Queen's University Belfast

Queen's University Belfast (qub) - public higher education institution in United Kingdom.

Queen's University Belfast - Description

A member of the Russell Group of the UK’s 20 top research-intensive universities Queen’s University Belfast is an international centre of innovation and excellence, providing world-class education underpinned by world-class research. The University has a proud heritage. Founded by Queen Victoria in 1845 as Queen’s College Belfast, it is one of the oldest universities in these islands, becoming an independent university in 1908 and celebrating its Centenary in 2008. As the Times Higher Education Entrepreneurial University of the year in 2009, and winner of the THE Outstanding Engineering Research Team of the Year in 2010, Queen’s is uniquely recognised for its leadership role in society and its life-changing research. The University is a global player in areas from cancer studies to sustainability, wireless technology to creative writing and from pharmaceuticals to sonic arts. It has won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education, part of the national honours system, on four separate occasions – for world-class achievement in green chemistry, environmental research, palaeoecology and law. The most recent UK-wide research assessment exercise (RAE), in 2008, confirmed Queen’s as a major global force in research. The RAE identified world-class research across all academic disciplines, and the Research Power Index,... A member of the Russell Group of the UK's 20 top research-intensive universities Queen's University Belfast is an international centre of innovation and excellence, providing world-class education underpinned by world-class research. The University has a proud heritage. Founded by Queen Victoria in 1845 as Queen's College Belfast, it is one of the oldest universities in these islands, becoming an independent university in 1908 and celebrating its Centenary in 2008. As the Times Higher Education Entrepreneurial University of the year in 2009, and winner of the THE Outstanding Engineering Research Team of the Year in 2010, Queen's is uniquely recognised for its leadership role in society and its life-changing research. The University is a global player in areas from cancer studies to sustainability, wireless technology to creative writing and from pharmaceuticals to sonic arts. It has won the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education, part of the national honours system, on four separate occasions – for world-class achievement in green chemistry, environmental research, palaeoecology and law. Introduction As a Russell Group university, Queen’s is one of the leading universities in the UK and Ireland, providing world-class education underpinned by world-class research. Founded as Queen’s College in 1845, it became a university in its own right in 1908. It combines an international reputation for academic excellence with a life-changing student experience, a culture of innovation and a leadership role in the community which it serves. Queen’s is ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world (QS World University Rankings), and is actively recruiting more than 100 of the world’s top innovators and inventors, including the appointment of academic leaders across all areas. External recognition includes the award of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education, the highest accolade for an academic institution in the UK, on five occasions – for world-class achievement in green chemistry, environmental research, palaeoecology, law and a Diamond Jubilee Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Northern Ireland’s Comprehensive Cancer Services Programme. Research The UK wide Research Excellence Framework 2014 placed Queen’s 8th in the UK for research intensity, having submitted 95% of academic staff, the fifth largest percentage of staff returned in REF2014. It has 14 subject areas ranked within the UK’s top 20 and 76% of its research classified as either world leading or internationally excellent. Queen’s has forged partnerships with leading research groups and multi-national companies throughout the world, including Dubai Healthcare City; the National Cancer Center, Georgetown University and Vanderbilt University in the USA; Petronas in Malaysia; InfoSys and Madras Christian College in Chennai, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in India; China Medical University and Harbin Institute of Technology. The University is at the forefront of research globally in areas as diverse as Green Chemistry, Secure Information Technologies, Food Security, Collaborative Research in the Humanities, Conflict Transformation, Health Sciences and Astrophysics. Queen’s was one of the first universities in the UK and Ireland to form spin-out companies, establishing QUBIS in 1984 to commercialise research and development activities. QUBIS has been involved in the creation of over 65 companies. It is currently the leading company in the UK and Ireland for revenue generation created through its spin-out companies. Education Queen’s research-oriented environment means that students are educated by academics working at the forefront of disciplines. The University has an excellent record of achievement in reviews of teaching quality and numerous teaching awards. The QAA Institutional Audit (2009) said Queen's meets its highest level of confidence in the management of academic standards and in the quality of the learning opportunities offered to students. The University’s Centre for Educational Development provides a comprehensive and systematic range of support to develop and enhance learning and teaching. Close to 500 of our staff are fellows of the Higher Education Academy. Queen’s is significantly investing in the student experience, a fact reflected in high rates of student satisfaction, completion and graduate employment amongst both the undergraduate and postgraduate populations. The University is at the forefront of using ICT to support learning and teaching; the University's virtual learning environment, Queen's Online, provides each student with secure online access to information and materials relating to their specific course components enhancing the learning experience. In addition, the Wireless Campus Project is a £2m investment by Queen's will see a state-of-the-art wireless service rolled out to all areas of the campus by January 2016. Queen’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit is reflected in the opportunities it provides for its students. The curriculum-based Certificate in Entrepreneurship Studies embeds business and entrepreneurial skills into the curriculum of all non-business students throughout the University, reaching over 11,000 students annually. Queen’s attracts students from more than 100 countries. It is a popular destination university in the UK for American winners of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarships. Facilities Queen’s is committed to enhancing its historic campus and the surrounding Conservation Areas while providing cutting-edge facilities for education and research. The £50m McClay Library’s outstanding design, facilities and services were recognised in 2013 when it won the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) Award, presented every three years to a UK library that best meets the needs of users. Having invested £350m over the last decade, it plans to spend another £350m over the next 10 years. Recent developments include: · The ongoing development of the opening of the £175m Institute of Health Sciences has seen the opening of the Centre for Experimental Medicine in 2015. · The refurbishment of the grade B listed Lynn Building has created a new Graduate School, opened in 2015, in a key historical location on the main University site. · The refurbishment of the Ashby Building, completed in 2015, has created an Engineering complex offering teaching, research and support accommodation to rival the most prestigious institutions in the world. · The redevelopment of the former Library Tower into a new home for the School of Law, due to open for the 2016-17 academic year. · A high-quality transparent building for the School of Computer Science, integrating teaching and research, will also open for the 2016-17 academic year. · The University has begun to build a new £38m teaching and research facility for the School of Biological Sciences, which will include the world-leading Institute for Global Food Security. · Queen’s was the first university in the UK and Ireland to open a dedicated, state-of-the-art Graduate and Executive Education Centre at the £15m redevelopment of Riddel Hall, home to Queen’s Leadership Institute. The attractive University area is one of the city’s main cultural and recreational areas. Queen’s is a patron of the arts, including a film festival, the acclaimed Naughton Gallery and Northern Ireland's only arthouse cinema, the Queen’s Film Theatre. The University is next door to the redesigned and award-winning Ulster Museum and the beautiful Botanic Gardens. The campus is a 15-minute walk from the city centre. Belfast has been described as a ‘treasure’ with an ‘incredible atmosphere’ (National Geographic Traveller 2012), and is now rated as a ‘must see’ destination by all the leading travel guides.