The Queen's University of Belfast

Public benefits

The University through Senate, its Governing Body, is aware of its responsibilities as a charity to act for the public benefit across all of its activities. The overall objective is to be a broadly-based, research-driven University with a dynamic world-class research and education portfolio of excellence in an environment of equality, tolerance

and mutual respect, and it fully embraces its leadership role in Northern Ireland and beyond. Learning: One of the University’s aims is to: “Attract students from a wide range of backgrounds who have the potential to benefit from the experience the University offers, and ensure effective staff-student engagement aimed at developing their potential and maximising their learning.” The University aims to encourage applications from the most gifted and talented individuals regardless of geography, school type, socio-economic status, or ethnic grouping. Research and Innovation: The University's priority is to achieve nationally and internationally recognised research excellence in its many and varied disciplines. Queen’s has a long-standing international reputation for successful dissemination and application of cutting-edge research, knowledge transfer and the commercialisation of research ideas and innovations. The successful research base creates numerous benefits to society in terms of policy, culture and business. In the era of the knowledge-based economy, the University is playing an increasingly important role in economic development through knowledge transfer, and the commercialisation of research, both of which play a pivotal role in underpinning Northern Ireland's economic strength. To enhance this aim, the University has invested in building a commercial development team to support the development of commercial opportunities from research, and has made a significant contribution to wealth and job creation. The Environment: The University recognises that its activities impact on the environment at local, regional and global levels, and that the protection of the environment is fundamental to the future health and well-being of all those involved with the institution, and the wider community. The University is committed to ensuring our environmental impact is minimised, and aims to operate and develop in a sustainable way, with continuous improvement in environmental performance embedded into our business model and the culture of the University. Society: Since its foundation, the University has been a significant patron of the arts and it remains committed to supporting social and economic development within Northern Ireland. There is no harm flowing from carrying out the purposes and there is no private benefit flowing from the organisation's purposes. The beneficiaries are the community in Northern Ireland and elsewhere.

What your organisation does

The University provides teaching and research in both a local, a national and international context. It is an autonomous body, established under the Irish Universities Act 1908 and bound by the provisions of its Charter and Statutes.