The current Co-Chairs of iRise, the University's Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network, are completing their term. Expressions of Interest are now invited for the two Co-Chair positions, which opens a development opportunity for new colleagues to be involved in the network. The Co-Chair role can be shared by more than two people and the roles are available for one year, with the option to extend.

Staff interested in the roles are asked to please complete this Microsoft form before close of business on Wednesday 31 May. It is hoped the new Co-Chairs will take up the role in June.

If you wish to discuss the role, you can also contact current Co-Chair Nimmy John at n.john@qub.ac.uk.

A new online training course for all staff within the University is now available, titled '#QUBeWell: Supporting Student Mental Health and Wellbeing'. This is an action that was promised within the #QUBeWell Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework and has been designed by the Student Disability and Wellbeing Service along with colleagues throughout the University.

All Queen's staff are strongly encouraged to complete this 45-minute online training course which is now live on Queen's Online alongside general (mandatory) courses.

Each year, the Communications Office showcases a selection of our graduands who have interesting stories to tell. In advance of the Summer Graduations, they would like your help to tell those stories.

Do you know a student who has won an award or is involved in charity work? Who has overcome adversity or achieved sporting success while studying? Or a student who has secured an exciting graduate job or career placement or who has their own business start-up idea?

If so, please email comms.office@qub.ac.uk with an outline of the student's story, School and subject. Please also include a mobile number and email address for the student so the Communications Office can get in touch to discuss it further.

The closing date for submitting information on Graduand success stories is 5.00pm on Friday 2 June.

Workshops to help prepare for the Student Support Meetings following publication of examination results will take place in May and June as detailed below. Staff can sign up here, or for more information please contact Tom Magee (Student Support Liaison Officer, Student Disability and Wellbeing Services).

• Tuesday 30 May, 9.45am to 11.30am (The Cube, One Elmwood)
• Tuesday 6 June, 1.45pm to 3.30pm (Blue Sky Room, One Elmwood)
• Monday 12 June, 11.00am to 12.30pm (online, MS Teams)

These workshops would be of particular interest to Advisors of Studies, Personal Tutors, Chairs of Student Support Meetings and any other school-based staff supporting students during this period. 

The Digital Experience Insights Survey is part of a national initiative where data about the student digital experience is gathered from a range of higher education institutions and further education colleges across the UK. Annually, we can report the local findings before the aggregated data is available from across the participating institutions in the HE sector.

What do our students at Queen's say about their digital experience? To find out, access the Digital Experience Insights Survey 2023 for students at Queen's.

Please contact ced@qub.ac.uk for any queries in relation to this report of findings.

As part of the continued focus on developing leadership capability at Queen's, the Organisational Development team is pleased to offer two exciting leadership development programmes this Autumn. The Queen's Connected Leaders Level 1 programme launches in September 2023 and the Aurora female-only leadership development programme will be available in November 2023.

Application forms for both programmes are now available via a new online platform (access via the intranet pages linked below), from Monday 22 May. Please ensure that you discuss this opportunity with your line manager before submitting an application.

As part of Queen's Staff Wellbeing programme, Active Campus is hosting a four-week Staff Social Taster Programme. Each week will be a different sport giving staff the opportunity to try a new sport while socialising with colleagues. This programme will begin on Thursday 8 June at the PEC.

• Basketball: Thursday 8 June, 12.45pm to 1.30pm
• Badminton: Thursday 15 June, 12.45pm to 1.30pm
• Volleyball: Thursday 22 June, 9.00am to 9.45am
• Squash: Thursday 29 June, 9.00am to 9.45am

This programme is open to all levels and abilities and staff can stay as long as they like.

Sign up here

The 2023 Queen's Sport Summer Scheme returns in July for seven weeks. This scheme offers children aged six to 14 years old a high-quality activity experience. Children can learn new skills that promote an active lifestyle by providing opportunities to try new sports in a fun and supportive environment.

Queen's staff can enrol their child(ren) online from Tuesday 9 May. Open enrolment for members and the public commences on Thursday 1 June.

Visit the Queen's Sport Summer Scheme website for regular updates and more information. Or contact the team at courseenquiries@qub.ac.uk.

Queen’s University Belfast is participating in ‘No Mow May’, which means closing the lawn mower in your shed and letting your garden grow wild for the entire month. We encourage all staff and students to leave their gardens to grow, as the wildflowers and plants that can grow are a great source of food for bees and other pollinators.

When you are travelling around Queen’s campus, be sure to keep an eye out for our No Mow areas, with three well-established areas found at Riddel Hall, the David Keir Quad and the Ashby Hill, and a brand-new No Mow area at the back of the MBC. If you have any questions or photos of your gardens that you would like to share, please send them to sustainability@qub.ac.uk.

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

• Professor Marie Coleman: The changing Irish state attitudes to British royal coronations
• Dr Peter McLoughlin: Sinn Féin at the coronation: how to understand Michelle O’Neill’s decision to attend King Charles’s big day

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

The Conversation is a news website featuring articles by academics, often republished to global media outlets. Articles by Queen's academics published in The Conversation have been read by 12.5 million people internationally. Read the latest:

• Dr Edel Hyland: Brain-altering fungi could lead the next frontier in mental health care – here's how

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

• Queen’s academic wins prestigious European award for outstanding achievements in plasma diagnostics
• Building resilience at Queen’s - Mental Health Awareness Week 2023
• Queen’s winners at British Society for Immunology Awards 2023
• Queen’s Professor Frank Kee elected to Academy Fellowship with leading biomedical and health scientists
• Education cuts will inflict long lasting damage to our economy says Queen’s Vice-Chancellor
• Queen’s scoops two awards at Balmoral Show

Our latest 'Spotlight on our Staff' profile features Dr Gemma Catney.

Gemma is a Senior Lecturer in Geography in the School of Natural and Built Environment.

Read Gemma's profile

Staff are invited to the inaugural lecture in the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action (SECA)'s 'Socio-ecological Justice' lecture series, taking place on Thursday 25 May from 2.00pm to 4.00pm in Lanyon Building, room 0G/074 and online. The event title is 'Triple planetary crises and bottom lines: Implications for agriculture in NI'.

Register here

Staff are invited to The Wiles Lecture Series 2023, delivered by Professor Barbara D. Savage (University of Pennsylvania).

Professor Savage will deliver four lectures on 'Uncharted Territory: The Future of African American History' on the following dates. Each lecture will take place in the Larmor Lecture Theatre, Physics Building.

• Wednesday 24, Thursday 25 and Friday 26 May at 5.00pm
• Saturday 27 May at 11.00am

All are welcome. Registration is not required.

Find out more 

The annual Irish Studies International Lecture takes place on Wednesday 31 May from 5.00pm to 6.00pm, followed by a drinks reception, in the Canada Room and Council Chamber, Lanyon Building. The lecture 'Coming home: Travelling from Australia to Ireland before 1925' will be delivered by Professor Dianne Hall (Victoria University, Melbourne).

Register here 

Find out more 

The InterSim Inaugural Conference is being held on Friday 9 June from 9.00am to 5.00pm at the KN Cheung SK Chin InterSim Centre, MBC, Queen’s University Belfast.

Register here.*

Staff are invited to the Critical Domesticities Symposium: 'Retro & Hetero with the Housewife of the Year (1968-1995)', taking place on Friday 26 May from 1.00pm to 9.00pm in the Brian Friel Theatre and rehearsal room, 20 University Square.

This event will be an afternoon of presentations and discussion reflecting on the 'Housewife of the Year' and taking a critical and creative look at the evolving role of women in the domestic sphere on the island of Ireland.

More information | Register

The Mitchell Institute, in partnership with The Executive Office (NI) and Co-operation Ireland, invites staff to the launch of a collection of Area Research Reports, which have been developed on behalf of the Communities in Transition (CiT) programme.

This launch will take place on Wednesday 24 May from 10.00am to 12.00pm in room TR6, The Graduate School, and will feature a presentation of research findings and presentations from some CiT Delivery Partners working in the eight project areas. The event will conclude with a Q&A session with the speakers.

Tea and coffee will be provided on arrival at 10.00am. The event will officially start at 10.30am.

Register here

The Mitchell Institute's next Fireside Chat will take place on Wednesday 24 May from 5.00pm to 6.30pm in the Common Room, Mitchell Institute, 18 University Square.

At this event third year PhD candidate Darren Colbourne will give a talk on 'Whose Movement is it, Anyways?: Participation and Prefigurative Politics in the People's Democracy and Student's for a Democratic Society.

Find out more | Register

The School of Psychology invites staff to a seminar by Dr Katherine McAuliffe (Boston College, USA) on Tuesday 23 May at 2.00pm in room 02.527, David Keir Building, followed by a coffee hour where attendees will have the opportunity to meet with Katherine and discuss her research.

The title of Dr McAuliffe's seminar is 'The influence of norms on fairness in childhood'.

More information | Register

The School of Psychology invite you to a seminar by Dr Wei Wei (Zhejiang University, China) on Wednesday 31 May from 1.00pm to 2.00pm in David Keir Building room 02.527. Light refreshments will be served from 12.30pm.

The title of Dr Wei's presentation is 'Cultural Differences in Mathematical Ability'.

Register here

Staff are invited to the free workshop 'Image IN | NI', taking place on Tuesday 13 June from 11.00am to 2.30pm in Riddel Hall.

The workshop will include talks around astrophysics, medical imaging, construction and architectural design, sports science, food security and production, quantum imaging, and creative imaging (AR/VR/AI generated artistic images).

More information | Register

Staff are invited to the workshop 'What does Scholarship mean to QUB?', taking place on Monday 12 June from 9.30am in The Great Hall.

This event is open to all staff engaged and/or interested in scholarship at Queen's. Using an Appreciative Inquiry approach those attending will work to co-produce a professional model of scholarly enquiry. Lunch will be provided.

Register here

The seminar 'Developing the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in the field of higher education research' will take place on Friday 23 June from 10.00am in the Peter Froggatt Centre, room OG/007, main campus.

This is the first in a series of seminars focusing on educational scholarship and will be delivered by Dr Frank Su, Associate Professor and Head of Education Studies at Liverpool Hope University.

More information | Register

PEACEPLUS is a new €1.1bn European Union funding Programme, designed to support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. Aimed to address longstanding social and economic challenges, the programme has been divided into 22 investment areas across six themes.

With the anticipated launch of initial funding calls, the Research Development team are seeking information on the level of interest at Queen's. Staff who anticipate leading or participating in a PEACEPLUS bid are asked to please complete the following MS Form:

PEACEPLUS Application Information Form

To receive future communications and additional information on this programme, please email internationalresearch@qub.ac.uk to be added to the PEACEPLUS Teams channel.

The NERC Funder Liaison Group will host a 'Cross-Faculty Away Day' on Friday 26 May from 10.00am to 3.00pm in the Lanyon Building (Canada Room/Great Hall). Refreshments will be provided.

More information | Register. Please indicate on the form if you want to present a talk or poster on the day.

The Northern Ireland Graduate Recruitment Fair will take place on Tuesday 6 June from 11.00am to 3.00pm in the Whitla and South Dining Halls at Queen's.

This year's event will connect final year students and recent graduates with employers offering immediate graduate and training opportunities.

Students can pre-register via nigradfair.org

The organisers would appreciate staff support in communicating this news to final year students and recent graduates. A promotional toolkit is available on request from careers-marketing@qub.ac.uk.

Researchers in Queen's Centre for Public Health are looking for volunteers interested in taking part in a research study which will help determine the lipid-altering effect of fenugreek seed tea amongst patients with hyperlipidaemia.

To find out more, please contact Dr Danielle Logan via phone or email at: 07385968725 / fenugreekstudy@qub.ac.uk.

Participants will receive a £30 gift voucher upon completion of the study and travel expenses will be reimbursed.

Postdoctoral researchers and PhD students at Queen's are invited to the next Postdoctoral Development Centre Career Exploration Interview, held online on Thursday 1 June from 12.00pm to 1.00pm.

This event, followed by Q&A, welcomes Dr Keziah Davison (Life Sciences Executive Search Consultant, Cranmore Executive Search) for a chat about career opportunities beyond academia and how to navigate the transition.

More information | Register

Postdocs and PhD students at Queen's are invited to a panel discussion on careers in social sciences and policy, taking place online on Thursday 8 June from 12.30pm to 2.00pm. This discussion will be followed by Q&A.

More information | Register

Postdocs and PhD students are invited to this panel discussion on research careers in the life sciences, taking place online on Wednesday 14 June from 11.00am to 12.30pm. This discussion will be followed by Q&A.

More information | Register

Queen's Postdocs and PhD students are invited to a panel discussion on 'Careers for Engineers', taking place online on Thursday 22 June from 11.30am to 1.00pm followed by Q&A.

More information | Register 

This networking session is designed to equip prospective fellowship applicants with first-hand knowledge from fellowship experts and successful fellows, helping them to plan and prepare their own application.

This session will take place on Monday 29 May from 11.30am to 2.00pm in the Canada Room/Council Chamber.

More information | Register

New postdocs and research staff, or anyone wanting to find out more about postdoc support at Queen's, is invited to join the next induction event to find out how you can make the best of your time at Queen's. All previous attendees recommend the event.

The induction will take place on Friday 2 June from 1.30pm to 4.30pm in the Research and Enterprise Seminar Room, 64 University Road.

Find out more and register

A session on Narrative CVs for postdocs and research staff will take place on Tuesday 23 May from 12.00pm to 1.00pm online.

Find out more and register

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

More information: Campus Development: The week ahead.

This week’s new and returning films at Queen’s Film Theatre, your cinema on campus. Staff tickets are priced at £6.00 (standard ticket price £8.40). If you’re 26 and under join LUMI to get tickets for £4.50 everyday, all year round.

New this week

BEAU IS AFRAID: From the director of Hereditary and Midsommar, Beau is Afraid follows Beau (Joaquin Phoenix), who sets out to visit his mother and discovers a world of malevolent forces and unseen eyes tracking his every move.

Staff are invited to a free lunchtime concert marking UNESCO Africa Week 2023, with celebrated musician Eric Bibb, on Thursday 25 May at 12.00pm in The Harty Room, Queen's School of Music. Refreshments will be available after the event.

This event has limited availability.

Register now

The latest weekly update from the Seamus Heaney Centre is now available online. 

View the update: Seamus Heaney Centre - latest news and events

After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, UsFolk 5 marks the return of UsFolk illustration agency's annual exhibition, presenting the best in local and international illustration talent.

This exhibition continues until Sunday 28 May. All are welcome. Free admission from Tuesdays to Sundays, 11.00am to 4.00pm.

A training session on research impact and how to record it on Pure will take place online via MS Teams on the following dates:

• Wednesday 28 June, 3.00pm to 4.00pm
• Thursday 29 June, 11.00am to 12.00pm

Sign up here

For Pure related queries, contact puresupport@qub.ac.uk. 

Further dates are now available for PDR workshops for staff. These workshops are designed to develop skills for PDR conversations. Booking is available at the iTrent links below:

• PDR Skills for Reviewees (online): Tuesday 30 May, 9.30am to 1.00pm
• PDR Skills for Reviewees (in person): Tuesday 1 August, 9.30am to 1.00pm
• PDR Skills for Reviewers (in person): Tuesday 15 August, 9.30am to 1.00pm

The next workshop on Being an Advisor of Studies takes place online on Monday 19 June from 9.30am to 11.00am.

The workshop provides a forum for discussion of the key roles and responsibilities of an Adviser of Studies, based on Queen's Code of Practice.

Register here

Staff training delivered by CED, Information Services and various Digital Learning teams across Faculties is now available to book via the Digital Learning Training Events calendar.

Training schedule for the week ahead:

• Introduction to Microsoft Publisher 2021: Friday 26 May, 10.00am to 11.00am

Digital Capability in Higher Education

The QUB Digital Learning Discussions group are meeting virtually on Thursday 15 June at 10.00am to hear from Dr Becki Vickerstaff, Higher Education Senior Consultant at Jisc, who will explore why understanding and developing digital capability is important for all who study and work in higher education. She will explore the research informed key skills and priorities, summarised in the Jisc six areas of digital capability model, and how this contributes to developing agile digital transferable skills for both the workplace and personal life.

All staff are welcome to join this interactive workshop.

Register here

Colleagues who haven't yet tried MS Bing Chat can simply log into bing.com with their Queen's Microsoft Account and they will be able to avail of Bing's AI-powered Chat Search.

Bing Chat is pinned to the new sidebar in Edge and persists across all open Edge browser tabs.

Read more here

Places are available on the following courses. Booking is via iTrent on Queen's Online.

• Introduction to Microsoft Visio: Wednesday 31 May, 10.00am to 11.00am
• Advanced Word: Getting more out of Word: Friday 9 June, 10.00am to 11.00am
• Dynamic PowerPoint, Wednesday 14 June, 10.00am to 11.00am