Festival sessions will be aligned to:

• curriculum and assessment reform;
• AI and digitally enhanced education;
• student success.

We hope you will be able to join us.

This change will help improve our email security, allowing users to quickly see whether a email has been sent from within our Microsoft environment or from an external source.

If you collaborate with other organisations and receive Microsoft notifications from them (such as when sharing files), these emails will continue to come from the Microsoft notification address or from the organisation's own address.

A member of the Queen’s team coordinating the entries will then be in touch.

Further information on the THE Awards is available at: https://the-awards.co.uk/2026.

The Out of School Club – for children attending Primary School (Primary 1 to Primary 7) – operates between 2.00pm and 5.45pm and hosts a maximum of 18 children from various schools across Belfast.

Childcare Services is conveniently situated on campus at 11 College Gardens, Belfast, and, while primarily supporting Queen's staff and students, also serves parents who live and work in the local community.

If you have any queries, please contact the tax team by emailing tax@qub.ac.uk, or the sales invoicing team at sorequests@qub.ac.uk.

Spectrum.Life Wellbeing Series

Spectrum.Life, Queen's new EAP provider, has a range of wellbeing webinars and eLearning modules on their wellbeing hub. Access Spectrum.Life courses here using the Organisation Code QUBSTAFF.

E-Learning programmes

• The Impact of AI on your Mental Wellbeing
• Understanding, support and resources for domestic violence

In Case You Missed It

• It's Just Period Pain...Or is it?
• Body Image - Letting go of labels
• Dermot Whelan's Practical Tools for Smart Living
• Raising Kids in an AI World
• Simple Practices for Gratitude and Self
• How We Break the Cycle: Stress

Our on-campus Bike Hub, Freedom Cycles, offers convenient bike sales, servicing and repairs to staff, students and the general public.

• Find out more on Sustainable Travel at Queen's.

This session will be relevant for colleagues across Faculties, Schools and Professional Services involved in recruitment, research development, global mobility and supporting international staff.

More information

In an increasingly competitive global environment, and with growing constraints across other visa routes, GTV is becoming an increasingly important pathway for securing and retaining leading researchers. At Queen’s, the route is already supporting a diverse and high-performing international cohort across academic, research and KTP roles.

• This session will open with a UKRI perspective from Ben Weeks, Head of Global Talent Strategy at UK Research & Innovation, setting Global Talent within the wider research and innovation landscape.
• This will be followed by a Faculty perspective from Professor Geert Dewulf, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Engineering and Physical Sciences, reflecting on the role of the route in attracting global talent.
• The session will also explore how GTV supports the University’s Strategy 2030 ambitions, including research excellence, internationalisation, and commitments under the Race Equality Charter and broader diversity and inclusion agenda.
• A practical segment will focus on how Schools and Faculties can make more effective use of the route across recruitment and workforce planning.

Further features are currently in the final stages of configuration and testing and will be added over the coming months.

In addition, please note that the Car parking functionality for Visitor Parking and Annual Parking Permits will now be available on the general Planon Staff homepage via the Planon Staff Homepage icon on QOL.

We will continue to share updates, including launch timelines and any supporting guidance. In the meantime, please contact the Estates Service Desk with any queries on 028 9097 5152 (or extension 5152), or email estates.helpdesk@qub.ac.uk.

What you need to do

1. Go to the Planon portal.
2. Click on the Personnel Record icon (pictured left).
3. Ensure all fields are accurate, editing and populating them as required.

If your location is not registered, you may experience delays or be unable to access some core services, including:

• Safety processes – Campus Filming Requests, Drone Requests, Waste Services, DSE Assessments, Eyesight Testing, First Aid Training, Face Fit Testing, Incident Reporting and Requests for Safety Training
• Annual Car Park Permits and Visitor Parking
• Access Control Requests
• Fire Safety Processes
• Maintenance Requests
• Service Requests
• PAT Testing Requests

Taking a few minutes to register your location now will help ensure these services continue to function smoothly and without delay for you.

If you experience any issues accessing the portal or updating your details, please contact the Estates Service Desk on 028 9097 5152 (or extension 5152), or email estates.helpdesk@qub.ac.uk.

Thank you for your co-operation.

The winners will be announced on Thursday 21 May at the Queen’s Technician Showcase. This event is open to technicians only.

• Please register here to attend the event.
• Submit details of your Showcase demonstration or poster here.

Award categories

Awards are available in the following categories:

• Technician Award for Contribution to Outreach
• Technician Award for Contribution to Sustainability
• Technician Award for Contribution to Research
• Technician Award for Contribution to Education
• Technician Award for Outstanding Leadership
• Technician Award for Best Newcomer

Key themes include:

• Sustainability in Campus Activities
• Research and Sustainable Solutions
• Sustainability in our Education, Outreach and Partnerships
• Engaging our Community on Sustainability

Please note: The Staff Forum is not for raising individual issues.

More information

Highlights from the April Staff Forum Meeting.

Recent discussions included:

• Healthcare Benefit System
• EDI Strategy Consultation Update
• Revised PS Digital DPR Form
• Pulse Survey Update

Queen’s Staff Forum aims to:

• ensure staff views are heard and represented through nominated representatives from across the University;
• create an open and inclusive space for dialogue between staff and senior leadership, including the Vice‑Chancellor;
• provide structured feedback on workplace issues that affect the employee experience;
• support collaborative action planning and contribute to positive, institution‑wide change.

This replaces the former Psychological Therapies and Counselling Support service, which was previously delivered through Lena by Inspire.

This transition is expected to be seamless, with no disruption to existing support for our students.

• More information

  Services available:

  Through Spectrum.Life's Student Counselling and Support, students will have access to:

  • 24/7 confidential mental health and wellbeing support from a qualified clinician via the same helpline number at no cost: 0808 800 0016;
  • A clinical assessment and, if appropriate, in-person counselling sessions, close to campus (online sessions are available on request);
  • Access to a dedicated online wellbeing platform, BeWell Hub, designed to support student mental and physical wellbeing.

  How you can support the transition

  • Please ensure that any references to Inspire or Lena by Inspire, such as out-of-office messages or digital resources, are updated as appropriate.
  • Please remove and dispose of any outdated resources, posters and leaflets in your area that refer to Student Counselling through Inspire.
  • The Student Wellbeing team will be sharing physical assets from Spectrum.Life across Schools and shared student spaces.
  • If you, your School, or service would benefit from additional updated physical assets (posters, leaflets, etc), or digital graphics (such as PowerPoint slides, digital screen graphics or out-of-office templates), please submit a request using this form.

  Further information and support

  • For any additional questions regarding the new Student Counselling provider or the transition, please email: studentwellbeing@qub.ac.uk

Our recent AI Lightning Talks event brought together colleagues from across the University to showcase how AI is being used in teaching, research, and professional services. From AI-powered avatars to using GenAI to create bespoke tools, the presentations offered a wide-ranging look at AI in action at Queen’s.

• AI for Educators Course: Self-paced Canvas course for student-facing staff to build confidence using AI in education. Explore four modules (Basics, Teaching & Learning, Assessment & Feedback, and Research), with practical AI Skills Build activities and discussion. Complete what’s most relevant to you, or finish all four to earn a Digital Certificate of Completion, signed by Professor Judy Williams (PVC Education and Students).

Please contact the team at AI-Hub@qub.ac.uk with any queries.

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

• Will voters turn against Donald Trump in the US midterms? What we know so far, by Dr Richard Hargy
• More joy, less juggle? Why workplaces should get on board with the value of care, by Dr Caroline Millar
• 'Protected' seagrass meadows aren't necessarily healthy – because pollution doesn't stop at the shoreline, by Heidi McIlvenny
• Israel's campaign against Hezbollah is raising sectarian tensions in Lebanon / Campagne contre le Hezbollah : Israël attise les tensions sectaires au Liban, by Dr Tarek Abou Jaoude
• What's behind Pakistan's war with Afghanistan's Taliban government?, by Professor Michael Semple

If you are interested in writing a staff blog piece, please contact internalcommunications@qub.ac.uk.

* ORAHS is an annual conference of the EURO Working Group of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies, IFORS.

This year’s conference will focus on the transformative potential of digital innovation and artificial intelligence to enhance decision-making, optimise healthcare delivery, and improve patient outcomes across complex health systems. Attendees have an opportunity to give an oral or poster presentation, along with networking opportunities.

Thursday 23 July will be practitioner focused and is available for one-day registration.

Keynote speakers:

• Professor Christine Currie (University of Southampton)
• Professor Sally McClean (Ulster University)
• Dr Peter Cosgrove (Consultant Physician in Paediatric Emergency Medicine)

• More information
  The global Rights of Nature (RoN) movement challenges the utilitarian Western framework of ‘nature as property’ by granting legal rights to nature. Professor Mary Gomes will approach the RoN movement from the perspective of Ecopsychology, which explores the inextricable relationship between human well-being and the flourishing of the Earth. The current ecological crisis can be understood as being rooted in the violent repression of an animistic sensibility that has existed in varying forms across cultures over eons, possibly since the origins of humanity. Our agelong capacity to perceive, acknowledge, and respect the full, mysterious existence of the more-than-human world was replaced with a flattened, mechanistic worldview.

  This new ideology formed the philosophical and religious foundation for colonialism, which relies on a utilitarian and extractivist relationship to nature. Moving beyond these destructive systems requires that we identify ways to revive and restore ways of relating to nature that acknowledge and relate respectfully to the inherent personhood of other beings.

  Relating in such a way is deeply and widely rooted in human experience. In fact, it took centuries of widespread oppression, cultural disruption, destruction of native languages and spiritualities, and genocide to reach the point where many people find these ideas unusual.

  From an ecopsychological perspective, the RoN movement presents a unique opportunity for the regeneration of our personal and cultural connections to the landscape. It provides a way to heal from the multigenerational cultural trauma that has arisen from waves of colonization and oppression.

• About the speaker
  Mary E Gomes, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology and Faculty Sustainability Chair at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California. She received her BA in Psychology and Folklore from Harvard University, and her PhD from Stanford. She has been involved with the field of Ecopsychology since its inception, as co-editor of the first edited book in the field, Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind, (1995) and an organizer of its initial invitational conferences. Her current work focuses on regenerating deep and respectful relationships with the more-than-human world, from her work promoting nature connection on the Sonoma State campus to her writing on the Rights of Nature movement that is unfolding in Ireland.

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

Workshop: Hone and Develop In-Demand Skills. This new interactive career workshop for postdocs and research staff is designed to expand your awareness of potential career pathways while equipping you with the knowledge and tools to develop highly sought-after skills.

New Postdoc Induction. Calling new postdocs and research staff (or anyone wanting to find out more about postdoc support at Queen’s)! Join the next induction event to find out how you can make the best of your time at Queen’s and hear about the support available to postdocs in the University!

Postdoc Life Series: Making the Most of Your Career Development Days. This dynamic session will show you how to turn your Career Development Days at Queen’s into real opportunities for growth, progression, and new possibilities. Hear practical guidance, gain fresh ideas, and learn directly from postdocs who are already making it happen!

Course: Time Management for Productive Work and a Happy Life. This course aims to help postdoctoral researchers to manage time and workload effectively, supporting a healthy work–life balance and overall wellbeing. It combines practical tools with self-reflection and peer learning, covering topics such as prioritisation, planning, minimising distractions, and workplace expectations.

Preparing for your Personal Development Review (PDR) for Research Staff. This practical and reflective session is designed to help research staff maximise the benefits of the Personal Development Review (PDR) process by focusing on their personal development, career goals, and next steps.

Together, the cyber security community at Queen's continues to drive forward the University's cyber strategy – building skills, awareness, and innovation through education, research, and collaboration. From school outreach initiatives like CyberFirst Empower, where 700 Year 8 girls explored future opportunities in cyber, to hands-on Capture the Flag training for postgraduate students, the community is strengthening cyber resilience across Queen’s and beyond.

About QUB ACE-CSE

The ACE-CSE is advancing Queen’s University’s cyber security strategy by fostering a culture of cyber awareness and enhancing cyber security knowledge across educational pathways, institutional operations, and the broader community.

Staff interested in finding out more or joining the ACE-CSE team can contact Dr Sandra Scott-Hayward.

• The Blue Trail
• The Drama
• After the Credits: Film Discussion Group
• The Stranger
• Power to the People: John & Yoko Live in NYC
• NT Live: All My Sons
• Hokum
• Primavera
• Colours of Time

Staff tickets are priced at £8.50. Staff and students aged 26 and under can join LUMI to get tickets for £6.00 every day, all year round.

AVANT GARDENER examines how contemporary artists are tending to new growth – cultivating visions of connection, care, and resistance. From lush landscapes to post-apocalyptic dreamscapes, the works consider how the human body and experience are shaped by their surroundings – at once embedded within them and set apart. Through pop cultural references, mythological allusions, and cinematic echoes, the exhibition invites us to look anew at the environments we inhabit, shape, and sometimes destroy.

AVANT GARDENER forms part of REACH '26, Queen’s University Belfast’s annual Arts and Sustainability Festival, and continues the Naughton Gallery’s commitment to presenting bold, thought-provoking work that speaks to the world we share. Read more about the REACH 26 programme here.

In these sessions colleagues will hear practical examples from across Queen’s and explore approaches that can support student learning, employability, and real-world engagement.

Sessions take place from 12.15pm to 1.30pm in the Geography Building, room OG/033.

• Thursday 21 May: The Activist Educator: Authentic Assessment for Sustainable Development. Presented by Dr Sean Roe and Dr Mary McGahon, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences.
• Wednesday 17 June: Living Labs at Queen’s: Turning Campus Challenges into Student Learning. Presented by Natalie Le Seelleur, Queen's Sustainability Team.
  
  

More information

• Thursday 21 May: The Activist Educator: Authentic Assessment for Sustainable Development

  Explore an innovative physiology assessment that connects the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with authentic, discipline-based learning. Sean Roe and Mary McGahon will share how the assessment has developed over the past two years, what students produced, and what emerged in terms of engagement, advocacy, and meaningful learning.

• Wednesday 17 June: Living Labs at Queen’s: Turning Campus Challenges into Student Learning

  Learn how Queen’s Living Labs connects real sustainability challenges on campus and across Belfast with student learning, research, and partnership projects. The session will introduce the Living Labs approach, show what kinds of projects work well, and outline practical routes for bringing opportunities into modules, placements, dissertations, and co-curricular activity.

Please feel free to contact the University Safety Service at safety@qub.ac.uk or 028 9097 4613 should you have any queries or training requirements.