Inspiration and positive impact
Outgoing Queen’s University Belfast Vice-Chancellor Sir Peter Gregson shares his reflections on his time in post.
When I came to Queen’s I knew I was coming to a university with an exceptional heritage but I also found a university with ambition and purpose.
In the intervening nine years, I have come to realise that this is one of the best jobs in higher education. I have been honoured to work with outstanding colleagues, with exceptional students and with committed partners in Northern Ireland and beyond, during a remarkable period of development for Queen’s University.
Queen’s is now in the top one per cent of global universities and our financial impact on the local economy is a massive £700 million. But it is the life-enhancing, life-changing and life-giving contributions made to society every day by Queen’s staff that never fail to astound me.
Staff like Professor Patrick Johnston whose leadership of the Comprehensive Cancer Services Programme has resulted in cancer survival rates in Northern Ireland now being among the best in the UK. Colleagues like Professor Phil Scraton whose tireless work on the Hillsborough Independent Panel report has been heralded by Parliament as “a huge service to this country”. Scientists such as Professor Maire O’Neill, addressing the challenges of cyber-security through lightweight unclonable technologies.
It’s not just our staff making a positive impact on society. Queen’s students have been a powerful force for good for over 150 years. They are proud ambassadors for Belfast, Northern Ireland and their university through their numerous award-winning societies, including Students Working Overseas Trust and Students in Free Enterprise.
And let us not forget that every day we benefit from those Queen’s graduates who are our nurses, doctors, teachers, accountants, engineers and so much more. A glance at the business sector alone in Northern Ireland also reveals that of our top 100 companies, 80 have Queen’s graduates in senior leadership positions.
Through attracting inward investment from our partner companies, including Petronas, Infosys and Seagate, and ensuring our students are equipped with the employability and career skills needed by local businesses, Queen’s is showing the kind of leadership and providing the types of opportunities which are essential to creating a sustainable future for Northern Ireland.
Be it with those businesses who have worked alongside us to make Queen’s one of the leading institutions in the UK for participation in knowledge transfer partnerships, or those companies who have been formed from our spin-out arm QUBIS, partnership has been an essential ingredient in the remarkable achievements of the past nine years: we are stronger together.
Underpinning all of these achievements has been the vision and commitment shown by my colleagues on Senate and within the university’s senior management team.
From strategic research partnerships to new market-attuned academic programmes, the academic standing of Queen’s has advanced, as has our reputation for tackling the unequal representation of women in science and engineering.
Our very distinctive estate has also been enhanced, with completion of the McClay Library and Elms Village, development of our Institute for Health Sciences Campus, and the redevelopment of our sporting facilities and the students’ union. In short, Queen’s is taking its rightful place as a university of international stature serving the people of Northern Ireland.
Queen’s and its people will be a hard act to follow. Our politicians have made some brave choices in supporting higher education in Northern Ireland and, as I leave Queen’s, I want to thank them for their support. There can be no doubt that the higher education sector is vital in underpinning the cultural, social and economic development of the community we are here to serve.
My family and I have been privileged to make Northern Ireland our home and are now leaving with many memories and friendships that will endure. Many more students and staff have had the same experience; they, too, are calling Northern Ireland home and are spreading the word about this marvellous place.
I know that Queen’s will continue to inspire the people of Northern Ireland and societies well beyond our shores: our university will continue to go from strength to strength.
