Queen’s Policy Engagement

The Festival of Social Science is a yearly celebration of research that helps us understand people, communities and society. Now in its 25th year, the festival gives everyone the chance to explore topics such as health and wellbeing, crime, equality, education and identity through engaging events led by researchers from universities across the UK. All events are free to attend. Most are open to everyone, while some are designed for particular audiences or age groups. This year, more than 300 …

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Teresa Degenhardt is a Senior Lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast. The Belfast Telegraph reported the troubling case of a Spanish woman who was placed on suicide watch while being held in Larne House — the UK’s short-term immigration detention centre located behind Larne police station. For many readers, it may have been the first time they’d heard of Larne House, or even of the UK’s use of immigration detention. Meanwhile, public attention has been focused in recent years on high-profile protests against …

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Gavin Turnbull (Director, Co-producer); Cathal McCall (Writer, Co-producer) Orson Wells’ 1958 masterpiece Touch of Evil is set in a Mexico/USA border town. The film is structured around the joisting between the ‘good, moral Mexican cop’ Mike Vargas, played by a mahogany painted Charlton Heston, and the ‘bad, corrupt US cop’, the run out of road Hank Quinlan, played by Wells himself. And yet, as borderlanders ourselves, we can’t help siding with the ‘you gotta lay of the candy bars’ Hank, …

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This summer the Royal College of Physicians published updated guidance containing good news and bad news. In good news, steps have been taken in some parts of the UK to reduce harmful air pollution, leading to a reduction in mortality linked to air pollution exposure. In bad news, the evidence of harm resulting from air pollution exposure, even at levels previously considered low, is now stronger than ever. This report emphasised the risks for child brain development, with significant concerns …

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Apparently, 66% of us are worried about the rise of AI. The environmental implications of powering vast server farms feed into this unease, while decades of science fiction cinema have helped shape our collective imagination of looming threats. Yet much of today’s anxiety centres on the workplace. Jobs once thought immune to automation – from truck drivers to artists – now appear vulnerable to technological replacement, in ways that feel both unpredictable and unsettling. Or are they really so impossible …

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The UK’s biggest celebration of social science research returns this October for its 23rd year. The aim of the festival is to show how social science is key to understanding the world around us. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science is an annual celebration of the social sciences. This year the festival is being held from 18 October to 8 November 2025 and features hundreds of free events across the UK for both children and adults, run …

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By Niamh O’Kane from the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast Queen’s University Belfast has been leading research to understand how the environment in which we live causes ill-health and cognitive decline among our rapidly ageing population as part of the SPACE project (Supportive Environments for Physical and Social Activity, Healthy Ageing and Cognitive Health). Environmental factors such as air quality, green space, congestion, noise, and other pollutants can contribute to poorer health outcomes, especially as we age. Often …

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Eva Grew is a Research Fellow in the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast The chilled morning feeling. You open your eyes, make your breakfast, coffee, and sit down to read what’s new in the world. Bum! A friend liked your post, great. There is another war somewhere. Election. Scientists informing about the impact of global warming. A cute video featuring a monkey – followed by an ad about the importance of protecting the natural monkey habitat. Suddenly your …

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Anders Rykkja is a Lecturer in Arts and Cultural Industries Management at Queen’s University Belfast The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science has chosen ‘Our Digital Lives’ as the topic of the 2024 edition. On the main festival website , the theme is loosely described as ‘an exploration of the relationship between humans and digital technology, from threats and opportunities facing us today to what life might look like in future.’ This blog’s aim is to …

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The UK’s biggest celebration of social science research returns this October for its 22nd year. The aim of the festival is to show how social science is key to understanding the world around us. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science is an annual celebration of the social sciences, with events run by 41 research organisations across the UK. In Norther Ireland, Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University have once again come together to curate and …

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Ciaran O’Neill is a Professor in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast Where we are: We all know the health system in Northern Ireland is at a critical juncture – our waiting lists for hospital diagnostics and treatment that were the worst in the UK, have deteriorated over time. Between March 2014 and March 2023, waiting lists for an initial outpatient appointment rose by 216%1. Over the same period more than ten times as …

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Queen’s University Belfast, in collaboration with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Ireland, are hosting an inaugural arts and sustainability festival this April. The ‘Reach 24’ festival aims to examine the climate emergency and sustainable solutions via various art mediums including film screenings, performances, talks and an art exhibition. The festival, which will take place from 18-20 April, is free of charge and open to the public. The Naughton Gallery at Queen’s will play host to new work by …

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By Dr Aisling Reid, Lecturer in the School of Arts, English and Languages, QUB People are not going to care about animal conservation unless they think that animals are worthwhile David Attenborough Animals feature prominently in medieval culture (c. 700-1600 CE); stories like Geoffrey Chaucer’s (c. 1340-1400) The Canterbury Tales feature talking roosters and sneaky foxes, while the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516) are filled with creepy owls and tall giraffes. Main photo: Hieronymus Bosch, detail from The Garden …

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Chris Colvin is a Reader at Queen’s Business School and Andrew Dorman is Research and Policy Officer for the Centre for Economics, Policy and History. American novelist Mark Twain is alleged to have once said, ‘history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme’. While the origins of the statement are lost to time, the sentiment has become increasingly relevant in recent years. Between the return of wars to Europe and the Middle East, tensions in Asia, a global pandemic, …

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By Niamh O’Kane from the Centre for Public Health & Bakul Budhiraja from the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s Cities are at the forefront of climate change, with increases in extreme weather events, flooding and heatwaves, as well as biodiversity loss and air pollution. The most vulnerable groups in society face the biggest impact of the climate crisis, for example, older people, children and marginalized communities. Furthermore, the rise in the cost of living crisis is causing …

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The annual Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science returns to Northern Ireland from 30th October to 12th November, featuring 20 free events organised by social science academics from Queen’s and Ulster University. This UK-wide festival is dedicated to promoting awareness of UK social science research, illustrating its influence on our daily lives. The Festival mainly offers in-person experiences, including talks, workshops, walking tours, and even a pub quiz, providing the public with firsthand insight into how …

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