulation

Part-time
Executive MBA
MSSc Organisation and Management
MA Human Resource Management

Register your interest in attending and find further information

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The annual KPMG¹ Distinguished Visiting Lecturer Event is organised by the Accounting Group within Queen’s University Management School and sponsored by KPMG (Northern Ireland). The 2012-13 KPMG Distinguished Visiting Lecturer was John McMullan² and his lecture addressed the theme of Social Enterprise – Fad, Fiction, or Fact.

This year’s event took place on 15^th May 2013 and was hosted by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Academic Planning, Staffing and External Relations, Professor Tony Gallagher. He began by thanking KPMG for their continued support of the Distinguished Visiting Lecturer initiative in association with Queen’s University Management School over the past 10 years. Professor Gallagher then reflected on the long history of the third sector in making a vital contribution to society and highlighted the growing importance of social enterprise. He also outlined the valuable work undertaken by the Bryson Charitable Group and recognised the achievements and contribution of John McMullan.

In his address, John McMullan provided the audience with a fascinating account of the journey that Bryson Charitable Group has made from a traditional early 20^th century grant-dependent charity to a modern social enterprise. He explained the organisation’s vision to be a leader in creating a just and sustainable society, together with how it was committed to identifying and developing sustainable responses to existing and emerging social needs. In particular, he emphasised the importance of the organisation’s staff in enabling it to grow and continue to provide high quality services which are validated externally through inspections and accreditations. John also gave an insight into the social enterprise business model and speculated on the future role and challenges for social enterprise in a rebalanced mixed-business economy. Some of the challenges he identified were:

• needing to improve ‘economic literacy’ and moving from being a dependency culture to one that pays its way;
• replacing risk aversion with a culture of enterprise and innovation;
• building a plural ‘rebalanced economy’ that incorporates social enterprise, co-operatives, social franchising and cross-sectoral supply chains; and
• developing new models of finance, including social finance ‘market place’ bonds, social impact bonds and equity products.

¹ KPMG website http://www.kpmg.com/ie/en/Pages/default.aspx

² John is the Chief Executive of the Bryson Charitable Group, Northern Ireland’s leading social enterprise. He received an MBE in 1998 and an OBE in 2011. John was acknowledged as the Northern Ireland and subsequently the UK Social Enterprise Leader of the Year in 2011 and awarded the Northern Ireland Institute of Directors Third Sector Director of the Year in 2012. The Bryson Charitable Group is currently the UK Private Business Social Enterprise of the Year, has recently received the Ireland Excellence Award (EFQM) and is ranked 3^rd in the Royal Bank of Scotland Top 100 UK Social Enterprises by turnover. The Bryson Charitable Group operates through seven subsidiary companies in a range of social business markets including: social care; energy efficiency and fuel poverty; training services for people in unemployment; supporting ethnic minority families/communities and recycling. The Bryson Charitable Group currently employs over 670 staff, has an annual turnover circa £35 million and delivers over 25,000 services every day across Northern Ireland.

To view photgraghs from the event Please Click Here

To hear audio from this event Please Click Here

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L-R Judith Alexander, BSc Business Management student, pictured with Lynne Weir, Enterprise and Development Support Officer (Enterprise SU)

Judith Alexander, Runner-Up,QUB Apprentice

Enterprise SU held an awards ceremony recently for the winners of What's the Big Idea 2013. Judith Alexander, a first year student from Queen’s University Management School, won the Best Green Business Idea.

Judith explains her award-winning green business idea:

“The product involves a negative continuous conductor situated approximately 2 inches beneath the tarmac on motorways and highways across the world, a positive magnetic contact will be situated on the under-body of motor vehicle. As the vehicle generates kinetic energy travelling along the road, the positive and negative contacts generate a magnetic field, thus generating electricity similar to the actions of a wind turbine. Stations would be situated at regular intervals along the stretches of road to offload the electricity to the national grid, thus, whilst cars continue with their regular and necessary journeys, a return can occur through the generation of electricity for local cities, power stations or perhaps governments.”

On receiving the award Judith said:

"I was delighted to win my category in the competition, especially as it is open to all students across all disciplines in the University. It provides an excellent confidence boost knowing that other people value your idea and fuels motivation to take steps towards actually doing something about it".

No stranger to competition the rising star Judith, from Markethill, also participated in the recent QUB Apprentice as the only first year entrant, and was placed runner-up.  Judith managed to raise £3776.36 for the Simons Community charity in intangible and tangible donations in a week.

Judith was also a nominee for BICS (Board of Irish Colleges and Societies) Fresher of the Year 2013.  Judith said “I was honoured to represent Queen’s at the Board of Irish College Societies awards as 'Fresher of the Year'. I was put forward for this due to my contribution to QUB Enactus throughout the year, representing QUB Business Club in the IBM University Business Challenge and my success in QUB Apprentice.”

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L-R: Liam Burns, President of NUS (National Union of Students); Danielle McConville; Jason O’Neill, President of Queen’s University Belfast Student’s Union

The recent Students’ Union Education Awards 2013 rewarded Teaching Fellow, Danielle McConville with “The Most Involved Staff Member of the Year” award.  This award seeks to recognise the staff member who has been most supportive of student clubs and societies, peer mentors, course representatives and other student groups.

Nuala McAdams, Vice-President Education for QUBSU said

“The Education Awards are for both staff and students who have gone above and beyond for students in the University. This is the first year we have held these awards and we received incredible nomination forms across the board. It is vital that we praise the work of both our staff and our students as they truly enhance the Student Experience here at Queen’s.”

In receiving the award Danielle, from Queen’s University Management School (QUMS), said

“I was really pleased to even be nominated for this award, and to win it was just the icing on the cake. Within QUMS, and the Accounting team in particular, we do a lot to engage with our students: supporting peer mentoring, our student society and employer events, in addition to providing advice and support on a one-to-one basis. I'm delighted that our students see and feel supported by our efforts, and for them to have taken the time to nominate me is really appreciated.”

Jill Lyttle, from QUMS was also nominated for the Personal Tutor of the Year Award.  This award is for the Personal Tutor who meets with their students regularly, keeps in contact throughout the year and discusses and supports academic progress and personal development.

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Applicants are invited for a fully-funded PhD studentship (UK or EU residents only) examining the effectiveness of alternative interventions to alleviate debt and the implication of debt alleviation for wellbeing.

Please note the closing date:

Friday 31 May 2013

This project will be carried out as part of the work of the Centre of Excellence for Public Health Northern Ireland which is one of just five such centres funded by the Medical Research Council in the UK. The Credit Union study group in the Queens University Management School led by Prof McKillop is highly-regarded and works closely with policy makers and representative bodies in Ireland, UK and globally. This studentship forms part of a close collaboration between the Centre of Excellence for Public Health and the Management School at Queens University. The three-year project will involve a Randomised Control Trial of indebted individuals in an area of significant socio-economic deprivation in Northern Ireland and compare the effectiveness of alternative interventions to alleviate debt. The trial will run for 24 months with interim outcome measures taken at 12 months. The trial will in addition investigate two other research questions: the effect of getting out of debt on overall quality of life and the role of personality characteristics versus economic circumstances in getting out of debt. The successful candidate will be primarily based at the Queens University Management School and will assist in designing the interventions, carrying out surveys, analysing results and disseminating findings to the financial sector as well as academic outlets.

For more details contact Dr Declan French or Prof McKillop.

For application details follow the link http://coe.qub.ac.uk/index.php/component/content/article?id=320 and click on  ‘Relieving over-indebtedness and consequences for well-being’

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