Introduction to the society

Hi! We are QCS and we represent students from all pathways in EEECS (School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science) and any student at Queen’s, or in education, with an interest in Tech. We’re one of the biggest societies in Queen’s with roughly 300 members each year and with over 400 in 2022/2023.

QCS was also voted as the SU’s Best Academic Society 2019 and Most Improved Society 2018. We also took part in organising the voted SU’s Best Student Led Activity “Elevate Student Conference 2023”!

^{QCS at QSU Freshers 2022}

Aims and Objectives

We aim to improve the university experience of students by providing engaging academic and social events. We want to build a space where people can join and feel welcomed and can bond over their shared interest in tech.

We want to be able to provide a safe space and community for students who are yet to engage with societies to feel welcome and allow them to try new things!

We also aim to help out local charities by raising money for them throughout the year through some of our events like our Formal! This year (2022/2023) we contributed to help raise a combined total of £11490.92 through our Annual Formal (£7215.84 for Air Ambulance NI) and ElevateNI Student Conference 2023 (£4275.08 for PureMental NI).

We welcome both those who have experience in tech and those looking to get to know the field!

^{Formal 2023 at the Europa}

Activities and Events

We are an Academic Society who work closely with our School of EEECS. However, we do more than just academic events, we host both academic and social events all year long!

I won’t be able to include the endless events we have hosted but here is a taste of my favourites below.

Social Events

We take suggestions from our community and do our best to host social events that they want. Some of these include:

• Board Games Nights
• Movie Nights
• Pub Quizzes
• Karaoke Nights
• Laser Tag
• Annual Formal

Here is a list of our social events this year (2022/2023)!

• Community Games nights (Videos games, Party games and team strategy games)
• ‘Friend-a-thon’ sessions - breakout rooms for members to meet new people
• Seasonal Competitions (Pumpkin Carving, Christmas Tree, Easter Baking competitions) in collaboration with EEECS
• Formal 2023
• Social Nights, e.g. pub nights, pub crawls, karaoke in the Union Bar, Botanic Inn and Cuckoo
• Board Games nights in the Computer Science Building
• Movie Nights held in the Computer Science Building
• Minecraft events
• Gingerbread decorating competition in collaboration with EEECS
• Karaoke night in collaboration with QUB Esports Society
• End of year pub crawl with Women in STEM Society

If you have any suggestions please let us know and we’ll try to make it happen!

^{Christmas gingerbread decorating}

Academic Events

We host academic events in collaboration with our partnering industry employers, we also host some ourselves like our Github Workshop! Take a look at our social media to see the companies we have worked with before. We host talks, hackathons and fun workshops for our students to learn more about the technologies currently being used in industry and also to get to know potential employers in person!

Here is a list of our academic events this year (2022/2023):

• Accenture Lego Agile Workshop
• Kainos 1-1 CV workshop
• Liberty IT Careers Watch party
• Giveclarity workshop ‘Developing Tech for Good’
• Kainos Data Workshop
• Careers event with JP Morgan
• Test insights workshop with Kainos
• MCS Soft skills & CV Workshop
• Alchemy, ‘Day in the life: Scrum Master and Technical Analyst’ Workshop
• EY Intelligent Automation Workshop
• First Derivative, Meet the Employer and CV Help

^{LibertyIT Workshop}

ElevateNI Student Conference

This year, ElevateNI started up for the first time. We were very happy to be involved in helping them organise and run the event.

ElevateNI is a student conference designed with students at its core. We provide a platform for students to showcase their passion projects and topics that truly matter to them. We are a conference organised by students and for students.

Inclusivity is fundamental to Elevate’s values. We held a Disability and Inclusion panel and a Diverse Society Panel which offers a safe space for students to ask questions, be heard and gain valuable insights.

^{ElevateNI Student Conference 2023}

In 2023, we raised £4275.08 for Pure Mental NI, a student-led mental health charity. We also hosted a plethora of interactive workshops, making it one of the biggest society collaboration events of the year.

We are proud to be a student-led conference that elevates the student voice. We are committed to providing a platform for students to make a difference.

We are excited to continue to grow ElevateNI in the years to come by continually being involved. We believe that the conference has the potential to make a real difference in the lives of students and the wider community.

^{A main track talk about Astrophysics at ElevateNI}

Examples of talks and workshops:

• Fundamental Role of Leadership in Early Childhood Education and Care Talk
• Literific Debate - This House Regrets the Rise of AI Generated Art
• Solving your first Rubik’s QUBe Workshop with SpeedQUBers
• Rubber Duck Decorating with QUB RDAS
• Subcritical and Breedable Physics Talk
• Demystifying Diversity and Inclusion Workshop
• Student Lightning Talks

Check out their socials here! https://linktr.ee/elevateni

^{Rubber duck decorating workshop at ElevateNI}

Membership and How to Join

Membership is very simple! They run on a yearly basis alongside all the other clubs and societies within Queen’s. At the start of each academic year, we will be at Freshers events and also have a link up on our social media for you to sign up online. It only costs £3 for the whole year!

As a member, you could get benefits such as exclusive member newsletters, reduced event prices for priced events, access to a Formal Ticket presale and money off your Formal Tickets! We try to get more and more perks for our members each year so keep an eye out at the start of the year to see what perks are available.

You can sign up here when the academic year begins! (Linktree)

Contact information

^{2023/2024 Committee}

Society Email: qcs@qub.ac.uk

Society Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QCSQUB

Society Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenscomputingsociety/

Society LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/qubqcs/

Society Twitter: https://twitter.com/qcsqub

Society Discord Community: https://discord.gg/Esdb9Gj

All the links in one place: https://linktr.ee/queenscomputingsociety

Find out more

Clubs and Societies at Queen's

Life at Queen's: Your Student Guide

Study Computer Science at Queen's