Email: k.nugent@qub.ac.uk
Tel: 028 9097 2403

Tell us about your academic journey before you began working at the Thomas J Moran Graduate School?

I completed an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at Coventry University at a time when the internet didn’t even exist, so I’ve witnessed the rapid developments in technology since then and embrace new platforms for effective planning and delivering.

What was your career journey?

My career started in Bolton in the IT department of a UK-wide pub company, where I qualified as a PRINCE2 Practitioner and managed critical large-scale data rollouts, before moving to manage UK Retail for a global sports brand.  On my return to Northern Ireland, I worked in several private firms, including Harland and Wolff, before taking up a post as Executive Assistant to one of the Directors of Queen’s.

How has your previous professional experience prepared you for your current role?

My career spans multiple industries but the skills gained are all transferrable – it doesn’t matter where you work, people, planning, discipline and attention to detail all come into play. 

What is your role and what do you enjoy most about it? 

I manage the Student Engagement Team in the Graduate School, planning delivery of events to support the Training and Development and Employability and Enterprise teams and delivering community and social events to bring the postgraduate community together.  My team manages the web pages, social media channels, podcasts, weekly update emails, MyFuture, purchasing, administration and teaching room bookings.  We also maintain the building itself, keeping it tidy and safe, toilets working, delivering catering to events and restocking the student tea/coffee station. 

What's the most challening thing about your job?

Getting the message out to postgraduate students that everything we do is intended to give them an edge in a competitive world and a calm and quiet place to study.  There are many PG students who don't know the building is their resource and a UG-free zone. 

Can you share some examples of the types of challenges or concerns that students often approach you with, and how you assist them? 

Some students, particularly international students, find it quite isolating to move to Belfast.  We're always on hand for a cuppa and a chat, and we organise social and community events to try to bring postgraduate students together, give them a safe space to share experiences with their peers, who are often having similar challenges. 

If you could give one piece of advice to incoming students, what would it be? 

Don't assume everyone else has it all under control!  You’re not alone and we’re here to help.  Come and see us for an informal conversation.

Are there any unique resources or opportunities available through your team that students might not be aware of? 

The Graduate School is exclusively for postgraduate students – there are several group study rooms that you can book through the Room Booking platform and a silent study area with 65 workstations where you can study in peace and quiet.  We have a tea/coffee station on the ground floor with a microwave and vending machine, so you can stay all day! 

Name one thing you can’t survive a working day without. Why’s it so important? 

Two things: Coffee and my Outlook calendar.  One makes me a nicer person, the other makes me an organised person. 

How do you stay up-to-date with the latest developments in your field to better serve students' needs? 

I subscribe to higher education specialist centres such as HEPI (Higher Education Policy Institute) whose webinars and papers cover subjects such as student cost of living, student attitudes to campus, university funding models, etc.

Do you have any favourite inspirational quotes or mantras that keep you motivated in your work? 

“This, too, will pass.”  The saying is believed to be based on a Persian adage passed down through time and made famous in 1852 with Edward Fitzgerald's “Solomon's Seal”. In it, King Solomon aims to create a sentence that will always be true – whether times are good or bad. In it, he responds “This, too, will pass away”.

Whatever you’re going through, it will pass.

Do you think there are any unique challenges that students face today which are different to the challenges students faced in previous generations? What are they? 

Post-Covid and cost of living.  As staff, we are still adjusting to a world where students don’t necessarily want to or can't afford to come to campus.  Students have so many ways to communicate now yet feel isolated, but if they don’t come to campus, how can they meet friends and feel like they belong?  It's a challenge for all of us.

What's your favourite thing about Belfast that students should definitely check out? 

A walk up Cavehill to view Belfast at your feet, then tea and a scone in neighbouring Belfast Castle as a reward.  Also, the Christmas markets at Belfast City Hall from late November are a foodie feast.

If you could switch roles with any student for a day, which program or course would you choose, and why? 

Law seems like a dark art to me, I'd love to know more about it.

What's your favourite book? 

‘How to win friends and influence people’ by Dale Carnegie.  It’s a 1936 self-help book which is startlingly relevant even in today’s modern world, whether in your personal life or career.

Share a fun fact about yourself that might surprise your colleagues and students. 

I have stood at the top of both of the Harland and Wolff yellow gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, setting up time-lapse photography for their heavy engineering projects.  They're closed to the public so I was very lucky.

If you could travel back in time, which historical era would you visit and why? 

I love the idea of the petticoats and voluminous frocks of the 1700s but I doubt they would be very practical! I would get stuck in the Graduate School revolving door for a start.

Do you have a favourite travel destination or a memorable trip?  

I spend a lot of time in northwest Donegal - on a nice day it's a little piece of heaven.  Ireland is a beautiful country full of contrasting landscapes and it's a delight to tour around it when the weather is nice (and it's always dry in the pub).