QUEEN’S AND UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER
Queen’s
Queen’s University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery has been recognised for its work in recruiting, retaining and promoting women in science careers within higher education.
The school has been awarded a national Silver Athena Swan Award which recognises that, in addition to university wide policies, it has a significant record of activity and achievement in its own right, and is committed to the promotion of women’s careers.
The award is further good news for Queen’s which was recently named the lead institution in the UK for tackling the unequal representation of women in science and engineering.
Queen’s has the most departmental silver awards in the UK. Eight individual schools (Nursing and Midwifery; Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology; Psychology; Biological Sciences; Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering; Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) now all hold the honour.
The School of Pharmacy and School of Mathematics and Physics also currently hold bronze awards for their work and commitment to furthering the careers of female academics.
Linda Johnston, head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s, said: “This award is recognition of the enormous contribution and commitment of many staff in the school and around the university, to ensure that Queen’s continues to lead the way in supporting the careers and career ambitions of female academic staff.
“Director of Queen’s University’s Gender Initiative, Professor Yvonne Galligan said: “I am very aware of how much Queen’s and the wider economy benefit from enabling women in science to achieve their potential. To do so we have devised concrete targeted actions across the sciences that we will be implementing in the coming years.”
Sarah Dickinson, senior policy advisor from Athena SWAN said: “This award is further recognition of the university’s status as a national leader in gender-equitable employment practices.
University of Ulster
The Ulster Business School, through its Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, has entered into a new partnership with Special Olympics Ireland.
Students undertaking its BSc in Leisure and Event Management will now be able to become practically involved in local Special Olympics events thus significantly enhancing the theoretical events skills taught on the course.
Dr Adrian Devine, Course Director explains, “In the past few decades event management has grown and matured into a legitimate and widely recognised profession. This growth is reflected in the increased demand for the BSc degree in Leisure and Events Management which is based at the Coleraine Campus.
However the events industry is very competitive and only those students with appropriate theoretical and practical skills will succeed in such a dynamic and evolving industry.
This new partnership with Special Olympics will enable our students to develop those skills thereby improving employability and demonstrating global citizenship in action”
FE Colleges
Belfast Met hosted the first in a series of Creative Hub events at its recently opened e3 building as part of a creative industries project supported by the Creative Industries Fund.
The inaugural event brought together local innovators and entrepreneurs to hear the experience of Dr Stephen Brennan, Chief Strategy Officer, Digital Hub Development Agency and Matthew Scott, Managing Director, Firebrand Innovations Group in working collaboratively in the creative industry.
Belfast Met’s Creative Hub at e3 is a creative and collaborative environment which aims to add value by supporting the growth and development of creative businesses and extend their use and access to new technologies.
Businesses can avail of state-of-the-art digital media facilities, learn from each other and collaborate on projects to enhance productivity.Individuals and start-ups participating in the project can access a series of talks and networking opportunities with influential creative industry professionals.
Fifteen participating start-ups or individuals considering setting up a creative business will have the opportunity to undertake Belfast Met’s award winning FRESH creativity programme designed to assist emerging businesses and entrepreneurs with a creative process for ideation to develop business ideas.
Six companies will then be selected to go forward and receive technical mentoring in areas including web development, animation, app development, gaming, TV production and music technology as well as the opportunity to pitch for angel funding investment to support their business and help make their aspirations a reality.
Speaking about the potential impact of the Creative Hub, David McConnell, Creative Industries Innovation Fund Development Officer at the Arts Council, said:
“Belfast Met’s Creative Hub will provide vital training and development opportunities for local entrepreneurs at a critical stage in their product development.
The Creative Industries are one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy here and if we continue to support local companies to realise their ideas, Northern Ireland will be much better equipped to compete at the forefront of the global markets”