The 2020 Staff Excellence Awards are now open for nominations.
Open to all staff, awards are available in six categories based on our Core Values, ICARE:
Any member of staff can submit a nomination online up until the closing date of Friday, 6 November 2020 at 5pm. Award entries should relate to work undertaken in the period between 1 August 2019 and 31 July 2020.
Further information on the Awards, including how to nominate, is available on the Staff Excellence Awards website: http://go.qub.ac.uk/excellenceawards.
With face to face learning currently only taking place where it is an essential element of the course, we recognise that many permit holders are, therefore, not travelling to the University and using our car parks, while some staff will continue to require access to University car parking in order to facilitate work that cannot be undertaken remotely.
In light of this, all car parks remain open to all staff until further notice (capacity permitting) and we are suspending all salary deductions related to car parking from 1 October 2020 until further notice.
Staff issued with a monthly temporary permit can continue to use car parking, with no further temporary permits required to be issued at this time.
To support any staff working on campus, a number of cafes are open daily on a takeaway basis serving great coffee, fresh sandwiches and lots more. These locally owned, independent businesses appreciate your support.
Hope Café McClay Library
Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 2.00pm
Junction Café Main Site Tower
Monday to Thursday, 8.00am to 3.00pm
Friday, 8.00am to 2.00pm
Clements @ The MBC
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 2.00pm
Friday, 10.00am to 2.00pm
The University continues to closely monitor the situation in relation to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and to align our approach with guidance from the Public Health Agency and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
Please continue to review our FAQs for staff and students and the Public Health Agency website.
Any member of staff or student who is either:
is asked to please inform the University via our dedicated online portal.
Review your contact information on iTrent
To enable us to contact you swiftly if necessary, it is important we have accurate and up-to-date contact information held for you on our HR System, iTrent. Please, therefore, check and, if necessary, add or update your contact telephone number(s) via iTrent Employee Self Service. Please also take the opportunity to review and, if necessary, update your emergency contact information. Review or update your details via iTrent Employee Self Service, using your usual network credentials.
If you have any difficulties or questions regarding this, please contact the HR Hub at hrhub@qub.ac.uk.
Read more Read lessAs we begin the new term, we have been working closely with the Students' Union and colleagues across the University to prepare a suite of videos setting out the safety measures in place on campus, as well as key ways in which we can all play our part in preventing the spread of the virus.
Watch all videos
Please download the STOPCovid NI contact tracing app, available at:
To help protect yourself and all within the Queen's community and wider public, we are encouraging all our staff to download this free app from our health service, which will support contact tracing, support our health service, help prevent another lockdown and save lives.
The app works by telling you automatically if you've been near another app user who tests positive and can also let them know if you test positive, though the app never knows or shares your identity or location.
Staff can view internal vacancies on Queen's Online. Other vacancies are often advertised externally and are on the Job Vacancies page.
For career updates, staff can also follow the Recruitment team on Twitter: @QUBWorkHere.
With the new COVID restrictions prohibiting indoor Group Exercise now in place, Queen's Sport is happy to announce an expanded online interactive programme starting Monday 19 October. Classes will be delivered using Zoom software.
To sign up for a class you will need to be a member of Queen's Sport and register a free user account with Zoom.
Staff can watch a recording of any of CED's training sessions. To access recordings or register for live training, go to: https://go.qub.ac.uk/Training2020
Key Training this week
Connected Learning at Queen's
The 'Get Canvas Ready For Sept 2020' course, available on your Canvas dashboards has been renamed to 'Connect Learning At Queen's'. This online, self-paced Canvas course is continually being enhanced and added to according to where we are in our Connect Learning Journey. Staff can dip in and out as required to learn more about teaching, learning and assessment at Queen's.
Engaging Students
A summary of various methods for boosting student engagement online is available in bite-sized videos of around two minutes each. The fresh ideas highlighted in this blog post can encourage student interaction in Canvas courses and online lectures: Building Online Learning Communities.
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Almost every School and Directorate at Queen's has one or two Office 365 Champions. Office 365 Champions are not a help desk but can provide general O365 advice, particularly with Teams and OneDrive. View the list of Office Champions.
If there isn't a Champion for your area, your School Manager can nominate someone by emailing itcourses@qub.ac.uk.
Information on using MS Teams for Teaching and Learning.
Teams training sessions are now bookable via iTrent. Search for 'Using Microsoft Teams'.
Staff (and students) can access training materials on Office 365, including Teams. Log in with your normal username and password.
Queen's graduates and staff are invited to attend the Annual Meeting of Convocation on Thursday 12 November at 6.00pm. The event will be hosted online, giving attendees across the world the opportunity to participate and share opinions on matters effecting the University.
Professor Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's, will be in attendance and will deliver an update on the University's key activities and unveil highlights from the forthcoming agenda for the year ahead.
To confirm your interest in attending, and to receive further details on how to connect/review associated documents, please RSVP to convocation@qub.ac.uk.
Staff are invited to participate in a survey led by Queen’s Gender Initiative (QGI), Dr Ioana Latu (School of Psychology) and Organisational Development (People and Culture). The survey aims to listen to the views of staff on the impact that the COVID-19 lockdown has had on their productivity and wellbeing, and to create solutions. The survey is completely anonymous.
Due to current circumstances, the survey leaders have decided to extend the survey to Friday 30 October 2020 to enable staff to participate.
The survey, which should take no more than 15 minutes to complete, is available through the link provided via the all-staff email here. We would particularly encourage academic members of staff to participate to help us better understand the effects of lock down on academic productivity and wellbeing.
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Open Access is a requirement for REF eligibility. To ensure compliance with the policy, staff are invited to register for the next 'Open Access Policy for REF 2021' online bitesized training course on Wednesday 18 November, from 2.00pm to 2.30pm via MS Teams. There will be time after to answer any specific questions you have.
Register via iTrent Self Service. The full training schedule is available on the Open Access LibGuide.
The Postdoctoral Development Centre is co-ordinating a series of virtual career interviews to help postdocs and PhD students explore the different career options available to them, directly from successful professionals who established their career outside of academia and, on occasion, from academics.
The first interview takes place on Friday 30 October from 11.30am to 12.30pm and will feature Dr Peter Kerr – Head of Operations at Sonraí Analytics Ltd (NI data analytics company) and previously head of project management at Almac Diagnostics – and Dr Karim Dib, Senior Lecturer in the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute (WWIEM) at Queen's.
All are welcome. More information and registration.
The Graduate School and the Postdoctoral Development Centre have organised a three-part online 'Employer Engagement' event to enable postdocs and PhD students to get a better insight of career options and recruitment processes for PhD-qualified individuals. This event will take place via MS Teams on Tuesday 24 November from 10.00am to 1.00pm.
More information and registration.
This event will feature:
AdvanceHE, in collaboration with the Association of National Teaching Fellows (ANTF) and the CATE Winners' Network (CATE-Net) are arranging 'virtual roadshow' webinars to support those interested in applying for their prestigious teaching excellence awards. This year, each virtual roadshow event will focus exclusively on either the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) or the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE).
More information on the Teaching Excellence Awards can be found on the Advance HE website. Further information about these events and booking links are available on the CED website.
Queries can be directed to e.mcdowell@qub.ac.uk.
Read the latest Queen's Policy Engagement (QPol) Research Blog posts:
Events
To submit an article to QPol, email Kevin at qpol@qub.ac.uk.
Read the latest Queen's articles published in The Conversation:
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. To find out more about The Conversation, please visit this page.
Queen's Staff Blog provides a space for staff to share our reflections, knowledge and experiences and build a connected University community.
If you are interested in writing a staff blog piece, please contact internalcommunications@qub.ac.uk.
Queen's Diversity and Inclusion Unit have partnered with Action Mental Health to provide all staff sessions on Covid, Stress and Returning to Campus. These sessions aim to support those staff who have transitioned or are transitioning back to work on campus, and may also be supportive for those staff who continue to work from home and are interested in understanding strategies to identify and cope with stress during these times.
The next session will take place on Thursday 29 October from 11.30am to 1.00pm.
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As part of the University's continuing commitment to supporting the Mental Health of its staff and students, the Diversity and Inclusion Unit in partnership with Action Mental Health are continuing to deliver Mindful Manager sessions.
Mindful Manager training will upskill managers, providing Line Mangers with the tools required to identify issues staff may be having in the workplace and provide appropriate support.
The next available session is:
Please note, spaces are limited to a maximum of 12 participants per session and this training is aimed at those staff with line management responsibility only.
More information / Registration.
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Learning events are available to enhance the personal and professional skills of staff. Places are still available on the following online courses. Register via iTrent Self-Service.
Staff and students can visit our dedicated website for information, support and the latest developments in relation to Brexit.
Please check these webpages regularly for updates.
Staff are invited to the virtual public lecture 'Rosalind Franklin, Éamon de Valera and the Irish Role in the Discovery of the Secret of Life', given by Professor Mark Lawler as part of the 'Samhain agus Science 2020' series during the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies.
The lecture will take place online, via Zoom, on Friday 30 October from 6.00pm to 8.00pm. The link for the talk will be issued on the day of the talk to those registered two hours before the event is due to begin.
Register here. If there are any issues, please contact communications@dias.ie.
Staff who have an idea for an event can now apply to present it as part of the Imagine! Festival 2021, taking place from 22-28 March 2021.
The festival is open to all suggestions – for example a debate, cafe discussion, exhibition, workshop or kids offering. Please note you are applying to be part of the programme and any event costs are the responsibility of the event organiser.
Information on festival themes, guidelines and application form.
Submissions deadline: Friday 20 November.
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An innovation workshop, 'Software Development for Non-software Inventors', will take place on Tuesday 10 November from 11.00am to 12.15pm via MS Teams
This workshop will be delivered by Barry Lynch, Founder of Gig Grafter, who will introduce some key concepts and approaches for developing software products as a non software engineering founder.
Staff are invited to the following series of UUKi-BEIS Research and Innovation for Global Development Workshops:
Details of ongoing works being carried out across the University campus can be found on the Estates Directorate webpage.
For information, please follow this link.
Staff unable to get to the SU Shop at this time can visit the QUB Clothing Online Store from their phone or laptop.
Choose from a wide variety of official QUB branded hoodies, sweaters, t-shirts and more.
Due to the latest COVID restrictions, the QFT has had to close its door once again. But its patrons can still experience the best that QFT has to offer, from the comfort of home, with QFT Player. Launched during the initial period of lockdown, QFT Player offers a range of short films, documentaries and features that can be rented or watched for free, with no need to subscribe. These titles include:
TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL: In this new documentary, Academy Award-winner Alex Gibney (No Stone Unturned) details Donald Trump's failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
JOHN T. DAVIS COLLECTION: A series of films, many of which are free, from Northern Ireland’s most distinctive documentary filmmaker and cinematographer.
SEAMUS HEANEY CENTRE COLLECTION: The Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's presents a range of readings, conversations, and short films to international audiences.
In accordance with new guidance from the NI Executive, the Naughton Gallery is now temporarily closed. The safety of visitors and staff continues to be the Gallery's priority, and the team looks forward to reopening when restrictions are lifted. In the meantime, be sure to follow the Naughton Gallery across their social media channels, through which they will continue to delve deeper into their current group exhibition, 'Lemonade Stand', showcase the University's permanent art collection, and bring you more ARTSPEAK Book Club recommendations and ARTSOUNDS playlists. The Naughton Gallery thanks patrons for their patience and understanding in these challenging times.
Staff are invited to 'In Conversation: with Sharon Olds and Nick Laird', on Thursday 5 November at 6.00pm via Zoom.
Please note: Students will be given priority for this conversation and Q&A, with the Seamus Heaney Centre's Professor of Creative Writing, Nick Laird, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Sharon Olds.
Register with Rachel Brown: r.brown@qub.ac.uk. More information.
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The Digital Skills Discovery Hub at Queen's is an online web space created for students to review their digital skills and explore new areas to develop within six different areas of digital capability.
This rich set of curated resources and courses will help students to unlock their digital skills – everything from being an online learner, digital creativity and managing their identity and wellbeing in digital settings.
Staff are asked to please promote the Digital Skills Discovery Hub to their students, enabling the Centre for Educational Development to support them to learn in an ever-changing and sometimes demanding digital environment.
The Staff Digital Literacies Hub can now be accessed here.
A number of Centre for Educational Development courses for the 2020-21 academic year have been listed on iTrent self-service, and are now open for booking. Courses include:
For up-to-date information, follow CED on twitter @QUB_CED or visit the CED website.
Places are still available on the following online courses:
Register for courses via iTrent Self-Service.
Course dates can be viewed at: go.qub.ac.uk/trainingschedule. More courses will be added over the coming weeks. The training programme will be delivered using Microsoft Teams.
To submit an item for Round Up, please email details to roundup@qub.ac.uk by 1.00pm on the Thursday before the Monday edition in which they are to appear.
Queen's University Belfast is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
For more information please read our Equality and Diversity Policy.
Queen's University Belfast is registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC101788
VAT registration number: GB 254 7995 11
