July Holiday – 12 and 15 July 2024

Please note the following Accounts Payable arrangements over the July holiday period for paying authorised Supplier Invoices, Request for Payments and Staff Expenses Claims:

1. Requests for Payment, and Staff Expenses Claims, received on or before 12.00pm on Thursday 4 July 2024, and Supplier Invoices received before 5.00pm on Wednesday 3 July, and which have been authorised on or before Friday 5 July 2024, will be paid week-ending 12 July 2024.
2. Authorised Supplier Invoices, which have been GRNd, Requests for Payment, and Staff Expenses Claims, received on or before 12.00pm on Wednesday 10 July 2024, will be paid week-ending 19 July 2024.
3. Authorised Supplier Invoices, which have been GRNd, Requests for Payment, and Staff Expenses Claims, received after 12.00pm on Wednesday 10 July 2024, but before 5.00pm on Friday 12 July will be paid week-ending 26 July 2024.
4. Normal payment arrangements will apply for all payment requests received from 15 July 2024.

University Financial Year End – 31 July 2024

The General Election is taking place on Thursday 4 July 2024.

To vote in the election, you must be registered to vote.

The deadline to register to vote is 11.59pm on Tuesday 18 June 2024. If you are not yet registered to vote, you can register online. It usually takes about five minutes. You can check if you are registered to vote on the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland website.

Staff are invited to join the South Belfast and Mid Down General Election candidates for a Hustings event on Thursday 27 June at 12.30pm in The Cube, One Elmwood. This joint Civic Engagement and Students' Union event is your chance to engage with and question those vying to become the next MP for the University area.

The panel will be hosted by David McCann from Slugger O'Toole, and refreshments will be available.

Please register here: General Election Hustings

The dates of the University Management Board (UMB) meetings for 2023-24 are available on the University Management Board SharePoint site. Minutes will be published following each meeting.

The minutes from the UMB meetings held on 28 May and 11 June 2024 can now be found here.

The University is currently advertising for the following position internally:

• 23/112019 – NUin Programme Assistant, Global Marketing, Recruitment and Admissions

Staff can view internal and external vacancies through iTrent Employee Self-Service (via the 'Useful Links' noted under the staff profile 'Utility menu' dropdown).

Each year, the Strategic Communications Directorate 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 complete this form (this can be done for yourself or on behalf of someone else) and the Strategic Communications Directorate team will be in touch to discuss.

The closing date for submitting information on Graduand success stories is now 5.00pm tomorrow, Tuesday 18 June.

The Belfast Region City Deal team invites Queen's staff to the launch of the Queen's University-led Innovation Centres on Wednesday 19 June from 10.30am to 12.00pm (with tea/coffee/refreshments served from 10.00am) in the Mandela Hall, One Elmwood.

Join for networking and discussion on how Queen's is working with partners and funders to lead an ambitious £230m programme of innovation bringing economic and societal benefits across Northern Ireland.

RSVP here by selecting a 'General Admission - Queen’s Staff' ticket.

RSVP by 12.00pm on Tuesday 18 June.

Pre-election period

The pre-election period (formerly known as purdah) is the period of time between the time an election is announced and the date the election is held when specific restrictions on the activity of civil servants are in place.

While broadly universities are beyond the scope of these restrictions, there are instances where specific care should be taken with regards the use of public resources and the communication activities of public bodies, civil servants, and local government officials. If you have any questions, please get in touch with publicengagement@qub.ac.uk.

Key considerations for staff in Queen’s University Belfast

As part of our continued focus on developing leadership capability at Queen’s we are pleased to once again offer the Aurora female-only leadership development programme in late Autumn 2024. 

The application closing date for the programme has been extended to 5.00pm on Monday 8 July.

The programme overview, programme dates, tips on applying, and the application link are all now available on the Aurora intranet page. Please ensure that you read the information and tips available, and that you discuss this opportunity with your line manager before applying. If applying, please remember to hold the programme dates in your diary.

Queen's first Annual Sustainability Report has now launched.

Covering the academic year 2022-23, the report captures a wide range of important initiatives delivered across our campus and beyond – addressing sustainability issues in research, operations, teaching and learning, and outreach delivered in collaboration with our key stakeholders and civic partners.

Everyone is encouraged to take a few moments to read it and learn more about all that we are doing to drive forward this work. We will produce this report on an annual basis.

To support continuous improvement, we would be grateful if you could let us know how we've been doing on sustainability communication this academic year (2023-2024).

• Please take one to two minutes to share your feedback here.

We would really appreciate your feedback on how we communicate on sustainability and what we can do better. 

Queen’s Pride Picnic

All Queen's staff and students are invited to the third annual Queen’s Pride Picnic on Wednesday 24 July from 12.00pm to 3.00pm. Celebrations will include music, entertainment, food trucks, drinks and an ice-cream cart. This event is free. Further information, including how to register, will be shared soon.

Belfast Pride Parade

The Postdoc Society are pleased to announce the return of the Queen's Postdoc Showcase, taking place in celebration of Postdocs and Research Staff, on Monday 16 September in The Malone Hotel, 60 Eglantine Avenue, Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 6DY.

The theme of this year's event is 'Helping to Shape a Better World'. This event is an opportunity for all research staff at Queen's to showcase their research, learn about others' research, and network with other postdocs.

Find out more and register here: Postdoc Showcase 2024

Nominations for this year's Postdoc Awards are now open. All staff are encouraged to nominate postdoctoral researchers who have excelled in one of the award categories this academic year. The deadline for nominations is Sunday 30 June.

Find out more and nominate here: Postdoc Awards 2024

The Education Committee: Student Experience approved a revised Procedure on Support to Continue in Study on the Grounds of Health and/or Safety (previously known as 'Fitness to Continue in Study') for implementation in the 2023-24 academic year. The Student Disability and Wellbeing Service has updated how referrals to Occupational Health are managed where, as part of the process, a student needs to have an independent review of their fitness to study.

The last of these sessions will be held on Tuesday 25 June from 3.30pm to 4.30pm online via MS Teams. Staff can come along and hear about the updates to the procedure and ask any questions they may have.

Register here: Support to Continue in Study

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 (HEI's) across the UK.

To find out what students at Queen's have said, access the Digital Experience Insights Student Survey 2024 summary report of findings. It includes the perceptions of over a 1,000 Queen's students, enabling us to reflect on their digital experiences and the transformative role of technology in education.

Staff are invited to get involved in SU Volunteer's 'Declutter and Donate' campaign, helping to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation's lifesaving research. This is an opportunity to spring clean your space while supporting good causes.

Donations to the campaign will be accepted at the sites detailed below until Sunday 7 July.

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

• Dr Ronagh McQuigg: The New EU Directive on Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence
• Dr Stefan Andreasson: Why the US oil majors may end up doing more for the green transition than their (slightly) more progressive European rivals
• Event: Post-Brexit Clinic, Friday 21 June, 12.30pm, online. Register here.
• Event: Launch 'Paradise Lost: A Report on the Emotional and Personal Impacts of the Crisis of Lough Neagh', Monday 24 June, 5.00pm, Peter Froggatt Centre, room 02/018. Register here.

To contribute 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 Jamie Pow: Northern Ireland: the three electoral threats keeping the DUP awake at night
• Dr M. Satish Kumar: Why India didn't have the 'climate election' it needed, even amid a lethal heatwave
• Dr Stefan Andreasson: Why the US oil majors may end up doing more for the green transition than their (slightly) more progressive European rivals

Queen's Staff Blog provides a space for staff to share our reflections, knowledge and experiences and build a connected University community. Our latest blogs focus on the launch of Queen's Civic Mission in May 2024, as well as the experiences of some of our staff carers:

• BLOG: Our Civic Mission, by Dr Federica Ferrieri.
• BLOG: Being a Staff Carer at Queen's: My Experience, by Duncan Berryman
• BLOG: Being a Parent Carer at Queen's: My Experience, by Dermot Leonard
• BLOG: Being a Staff Carer at Queen's - My Experience, by Tom Dore

Our latest 'Spotlight on our Staff' profile features Suzanne Walsh.

Suzanne, Talent and Capability Consultant, is a member of the Organisational Development Team within People and Culture, supporting talent and career development opportunities for staff across the University.

Read Suzanne's profile.

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

• Queen's colleagues recognised in King's Birthday Honours 2024
• Queen’s ranks in top 200 Universities across the world for global sustainability
• Queen's University Teaching Awards 2024
• Queen’s University launches its Civic Mission: A commitment to collaboration and inclusivity
• Treble of awards for outstanding achievement in pharmaceutical sciences for Queen’s Professor
• In Pictures: Athena Swan Gold celebration event
• Festivities in the air as Queen's celebrates historic Athena Swan Gold Award
• Queen's University's Communications Team is best in class
• Joint announcement: Conclusion of local pay negotiations

The Internal Communications Team in the Strategic Communications Directorate will hold the following Drop-in Sessions during Summer 2024:

• Tuesday 25 June 2024, 2.00pm to 4.00pm, The Graduate School, GR7
• Tuesday 30 July 2024, 2.00pm to 4.00pm, The Graduate School, GR7
• Tuesday 20 August 2024, 2.00pm to 4.00pm, The Graduate School, GR7
• Tuesday 27 August 2024, 12.00pm to 2.00pm, The Graduate School, GR7

Colleagues across the University are welcome to drop in individually or in groups of up to four colleagues for guidance on approaches to help promote information or initiatives to internal audiences, or for advice on internal communication challenges. Tea and coffee will be provided.

The Strategic Communications Directorate is hosting a female-only virtual training session with The Conversation UK for Queen's academics and researchers in all Faculties on Tuesday 18 June from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

A few spaces remain. Register for this session here.*

This interactive session will be led by one of the editors who will take you through what The Conversation is, its origins and aims, what it does and why. For further information, please contact Zara McBrearty, Communications Officer, at z.mcbrearty@qub.ac.uk.

The Faculties of Engineering and Physical Sciences and Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, in collaboration with PETRONAS, are bringing Soapbox Science back to Belfast on Sunday 23 June. This is the fifth successful event in Northern Ireland.

This year Soapbox Science Belfast will take place from 1.00pm to 4.00pm outside the Ulster Museum in Botanic Gardens. Please contact Nicola Minish (n.minish@qub.ac.uk) for further information.

The annual InterSim Conference will now be held on Friday 6 September from 9.00am to 5.00pm at the KN Cheung SK Chin InterSim simulation centre, Medical Biology Centre (MBC), Health Sciences Campus. 

The theme of this year’s conference will be 'Transformation through Interprofessional Simulation'.

Find out more and register here:* Annual InterSim Conference, Queen's University Belfast

Staff are invited to listen to Queen's SPACE project's new Podcast Series: The Science of Ageing Well, now available via Spotify and iTunes.

Episode 1: Environmental Impact
The environment we live in, work in, and play in, can have a huge impact on how we age. In this episode, experts Dr Sara Adar (University of Michigan) and Professor Jennifer McKinley (Queen's) talk about the environmental impact on ageing.

Staff are invited to view the latest edition of the new Research and Innovation Newsletter.

This newsletter provides the entire research community at Queen’s with information on the latest news, announcements and events related to their researcher journey and on Research and Innovation activities at Queen’s.

Subscribe here.

Read this week's summary of funding opportunities and news from the Research Development team.

Join the mailing list (NB: this list is available until Friday 21 June. Researchers wishing to continue receiving this weekly update after Friday 21 June will be asked to resubscribe here.)

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.

The Seamus Heaney Centre invites staff to its First Collection Poetry Prize Readings on Thursday 27 June from 6.00pm in Crescent Arts Centre.

All five shortlisted writers will be there in one of the Centre's highlights of the year.

Book your place here.

This week’s new and returning films at Queen's Film Theatre, your cinema on campus.

SHOWING THIS WEEK:

• A House in Jerusalem
• Àma Gloria

Screening tonight, Monday 17 June, The Naughton Gallery presents The Sheltering Sky as part of its SCREEN/PRINT series, with a free poster designed by Till Lukat available for each attendee.

Book your ticket here: QFT Screenings – The Sheltering Sky

As part of the 2024 Belfast Photo Festival, the Naughton Gallery presents Outside the Echo Chamber, the first UK solo exhibition by Berlin-based American photographer Andrew White.

The exhibition continues until Thursday 11 July. The Naughton Gallery is open 11.00am to 4.00pm, Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is free and all are welcome.

The Postdoc Society invites postdocs and research staff to the following events. Full details are available at the links provided. Please register so the Society can have an idea of numbers:

• Online Guided Meditation Session, Thursday 20 June, 4.00pm to 5.00pm. Places are limited to 20; first come first served. Deadline to register: Monday 17 June at 5.00pm.
• Well-being walk along the Lagan Towpath, Friday 21 June, 3.00pm to 5.00pm, meeting at QUB Boat Club, 29 Lockview Road, Belfast, BT9 5FH. Attendees are welcome to bring along friends, family and/or children.

The Centre for Educational Development has launched a new Podcast, 'Advisor Exchange', created to support individuals in the Advisor of Studies role.

This podcast aims to demystify processes, share best practices, and provide valuable insights into the intricacies of support department nuances.

Listen here and join the conversation.

The Developing Leadership in Educational Practice is a programme of study designed to bring together staff who work within the same environment to share good practice and discuss issues to enhance their personal development and wider professional practice. It is intended that you will transfer new-found knowledge to adapt or change the way you work to improve the student experience.

This award recognises the importance of Academic and Professional Services Leaders who have a pivotal role at Queen's. You may join this programme whether you are from a professional service or academic role. Those in leadership roles in the Students’ Union would also be eligible for this programme.

Register for the programme via iTrent self-service.

SEDA Programme Leaders is a blended learning course for new, aspiring, and experienced Programme Leaders, running from 2 September 2024 to 5 January 2025.

The course aims are:

• To support you in your professional development as an educational leader;
• To support and recognise your individual progress, practice & professional achievement;
• To enhance curriculum development and, hence, the student learning experience;
• To promote the development of professionals with the knowledge, skills and attributes to effectively lead, nurture and guide educational change and development in the sector.

Find out more and secure your place via iTrent.

The following learning events are now open for application. Full information and registration can be found via the iTrent links below.

• Introduction to Teaching: 2 to 6 September, 10.00am to 4.00pm – week of supported preparation for staff that have not previously been responsible for delivering a module.
• HEA fellowship claims – online programmes where participants will complete their claim for Fellowship/Associate Fellowship/Senior Fellowship HEA:

One-to-one Consultations

Book a 30-minute virtual session with a Digital Learning Developer from your Faculty, School or VLE Pedagogy Support Team (subject to availability).

The latest updates on AI at Queen's. Contact the 2030 Digital Education Team at AI-Hub@qub.ac.uk with any questions.

GPT-4o Release

OpenAI has recently announced the release of GPT-4o. This advanced model accepts as input any combination of text, audio, image, and video, and generates outputs in text, audio, and images. It's much faster and responds to questions at human-like speeds. OpenAI has also provided a series of demo videos to showcase these capabilities.

These advancements are available for ChatGPT users with a free account. Discover how you can access GPT-4o and get started with ChatGPT by watching our Quick Start Video.

Digital and Information Services's IT Training programme has completed for this academic year, but if your School or Directorate requires IT training for staff, geared towards a specific area or set of tasks, email itcourses@qub.ac.uk and the team will arrange a consultation.

Additional training materials can be found here on the IT Training Unit SharePoint site.