Leadership: Recognising students who have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills 

Nominees:

Winners:

Isabella (Gracie) Watson (UG)

Lucy Cullen (PG)

Community: Recognising students who have made significant contributions to community service and volunteer work.

Nominees:

Winners:

Johnny McCann (UG)

Lauren Osborne & Aaron Tasker-Lynch (PG)

Innovation: Students who have displayed an outstanding contribution to innovation and creativity.

Nominees:

 Winners:

Ruby Corrigan (UG)

Aisling McCormick (PG)

Team Player: For students who have excelled at teamwork and collaboration.

Nominees:

Winners:

Orla Llyod (UG)

Kristyna Ilek (PG)

Resilience: Recognising students who have overcome significant challenges to achieve their goals.

Nominees:

Winners:

Emma Pope (UG)

Lauren Osborne (PG)

Culture: For students who have made notable contributions to cultural activities and diversity on campus

Nominees:

 Winners:

Michael Connolly (UG)

Lauren McShane (PG)

Entrepreneurship: For students who have shown exceptional entrepreneurial skills and initiatives.

Nominees:

Winner:

Matthew Wilson (UG)

Carla Stronge talked about setting up The Extras Department, and later, her own Casting Agency, and outlined the casting process from script to securing actors to contracts. Tim Brown shared his wealth of experience across different areas of the industry, starting with his work in sales and distribution, selling at festivals, running a business, and pitching, funding, writing, and directing independent films. Jennifer Atcheson shared her recent work as DOP on Jeggies and Irish Son and talked through the creative process, starting with visual referencing and establishing tone, location recces and production design, and script breakdown and shot lists.

We were especially excited to welcome back two QUB Alumni! Mark McNally (Film Studies) talked about his screenwriting journey, winning NI Screen’s New Writer Focus Scheme, and the development of his screenplay, In the Land of Saints and Sinners, which premiered on Netflix in 2024; and Beccy Henderson (Drama), who has had success as an actor (Derry Girls) and puppeteer (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Eric), talked passionately about overcoming imposter syndrome and nurturing creativity.

The panellists shared the challenges of working in the industry as well as their career highlights, encouraging students aspiring to work in Film and TV to find their passion, to collaborate and to tell authentic stories.

The post-panel networking session in the QFT foyer provided a lively discussion and a chance for students to start making connections with industry professionals. The event received an enthusiastic reception from attendees, and we look forward to holding more Industry Insights events in the future!

McGrane is a visual artist and videographer who has a long history of zine-making and working with politicised and democratic visual art forms. She brought significant knowledge and expertise to the session, as well as lots of materials so students could get a sense of what it means to create a zine. McGrane talked firstly about the history of zine making before introducing students to a method for making a mini-zine. Students were then invited to take art materials, newspapers and magazines and draw or collage their zines. Each student was given time to create their own zine before these were showcased for the whole class. We rounded up the workshop with a conversation about the aesthetics, form and audiences for zines. Kathryn very kindly offered to follow up with any students who had questions and was invited to attend our week 12 zine launch session.

The work was designed to give students a chance to engage in creative and practical ways of considering how marginalised groups and subcultures appropriate knowledge from mainstream and dominant cultures and re-purpose this for political ends. The following is a sample of the very positive feedback received from one student:

Just wanted to send a quick email to say that Kathryn's workshop today on Zine making was absolutely amazing. It was such good fun and really informative/helpful in giving ideas about the assignment. Thank you for setting this up!

18 October 2024

Liberal Arts third year Annabel Saville and second year Diana Silva Ribeiro took advantage of the Global Opportunities-funded Utrecht Summer School as a way to expand their studies even further. Both students spent two weeks this summer exploring Utrecht and the Netherlands more widely – Annabel combining this travel with a course on ‘Dutch Art: From Van Gogh to Mondrian’ and Diana studying ‘The Golden Age of Dutch Art’.

Annabel noted: ‘I had a really lovely time in Utrecht, everyone was so welcoming. Its geographic centrality in the country also means it is such a good location to explore the rest of the Netherlands. My course in particular was fantastic as they took us on lots of trips all over the country. It's really made me excited to go to Amsterdam on study abroad.’

Diana echoed this with: ‘The summer school in Utrecht was simply amazing! During the Golden Age of Dutch Art course, there was fascinating lectures paired unforgettable trips to museums and churches. The vibrant evening activities provided by Utrecht University were a way of making friends and creating lasting memories making my time there extra special. I couldn't recommend the Utrecht summer school enough!’

Obtaining industry insights and getting a taste of the professional life ahead is crucial for those specialising in translation, interpreting, or languages for more general purposes. During this visit, we took part in talks and discussions about translation and technology, multilingualism in the EU and potential careers for language students, language policies and language planning, and entrepreneurship as a language specialist. We had interactions with practitioners and institutions/companies that require language services, including the European Parliament and Commission (with in-house translators and interpreters), the KBC Group (with the translation unit), and the International Federation of Translators (FIT). This visit offered multiple perspectives to help students of T&I and languages explore career options and different lifestyles, understand the language services sector, and develop employability for achieving their professional goals.

The Lab consists of a three-story room, complete with a grid floor, that houses 48 loudspeakers that allow for a uniquely immersive listening experience.

This special event gave students the chance to hear songs from their favourite artists. Signing up before the event, attendees chose some of their favourite songs that were then put together on a unique playlist by Ben Brown from SARC. Students could also make a request at the mixing desk during the session if another song came to mind.  

The two-hour session was very relaxed with students able to drop in anytime either on their own or with friends, bringing some work or just listening to the music and chilling out together.

Feedback after the event was incredibly positive and future events are planned. Highlight comments include:

Just more of these please! These are amazing! Thank u for even setting it up in the first place!

and

The event was great with excellent music choices from everybody present and registered!

and

I wished it was longer because I enjoyed it!

Scheduled over the lunchtime period, students can bring along their lunch and enjoy the hot drinks and sweet treats provided. Sitting together, they choose pre-printed colouring sheets including animal mosaic pictures (cats being the most popular) and mandala designs.

It does take a certain amount of concentration to make sure that the design is being coloured correctly, some students enjoy quietly working away on their own but still appreciate having the company of others within the AEL community as they do this. Others have enjoyed chatting as they have worked on their colourful creations. Either way the event has been widely appreciated with participants commenting on how the session has been a welcome break from study and helped give them a sense of calm before they head back to the library for more study.

For future events, students will be invited to bring along a craft they are working on, which gives them another chance to relax and connect whilst being creative.

Funded by Students’ Union Fund It, the Graduate School Postgraduate-Led Initiative Fund, the five AHSS Schools and the AHSS Faculty Office, this was an opportunity for School teams to work together to create an inclusive event for students with families and caring responsibilities. One of the main objectives of the day was to promote well-being and work-home balance by offering a day of relaxation and entertainment and there was no doubt that this was achieved.

Having signed up prior to the event, students arrived at a registration point decorated with colourful bunting and flanked by giant QUB signs to collect a wrist band for each child. The wristband gave them access to the soft play buses parked up in front of Elmwood Hall. ‘Sophie’ the sensory playbus made an appearance and was extremely popular. Having her on site allowed for children who may have found the hall activities hectic to have a safe place to enjoy sensory stimulating fun and, from feedback after the event, proved to be a huge reassurance for parents and carers.

Each visitor also received a voucher per person at registration which allowed them to order a free hot drink or ice-cream from the refreshment van. All gratefully received this – not least those that had volunteered to queue up in the rain to place their order.

To ensure that spirits were not dampened, even if raincoats were (!), our circus act on stilts wandered around the forecourt under an enormous umbrella welcoming and entertaining the children whilst they queued for the buses. It certainly would have been an arresting sight for anyone passing by. Our circus act later played catch, juggled, and blew giant bubbles entertaining the children in the hall whilst still balancing on stilts.

Once visitors entered the hall, they were greeted by a friendly team of volunteers made up of staff and students who guided them to the various activities. Activities included a tattoo table, face painting, an activity toy area which included hoops and bean bags, and the circus act on stilts.

Children patiently queued to hold or stroke our more exotic visitors of the day including a snake, tortoise, tarantula, and bearded dragon! They also had the opportunity to learn more about them and their natural habitat. Touching creatures with different body surfaces certainly gave the children a unique sensory experience.

Strengthening a sense of community and facilitating the building up of connections with student peers were also key objectives of the day. It was great to see how parents chatted with one another around the hall as they participated in activities with their children or as they sat around the edge of the hall with a cup of tea building connections and talking about how they juggled family and student life. Parents mentioned how beneficial it was to bring their family along to their place of study and experience an activity on the Queen’s site with other students and staff members.

Throughout the day attendees were guided around the activities and kept safe by a fantastic team of volunteers including students, peer mentors and staff members who had volunteered for the day along with their family members. The team were on hand throughout the day to help run activities and provide a friendly point of contact for any queries.

To top it all off children received a party bag full of sweets, fun activities and small gifts as they headed off at the end of the day.

Overall, it was a great day out for students and their families and the team that helped behind the scenes. Local, international and GB students got the opportunity to mix, and the range of activities facilitated an inclusive event that all could enjoy.

Feedback after the event was positive with a request for more events like this. Comments included:

it helps me as international student meet other students from diverse background to mingle and share happiness together.

and

All the vendors seemed to have at least some experience of working with children with additional needs, so were amazing with me and my little non-speaking friend.

and

It felt like a community event, it was lovely to see familiar faces with their children!

and

very well organised, lovely mixture of events brilliant to be able to include my daughter in coming to “mummy's school”.

“On 17^th March 2024, after having received a JetSet Award from Queen’s University, we travelled to São Paulo, Brazil, with the goal of immersing ourselves in the language and culture, while consolidating and building on our learning over the previous four years.

Towards the beginning of our trip, we visited the Museu da Língua Portuguesa (Portuguese Language Museum) and learnt about the history of the language and its usage in Brazil, including slang terms, abbreviations commonly used in digital communication and differences between the Portuguese spoken in Brazil and the Portuguese spoken in Portugal. It was interesting to read about events which we had previously been taught about in our university contextual classes, such as how digital media was used during the 2013 Brazilian protests, and to be able to see images and descriptions of these events in one of the cities where they took place.

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting Avenida Paulista, known as Brazil’s most famous street. On Sunday mornings, the huge avenue is closed to traffic and hundreds of market stalls line the road. The atmosphere was incredible, with Brazilian music filling the air and street vendors selling local delicacies. It was amazing to see how, once a week, South America’s largest city is given a day to breathe and how the locals congregate to eat, dance, sing, shop and relax right in the heart of São Paulo.

During the trip, we had many opportunities to practise our Portuguese with locals. At a language school that we attended, we revised grammar topics and built on knowledge we had gained at Queen’s. Outside the classroom, we interacted with native speakers in shops, supermarkets and at our accommodation complex. It was rewarding to see how we were able to successfully initiate and maintain conversations, especially in the Brazilian variant of the language, and we were proud of ourselves for using our skills to interact with native speakers. We spent two days meeting up with a friend of ours from the city, who showed us around some of the main attractions, including São Paulo Cathedral, the Municipal Theatre and Avenida Paulista. Challenging ourselves to only speak Portuguese with her, we learnt a lot of new phrases and vocabulary and felt completely immersed in the language.

We loved trying the local food, including feijoada (a meat and black bean stew served with rice). However, the food we enjoyed the most was the sweets, from Brazilian chocolates to the traditional paçoca (a delicious sweet made from ground peanuts, salt and sugar). We noticed that corn was a very popular snack there; you can get it grilled, popped, boiled, in a cake, or even as a juice (although we weren’t the biggest fans of the corn juice!)

Overall, this trip was the perfect way to end four years of hard work at university and it provided us with an invaluable opportunity to explore a country that we had learnt so much about yet had never visited before. Our time in São Paulo has been one of the highlights of our university experience and we are counting down the days until we can return to Brazil once again.”

Report by Adam Smyth (French and Portuguese) and Cara McIlroy (Spanish and Portuguese).

Introduction by Dr Tori Holmes, Senior Lecturer in Brazilian Studies and module coordinator for SPA3131 – Portuguese 3.

“On Wednesday 1^st November 2023, Chilean arpillera specialist, Roberta Bacic, travelled to Queen’s University to share her extensive knowledge and experience with craftivism. Students of the Spanish Level 2 ‘Protecting Paradise’ module have been learning about the emergence of arpilleras - textiles initially created with re-cycled, household materials as a form of protest in Chile. Students were privileged to listen to Roberta’s first-hand account as they discovered a more genuine appreciation for craftivism and furthermore, to understand the context and stories that come with each arpillera made. They were given the opportunity to investigate the artwork in person, engaging in a comprehensive discussion and analysis of the arpilleras whilst grasping the significance of specific colour and material choices used. Roberta introduced the room to the basics of arpillera making with an exciting hands-on experience, inspiring students for their own arpillera to be submitted as part of their module’s assessment at the end of term.” (Carolyn McDowell, level 2)

Ursula Devine outlined the trainee schemes offered by Northern Ireland Screen, and Adam Wilkinson and Sarah Speers talked about how the industry has grown in Belfast and shared tips on location etiquette and how to get started in the industry. Matthew Bradley gave a short presentation on the animation industry in Northern Ireland and previewed some of his upcoming comedy animation series. We were particularly excited to welcome back Mark McNally, QUB BA Film Alumni, who talked about his screenwriting journey since graduation and the successful development of his screenplay, In the Land of Saints and Sinners, which recently premiered on Netflix.

The post-panel networking session in the QFT foyer provided a lively discussion and a chance for students to start making connections with industry professionals. The event received an enthusiastic reception from attendees and we look forward to holding more Industry Insights events in the future!

Feedback after the event was incredibly positive with a request for the event to be run again in the future. Highlight comments include:

“Had so much fun, best event I have attended. Really helped my wellbeing and mental health.”

“It was really fun! It was good to chat to people from other courses!”

“I really enjoyed the event! The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, overall very enjoyable! The teddy bear making was easy and resulted in a lovely item.”

“It was fantastic! I got to meet new people in a relaxed environment which as an autistic student can be difficult….”

Running from January until April 2024 in the McClay Library, this colourful exhibition of student work demonstrated the value of including creative practice as a form of assessment within a language degree. Current undergraduates had the opportunity to engage with the work of past students and to learn how they intertwined their lived experience with story telling through textiles as part of a broader experience of Latin American literature and cultures. One visitor commented:

“Wonderful textiles, all weaving stories of real people’s lives and struggles. The colours are stunning and one viewing is not sufficient to absorb the tales being told. Amazing examples of story telling about family life and culture, language and oppression. Tremendous work, well done to all involved.”

This exhibition is a tribute to the inspiration, creativity, and hard work of the students on our modules.

(Photo by Emma Corrigan)

This semester students in Spanish had the opportunity to learn more about language and cultures of Colombia through a series of online intercambios (group discussions) with students from the Universidad Surcolombiana. These events were facilated by one of our alumni, Rochelle Marsh, who is currently teaching at the Universidad and Dr Fiona Clark at QUB. Each week Rochelle devised a series of engaging activities around the themes of travel, music, film, social issues, etc., and students exchanged ideas and insights from their own countries.

Reflecting on the experience, two of the students, Sara and Melissa reported that:

“The Virtual Intercambio gave me an opportunity to practice Spanish in a relaxed, welcoming environment and increased my cultural awareness of part of the Hispanic world I knew little about. Rochelle’s prompts made conversation easy and opened up further conversation and friendships. Although both the Colombian accent was initially a bit of a challenge to understand (as I’m sure our accents were for them!), I quickly adapted to it and was able to keep up conversation throughout the sessions. The Intercambio broadened both my cultural and linguistic horizons, and gave me much more confidence in my abilities going forward!” (Sara Steele, French and Spanish) 

“Participating in this Virtual Intercambio has been invaluable for me. I gained significant conversation practice, which helped me improve my language skills, especially in understanding accents and dialects. Moreover, I deepened my cultural awareness by engaging in discussions about unfamiliar topics and cultures. This exposure challenged me to think critically, adapt to different communication styles, and broaden my understanding of the world. Additionally, navigating discussions on unfamiliar topics pushed me to expand my vocabulary and express myself more effectively. To carry forward what I've learned, I intend to incorporate more cultural content into my language studies, such as literature, films, and music, to deepen my understanding and appreciation of the language in its cultural context. The challenges I faced, such as navigating different accents and discussing unfamiliar topics, pushed me to expand my linguistic abilities. Moving forward, I plan to integrate what I've learned into my ongoing language studies by continuing to seek out diverse conversation partners and topics, and by actively practicing to further refine my skills.” (Melissa Nesbitt, International Business with Spanish)

Our thanks go to Rochelle who put so much effort into the planning and to all the students at Universidad Surcolombiana who took part in the events. We were delighted to enrich the linguistic and cultural knowledge of our students through these meet-ups.

Dr D’Arcy shared his own experience of what went well with his content creation and what he would have done differently, talking through the analytics behind his content. Time was also spent looking at content creators who had large social media profiles to see how they created interest in their content.

One lucky participant even walked away with an AEL eXtra t-shirt with his name pulled out of the draw, with all enjoying hot drinks and tasty traybakes.

Feedback after the event was positive with a request for more events like this. Comments included:

“Very insightful and excellent, personally tailored delivery.”

and

“Really good workshop by Dr John D’Arcy. Took us through many aspects of short form social content. Really liked how he asked each of us what content we were hoping to create and tied that back to what he was explaining. Learning about content hooks was a big learning point.”

Some of the advice highlights included:

• Your proposal takes a lot of time and effort but needs to be good. However, it will naturally evolve over the PhD process.
• When applying for a PhD, a good tip is to go to the Library and read some PhDs in similar topics to get a flavour for what is expected.
• When you start your PhD, treat each day like a working day. Have regular hours in your office, or the Library to keep the momentum going, but also to ensure breaks.
• Taking breaks and making connections with other PhD students are crucial to good mental health and wellbeing and also help the creative process.
• When you have a writing block, just get some words on the paper. It is easier to edit a load of words than a blank page.
• Make time for family and friends.

Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly postive and there is definitely an appetite for similar events.

Very helpful - really assuaged a lot of my anxieties around PhD life.

The wealth of experience from the panel was very much appreciated.

Really insightful on what to expect as a PhD student. Helpful information on the application process too.

Thursday 15 February

After a long day of travelling (we took the bus to Dublin Airport at 07.40 for a take-off for Madrid at 11.50), we reached our hotel, the Avani Alonso Martínez , shortly after 4 p.m. This hotel was chosen due to its central location (within walking distance of all activities) in a very safe area. An added bonus (as we soon discovered) was the marvellous buffet breakfast! At 20.00, we had tapas al fresco in Plaza de Olavide (unfortunately, that night under the rain). But the weather didn’t dampen spirits, or, as one student put it, the marvellous ‘vibe’ that would come to characterise the whole trip.

Friday 16 February

After breakfast we walked to Puerta del Sol square and, from there, to one of the most culturally significant chocolaterías in Madrid, la Chocolatería San Ginés (founded in 1894 and ‘home’ to many artists, authors and scholars through the decades). After a traditional chocolate con churros, we joined our wonderful guide for a walking tour of the old city, stopping at the Palacio Real, the Plaza de la Villa, the Plaza Mayor – full immersion in Madrid of the Habsburgs! , After lunch we divided into two groups for a guided tour of the Casa Museo de Lope de Vega, the celebrated Spanish 17^th-c. playwright, a beautifully restored building that gives deep insight into aspects of life in Baroque Spain. From there, and staying (‘sort-of’) with the ‘Golden Age’, we went to see the play La fortaleza. Written by contemporary female playwright Lucía Carballal, this dialogue with the classic El castillo de Lindabridis by 17^th-c. playwright Calderón de la Barca, was witty, moving and powerfully presented. The play was staged by the Compañía de Teatro Clásico (the Spanish equivalent of the Royal Shakespeare Company). We ended the day having dinner at La Barraca restaurant, a classic Madrid venue, whose walls are adorned with photos of famous guests.

Saturday 17 February

Day 3 began with a walk to the Museo del Prado, commenting on historical landmarks along the way (Spanish National Library, Café Gijón, 18^th century urbanistic developments, the fountains of Cibeles and Neptune, among many others). Once in the Prado, our guide was a university lecturer at Madrid University, who told us everything there is to know about the painters Velázquez and Goya. Students then were free to stay on and enjoy the paintings or explore other nearby attractions (e.g. the Retiro park).

Sunday 18 February

Free stroll during the morning (oh, those amazing blue skies of Madrid!) 
Transfer from the hotel to the Airport at 15.00. Arrival at Dublin at 19.55 local time. We arrived in Belfast by bus at 23.40.

The whole group expressed their enthusiasm for the study programme of the trip, both in relation to the cultural and linguistic content. For some, this trip was one of ‘the highlights of their university years so far’. The staff members involved share the sentiment!

Dr Gabriel Sánchez Espinosa

Spanish and Portuguese Studies, AEL

This was an excellent wellbeing and network opportunity where 40 students got to take a break from their studies and to engage with their peers in a relaxed and welcoming environment. AEL peer mentors came along to offer their advice and support as well as a representative from Student Wellbeing.  

All in all it was a positive and uplifting event. Feedback after the event was super with a huge demand for similar events in the future. Highlight comments include:

‘I really enjoyed getting to know others on different courses and getting the chance to take an hour or so out of the hectic uni schedule!’

and

‘I absolutely loved everything about this event. It was very therapeutic to draw out my banner for my plant as well as pot the plant myself. At this point during the semester, it couldn't have come at a better time.’

We will definitely be running similar events again!

The Liberal Arts core modules invite students to consider a theme from a variety of perspectives, bringing in experts from different disciplines to speak about their approach. Students this year worked with historians, sociologists, linguists, interpreters, geographers, architectural film scholars, and many others. This trip to MCMS and the UAFP continued this exploration into how migrants and migration has been represented in different contexts and at different times.

Students, some of whom had first visited UAFP as school children, spoke to MCMS Director, Liam Campbell, and Head of Research and Development, Dr Patrick Fitzgerald, about their own relationship to migration. How stories of migration are understood and preserved, and how museum and heritage sites can influence or spread these stories, formed the basis for many of these discussions. After tea and biscuits, and an explore of the MCMS’s library collections, students were taken around the UAFP. As the Ulster-American Folk Park’s main ‘collection’ is historic buildings, with interpretation provided by visitor guides/interpreters, they were encouraged to think about how space and the literal ‘walking through’ a space dedicated to migration stories and processes influenced their thinking, particularly in relation to historic migration from Ulster.

On the way to the main park though, they had a chance to explore the Bad Bridget exhibition, the co-creation of QUB’s Professor Elaine Farrell and UU’s Dr Leanne McCormick and curatorial staff at National Museums NI. This contrast between a more traditional museum exhibition and the folk park prompted even more discussion about the voices that emerge (or are forgotten) from historical sources. These themes will be further explored in the Liberal Arts module, ‘Uses of the Past’, in their second year.

This event was, on the one hand, a way of offering students an opportunity to engage with live (or relatively live) theatre in the city, given that many of these students come from disciplines other than theatre. On the other hand, we used the performance as the basis for a reviewing workshop which took place the following Monday. Students were asked to write a short review of Quartered and these reviews were used as the basis for the workshop in which we considered what it means ethically and practically to review queer and feminist work in a context like Belfast. Students found the process quite challenging but for the most part the challenge was instructive. A follow up event had the playwright Dominic Montague come to QUB to talk about the work with the students and about his career as a playwright within the local theatre industry. The event provided rich opportunity for students to consider theatre practise in Belfast, the practise of reviewing in an arts context more broadly as well as engage with some of the pragmatic issues of a career in the arts in Northern Ireland.

Overall, this workshop had several functions for the module: one, it helped students prepare directly for the modules assessment. Two, it provided contrast to the more cerebral text-based work we have been doing up to this point and allowed students to engage in the process of practical making, as well as reflecting on making. And three, it permitted students a creative and practical way of considering how marginalised groups and subcultures appropriate knowledge from mainstream and dominant cultures and re-purpose this for political ends.

Trish McTighe, October 2023

 "The AEL build-a-bear workshop was not only a wonderful way to take a break from the busy semester but also a lovely time to chat to people from my school and catch up over a fun activity! The peer mentors were so kind and helpful throughout the session, making us feel very welcomed and at ease. A well-organised and thoroughly-enjoyable event for all!" - Kathy

Her workshop also engaged with the ongoing exhibition in the McClay Library that forms part of the Conflict Textiles collection curated by Roberta Bacic in collaboration with the School of Law, and with the upcoming events in the Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart, where Tere and her colleague, Mexican scholar, Cordelia Rizzo, will take part in further community textile projects.

Becca Redmond kindly agreed to reflect on how taking part in the class and workshop enhanced her experience and opened up new avenues to be explored.

A creative heart and a sustainable mind 

‘As part of a combined degree, I have the joy of studying both Geography and Spanish, so I couldn’t resist from selecting Dr Fiona Clark’s ‘Recycling Cultures of Latin America’ module in my second year.
As someone with both a creative heart and a sustainable mind, it beautifully combines some of my biggest interests including environmental consciousness, climate justice, culture, and art. As an extension of the module, I had the opportunity take part in an upcycling workshop with some extraordinary Chilean Artist, Tere Chad, and arpillera curator, Roberta Bacic, which was both enjoyable and insightful.
Roberta taught us the history and importance of the Chilean arpillera; how one can not only use art to build communities, but also as a powerful, political language or tool of resistance, to protest repression, violence and uplift voices that can otherwise go unheard. Whilst Tere on the other hand, got us thinking and feeling, discussing how important it is to disconnect from screens and reconnect with the world around us, whether it be the soil under our feet, the abundance of resources at our fingertips or the relationships that are forgotten or dismissed whilst scrolling. This environmentally sustainable project of embroidery and upcycled fabrics brought together a room of contrasting personalities and backgrounds, yet in the end built a collective art piece and a community of common interests and ideas, so, I would encourage all new students to get involved.’ By Becca Redmond (level 2, Geography with Spanish)

Photos by Harry Thompson.

Underlining the value of seeing a live performance another student commented: “When watching the play rather than reading it, concepts such as exposure in an  elusively naturalistic setting begin to reveal themselves. We see actors placed on different levels, always visible to the audience, always acting, even when they have finished their scene and are walking backstage. We also see gradual exposure in the actors performances.”

Throughout these essays, students wrote about the design and technical elements of the production with an authoritative command of detail that was clearly enhanced by the opportunity to see backstage before the performances, showing that this was money well spent.

David Grant, Module Convenor

‘It’s a great honour for us to be invited in the Carrickfergus field trip and walking tour. I am very glad that we were given the opportunity to see those historical attractions and shoot a film around the Carrickfergus regeneration project. I love the Carrickfergus Marina, promenade, and harbour view. With a long and fascinating history, in Carrickfergus lies the an articulate, audible voice of the past.’  – Hanling Cao, MA Media & Broadcast Production

‘Carrickfergus was a beautiful city from its castles, its shore to the town itself. Little was known about the city before our trip, but with explanations from the experts with the visionary scenes all over the city, everything was explored. Carrickfergus's rich history might occasionally be a little overwhelming. Over the course of 800 years, an astounding amount of tales, artefacts, and built heritage have been accumulated and lost.’ – Omar Elshater, MA Media & Broadcast Production

‘This trip to Carrickfergus was really eye opening to the work that is involved in regenerating a town and the efforts that local councils will make in order to make their town tourist friendly and a better place to live. The talk that we attended with the local council here was a positive and educational experience and I enjoyed how helpful they were when answering any of our questions. It is clear to see they are really passionate about the area.’ – Emily Keegan, MA Media & Broadcast Production

“I am just writing to give you some thoughts on the Corpus workshop we had yesterday, which I thought was very interesting. I thought everything was very thoroughly explained, and the exercises given to us definitely helped me, and I am sure everyone else as well, to gain a better understanding on how we can conduct this analysis. 

Since we have talked about using Corpus Stylistics in my essay, the workshop definitely taught me how I can incorporate this method into my analysis.“ -Janis Lai, UG Year 3 student in English with Creative Writing 

“Really enjoyed this workshop, which provided a great introduction to using corpus methods. As a PhD student interested in using corpus methods in my thesis, this workshop was an invaluable chance to practice using CL software and searching various corpora in-person!” - Katherine Vage, PhD student in Linguistics

‘The train journey to Derry allowed us to see some of the best sights the North Coast offers. An Grianán Ailigh was one of the highlights of the trip. After leaving the Fort we experienced an incredible contrast; leaving one of the most ancient sights in the North West to visit the Museum of Free Derry. The museum chronicles the more recent, living and tragic history of the city. The group was extremely grateful to Dr Stefanie Lehner for organising the trip.’ - Thomas Murphy, MA in Irish Studies

‘I really enjoyed my day trip to Donegal and Derry! I loved the time at Grianan fort and really connected with the other students who went too! I think it really put some of the texts on my module into perspective by experiencing the history of the north as well.’ – Danielle Blee, MA in English Literary Studies  

‘The Masters Seminar field trip to Derry/Londonderry gave me the exciting opportunity to underpin my studies for my Masters Thesis in Media Design with the context of the history of Northern Ireland. Especially the excursion to the Museum of Free Derry and the old hillfort "Grianan of Aileach" above Belfast gave me deeper insights into the history of Northern Ireland. The surroundings and landscape around the city, unknown to me until then, unfolded before my eyes as we took a taxi after our arrival at the train station up to a hill on which "Grianan of Aileach" stands. Dr. Lehner had previously given us an excerpt from the novel „Reading in the Dark“ by Seamus Deane in which exactly this fort and the area were featured. This novel had been part of the seminar literature of her Master's course. After a short drive back to the city centre, we went over the city wall down to the so-called "Bogside" neighbourhood. Here we walked past the historic crossing with the wall that says "You are now entering free Derry" and visited the Museum of free Derry. At the museum we were given an intensive introduction to the history of Derry/Londonderry and a tour of the museum embedded with very easy comprehensible videos, short lecture, texts and impressive photos to learn about the events of Bloody Sunday. All in all, I am very happy to have had the experiences and impressions of that day and I am glad that they are helpful for my further progress in my Master's thesis.’ - Lisanne Conradt, Visiting MA Student from Germany, Bergische Universität Wuppertal