Student News
On this page, you will find QMU Student News, which every QMU student receives each week via their QMU email account. Student News is issued every Wednesday afternoon.
Want an item featured in Student News? You can find out how by reading our policy and procedure.
Don’t forget that we share lots of stories about the University, and our students and staff and things that interest them, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. #QMUCommunity
In this week's Student News:
Education for all: Inclusive pedagogy that builds belonging, equity and engagement – 5 August, 4pm (online)
Creating truly inclusive learning environments where students feel seen, supported and empowered starts with intentional learning design. By proactively designing courses for students’ variability, institutions can increase student success and give learners the impetus and agency to be co-responsible in their own learning.
In this session, Nu Driz (he/him), Founder of Driz Learning Design, and Sam Passeport (she/her), Founder of No Borders Learning, will explore how to implement elements of Universal Design for Learning to structure courses that prioritize accessibility and belonging. This session will also showcase use-cases of how these principles can be integrated using the FeedbackFruits Learning Design System, supporting students’ engagement in their education.
Please visit AdCal to register to this external event and to find a link to the resources available
In this week's Student News:
Sierra, including the catalogue, downtime
0600 Saturday 12 July 2025 to 0600 Sunday 13 July 2025
Reason: The supplier of Sierra, which is our library management system, is carrying out a data centre migration exercise for all European customers over the weekend of 12/13 July 2025 and has advised that the system will be unavailable between 0600 on Saturday 12th July and 0600 on Sunday 13th July. This means that you will not be able to issue books to yourself or use the catalogue to find material during this time; however, you will be able to find material through Discover.
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Scheduled Downtime for Panopto – Wednesday 16 July
Please be advised that Panopto, QMU’s video hosting platform, will be unavailable on Wednesday, 16 July from 10:00 AM (GMT) due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, access to course videos and all Panopto services will be temporarily disrupted.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding as we work to improve the platform.
TEL Team
In this week's Student News:
UKRI Policy Internships at the Scottish Parliament
One of the ways in which academics can engage with the Parliament’s scrutiny role is through the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Policy Internships scheme. This is managed by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) in collaboration with colleagues from across all of the UK’s legislatures.
The scheme aims to provide an opportunity for PhD students to use their transferable research skills in a fast-moving policy environment. Participants gain hands-on experience of producing typical outputs, including a SPICe briefing paper and a Spotlight blog.
Applications for the 2025 programme will open on 2 June and run through to 12 September, with further details appearing on UKRI’s website in the coming weeks.
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Calling all budding creative freelancers and company founders, filmmakers, producers and performers - apply for SHIFT 2025 today!
More speakers have been announced for SHIFT 2025 including:
• Hannah Kelso: Your first steps into Film and TV
• Aqsa Arif: The realities of life as a contemporary artist
• Maria Than: Generative AI storytelling and heritage (embedding AI within your creative process)
• Robbie Gordon: Co-creation and building a socially-engaged company (Co-founder and Artistic Director of Wonder Fools, a theatre company and charity)
• Francesca Hess: Beyond the audition room (finding/creating your own opportunities beyond the audition room)
• Medeia Cohan-Petrolino: Finding funding
• Arabella Page Croft: Co-founder of Black Camel Pictures production company
SHIFT is an entrepreneurial skills training programme which is open to all budding creative freelancers and company founders, artists, filmmakers, musicians, producers and performers who are current students at QMU or who graduated in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
This free and collaborative programme will equip participants with the practical, creative and business skills and contacts needed for a sustainable career in the cultural and creative industries.
SHIFT will run from Monday 8th - Friday 12th September 2025 via a series of online workshops, breakout conversations, creative activities and one-to-one clinics.
Participants will work with practitioners from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Glasgow School of Art, building a new network of creatives from a range of disciplines.
View the full programme here: https://shiftintoyourfuture.com/schedule/
Apply here: https://shiftintoyourfuture.com/apply/
Application deadline: Friday 18 July 2025
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Applications for the Santander X UK Awards 2025 are now open!
Apply for the Santander X UK Awards 2025 and take your business to the next level - closing date for applications is 16 July 2025.
The Santander X UK Awards is Santander's annual entrepreneurship competition for emerging businesses and one of the biggest early-stage business pitching competitions in the UK.
This year there are 3 categories to apply to:
• University - for university-linked startups
• Startup - for incorporated UK businesses who are ready to scale
• SME - for growing UK businesses with big ambitions
Winners will receive up to £30,000 funding and will automatically progress to the Santander X Global Awards.
To find out more about the Santander X UK Awards, visit: Santander X UK Awards.
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New guidance on responsible use of AI in research
The new UKRIO guidance to support the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in research is here!
This practical resource explores key ethical, legal, and integrity-related challenges posed by AI tools and offers strategies to help researchers at all career stages navigate them.
As AI technologies advance rapidly, researchers face inconsistent guidance amid varied policy developments by institutions, funders, and journals. This guidance, part of UKRIO’s priority workstream on AI and research integrity, provides a principle-based, researcher-focused resource adaptable across disciplines and technologies.
Read the guidance and learn more: Embracing AI with integrity - UK Research Integrity Office
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Scheduled Downtime for Panopto – Wednesday 16 July
Please be advised that Panopto, QMU’s video hosting platform, will be unavailable on Wednesday, 16 July from 10:00 AM (GMT) due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, access to course videos and all Panopto services will be temporarily disrupted.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding as we work to improve the platform.
TEL Team
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Sierra, including the catalogue, downtime
0600 Saturday 12 July 2025 to 0600 Sunday 13 July 2025
The supplier of Sierra, which is our library management system, is carrying out a data centre migration exercise for all European customers over the weekend of 12/13 July 2025 and has advised that the system will be unavailable between 0600 on Saturday 12th July and 0600 on Sunday 13th July. This means that you will not be able to issue books to yourself or use the catalogue to find material during this time; however, you will be able to find material through Discover.
In this week's Student News:
Removal of Z Drive Mapping
As part of our move to OneDrive two years ago, home drives were made read-only. We are now looking to stop these mappings as OneDrive has taken their place. This change will be implemented on systems starting from the 1st July.
If you still use Z: drive in its read-only capacity, then please contact IT for guidance in using the files via OneDrive or discuss migration to OneDrive .
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
QMU IT
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English Language Summer Schools 2025
We are delighted to be welcoming our English Language School Groups back on campus from Monday 30th June. The language students will be our guests over the summer period and will stay on campus.
We will have approx. 675 on campus arriving from Monday 30th June until Wednesday 30th July. We will not have any students staying during August.
Our language school business provides a great opportunity to generate significant revenue from our facilities during the summer months and raises awareness of QMU internationally. Most students who will be with us this year will be coming from Italy.
We are expecting it to be very busy on campus during July, so we would like to thank you in advance for your patience and help in making our guests feel welcome during their stay. This will ensure that they return home with a positive impression of Scottish hospitality and QMU.
Catering for the students will be provided within Guthrie’s, and the catering times for the students are as follows:
Monday – Saturday
Breakfast: 7.30am – 9am
Lunch: 12.30pm – 1.30pm
Dinner: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
Sunday
Breakfast: 7.30am – 9am
Lunch: Packed Lunch (off site)
Dinner: 5.30pm – 7pm
Tuck Shop
There will be a Tuck Shop offering for the language students which will be located in the Nook space, serving Frappes, juice, and snacks. It will only be open for the language students breaks. They break from their classes at the following times, and it is anticipated that this area will be busy during these times:
10.30am – 11am
3.30pm – 4pm
The language students can also use The Hux for hot drinks and snacks.
Catering Areas for Staff & QMU Students
The Hux will remain open and will operate from 8.30am to 4pm daily.
Maggie’s will still be open for all to enjoy, but we would anticipate the outlets to be busy between 12pm and 1pm and would ask you to plan your lunch accordingly.
The vending machines, which are currently located within the Nook, will be moved to the front area of the Nook and can be accessed by staff, students, and visitors to campus 24/7. The Nook coffee machine will be moved to the area where the high tables usually are as you come into Guthrie’s.
The Piano Bar space will also be available for QMU staff and students only (subject to events taking place) if you are looking for a quiet space to enjoy your lunch. Please note, however, there is an external event on the 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 21st and 29th July, so it will not be available during this time.
If you have any queries at all about the language schools, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Lynn Barclay | Commercial Manager
Estates & Commercial
Queen Margaret University
t: 07889075874
e: lbarclay@qmu.ac.uk
a: Queen Margaret University Drive, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 6UU
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Applications for the Santander X UK Awards 2025 are now open!
Apply for the Santander X UK Awards 2025 and take your business to the next level - closing date for applications is 16 July 2025.
The Santander X UK Awards is Santander's annual entrepreneurship competition for emerging businesses and one of the biggest early-stage business pitching competitions in the UK.
This year there are 3 categories to apply to:
• University - for university-linked startups
• Startup - for incorporated UK businesses who are ready to scale
• SME - for growing UK businesses with big ambitions
Winners will receive up to £30,000 funding and will automatically progress to the Santander X Global Awards.
To find out more about the Santander X UK Awards, visit: Santander X UK Awards.
In this week's Student News:
Empowering Student Changemakers to Embed Equity & Justice in the Curriculum, Tues 24th June @ 2pm
Compassionate Assessment Network Event: Empowering Student Changemakers to Embed Equity & Justice in the Curriculum, Tues 24th June @ 2pm
All students are welcome to join us for an event hosted by the Compassionate Assessment in HE Network on Tuesday, 24th June at 2pm with Kevin J Brazant & Chiara Portinari.
Explore how disruptive pedagogy and student partnership can drive meaningful, sustainable change in education.
Book your free online place here
How can creativity confront inequality and transform education? At London College of Communication (LCC), the Changemakers initiative is reimagining the student experience through justice-driven, co-created learning. The Changemakers initiative encourages collaborations between students and staff to address the awarding gap, embed inclusive and compassionate pedagogies, and ignite artistic activism as a tool for systemic change.
Anchored in Kevin J. Brazant’s practice-based framework, Disrupting the Discourse, this session spotlights an inspiring example: The Wall Project, led by student Changemaker Chiara Portinari. As part of a media communications programme within the Media School, this initiative transformed a university floor into a dynamic site of socially conscious storytelling through posters and visual illustrations used as formative assessment.
Combining storytelling, immersive experiences, and visual provocations, the Changemakers initiative interrogates and reimagines the power structures that shape higher education and creative industries. These student-led interventions turned lived experience into curriculum transformation, positioning disruption not as disorder, but as a methodology rooted in joy, resistance, and co-creation.
Join us to explore how disruptive pedagogy and student partnership can drive meaningful, sustainable change in education.
Relevant links:
Changemakers blog: https://lccchangemakers.myblog.arts.ac.uk/
Bios:
Kevin J Brazant MALTHE, JNC, SFHEA, UTF CeLP
Kevin J Brazant is the Progression and Attainment Project Manager at the London College of Communication (LCC) at the University of the Arts London, (UAL). His work involves collaborating with schools to address the degree awarding gap at the college level. He is a senior fellow with Advance HE and a certified leading practitioner in learning development. He is a researcher in disruptive pedagogies and facilitated learning ‘from the margins’, which studies how academics work with students as partners in decolonising, anti-racism and social justice within teaching and learning. He also founded ‘Disrupting the Discourse’ a creative approach to advancing social justice in education. Kevin also uses storytelling, podcasting and digital content creation as part of his platform Lounge Akademics, and collaborates with companies and brands committed to social justice as part of knowledge exchange activities and consultancy.
Chiara Portinari is a social innovation designer and consultant with a Master's in Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures from London College of Communication (UAL). They are interested in creative resistance and speculative repair. Through workshops, installations, and participatory projects, Chiara explores how collective imagination and knowledge sharing can challenge dominant narratives and pave the way for liberatory, sustainable futures. Their work aims to empower communities to envision and create alternatives to the status quo, fostering transformative change through co-design.
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Removal of Z Drive Mapping
As part of our move to OneDrive two years ago, home drives were made read-only. We are now looking to stop these mappings as OneDrive has taken their place. This change will be implemented on systems starting from the 1st July.
If you still use Z: drive in its read-only capacity, then please contact IT for guidance in using the files via OneDrive or discuss migration to OneDrive .
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
QMU IT
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Our Cinema Primary School Screening Fri 20 June 6pm in the Halle
On Friday 20 June at 6pm in the Halle Lecture Theatre, Staff and Students are warmly invited to attend a short film screening of films made by the P6 class of Stoneyhill Primary School, with the support of QMU staff and students as part of the Our Cinema research project.
There will be five short films, between 4 and 8 minutes long, with a little bit of discussion of the Our Cinema film project too. The pupils and teachers from the school are also invited. The project has been supported by funding from the school of the Arts, Social Sciences and Management, and has involved Film and Media lecturers, Dr Robert Munro and Dr Regina Mosch, alongside Film and Media students Mia Stevenson and Federico Camins Sanchez.
There will be popcorn :)
No need to book a place - just turn up.
Any queries should go to Robert: RMunro@qmu.ac.uk
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Applications for the Santander X UK Awards 2025 are now open!
Apply for the Santander X UK Awards 2025 and take your business to the next level - closing date for applications is 16 July 2025.
The Santander X UK Awards is Santander's annual entrepreneurship competition for emerging businesses and one of the biggest early-stage business pitching competitions in the UK.
This year there are 3 categories to apply to:
• University - for university-linked startups
• Startup - for incorporated UK businesses who are ready to scale
• SME - for growing UK businesses with big ambitions
Winners will receive up to £30,000 funding and will automatically progress to the Santander X Global Awards.
To find out more about the Santander X UK Awards, visit: Santander X UK Awards.
In this week's Student News:
ELS Summer Resit Programme: Applications now open
The Resit Support Programme will be running from Wednesday 25th June – Tuesday 8th July this year. This flexible support (online options available) runs over two weeks and is designed to help you succeed with resit exams and assignments. You will be able to:
• Work with a personal study mentor who will offer help and feedback.
• Reflect on areas to improve and develop your skills.
• Identify resources to draw on to support your own learning goals
If this sounds helpful for you, please apply by 17th June online at: https://www.qmu.ac.uk/study-here/student-services/effective-learning-service-els/help-with-resits/.
Who can attend?
All students are welcome to apply, though priority is given to 1st and 2nd year students.
Contact ELS@qmu.ac.uk for more information.
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QMU's Festival of Learning 2025: Assessment 360 - Did you participate?
The Festival of Learning is QMU's Annual Conference on Learning, Teaching & Assessment, bringing University colleagues together to share practice and collectively explore challenges. This year's Festival, held on 28th May 2025, focused on the theme of Assessment 360. You can find all of the day's presentations on the LEAD SharePoint site.
There was a great turn out from colleagues across the University, who participated in a wide range of events from students and staff. If you participated this year, we would love to hear from you - it only takes a few minutes to give us some feedback - the Team learnt so much from last year's feedback and our aim is to keep on improving!
Introduced by Professor David Stevenson, Dean of the School of Arts, Social Sciences and Management, our keynote speaker this year was Dr Maha Bali, Professor of Practice at the Center for Learning and Teaching at the American University in Cairo. Prof Bali facilitated a session on 'Inclusive Assessment in the Age of AI’ which explored how to effectively navigate the age of AI, while staying grounded in your core values. You can watch the video now on the LEAD SharePoint site.
We hope that participants got some valuable takeaways from the Conference, and look forward to hearing from you, so we can start to plan for next year!
Contact the team if you have any questions!
Best wishes!
LEAD Team
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Compassionate Assessment Network Event: Empowering Student Changemakers to Embed Equity & Justice in the Curriculum, with Kevin Brazant, 24th June @ 2pm
Join us for this free online event, to explore how disruptive pedagogy and student partnership can drive meaningful, sustainable change in education.
The Compassionate Assessment Network invites all staff and students to join them for this free online event, with Kevin J Brazant and Chiara Portinari from the University of the Arts London.
How can creativity confront inequality and transform education? At London College of Communication (LCC), the Changemakers initiative is reimagining the student experience through justice-driven, co-created learning. The Changemakers initiative encourages collaborations between students and staff to address the awarding gap, embed inclusive and compassionate pedagogies, and ignite artistic activism as a tool for systemic change.
Anchored in Kevin J. Brazant’s practice-based framework, Disrupting the Discourse, this session spotlights an inspiring example: The Wall Project, led by student Changemaker Chiara Portinari. As part of a media communications programme within the Media School, this initiative transformed a university floor into a dynamic site of socially conscious storytelling through posters and visual illustrations used as formative assessment.
Combining storytelling, immersive experiences, and visual provocations, the Changemakers initiative interrogates and reimagines the power structures that shape higher education and creative industries. These student-led interventions turned lived experience into curriculum transformation, positioning disruption not as disorder, but as a methodology rooted in joy, resistance, and co-creation.
Join us to explore how disruptive pedagogy and student partnership can drive meaningful, sustainable change in education.
Relevant links:
Changemakers blog: https://lccchangemakers.myblog.arts.ac.uk/
Bios:
Kevin J Brazant MALTHE, JNC, SFHEA, UTF CeLP
Kevin J Brazant is the Progression and Attainment Project Manager at the London College of Communication (LCC) at the University of the Arts London, (UAL). His work involves collaborating with schools to address the degree awarding gap at the college level. He is a senior fellow with Advance HE and a certified leading practitioner in learning development. He is a researcher in disruptive pedagogies and facilitated learning ‘from the margins’, which studies how academics work with students as partners in decolonising, anti-racism and social justice within teaching and learning. He also founded ‘Disrupting the Discourse’ a creative approach to advancing social justice in education. Kevin also uses storytelling, podcasting and digital content creation as part of his platform Lounge Akademics, and collaborates with companies and brands committed to social justice as part of knowledge exchange activities and consultancy.
Chiara Portinari is a social innovation designer and consultant with a Master's in Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures from London College of Communication (UAL). They are interested in creative resistance and speculative repair. Through workshops, installations, and participatory projects, Chiara explores how collective imagination and knowledge sharing can challenge dominant narratives and pave the way for liberatory, sustainable futures. Their work aims to empower communities to envision and create alternatives to the status quo, fostering transformative change through co-design.
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REMINDER: QMU Peri-Meni-Stories
Join us for a summery morning of (peri-)menopausal solidarity, commiseration and joy!
All QMU students and staff, both academic and professional, are invited to join in an informal, creative and playful event to reflect upon and express (peri-)menopause experiences through crafting, zine making and autobiographical maps and/or storytelling. No prior artistic experience necessary – your story is yours to tell however you wish.
When: Monday, 16 June: 10am-1pm
Where: Room 3155, Art Room
Who: All people and women with stories about (peri-)menopause
What: Bring glue sticks, markers, stickers, glitter, stationery, magazines, anything to create. Paper and other supplies will be provided.
Organised by Becca Freeden, Rebecca Finkel and Stefanie Van de Peer
For any questions, please contact Stefanie: svandepeer@qmu.ac.uk
In this week's Student News:
New support resource for autistic students at QMU
We’re excited to let you know about the launch of a new online support resource created especially for autistic and other neurodivergent students at QMU - QMU’s Autism&Uni Toolkit.
This toolkit has been designed to help you feel more confident and supported throughout your university journey — whether you’re just getting started or already part of the QMU community.
What’s in the toolkit?
• Stories and advice from other autistic students
• Tips from QMU staff (including autistic staff members)
• Visual campus guides to help you get familiar with the layout
• Strategies for managing stress and looking after your wellbeing
• Guidance on academic expectations and adjusting to routines
• Info about university policies that support different learning needs
This resource has been developed by a small team here at QMU, with autistic people involved at every stage to make sure it reflects real needs and experiences. It’s all part of our commitment to building a more inclusive and understanding university environment.
The toolkit is open to anyone who feels it might be helpful. We’d love for you to check it out and let us know what you think. Your feedback will help us continue improving it for you and future students.
If you’d like to explore further support and resources, you might also find these helpful:
• Scottish Autism
• Autism Initiatives UK (Number 6)
• Autistic Mutual Aid Society Edinburgh (AMASE)
For more information, take a look at our press release on the QMU website.
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INSIGHTS TALK: Kevin J Brazant - Learning from the Margins: Embedding Authentic Co-Creation to Transform Student Outcomes, Tues 24th June @ 12pm
All staff, colleagues, partners and students are welcome to join us on Tuesday, 24th June at 12pm to hear from Kevin J Brazant, who will introduce the Disrupting the Discourse (DtD) Framework, supporting student continuation.
As higher education institutions face increasing complexity in supporting student continuation, and outcomes particularly among marginalised and underrepresented groups, it is crucial to rethink how we design and deliver interventions. This session will introduce the Disrupting the Discourse (DtD) Framework, an innovative approach that integrates principles of student co-creation, authentic belonging, and power-sharing into continuation strategies.
Drawing on collaborative case studies and cross-departmental partnerships, the DtD framework highlights how centering student voice and lived experience not only improves retention but cultivates institutional cultures where diverse learners thrive. Attendees will gain practical insights into applying DtD within their own contexts to develop sustainable, high-impact interventions that move beyond surface-level engagement, addressing structural barriers and enabling genuine student success
You can book your place here.
About Kevin J Brazant
Kevin J Brazant is the Progression and Attainment Project Manager at the University of the Arts London, (UAL). His work involves collaborating with schools to address the ethnicity degree awarding gap at the college level. He is a researcher in disruptive pedagogies and practices ‘facilitating learning from the margins’, which foregrounds co-creation in enabling marginalised student voices through decolonising, anti-racism and social justice as part of pedagogy. He authored ‘Disrupting the Discourse: A Co-creation Framework for Decoding the Culture in Higher Education.’ He manages the Changemakers, a student partner initiative working with students to embed racial and social justice principles as part of the curriculum. Kevin also uses storytelling, podcasting and digital content creation as part of his platform Lounge Akademics, and collaborates with companies and brands committed to social justice as part of knowledge exchange activities and consultancy.
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Research Images Exhibition - 150 QMU Conference
We invite research students and staff to capture an element of their research in a single A3 image
Interestingly, Succinctly, Meaningfully, Beautifully
and to explain / express how your image is relevant to your research in up to 150 words (including an image title if you wish).
Your entry could convey a concept, some data, your methods, a result. It could express the rationale for your work, or its impact.
A group of staff and doctoral students will curate the entries, aiming to display as many as possible at the QMU150 Conference (19 June 2025). We expect to have some prizes for particularly impressive entries!
Submit your entries by Friday 6th June to RKE_competition@qmu.ac.uk
Thank you!
Jayada Gallege
(PhD Student - Health School)
Member of 150 conference planning group
In this week's Student News:
Octopus.ac
Octopus.ac is a new publishing platform for scholarly research, which is funded by UKRI – the UK government research funder. It also includes research problems derived from Areas of Research Interest, published by UK Government departments, that potentially form the bases of future research projects. For further information, please click here.
In this week's Student News:
Congratulations to the National Student Survey prize winners!
The two survey prize winners, each winning a £50 Amazon gift voucher, are Linda Kinross and Matthew O’Carroll. Well done!
Thanks to all that completed the survey. The survey results will be released on the 9th of July. QMU and the Students’ Union will use the anonymised data to identify what we do well and what could be better, to help bring about changes which will improve the overall student experience. More widely, the survey results provide important information for regulatory bodies about the quality of higher education across the UK.
QMU Student Surveys
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Inclusive Tandem Cycling Club: opening up the joy of cycling to those living with a disability
Staff and students are invited to a Come and Try Cycling Event on Sunday 8th June, from 10am to 12noon, at Queen Margaret University.
Are you an experienced cyclist, looking for a new challenge, ready to share your skills and support others on group rides? Could you be a pilot rider with us, riding on a tandem up front?
We also welcome stokers – those riding on the back of a tandem. This is ideal for people living with a disability who find it difficult to ride solo. (All riders must be 18 or over).
Please contact us for information and to let us know if you have any support needs, email: intandemel@gmail.com
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INSIGHTS Talk: Dr Catriona Oates 'More-than-human centred reflection' (In-Person / Online)
In this INSIGHTS Talk, Dr Catriona Oates will be in conversation with Vikki Hill, Interim Director of LEAD, to discuss her recent article More-than-human centred reflection: Addressing the fiction of reflective practice in teacher education.
The article aims to extend the debate around the contested concept of the ‘reflective practitioner’ which is a core concept that has influenced practice-based learning across a range of disciplines including social work, nursing and teaching. Catriona will explain how she has reframed this as a ‘more-than’ human’ (Strom and Viesca, 2021) endeavour. You are encouraged to read the article prior to the session, but you are also very welcome to attend if you are unable to. You can access the article here.
Or: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00345237251317373
And here's the link to book your place.
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Large Student Event taking place on Friday 23rd of May 2025 – Guthrie’s catering and seating area will be closed from 14:00hrs
Please note due to a large student event taking place on Friday the 23rd of May the following areas will be closed or have a slight adjustment on opening times.
Catering seating area:
• Part of Guthrie’s seating area (pond end) will be closed all day
• The remainder of Guthrie’s seating area will be closed from 14:00hrs – please can we kindly request you find alternative spaces for seating from this time
• Microwaves within Guthrie’s will be removed from 15:00hrs and not accessible until Saturday 24th of May morning
• Nook lounge (vending machines and seating area) will be closed from 14:00hrs – if you would like to purchase any refreshments during this time the Hux & Maggie’s café and bar will be open as normal.
• There will be no change to Maggie’s Café and Bar and the Hux opening hours – they will be open as normal
Normal seating set up will resume on Monday 26th of May.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and would appreciate you understanding on this important annual event.
Thank you
Conference and Events Team
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ELS Summer Resit Programme: Applications now OPEN!
The Resit Support Programme will be running from Wednesday 25thth June – Tuesday 8th July this year. This is two weeks of flexible support (online options available) to help you succeed with resit exams and assignments. You will be able to:
• Work with a personal study mentor who will offer help and feedback.
• Reflect on areas to improve and develop your skills.
• Identify resources to draw on to support your own learning goals
If this sounds helpful for you, please apply online at: https://www.qmu.ac.uk/study-here/student-services/effective-learning-service-els/help-with-resits/
By Tuesday 17th June.
Who can attend?
All students are welcome to apply, though priority is given to 1st and 2nd year students.
Contact ELS@qmu.ac.uk for more information.
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REMINDER: QMU Peri-Meni-Stories
Join us for a summery morning of (peri-)menopausal solidarity, commiseration and joy!
All QMU students and staff, both academic and professional, are invited to join in an informal, creative and playful event to reflect upon and express (peri-)menopause experiences through crafting, zine making and autobiographical maps and/or storytelling. No prior artistic experience necessary – your story is yours to tell however you wish.
We previously announced this would take place on 12 June, but there is a clash with diaries and room bookings. As such, we have moved this to Monday 16 June, at 10am-1pm.
When: Monday, 16 June: 10am-1pm
Where: Room 3155, Art Room
Who: All people and women with stories about (peri-)menopause
What: Bring glue sticks, markers, stickers, glitter, stationery, magazines, anything to create. Paper and other supplies will be provided.
Organised by Becca Freeden, Rebecca Finkel and Stefanie Van de Peer
For any questions, please contact Stefanie: svandepeer@qmu.ac.uk
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ADHD & Enterprise: Thriving as Neurodivergent Creators and Changemakers
ADHD & Enterprise: Thriving as Neurodivergent Creators and Changemakers is a unique in-person course designed for people with ADHD (diagnosed or self-identified) who want to explore personal growth and entrepreneurship in a way that works with their brains. Taking place over 3 energising sessions from May to July 2025, this programme combines ADHD education from Procrastination Station, peer support, and enterprise training with movement-based activities from Axe Boom Boom - all designed to boost focus, creativity, and motivation.
Course dates: Wed 28 May, Mon 16 June, Wed 23 July
Apply by 12 noon, Friday 23 May
For more information, and to apply, visit: https://www.brightredtriangle.co.uk/adhd-and-enterprise
In this week's Student News:
Thinking relationally through, with and against theory Reading group
Session 1: Thinking relationally through, with and against theory Reading group
Date: 25. 6. 2025
Time: 10-11 am.
Location: Online
Welcome to the inaugural session of Thinking relationally through, with and against theory reading group. In this session we are going to discuss three texts (2 very short texts and a slightly longer one)
1. The first text introduces us to the theoretical background of relational thinking:
Empirical examples demonstrate how relational thinking might enrich science and practice (Please read section on Theoretical background to relational thinking, pp.457-459)
2. The second text Deep in admiration by Ursula Le Guin.
3. The third text A Killjoy Survival Kit by Sara Ahmed.
During the session, we will be able to share our impressions on the suggested readings. There is nothing to prepare but here are some possible questions we will consider:
1. What does it mean to think relationally?
2. In reading 2, Le Guin states that “science explicates, poetry implicates.” Any thoughts on this?
3. In reading 3, which is a chapter taken from Sara Ahmed’s book Living a Feminist Life written in the wake of her resignation from academic life, Ahmed tells us that she “ began to appreciate that theory can do more the closer it gets to the skin” (p. 10). Any thought on how this unsettles feminist theory (ies)?
4. Ahmed states that “survival can thus be what we do for others, with others” (p.235)? How does this perpetuate, maintain, and intensify a relational ethics of care?
All the readings will be available, please email Mostafa Gamal for a copy (mgamal@qmu.ac.uk)
Teams Link
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Calling all students interested in the cultural and creative industries!
Applications for SHIFT 2025 are now open!
SHIFT is an entrepreneurial skills training programme which is open to all budding creative freelancers and company founders, artists, musicians, producers and performers who are current QMU students or who graduated in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
This free, unique and collaborative programme will equip you with the practical, creative and business skills and contacts that you'll need for a sustainable career in the cultural and creative industries.
SHIFT will run online from Monday 8th - Friday 12th September 2025 via a series of online workshops, breakout conversations, creative activities and one-to-one clinics.
You’ll work with practitioners from The Glasgow School of Art and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, building a new network of creatives from a range of disciplines.
- Topics covered over the week include:
- Budgeting
- Costing for your time and products
- Fundraising
- Marketing
- Time management
- Branding
- Networking
- Legal issues
- Money management and taxes
For more information and to apply visit https://shiftintoyourfuture.com/
Applications close Friday 6 June 2025.
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ADHD & Enterprise: Thriving as Neurodivergent Creators and Changemakers
ADHD & Enterprise: Thriving as Neurodivergent Creators and Changemakers is a unique in-person course designed for people with ADHD (diagnosed or self-identified) who want to explore personal growth and entrepreneurship in a way that works with their brains. Taking place over 3 energising sessions from May to July 2025, this programme combines ADHD education from Procrastination Station, peer support, and enterprise training with movement-based activities from Axe Boom Boom - all designed to boost focus, creativity, and motivation.
Course dates: Wed 28 May, Mon 16 June, Wed 23 July
Apply by 12 noon, Friday 23 May
For more information, and to apply, visit: https://www.brightredtriangle.co.uk/adhd-and-enterprise
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INSIGHTS Talk: Dr Catriona Oates 'More-than-human centred reflection'
In this INSIGHTS Talk, Dr Catriona Oates will be in conversation with Vikki Hill, Interim Director of LEAD, to discuss her recent article More-than-human centred reflection: Addressing the fiction of reflective practice in teacher education.
The article aims to extend the debate around the contested concept of the ‘reflective practitioner’ which is a core concept that has influenced practice-based learning across a range of disciplines including social work, nursing and teaching. Catriona will explain how she has reframed this as a ‘more-than’ human’ (Strom and Viesca, 2021) endeavour. You are encouraged to read the article prior to the session, but you are also very welcome to attend if you are unable to. You can access the article here.
Or: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00345237251317373
And here's the link to book your place.
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Research Images Exhibition - 150 QMU Conference
We invite research students and staff to capture an element of their research in a single A3 image
Interestingly, Succinctly, Meaningfully, Beautifully and to explain / express how your image is relevant to your research in up to 150 words (including an image title if you wish).
Your entry could convey a concept, some data, your methods, a result. It could express the rationale for your work, or its impact.
A group of staff and doctoral students will curate the entries, aiming to display as many as possible at the QMU150 Conference (19 June 2025). We expect to have some prizes for particularly impressive entries!
Submit your entries by Friday 30th May to RKE_competition@qmu.ac.uk
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Book now for QMU Festival of Learning – Assessment 360, 28th May 9.30-4pm
The LEAD Centre is delighted to invite you to our QMU Festival of Learning that will be held on Wednesday 28th May from 10-4pm and is on the theme of Assessment 360
We would like to support colleagues to attend and, if you have missed the window to submit a proposal to share your practice due to juggling workload and marking, please do get in touch and the LEAD Team would be happy to support. There is still time to submit a proposal so if you have some practical examples of assessment practices, would like to share your research or propose a challenge, then feel free to submit here. You are welcome to attend parts of the festival, particularly if you are involved in validation events.
Keynote
Our keynote this year is entitled Inclusive Assessment in the Age of AI by Dr Maha Bali and Professor of Practice at the Center for Learning and Teaching at the American University in Cairo.
In this interactive session, we will explore our diverse feelings about AI, and how metaphors can help us reflect on AI. We will build on your own approaches to assessment in the age of AI, and reflect on ways to continue centring your key values in your approach. We will use four approaches to help guide future thinking about AI in teaching, including ways to examine equity concerns related to AI, strategies to support co-creation with students, compassionate learning design, and finally, the Learning/Equity Matrix which can help you reflect your teaching philosophy in your approach to AI.
Presentations
Assessment 360 will give us space to explore a holistic view of assessment in tertiary education. We have talks, presentations and workshops from students and staff on:
- Generative Artificial Intelligence in assessment
- Redesigning feedback
- Assessment and neurodivergent students experience
- Enhancing engagement and inclusion
- Depathologising assessment
- Hands on experience in assessing in Room 1124
- Authentic assessment
- Trauma-informed assessment
You can book an in-person spot here and are welcome to join us for lunch and networking (more info to follow)
We have an online offer for partner staff and those not able to attend in person. You can book your online spot here.
The in-person event will be taking place in the HALLE at QMU Campus and we will be having welcome coffee from 9.30am. We will be providing a lunch and time for networking and discussion.
We invite all our colleagues who have gained AdvanceHE Fellowship this year to join us for a drinks celebration following the event from 4-5pm. All are welcome to attend to share these significant achievements!
Please get in touch with the lead team for any queries – academic@qmu.ac.uk
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INSIGHTS Talk with Patrick Boxall: A praxis of creativity in outdoor learning: Pedagogies of making, growing, anger and kindness
All staff and students are welcome to join us on 14th May 2025 to hear Patrick Boxall talk about the significance of creativity within pedagogies of outdoor learning, and the activism of leaders engaged in place-making and practising outdoor learning.
This empirical enquiry is focused on the Queen Margaret University (QMU) Outdoor Learning Hub and analyses the significance of creativity within pedagogies of outdoor learning, and the activism of leaders engaged in place-making and practising outdoor learning. This paper focuses on questioning leaders and practitioners’ conceptions of creativity, how they enact creative pedagogies within and for outdoor places, and how this is intrinsically linked to social and ecological activism.
The argument presented is that creativity is an essential aspect of the practice of outdoor learning and the process of place-making. The outcome is an analysis of creativity that foregrounds the voices of participants to begin to co-construct an eco-pedagogy of creativity within outdoor learning. This paper concludes that Pedagogies of Making, Pedagogies of Growing and Pedagogies of Anger and Kindness are convincing ways to conceptualise creativity in outdoor learning. The paper also concludes that the enactment of creative pedagogy in education is inextricably linked to a deep commitment to other human beings and the natural world, and that that these pedagogies invite a reconceptualisation of our position as humans within nature.
You can book your place here.
We look forward to seeing you there!
LEAD Team
In this week's Student News:
TASTE TEST PIES AT OUR FOOD CENTRE - £10 Voucher!
The team at the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation based at QMU are looking for people to taste test and give feedback on some steak and gravy, scotch and cheese and bean pies!
- Date: 14th & 15th May (various 1-hour slots available)
- Where: Sensory suite based at QMU
- Criteria:
o this panel is not suitable for anyone with a food allergy or intolerance and anyone avoiding meat
o attendees must be over 18
- £10 Amazon or John Lewis voucher for attending!
- Interested in attend? Complete our application form
- Questions? Email: consumerpanels@qmu.ac.uk
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Removal of support for QMUC domain
This is an update to IT Services’ plan to decommission the old QMUC.ac.uk email domain. For some time, IT Services have been adding the prefix [QMUC] to inbound email sent to QMUC addresses. This was to help everyone identify mail to this domain so that they could move all communication to a current email address. This has been successful and very little legitimate email has been identified. As such, we plan to decommission the domain on 01/07/2025. From this date, no further email will be accepted to the QMUC.ac.uk domain.
To make this clear, the prefix [QMUC], which will continue being added to the subject line of affected email, will be paired with text in the body of the email warning of the upcoming decommissioning, and advising that alternate arrangements be made if the source of the email is legitimate.
If you have any questions or concerns or require any help with any aspect of this, please contact The Helpdesk and it will be passed to us for investigation. Similarly, if you notice that you have a QMUC address and would like it to be deleted early, to reduce the amount of unwanted email you receive, just log a job with The Helpdesk for us to action.
IT Services
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Demystifying Death Week events - 8th May
Demystifying Death Week is held across Scotland between 5-11 May 2025. “It’s about giving people knowledge, skills and opportunities to plan and support each other through death, dying, loss and care.” Conversations about death and dying may be difficult. They are also important.
The QMU Bereavement Charter* working group will be offering different free activities on campus on Thursday 8th May.
1. QMU Atrium (10am – 3pm): information and resource ‘fair’ with stalls hosted by local organisations: a funeral home, a bereavement charity, a carer’s organisation, St Columba’s Hospice Care, the Humanist Society and the QMU Bereavement Charter working group.
Please come by to say hello, ask questions, join and extend the conversations!
2. “Write your own obituary” workshop (1-4pm): a creative and reflective free workshop that will explore how the stories of our lives might reveal new ways to live. You must register in advance as space is limited. https://forms.office.com/e/XEnmbxryj5
If you have any questions about this event, please contact Michelle Elliot (melliot@qmu.ac.uk).
*QMU was awarded a Bereavement Charter Mark in 2024 to recognise the commitment to creating a workplace culture that supports its employees with resources, information and conversations related to death, dying, bereavement and grief.
___________________________________________________________
INSIGHTS Talk with Patrick Boxall: A praxis of creativity in outdoor learning: Pedagogies of making, growing, anger and kindness
All staff and students are welcome to join us on 14th May 2025 to hear Patrick Boxall talk about the significance of creativity within pedagogies of outdoor learning, and the activism of leaders engaged in place-making and practising outdoor learning.
This empirical enquiry is focused on the Queen Margaret University (QMU) Outdoor Learning Hub and analyses the significance of creativity within pedagogies of outdoor learning, and the activism of leaders engaged in place-making and practising outdoor learning. This paper focuses on questioning leaders and practitioners’ conceptions of creativity, how they enact creative pedagogies within and for outdoor places, and how this is intrinsically linked to social and ecological activism.
The argument presented is that creativity is an essential aspect of the practice of outdoor learning and the process of place-making. The outcome is an analysis of creativity that foregrounds the voices of participants to begin to co-construct an eco-pedagogy of creativity within outdoor learning. This paper concludes that Pedagogies of Making, Pedagogies of Growing and Pedagogies of Anger and Kindness are convincing ways to conceptualise creativity in outdoor learning. The paper also concludes that the enactment of creative pedagogy in education is inextricably linked to a deep commitment to other human beings and the natural world, and that that these pedagogies invite a reconceptualisation of our position as humans within nature.
You can book your place here.
We look forward to seeing you there!
LEAD Team
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LRC Improvements
Please be advised that during w/c 5th May, there will be some minor works carried out in parts of the LRC, to implement improvements to some of the lighting and to upgrade some of the collaboration boards.
We will be aiming to minimise any disruption.
JDG Walker
Head of Estates & Engineering
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Catering Outlets - Summer opening details
As students and staff start to leave campus for the summer, we will be altering our catering opening hours and offer over May, June & July.
Outlet Day Timings Menu details
Maggie's Monday to Wednesday 9.30am - 6pm (Kitchen closes 5pm) We will be
launching a new
Thursday to Saturday 9.30am - 9.30pm (Kitchen closes summer menu for
Maggies in June
Sunday 10.30am - 4pm (Kitchen closes 3pm)
The Hux Monday to Friday 8.30am - 3.30pm We will have breakfast pastries /
savouries/rolls, soup, jacket potatoes, salad bar,
paninis/ sandwiches, home baked goods, Modern Standard
Coffee.
The Nook Monday to Friday 24/7 self-service Modern Standard Coffee and vending- confectionary, snacks, juice, and a selection of
microwaveable meals.
Guthrie’s Will close after service on Thursday 1st May until September
(will open for large events taking place over the summer months).
August opening hours and offers will be promoted a bit later into the summer.
We are delighted to have our language school clients back this summer over July. They will utilise Guthrie’s as normal and all QMU students and staff will be directed to Maggie’s and The Hux. More details will follow on language school operations a bit closer to their arrival.
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Drama Society's Sense and Sensibility.
Drama Society cordially invite you to Sense and Sensibility!
Kate Hamill's adaptation of Jane Austen's famous novel is playful, touching, and boldly theatrical, following the lives and troubles of sisters Elinor and Marianne and their family after their father's death leaves them poor and socially vulnerable in gossipy 18th century England where relationships and respectability are everything.
Sense and Sensibility will be performed from 22-24 May at the Pleasance. Tickets are available at https://qmusuevents.native.fm/event/sense-and-sensibility-1/253145!
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INSIGHTS Talk: Sarah Bond, Teaching and learning placements for health students
We are delighted to invite colleagues and students to an online event on Tuesday 6th May at 10am with Sarah Bond, who will be talking about how QMU is supporting additional placement capacity for physiotherapy students by developing a Teaching & Learning placement.
You can book your place here.
Physiotherapy students must complete a minimum of 1050 hours of clinical placement to be eligible for registration within the profession. A lack of physiotherapy placement provision throughout Scotland has led institutions to think creatively about how students can fulfil their required placement hours. Physiotherapy is a diverse profession that creates career opportunities in several different practice areas and students' education should prepare them for any future aspirations. There are four pillars of practice - clinical practice, leadership, research and education and traditionally most placements have been under the clinical practice pillar. To create additional placement capacity, we developed a teaching and learning (T and L) placement at Queen Margaret University under the teaching pillar. This session aims to share current practice within the university and explore the challenges, barriers and successes of the initiative. To explore teaching and learning placements as part of healthcare programmes and how the placement model can also develop other transferrable skills which can be implemented across other pillars of practice/professions/programmes. The session will highlight the creativity and innovation in teaching practice that can be used to deliver a T and L placement and demonstrate ways that institutions can implement placements for students to develop their knowledge of teaching, learning and leadership and create opportunities for self-development.
LEAD Team
____________________________________________________________
Calling all students interested in the cultural and creative industries!
Applications for SHIFT 2025 are now open!
SHIFT is an entrepreneurial skills training programme which is open to all budding creative freelancers and company founders, artists, musicians, producers and performers who are current QMU students or who graduated in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
This free, unique and collaborative programme will equip you with the practical, creative and business skills and contacts that you'll need for a sustainable career in the cultural and creative industries.
SHIFT will run online from Monday 8th - Friday 12th September 2025 via a series of online workshops, breakout conversations, creative activities and one-to-one clinics.
You’ll work with practitioners from The Glasgow School of Art and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, building a new network of creatives from a range of disciplines.
Topics covered over the week include:
o Budgeting
o Costing for your time and products
o Fundraising
o Marketing
o Time management
o Branding
o Networking
o Legal issues
o Money management and taxes
For more information and to apply visit https://shiftintoyourfuture.com/
Applications close Friday 6 June 2025.
In this week's Student News:
QMU Admissions Service Internal Review
Wednesday 7th of May
We are looking for a group of around 6 to 8 students (at any level, of any programme) who are willing to share their perspective of the QMU Admissions process.
The Admissions Review is being conducted under a similar format to the academic programme review process. You can find guidance on the QMU website at this link.
Participants are not required to prepare anything special for this. The review Panel will just be interested to hear their honest experiences of the admissions process, including what worked well and where there might be scope for enhancement.
The student meeting will take place from 11am to 11:45am and students are welcome to join online or in person.
If you would like to take part, or you have any further questions, please contact Scott Crosbie, Governance and Quality Enhancement.
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Demystifying Death Week events - 8th May
Demystifying Death Week is held across Scotland between 5-11 May 2025. “It’s about giving people knowledge, skills and opportunities to plan and support each other through death, dying, loss and care.” Conversations about death and dying may be difficult. They are also important.
The QMU Bereavement Charter* working group will be offering different free activities on campus on Thursday 8th May.
1. QMU Atrium (10am – 3pm): information and resource ‘fair’ with stalls hosted by local organisations: a funeral home, a bereavement charity, a carer’s organisation, St Columba’s Hospice Care, the Humanist Society and the QMU Bereavement Charter working group.
Please come by to say hello, ask questions, join and extend the conversations!
2. “Write your own obituary” workshop (1-4pm): a creative and reflective free workshop that will explore how the stories of our lives might reveal new ways to live. You must register in advance as space is limited. https://forms.office.com/e/XEnmbxryj5
If you have any questions about this event, please contact Michelle Elliot (melliot@qmu.ac.uk).
*QMU was awarded a Bereavement Charter Mark in 2024 to recognise the commitment to creating a workplace culture that supports its employees with resources, information and conversations related to death, dying, bereavement and grief.
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QMU Annual Travel Survey Closes on 5 May
Students and staff are invited to participate in the QMU Annual Travel Survey before it closes on 5 May 2025.
Whether you walk, cycle, get the bus, catch the train, drive or carpool...
However you get to QMU, we want to hear from you!
By taking a few minutes to fill out the QMU Annual Travel Survey you can help us improve access to campus for all.
You also get the chance to win a £50 Amazon Voucher!
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INSIGHTS Talk with Patrick Boxall: A praxis of creativity in outdoor learning: Pedagogies of making, growing, anger and kindness
All staff and students are welcome to join us on 14th May 2025 to hear Patrick Boxall talk about the significance of creativity within pedagogies of outdoor learning, and the activism of leaders engaged in place-making and practising outdoor learning.
This empirical enquiry is focused on the Queen Margaret University (QMU) Outdoor Learning Hub and analyses the significance of creativity within pedagogies of outdoor learning, and the activism of leaders engaged in place-making and practising outdoor learning. This paper focuses on questioning leaders and practitioners’ conceptions of creativity, how they enact creative pedagogies within and for outdoor places, and how this is intrinsically linked to social and ecological activism.
The argument presented is that creativity is an essential aspect of the practice of outdoor learning and the process of place-making. The outcome is an analysis of creativity that foregrounds the voices of participants to begin to co-construct an eco-pedagogy of creativity within outdoor learning. This paper concludes that Pedagogies of Making, Pedagogies of Growing and Pedagogies of Anger and Kindness are convincing ways to conceptualise creativity in outdoor learning. The paper also concludes that the enactment of creative pedagogy in education is inextricably linked to a deep commitment to other human beings and the natural world, and that that these pedagogies invite a reconceptualisation of our position as humans within nature.
You can book your place here.
We look forward to seeing you there!
LEAD Team
______________________________________________________
LRC Improvements
Please be advised that during w/c 5th May, there will be some minor works carried out in parts of the LRC, to implement improvements to some of the lighting and to upgrade some of the collaboration boards.
We will be aiming to minimise any disruption.
JDG Walker
Head of Estates & Engineering
_______________________________________________________
Catering Outlets - Summer opening details
As students and staff start to leave campus for the summer, we will be altering our catering opening hours and offer over May, June & July.
August opening hours and offers will be promoted a bit later into the summer.
We are delighted to have our language school clients back this summer over July. They will utilise Guthrie’s as normal and all QMU students and staff will be directed to Maggie’s and The Hux. More details will follow on language school operations a bit closer to their arrival.
________________________________________________________
Drama Society's Sense and Sensibility.
Drama Society cordially invite you to Sense and Sensibility!
Kate Hamill's adaptation of Jane Austen's famous novel is playful, touching, and boldly theatrical, following the lives and troubles of sisters Elinor and Marianne and their family after their father's death leaves them poor and socially vulnerable in gossipy 18th century England where relationships and respectability are everything.
Sense and Sensibility will be performed from 22-24 May at the Pleasance. Tickets are available at https://qmusuevents.native.fm/event/sense-and-sensibility-1/253145!
_________________________________________________________
INSIGHTS Talk: Sarah Bond, Teaching and learning placements for health students
We are delighted to invite colleagues and students to an online event on Tuesday 6th May at 10am with Sarah Bond, who will be talking about how QMU is supporting additional placement capacity for physiotherapy students by developing a Teaching & Learning placement.
You can book your place here.
Physiotherapy students must complete a minimum of 1050 hours of clinical placement to be eligible for registration within the profession. A lack of physiotherapy placement provision throughout Scotland has led institutions to think creatively about how students can fulfil their required placement hours. Physiotherapy is a diverse profession that creates career opportunities in several different practice areas and students' education should prepare them for any future aspirations. There are four pillars of practice - clinical practice, leadership, research and education and traditionally most placements have been under the clinical practice pillar. To create additional placement capacity, we developed a teaching and learning (T and L) placement at Queen Margaret University under the teaching pillar. This session aims to share current practice within the university and explore the challenges, barriers and successes of the initiative. To explore teaching and learning placements as part of healthcare programmes and how the placement model can also develop other transferrable skills which can be implemented across other pillars of practice/professions/programmes. The session will highlight the creativity and innovation in teaching practice that can be used to deliver a T and L placement and demonstrate ways that institutions can implement placements for students to develop their knowledge of teaching, learning and leadership and create opportunities for self-development.
LEAD Team
___________________________________________________________
Big Bang! Friday 2 May
Our end of semester celebrations will be taking place in Maggie’s and the Square from 1pm on Friday 2 May.
There’ll be music, food and drink, and a live DJ to finish the year with a Big Bang! See you there!
The Student Union, and QMU catering team
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The Helpdesk Survey- Be in with a chance to win a £50 Amazon e-voucher!
Be in with a chance to win a £50 Amazon e-voucher by completing The Helpdesk survey!
The views and experiences of all our customers are extremely important to us.
We welcome your feedback and are continually looking at ways in which we can improve our service.
Please help us by completing this short survey.
Actions from this survey will be published via the Helpdesk intranet page.
Closing date for the survey is Wednesday 30th April!
Many thanks and good luck!
The Helpdesk Team
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Calling all students interested in the cultural and creative industries!
Applications for SHIFT 2025 are now open!
SHIFT is an entrepreneurial skills training programme which is open to all budding creative freelancers and company founders, artists, musicians, producers and performers who are current QMU students or who graduated in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
This free, unique and collaborative programme will equip you with the practical, creative and business skills and contacts that you'll need for a sustainable career in the cultural and creative industries.
SHIFT will run online from Monday 8th - Friday 12th September 2025 via a series of online workshops, breakout conversations, creative activities and one-to-one clinics.
You’ll work with practitioners from The Glasgow School of Art and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, building a new network of creatives from a range of disciplines.
Topics covered over the week include:
o Budgeting
o Costing for your time and products
o Fundraising
o Marketing
o Time management
o Branding
o Networking
o Legal issues
o Money management and taxes
For more information and to apply visit https://shiftintoyourfuture.com/
Applications close Friday 6 June 2025.
