Queen's University Belfast Public Engagement

🌍✨ Small Worlds Café – Refugee Week 2026 ✨🌍

A huge thank you to Stephanie, Trevor, Viktoriya, Mihal and Abdulah from NI Together CIC, and Emily from Law Centre NI, for delivering a wonderful, informative and inspiring event this afternoon.

Our students and staff had the opportunity to travel the world without ever leaving the Cube in One Elmwood Student Centre, exploring countries including South Africa, Sudan, Kuwait and Kazakhstan through engaging conversations with our table hosts.

We learned about different cultures, traditions, food, history and personal experiences, including powerful stories of courage and resilience, as well as some of the legal and institutional challenges faced by those seeking safety.

As courage is the theme of Refugee Week 2026, it felt especially meaningful to hear these human stories from our neighbours and community members. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and helped create such a memorable afternoon.

Are you a volunteer or member of staff for a voluntary and community sector organisation? Interested in building your research base and strengthening your organisation's impact?

Then you may wish to join Queen’s University Belfast’s Science Shop and NICVA for a lunchtime learning session showcasing how charities can access student research support!

WHEN: 14 May 2026 - 12:00 to 1:00pm
WHERE: Online
HOW MUCH: Free!

Find out more here:

Boost Your Organisation’s Impact: Don’t Miss This Chance to Access Student Research Support Join Queen’s University Belfast’s Science Shop and NICVA for a lunchtime learning session showcasing how charities can access student research support. This session will highlight real examples of organisations that have benefitted from partnerships with Science Shop – from evaluating impact t...

Last week, Queen’s celebrated Universities Refugee Week with a fantastic series of events highlighting learning, community, and creativity.

On Tuesday 3 March, Dr Suzanne Mooney delivered a powerful and thought provoking webinar on Trauma-Informed Practice, offering valuable insights for all those working to support people seeking sanctuary.

On Wednesday, we welcomed representatives from across Northern Ireland’s entire FE and HE sectors for our Sanctuary Pathways through Further and Higher Education event - all coming together under one roof to help participants, particularly refugees and asylum seekers, to overcome barriers and explore routes into tertiary education.

To mark International Women’s Day, Sunday, 8 March, we were delighted to host an uplifting intercultural event organised by Beyond Skin, featuring songs, artworks, drumming, a beautiful short ballet piece, and mesmerising Sufi Dancing led by Fahima Mirzaei.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to a memorable week of learning, connection, and celebration.

Do you face barriers on your journey through Further or Higher Education in Northern Ireland?
This FREE event brings together representatives from Colleges and Universities across the sector to answer your questions and help you explore your options.

Join us for:

Sanctuary Pathways Through Further & Higher Education
📅 Wednesday 4 March 2026, 3.00-6.00pm
📍 South Dining Hall, Queen’s University Belfast

Queen's is not only a University of Sanctuary, but also the first organisation in the UK to gain Platinum status in Cycling UK’s Cycle Friendly Employer accreditation! We recently celebrated both achievements with a Sanctuary Cycle ride, and thanks to the generosity of our Sustainability team and our partners in Freedom Cycles, one of our cyclists was able to keep the bike he had used on the day!

Pictured: Nathan Booth and Darnell Allsopp

Follow us on social media for more on our Sanctuary programme, or visit: go.qub.ac.uk/sanctuary

And for more information on sustainable travel at Queen's please visit go.qub.ac.uk/travelatQUB

Many thanks to the Sustainable Travel and Transport team at Queen’s, and to Freedom Cycles, for making our small pilot 'Sanctuary Cycle' possible yesterday! It was a joint celebration for two significant milestones: in 2025, Queen’s University attained formal status as a “University of Sanctuary”; and we were also the first organisation in the UK to achieve PLATINUM status in Cycling UK’s Cycle Friendly Employer accreditation!

Hopefully we'll be back for another Sanctuary Cycle ride in the Spring!