BLOG: A new era for business education at Queen’s University Belfast
“Our new building will be a place to bring people together – students, staff, business, and the community. It promises to be a vibrant hub for making new connections.”
A blog by Professor MN Ravishankar, Dean and Head of Queen’s Business School, Queen's University Belfast.
My name is Ravi, and it has been my pleasure to serve as the Dean and Head of School for just over a year now. I moved to Belfast from Loughborough to take up this opportunity, and it has been a very exciting year.
The number of staff in the School has almost doubled since 2018, and around that time a physical expansion of the School began to unfold in order to accommodate the growth. After years of planning and hard work by colleagues, and inevitable delays, we launched our new building and our new brand - Queen’s Business School - on 1 September 2023.
The new building
We are proud to present a state-of-the-art, purpose-built hub for staff, students, and businesses, featuring:
- The Mark Pigott lecture theatre, seating 250 students;
- A Harvard-style lecture theatre, seating 120 students (with a great view of the trees);
- Computer labs, seating 150 students;
- An executive suite to support the delivery of programmes by our Clinton Leadership Institute;
- An entrepreneurial space, for students with innovative ideas;
- Our Placement Office;
- The FinTrU Trading Room;
- Quiet study spaces, breakout spaces, interview rooms and project rooms;
- Academic offices;
- And a café (arguably the most important element for everyone!).
Find out more about the new facilities here.
Sustainability
The building has extensive sustainability credentials and is powered by geothermal energy, making it sustainable and an important part of Queen’s journey to net zero carbon emissions.
The rebrand
The mission of Queen’s Business School (QBS) is: ‘To educate and explore for the benefit of business and society’. The QBS brand reinforces the School’s and University’s position as a key provider of research-led undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education in the regional, national, and international markets.
The QBS vision 2030, aligned with the University’s Strategy 2030, is to:
- Be pivotal in developing principled and effective leaders;
- Expand research-led dialogue and engagement with business, civil society, and government;
- And to grow international stature and esteem.
A global stage
A mark of an excellent business school is to hold international accreditations. Since 2021, we have proudly achieved EQUIS, AMBA and Small Business Charter accreditations. As a PRME Champion Institution, we contribute to thought and action leadership in the context of the United Nations sustainable development agenda.
We have recently joined the Global Business School Network, which brings the world’s leading business schools together with business, NGOs, and governments to improve access to quality, locally relevant management and entrepreneurship education for the developing world through projects, programmes, and thought leadership.
Bringing people together
Our new building will be a place to bring people together – students, staff, business, and the community. It promises to be a vibrant hub for making new connections, generating innovative ideas, and developing future leaders.
Our School will hold tours of the new building, and we would love to welcome colleagues from across Queen's to our new campus to see what we do here.
