Enterprise and Innovation
Development and future readiness
Enterprise and Innovation
We are committed to encouraging and supporting innovation, entrepreneurship and enterprise with our students. From Design Thinking; harnessing the collective expertise of students to collaboratively work to design solutions, to individual 1-2-1 business mentoring support for students who have ideas they want to grow into a business, we deliver a wide range of creative support in our hub.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Queen’sImpact: A Social Innovation Challenge
"IMPACT is a great programme that can have a serious impact on the local communities. It is good to know that Queen's University is trying to build up Belfast. Programmes like this make me proud to be from QUB."
- Student feedback.
IMPACT creates the opportunity for postgraduate students at QUB to use their research, skills and creativity in multi-disciplinary teams to impact the community around them and create solutions to real-world social issues. In Semester 1, we partnered with St. Peter’s Immaculata Youth Centre in West Belfast who posed the challenge of ‘How do we raise the educational outcomes for young people in Divis?’ Watch our short film to see how the project went and the impact it’s having both for postgraduate students and for the wider community.
We ran a second IMPACT programme in Semester 2 with our project partner, the Turnaround Project. Turnaround works with young offenders to reduce the reoffending rates. We worked mainly in The Graduate School and in Hydebank College.
ENTERPRISE AND INNOVATION PROGRAMMES
IMPACT: Local
Divis Bridge programme
IMPACT: Local provides an exciting opportunity to utilise your skills as a postgraduate student for the benefit of wider society. This unique programme allows postgraduates to use their skills to mentor young people from St. Peter’s Immaculata Youth Centre in West Belfast. IMPACT: Local is underpinned by a co-designed, partnered approach between the Graduate School and St. Peters Immaculata.
This opportunity is perfect for you if you are interested in any of the following:
- Understanding the local communities in Northern Ireland,
- Working with young people living through the legacy and consequences of a postconflict society,
- Improving educational outcomes of young people in a socio-economically deprived area.
The deadline for applications for this programme has now passed. Stay tuned to the Graduate School's Weekly Update and social media channels for news about other upcoming IMPACT: Local opportunities.
CMI Scholarship Opportunity: Entrepreneurial Practice
Applications now closed.
The Graduate School was delighted to be able to offer 10 Student Scholarships worth £500 for the CMI Entrepreneurial Practice Unit, funded by Santander Universities.
This is a collaborative programme with local Project Partner R-City. Our students are working in multi-disciplinary teams to co-design innovative solutions to real-life challenges faced by the local community.
Find out more about CMI Entrepreneurial Practice unit here.
The deadline for applications for this opportunity has now passed. Stay tuned to the Graduate School's Weekly Update and social media channels for news about other upcoming scholarship opportunities.
Holyland Project
Make a difference in the local community
This student led Holyland project team will work towards creating a video for post-primary school children to help educate them about life in the Holyland in attempt to address some of these issues. This video is the implementation piece following the postgraduates' solutions to challenges identified during CMI: Entrepreneurial Practice.
As part of this team, you will develop many transferable skills, such as teamwork, project management and effective communication that you could apply to both your research and future employment. You will be taking an idea right through to the implementation phase and will be involved in supporting the local community.
The deadline for applications for this programme has now passed. Stay tuned to the Graduate School's Weekly Update and social media channels for news about other upcoming opportunities to get involved in the local community.
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Innovation After Hours
Innovation After Hours
Innovation After Hours is a chance to meet up with people who are interested in innovation and entrepreneurship and to be inspired by those who are working on interesting ventures. It’s a casual meet-up open to QUB students, staff and the general public. Come after hours to make interesting new connections over drinks and food.
Find out more about the next Innovation After Hours event here!
Chartered Management Institute
CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership
Learn the principles of entrepreneurial leadership, explore a range of creative tools such as Design Thinking and become confident in your ability to think innovatively. Explore more here.
Innovation Academy
The Innovation Academy is a joint venture between Queen’s University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin. The Academy offers PhD students an opportunity to embrace new, innovative ways of thinking through the completion of a Postgraduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
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Entrepreneurship 1-2-1 Sessions
Both PGTs and PGRs can avail of monthly 30-minute entrepreneurship appointments to support ideas for innovation and entrepreneurship and a range of other advice and guidance.
Whether you have a desire to start something, an idea you want to test, or you're ready to take a leap with an established business plan, this is the place to get personalised guidance, signposting and advice.
Please visit MyFuture to make an appointment with our entrepreneurship mentor.
Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Visa
The Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa route is for international (non-EU) graduates who have an outstanding business idea that they wish to develop in the UK. The visa allows holders to remain in the UK for an initial period of 12 months to develop their business idea.
This may be extended for a further 12 months subject to satisfactory progress on the scheme. You will get one to one support from us to mentor and support you on the journey of establishing your own business, along with key contacts and networking opportunities.
For more information on the requirements of this programme please visit the International Student Support site.
Enterprise SU
We work collaboratively with the team at Enterprise SU, who offer a wide range of support and innovation competitions. To find out which competitions are live please visit the Enterprise SU webpage.
Interested?
For more details on any of the programmes listed, or about innovation and entrepreneurship at the Graduate School in general, please contact Claire Harris on 028 9097 3568 or pg.skills@qub.ac.uk