The purpose of the Programme is to equip students with the knowledge and skills to act as ambassadors to promote ethics and human rights within business during both their academic studies and future professional careers. The initiative is aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

The 2022 cohort includes students from a range of programmes across Queen’s University including BSc Business Management, MSc Business Analytics, MSc Management, MSc Applied Cyber Security, LLB Law, LLM Criminology and Criminal Justice, and LLM Human Rights Law.

Through a series of three interactive workshops, students will cover a diverse range of topics including ‘Becoming a Responsible Leader’, ‘Making Difficult Decisions’, and ‘Managing Challenging Conversations: Advocating for Yourself and Others’. The Programme will conclude with a student-led event in Summer 2022 focused on raising the profile of human rights within business.

Professor Patrick McCole, Interim Head of Queen’s Business School, said:

“At the Business School, we have a longstanding commitment to addressing ethics, social responsibility, and sustainability issues both inside and outside of the classroom, which includes the topic of business and human rights.

“Through this initiative our students have the opportunity to engage with their peers from across the University. This facilitates shared learning and the creation of new networks. In addition, developing and delivering the student-led event enhances their communication and organisation skills”. 

Alyson Kilpatrick, Chief Commissioner at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, added:

“I was delighted to join the first workshop of this year’s Business and Human Rights Student Ambassador Programme. This is the third year in which the Queen’s Business School has delivered the programme with the support of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

“It was great to see the interest and enthusiasm which the students showed for the issues around business and human rights. I wish them all the best with the programme and I am sure that they will learn a lot from it”.

For more information about the Business and Human Rights Student Ambassador Programme please visit the Queen’s Business School website here or contact Dr Laura Steele (laura.steele@qub.ac.uk).