This survey should take around 10-20 minutes to complete. All responses will be treated as strictly confidential and not associated directly with you, unless you provide consent for your details to be shared.

• If you have any queries about the purpose of the research, please contact Tara McBride at: Tara.McBride@executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk
• If you have any technical issues relating to survey completion, please contact: uk_pwc_research@pwc.com

This event will feature:

• Inspiring stories from individuals whose lives have been shaped by Queen’s;
• Contributions from the University leadership on the plans and themes for the anniversary year;
• Light refreshments with an opportunity to reflect, reconnect, and celebrate this historic milestone.

Plus, be among the first to see acclaimed street artist Zippy create a brand-new artwork live at the event, celebrating 180 years of Queen's with spray paint!

Whether you're thinking of a student who championed a cause they believed in, or a creative thinker who has made a real impact through their innovation, if a story has stayed with you – big or small – we would love to hear it.

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

Staff are required to assist with ushering guests to their seats in the Whitla Hall. Volunteers can offer to help at one or more ceremonies.

If you have any further queries, please email: events@qub.ac.uk. 

More information

When the PAB is used, the offending message is removed from your inbox and sent directly to the Cyber Security team for review. This button is not intended to replace the abuse@qub.ac.uk email address, but work alongside it. Thank you for staying alert and helping to keep Queen’s University Belfast secure.

Visit the Help Hub for more information about where to report suspicious emails.

Staff and managers who are waiting to be onboarded will now be able to see the ‘My Time’ feature within iTrent. This feature is being made visible in advance to help with a smoother transition, ahead of the next phase of onboarding for key faculties and directorates.

While the feature will be visible, staff will not be able to access any key functions until their faculty/department has been officially onboarded. The HR Systems team will contact your faculty/department with more information and guidance when it is time to be onboarded.

Next Steps

• Ahead of transitioning to the new system, staff and managers should check that their Line Manager details are correct. These details can be viewed on Microsoft Teams by all staff and will help ensure accuracy before the system goes fully live.
• Staff and managers should register for training within iTrent, by searching 'annual leave' to learn how to effectively use the system in advance of their onboarding.
• Please refer to the FAQs for additional guidance and support available on SharePoint here.
• For any further queries or assistance, please contact: hrhub@qub.ac.uk.

Key Changes

While the policy encompasses a wide range of updates, several areas have undergone significant revisions to improve clarity, fairness, and operational efficiency:

1. Cash Advances: The university will now only offer cash advances when expenses exceed £1,000. A further change eliminates the need for staff to write and request cash advances ahead of entering requests online, cutting down administrative burdens. Staff will still be required to reconcile any advances upon return.
   
   
2. Subsistence – Receipts Basis: To clarify previously ambiguous language, the policy now includes specific monetary values for meals. If a staff member exceeds these amounts, they will cover the difference.
   
   
3. Subsistence Allowances – Daily Rate: The university has adopted the highest allowable HMRC subsistence rates and specific international guidelines are now included. This change ensures that staff travelling abroad will have access to appropriate meal allowances.
   
   
4. Other Transport: A new provision now includes reimbursement for late-night taxi journeys in accordance with HMRC guidelines, providing staff with more flexibility when travelling for university business.
   
   
5. Ineligible Expenditures: The updated policy now explicitly excludes claims for computer hardware and repairs, unless they are required for official university business and while travelling, as well as travel lounges and vouchers.

* The update was shaped by real examples from Queen’s University staff claims and aims to optimise staff reimbursements and reduce unnecessary red tape. These changes are aimed at reducing confusion, streamlining procedures, and ensuring fairness across the board.

Staff members are encouraged to review the updated Staff Expenses policy, available on the university's intranet, before embarking on any upcoming trips.

More information

• Queen's Sport Summer Scheme – 30 June to 15 August: This scheme offers children aged six to 14 years a fantastic opportunity to engage in high-quality sports activities.
• Junior Leader Programme – 30 June to 8 August: This programme offers young people aged 15 to 17 hands-on experience in a fast-paced, multi-sport environment.

* Student enrolment is for the Summer Scheme only.

More information

Introduced at the start of the 2024-25 academic year, Thesis with Publications allows postgraduate research students to include published or publication-ready work they’ve produced during their research degree as part of their final thesis. 

Launch webinar

Introducing the launch webinar, Professor Colin McCoy, Dean of the Thomas J. Moran Graduate School, highlighted the importance of Thesis with Publications in boosting research students’ skills and career prospects.

A panel of experts – including representatives from the McClay Library, Student Registry Services, the School of Biological Sciences, and a current PhD student – shared insights into the development and implementation of the TWP model.

Attendees received detailed guidance on formatting, examination, and copyright requirements, followed by a live Q&A session to address questions.

Thesis with Publications webpage

The Thesis with Publications webpage includes an information video, a detailed ‘FAQ’ section and access to further resources including TWP exemplars from Queen’s students, links to training and support, and the webinar recording.

Whether it’s training, conferences, mentoring, networking, or other development activities, your insights will help shape future support initiatives and help others to use their development days to enhance their career development.

For more information, contact pdc@qub.ac.uk.

To find out more, visit the Centre for Educational Development Assessment page where you can:

• watch our user demo to see what kinds of things you can ask;
• find out what resources the chatbot uses to provide information;
• try out the chatbot itself

* Please note, this Assessment Chatbot is a prototype in its pilot phase. It will respond differently based on the questions asked. If you encounter any issues, please use the feedback form provided in the chatbot.

The team knows from student focus groups that academic staff play a crucial role in sharing this information. Students expect to hear about support from their lecturers and tutors, and staff recommendations can have a real impact on engagement.

To support this, the Assessment Support Hub has a range of resources available, including:

• On the Hub Project Site: a bank of promotional materials and staff testimonials on how they have embedded the Hub in their student support.
• Other resources:
  • Merchandise, such as QR code cards and laptop stickers, to help raise awareness.
  • A number of student ambassadors are available to run pop-up stands across campus to help raise awareness of the Hub and answer student questions. If your School or service would be interested in hosting a stand in your building, please get in touch with Michaeline at Michaeline.donnelly@qub.ac.uk. 

By encouraging students to engage with the Hub, we can help ensure they feel more informed, confident, and supported during what can be a stressful period.

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

• How dogs and cats are evolving to look alike and why it's humans' fault - new research / Cachorros e gatos estão evoluindo para ficarem parecidos entre si, e isso está sendo feito pelos humanos, by Dr Grace Carroll
• What have the Democrats achieved in Trump's first 100 days?, by Dr Richard Hargy
• Do cats make good therapy animals? The new trend showing felines may be more complicated than we realise, by Dr Grace Carroll
• AI is inherently ageist. That's not just unethical – it can be costly for workers and businesses, by Dr Sajia Ferdous

• Lecture 1: 'The Time of Capitalism', Wednesday 28 May, 5.00pm
• Lecture 2: 'Spaces of Capitalism', Thursday 29 May, 5.00pm
• Lecture 3: 'Local Histories of Global Capitalism', Friday 30 May, 5.00pm
• Lecture 4: 'Capitalism's Shapeshifting', Saturday 31 May, 11.00am

Dr Sweta is Charles Wallace Fellow from April to the end of June 2025. She is a specialist in Hinduism and water ecology and is currently working on a book about this topic. During her time in Belfast, she is also exploring water management and water-related legends and aesthetics in Ireland.

• Symposium: Treaties, Constitutions, Conflict, and Peace, Monday 2 June, 1.30pm to 4.30pm, Senate Room
• Lecture: What Feminists Reveal When They Investigate Masculinities: The Case of Military ‘Manpower’, Tuesday 17 June, 6.00pm to 7.30pm, Canada Room and Council Chamber, Lanyon Building
• Conference: Reforming Legal and Policy Responses to Investigating and Prosecuting Sexual Violence, Thursday 19 and Friday 20 June, 9.30am to 4.30pm, The Great Hall

This event is open to anyone with an interest in climate change, international development, global citizenship, climate justice, climate activism and sustainability.

This event is presented by the Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies in Northern Ireland (CADA), in partnership with the Institute for Global Food Security.

More information

The climate crisis is the focus of much social, political and policy debate, concern and blame. But whose responsibility is it to tackle climate change? And can they be trusted to act? This event will present the findings of the 2024 NILT survey, and will include short responses from Climate NI and the Rural Community Network. Seminar presentations will be videoed and made available on the ARK site.

About the Speakers

Professor Katy Hayward MRIA FAcSS is Professor of Political Sociology in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work (SSESW) and Co-Director of the Centre for International Borders Research at Queen’s University Belfast.

Dr Jonny Hanson is a Research Fellow in the School of SSESW and ARK’s Assistant Survey Manager.

More information

This series will provide a basic introduction to conventional microscopy techniques – covering the theoretical and practical aspects of optical and electron microscopy – as well as some of the history behind them and their applications. Image analysis and sample preparation will also be explored.

The series is for anyone interested in diversifying their research or those who want to improve their microscopy knowledge and learn about what is new in the discipline. Participants can attend individual seminars or the entire series; however it is recommended participants take all seminars to gain a deeper understanding of different microscopy techniques and their applications. Prior knowledge of microscopy or image analysis is not required, as each seminar will start with the basics and progress towards more advanced concepts.

• Seminar details
  1. Monday 26 May: Optical sectioning microscopy
     • Optical Resolution
     • Confocal microscopy - single point microscopy
     • Spinning disk confocal microscopy
     • Multi-photon microscopy
     • Free label imaging: Second harmonic generation
     • FRET, FRAP, FLIM
     • Spectral detection
  2. Monday 2 June: Super-resolution microscopy
     • Darkfield microscopy
     • TIRF - Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence microscopy
     • SIM - Structured Illumination Microscopy
     • STED - Stimulated Emission Depletion
     • PALM - Photoactivated localization microscopy
     • STORM - Stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy
     • MINFLUX - MINimizing fluorescence FLUXes
  3. Monday 9 June: Electron microscopy
     • Transmission electron microscopy
     • Scanning Electron microscopy
     • Cryo electron microscopy
     • Volume electron microscopy
     • Liquid transmission electron microscopy
     • CLEM: Correlative Light Electron Microscopy
  4. Monday 16 June: Image analysis
     • This seminar will provide a basic introduction to image analysis including common tools, approaches, and considerations that are important for achieving accurate results.
     • Learning objectives:
       • Know what an image is, how imaging data is stored (bit depth, file types), and what information can be retrieved from images.
       • Recognize common image analysis software.
       • Understand common processing techniques and methods of analysis.
       • Conduct basic batch processing.
  5. Monday 23 June: Sample preparations
     • Tissue fixation (low temperature and chemical fixation)
     • Tissue processing and paraffin tissue processing
     • Staining (H&E, staining in histopathology, antigen retrieval)
     • Immunohistochemistry (IHC)
     • Equipment we have available - sectioning and staining, coverslipper and scanner
     • Recent developments and applications
• Learning outcomes
  • Gain knowledge of microscopy and image analysis, enabling participants to choose the correct technique for their research question
  • Develop a thorough understanding of optical resolution and magnification
  • Learn about artefacts in microscopy and how to avoid them
  • Understand the different imaging modalities and their applications in biomedical or engineering research.
  • Learn about sample preparations

More information

This UK-wide Festival aims to open up social science research to new audiences by showing how this research has an influence on our everyday lives. 

The theme for this year's Festival is ‘Our Working Lives’; however, proposals aren’t limited to fitting the festival theme. Successful applicants will be awarded up to £750 for their event.

For further information, please contact Dr Donna Rogers, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Public Engagement Manager: d.rogers@qub.ac.uk. 

More information

(Don’t) Trust the Data

Join data researchers from Groundswell, the Cancer Research Group at the Centre for Public Health, and the Administrative Data Research Centre Northern Ireland (ADRC NI), for an opportunity to learn about some of the ways in which data are used for research in public health. Challenge the panel with questions around how data can improve our lives, and test your knowledge of data at the mini pub quiz (spot prizes available).

Mission Possible – A Pint of Drones, Agentic AI and LoRaWAN

Join researchers from the Innovation by Design Lab, School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, for three talks and a live demonstration of creative activities using drones, AI agents and LoRaWAN, and free pizza.

We will share insights into the artistic sides of autonomous aerial and ground vehicles and tag them with programming, run creative exercises of programming vehicles to draw on canvas for aerial and ground drones and also share insights into agentic AI, bid-free procurements, and how agents can be trained towards Agent as a Service (AaaS). Finally, we will give an overview of LoRaWAN, our Horizon funded project.

More information

This award/s aims to recognise industry collaboration and innovation, encouraging early career researchers to bridge the gap between research and real-world impact.

The focus of the award/s is to recognise activities that increase equity of access to clinical trials for our population and contribute to the Agenda – Making NI a region of choice for clinical trials.

Who can apply?

This award/s is for early career clinical academics (within 10 years of appointment) who can demonstrate growing successful collaboration with an industry partner in delivering research/ clinical trials.

It is aimed at individuals who have shown leadership in working at the interface of academia and industry by acting as a principal or sub-investigator when attracting, setting up and delivering research/ clinical trial(s).

What is on offer?

The winner/s of the award/s will receive a small funding award to support their research, which can be used for travel, equipment, or other related research expenses. This prize is designed to help further their career and foster continued innovation in clinical research.

This award/s is jointly sponsored by the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Science, and iREACH Health.

(* The May 25 training event welcomed 700 worldwide registrations.)

More information

The WHO CC strives to bring more attention to the application of complex systems and network science approaches to Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) prevention and control, to build capacity in these skills, and to formulate innovate ways to address NCDs, particularly at the city/population level.

The three key areas identified for global action for tackling NCDs are:

• find new complex systems and network science-based approaches to address NCDs and related issues;
• capacity building in core skills to apply complex systems and network science to NCD and related issues; and
• development of tools and resources to facilitate the application of these methods.

The WHOCC will:

1. Bolster the application of complex systems and network science towards implementing commitments made at the World Health Assembly and other global governance fora.
2. Provide technical guidance and assistance related to various proposed global and national NCD policies and innovative actions that aim to address the problems posed by NCDs and related challenges, particularly at the city/population level.

Find out more here.

WHO CC on LinkedIn / LinkedIn (private members) Group 

Email the team at: whocc@qub.ac.uk. 

This event is presented in association with Trinity College Dublin.

• Hallow Road
• Ocean with David Attenborough
• The Marching Band
• 28 Days Later
• Flow
• Exhibition on Screen: Michelangelo - Love and Death
• Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
• Chantal Akerman at QFT
• The Surfer
• Slade in Flame
• The Extraordinary Miss Flower
• The Phoenician Scheme
• When the Light Breaks
• Wind, Tide & Oar
• SCREEN/PRINT: Somewhere
• LUMI Presents: Taste of Cherry (35mm)

Staff tickets are priced at £7.50. Staff and students aged 26 and under can join LUMI to get tickets for £5.00 every day, all year round.

More information

This exhibition is the seventh instalment in the gallery's acclaimed sports exhibition series. From fractured sculptures to bold photography, intricate collage to playful interventions, the exhibition explores how sport intersects with identity, community, and resistance. Whether tackling themes of gender, race, politics, sexuality, or fandom, the featured artists use the aesthetics and iconography of sport to ask urgent questions about contemporary life.

Highlights include depictions of an all-female skate crew in Ethiopia, a confrontation of homophobia within football, and a psychological journey across the Merseyside football divide. Olympic athlete Florence Griffith Joyner and NBA stars emerge as icons of athleticism and style, while also revealing the layered expectations placed on Black bodies in the public eye. Elsewhere, Gaelic football becomes a site of political memory, and a basketball game turns sculptural with every point scored.

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This newsletter includes the latest R&E information on:

• Research Quality
• Impact and Engagement
• Funding
• Enterprise and Innovation
• Knowledge Transfer Partnership
• Awards and Honours
• Training and Development
• Research to Reality

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

More information

This session offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Queen’s is working to embed sustainability into the curriculum across all areas of the university. Organisers will be be test-running a session developed for the HEA Ireland Spotlight on Sustainability series, showcasing Queen's top-down and bottom-up approach to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

Whether you are in a teaching role, work in professional services, or support student learning in other ways, you are very welcome to join.

ESD can look very different depending on the context and every subject area touches on key sustainability issues, from social justice and health to ethics, climate, and beyond.

This is a great opportunity to hear what’s happening across Queen’s, reflect on your own practice, and contribute to shaping our approach.

For more information, please contact Natalie Le Seelleur or Dr Alison Calvert.

This course has been designed to support staff in meeting the requirements of the QAA and professional accrediting bodies to embed entrepreneurial education within the curriculum. Any module which requires students to generate ideas to solve a problem could benefit from incorporating aspects of entrepreneurial education, providing a structure to that process.

This informal and relaxed session is a great opportunity to connect with fellow Advisors of Studies, share experiences and good practice, and seek advice and support in a collegial setting.

At this workshop, the facilitators will focus on equipping participants with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively support and guide our students. Through interactive sessions and collaborative discussions, participants will gain valuable insights and practical tools to enhance their advising practice.

More information

• How Queen’s Staff are using AI: Explore a range of case studies that showcase innovative applications of AI across Queen’s to inspire new approaches in your own field of work.
• AI Self-Help Guides: The AI Self-Help Guides are here to support your journey into AI. These guides are designed to help you use AI to save time and to understand the impact of AI on your assessment. Find more AI guides and resources on the AI Hub.
• Beyond the Technology Podcast: Queen's progress in digital transformation has been featured in a Jisc podcast episode exploring how AI is transforming education: Beyond the Technology: AI, Innovation, and the Future of Learning at Queen’s University Belfast.
• The AI Hub's AI Building Blocks training series explores the fundamentals of AI and its applications across higher education.