Dr O’Hagan is a prominent business leader in Ireland, with vast experience in governance and directorial roles across both private and public sectors, both nationally and internationally. A graduate in Economics from Queen’s, he is a Director at Mediahuis Group Ireland, a member of the Global Advisory Board of VentureWave Capital, and a Director of QUBIS.

Speaking about his appointment, Dr O’Hagan said: "It is truly an honour to take up this position as we enter Queen’s 180th year. I look forward to working together with all of our extended community – our students, staff, alumni and stakeholders across the city, region and beyond – to support Queen’s ambitious mission to make a real difference and shape a better world."

Whether you're a singer, musician, comedian, or have another special skill, we would love to hear from you.

To get involved, please email: excellenceawards@qub.ac.uk.

Please note:

• £7 per activity during off-peak times only.
• Join online: select 'Staff PayNGo Offpeak'.
• Download the Queen's Sport app.

Launch of the Chinese New Year celebrations – Wednesday 22 January

• Welcome reception (Auditorium, McClay Library)
• Dragon dance and parade (Library – Lanyon – One Elmwood)
• Cultural fair and performances (Foyer, One Elmwood)

Student-led events

• Spring Festival Gala (Saturday 25 January, Mandela Hall, One Elmwood)
• EAFF Seminar and Screening (Monday 12 February, Auditorium, McClay Library)

Culture talks (from Friday 24 January, McClay Library)

• A diverse selection of Chinese culture-related topics, presented by Queen’s scholars and students

Art Exhibitions

• ArtEast Exhibition (online)
• Year of the Snake Drawing Competition and Exhibition (online)

This Chinese New Year's Celebration Programme is a collaborative effort by Queen’s staff teams and student societies, organised by The Language Centre, QUB iRISE Staff Network, One Elmwood Student Experience Team, Queen’s Students’ Union, as well as Chinese Students’ Society, supported by People and Culture's Diversity and Inclusion team.

Sessions available:

• In-person drop-in session: Thursday 30 January, 9.30am to 11.30am, Ground floor boardroom, Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine. Refreshments will be provided. This event is child friendly, please feel free to bring your child(ren) with you.
• Virtual session: Thursday 6 February, 8.00pm to 9.00pm. Join the meeting here.

Goals of this initiative

• To understand the challenges faced during the transition back to research following parental leave.
• To provide practical advice on how researchers and their colleagues can work together to navigate this period.

The workshop has been developed by the REC and iRise teams to support colleagues from Black, Asian, minority ethnic and international backgrounds who are considering applying for promotion in the upcoming academic progression process. 

At the workshop, academics from Black, Asian, minority ethnic and international backgrounds who have had recent academic progression success, will share their experiences and reflections. There will also be an opportunity for Q&A with colleagues from People & Culture who will share information about the promotions process.

Booking and payment can be made here. 

If you would like to learn more about any of the sessions before registering, please email: courseenquiries@qub.ac.uk.

Please note, places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.*

Programme Details:

More information

The Queen's Sport Splash 'n' Swim Programme provides professional swimming lessons for babies, children and young people.

Specialising in stroke efficiency, water confidence and learning through fun, this programme offers an excellent development pathway for progression from Waterbabies to Barracudas or Rookie Lifeguard courses. Participants who develop through the programme also have the opportunity to be invited to the Queen’s Swim Squad.

The Waterbabies class, which incorporates lots of bonding, fun and socialising, is perfect exercise for little ones, since water allows their muscles to move freely and they’re supported by its buoyancy. 

These events offer a welcoming space for everyone, including refugees and asylum seekers, to enjoy tea, coffee, pastries, and, most importantly, gain access to useful information. 

Starting in February, the team will cover topics such as accessing the health care system, addressing bullying in schools, getting into university, and more.

To get involved, please contact Federica and Maurice in the Civic Engagement team, at civicengagement@qub.ac.uk.

For more information, please contact Natalie Le Seelleur or Dr Alison Calvert.More information

This group will meet throughout the year to:

• share case studies, best practices, and innovative approaches to sustainable education;
• identify opportunities for professional development and support in integrating sustainability into curricula;
• strengthen cross-departmental collaboration and communication around teaching and learning for sustainable development.

The group's aim is to create a supportive space for educators to explore challenges, address gaps, and drive meaningful progress toward embedding sustainable development principles into education.

For more information, please contact Natalie Le Seelleur or Dr Alison Calvert.

The upgrade will occur in several phases:

• Phase 1: Eligible computers will be offered the Windows 11 upgrade, and staff will need to manually apply it. *Not all computers can run Windows 11 and will require replacement, which will be addressed in a subsequent phase. 
• Phase 2: Mandatory installation of the upgrade. 
• Phase 3: Non-compliant computers will be replaced. 

Your School IT team or the IT Service Desk will reach out over the coming months to support staff through this process.

For further information, please contact your School IT team or the IT Service Desk.

More information

Staff and students are encouraged to make the decision to have a security marking kit to reduce the chances of their bike being stolen. The marking system makes it easier to identify your bike as it will be registered to Bike Register.

Find out more about Bike Register here. 

More information on Sustainable Travel at Queen’s can be found here.

• 30 January
• 13 February
• 27 February

* Please note: anyone who wishes to attend will need to register their own interest so we can share the link individually and are able to gather attendance details.

More information

These 30-45-minute events will provide a run-through of the benefits of Cyclescheme, Cycling to Work, how much money you can save through the scheme, where you can get a bike, how to apply, additional Cyclescheme offerings, and will host a live Q&A session at the end where the organisers will answer as many questions as possible.

This is a fantastic period for staff to consider purchasing a new commuting bike following on from last year's opening of the university’s new ebike facility and PEC shelter, encompassing 80 new secure bike parking spaces.

More information

Start dates for these programmes are as follows: 

• Staff Football: 28 January  

• Staff Badminton: 30 January 

• Couch to 5K Programme: 28 January

More information

This year’s exhibition theme touches on the idea of finding your path as an activist and nods to several contemporary issues, such as migrant rights, racism, housing crisis, gender equality, and more.

On Tuesday 21 January, a range of activities are happening. Find out more below:

• Marketplace Day, Students’ Union Foyer, 11.00am to 2.00pm:
  • Interested in social justice, the environment or activism? Meet STAND staff, learn about their programmes and how you can get involved. Plus, take their student survey to claim your free doughnut!
  • Enjoy crocheting stress balls, journaling decorations and tasty snacks with student-led society QUB Inclusion.
  • Find out more about the work of Friends of Médecins Sans Frontières, a student-led university society dedicated to supporting Médicins Sans Frontiéres (also known as Doctors Without Borders)
  • Join SU Volunteer and Queen's Sustainability team as they use sustainable art to explore the relevance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to student life.
  • Find out more about the SU Swap Shop – what's in it and how does it work? Come in and have a look around!
• Ending Violence Against Women & Girls Workshop, Blue Sky Room (1st Floor, Students’ Union), 1.30-3.30pm
  Led by expert trainers, participants will embark on a transformative journey, examining personal biases and engaging in open, honest dialogue. Delivered by White Ribbon NI, which works to challenge the attitudes and beliefs which lead to violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland. Lunch will also be provided. You must register for this workshop here.

These institutional surveys are bespoke to Queen’s, they cover key aspects of the student experience and will provide some early indicators for the NSS results. Students can access the survey via the student survey portal.

Student feedback given in the QSS is used by Queen's to enhance the quality of courses and improve the wider student experience. The continued support of all staff is fundamental to the success of the surveys, so we welcome your help.

For any queries, please email the Student Surveys Team at surveys@qub.ac.uk. 

A range of foods will be on offer (granola pots, pastries, fruits, cereal bars, etc), and students will also have a chance to win some cosy items to help them keep warm this winter.

* Until stocks last. Presentation of a valid Queen's Student Card will be required.

To contribute an article to Queen's Policy Engagement, please email Kevin at qpol@qub.ac.uk.

• Your stress levels affect your dog – new study, by Aoife Byrne (University of Nottingham) and Dr Gareth Arnott (Queen's University Belfast)
• Jimmy Carter was a president whose reputation in foreign policy only grew after he left office / Jimmy Carter, o presidente que só ganhou reconhecimento após deixar o poder (Portuguese), by Dr Richard Hargy
• Who chooses to work, and who is forced to, after retirement?, by Dr Takao Maruyama (University of Bradford) and Dr Vincent Charles (QUB)
• The five best non-fiction books of 2024 – according to our experts, including contribution by Dr Kieran Connell

• Queen’s named in top 30% of NI companies for environmental leadership
• Queen’s Professor awarded 2024 British Thoracic Society Medal
• Queen’s launches Annual Report 2023–24
• In Pictures: Winter Graduation 2024
• New senior appointment: Pro-Vice-Chancellor Equality Diversity and Inclusion

In this month’s edition:

• Funding News
• Research Impact and Engagement
• Awards and Honors
• Enterprise and Innovation
• Training and Development Highlights
• Research to Reality

• Lecture: Does Customary International Law Prohibit Amnesties? Inaugural Professorship Lecture – Louise Mallinder, Wednesday 29 January, 6.00pm to 7.30pm, Canada Room and Council Chamber
• Research Workshop: Papa, the Mighty Man, and the Klan: The Challenges of Writing Personal History, Wednesday 19 February, 1.00pm to 2.30pm, Mitchell Institute Fellows’ Room, 18 University Square
• Seminar: LINAS Seminar Series, Wednesday 19 February, 3.00pm to 4.00pm, Edgar Graham Room, second floor, Main Site Tower

More information

There are revolutions in health care everywhere you look; from Artificial Intelligence, to gene therapies and robotics, tomorrow’s world is today. However, many of these innovations ​do not reach patients because health care systems are unable or unwilling to pay what innovators demand. When patients do get access, it is often months or years after the technology ​is licensed, undermining the commercial viability of the companies that develop them. ​

​In addition to meeting the evidentiary demands of regulators like the MHRA, EMA and FDA, innovators must convince health technology assessment ​agencies like NICE, HAS, and iQWIG that their product good value for money to achieve market access. Equally, investment is harder to come by, and start-ups have to show investors the clear line of site between their activities and the likelihood of commercial success.​

​Early Health Technology Assessment helps innovators understand the new world of life sciences commercialisation, and design their research and development programme for success.​

This training course, offered by ASSESS, will help you make your innovation stand out to investors, clinicians, patients and health systems by thinking about health technology development through the lens of health technology assessment – de-risking and accelerating your commercialisation journey.

Click here to submit a proposal. 

Applications must be submitted by Monday 27 January 2025. Projects must be completed by the end of July 2025.

For additional information, please email: Joan Grieve at j.grieve@qub.ac.uk.

For details or application guidance, contact Gareth Caves at gareth.caves@qub.ac.uk or find out more here.

• Nosferatu
• Baby Pictures: A Complete Unknown
• The Brutalist

These events give our students a space to experiment with new work and reach new audiences. Each night features an expert or enthusiast from outside the literary sector. With poetry, prose, drama, criticism, show-and-tell, original work, or something revisited – the aim is to respond to the theme of the evening in seven minutes or less. Guests will be announced soon.

Call Me Mother

This exhibition centres around Sarah Maple's Labour of Love (2022), a photographic installation visualising the 650 times the artist's baby was fed over the course of three months. Comprising 650 images of Maple and her child, each photograph includes a hand-finished element concealing the artist’s face.

About the Artist

Sussex-based Maple (born 1985) is an award-winning artist, renowned for her bold and provocative works that challenge societal notions of identity. Drawing inspiration from her mixed religious and cultural upbringing, Maple’s incisive commentary spans the intersections of identity, race, religion, gender, and the art world. Employing a multidisciplinary approach that includes painting, performance, photography, collage, and video, she balances sharp critique with subversive humour, encouraging audiences to confront their biases and rethink preconceptions. Intertwining personal narratives with universal themes, Maple’s work is both deeply resonant and widely accessible.

The January 2025 Programme includes the following:

• Effective Communication Skills
• Building a community with a Podcast
• AI and data driven decision making for HR
• Project Management: Manage your projects effectively with monday.com

AI Self-help Guides

The AI Self-Help Guides are here to support your journey into AI. These guides are designed to help you use AI to save time and to understand the impact of AI on your assessment.

Find more AI guides and resources on the AI Hub.

How Queen's staff are using AI

Explore a range of case studies that showcase innovative applications of AI across Queen's, to inspire new approaches in your own field of work.

Watch our AI Case Studies here.

More information

The afternoon will begin with lunch and networking from 1.00pm, followed by two key training sessions:

• 2.00pm to 3.00pm: Focus on Read&Write and EquatIO (QUB Licensed Products)
• 3.00pm to 4.00pm: Overview of Additional Texthelp Products (DSA-funded options)

Staff can attend either or both sessions, depending on availability and interest.

*These tools are invaluable for enhancing reading, writing, and STEM learning and are widely used across the University to support an inclusive learning environment. The session will also highlight additional Texthelp products available via DSA funding.

To familiarise yourself with the tools before the session, you can explore the free versions of the Read&Write and EquatIO Chrome toolbars via the Chrome Web Store. Full licensed versions are available via the remote student desktop.

Staff are also encouraged to visit the Assistive Technology Blog for user guides, updates, and additional information on assistive tools.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about the range of Texthelp resources and how they can enhance the support available to students at Queen’s.

A Canvas training video catalogue has been created for staff to access on a self-service basis. Whether you need a refresher or want to learn something new, explore our range of short, on-demand training videos covering Canvas Fundamentals, assignment setup, Turnitin, and more. Check out the Training Catalogue on the DigiHub today.

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). 

* This course has been organised as part of the Research Culture NI project, generously funded by Wellcome, and is open to postdocs from Queen's and Ulster University.