Your Semester One Wrapped

Well, what a semester it’s been! From exciting new QSU projects to student-led events, it’s been a busy and impactful start to the year.

We’ve been blown away by the incredible contributions of our students, whether it’s getting involved in clubs & societies, mental health activities and volunteering opportunities, or raising funds for important causes.

Here’s just a snapshot of all the hard work, passion, and achievements from Semester One:

Student Wellbeing & Advice

The Pantry has been buzzing ever since the launch of our weekly specials and free fruit and veg, as part of a healthy eating initiative – with over 7,500 students paying a visit since September!
Throughout November, we provided 3,800 free lunches (alongside planning to provide lots of free breakfasts and meals during semester two’s exam season!). Keep an eye on our What’s On page for free meals in the future!
Our Advice Team has supported over 900 students this semester. If you have any academic, money, housing or conduct concerns during your time at uni, you can contact the team or drop in to see them on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays from 11:30am – 2pm!
As part of a collaboration between the SU and the faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, Action Mental Health delivered 11 mental health and wellbeing workshops to MHLS students throughout semester 1, to better support postgraduate students.
During the Freshers period, our Mental Health and Wellbeing team engaged with over 3,000 students. We hope this helped you ease into student life!

Clubs and Societies

Over 20,000 students visited us over our 3 day Freshers’ Fair, which included more than 170 of our Clubs and Societies!
We’ve got 7 new societies in the works, including the Korean Society, the Nephrology Society and the Quantum Machine Learning Society; bringing our total number of clubs and societies to 242!
The Walkie Talkie Girlies recently ran their second Project Pink march from the Lanyon Building to Belfast City Hall. The society’s annual march had over 400 attendees, and included a speech from the Lord Mayor at City Hall! Following the success of last year’s event, buildings as far away as Donegal were illuminated pink in support of the march.
Our Clubs and Societies Team have recently opened the 2025-26 SU Fund It scheme, an opportunity for student groups to apply for a grant of up to £500; to establish initiatives to benefit our community. Applications are now open via the SU website!

Volunteering

574 of you have registered for our Handy Helpers programme, getting involved in fun and impactful one-off volunteering activities including community regeneration projects, sustainable coffee morning workshops and visits to Wildflower Alley!
110 students have made a big difference by volunteering with one of our 17 partner homework clubs! If you’re interested in helping local children and young people with their studies, applications are now open for Semester 2!
Over 600 of you attended our Volunteering and Wellbeing Fair to chat with 47 external organisations about their opportunities and activities. We hope you found something that inspired you!
If volunteering is one of your New Year’s resolutions, we’ve got plenty of opportunities on offer throughout the year!

Student Enterprise

We were delighted to award a total of £14,752 to 11 students through our Make It Happen Fund, helping them bring their budding business ideas to life!
Two Queen’s student, with support from our SU Enterprise team, have been awarded fully funded scholarships to the Web Summit in Lisbon– one of the world’s leading technology conferences!
Our What’s the Big Idea competition had our most applications to date, with over 100 students applicants! 10 student won a share of a £7k prize pot to use to develop their businesses!
Another massive well done to our 4 student businesses that progressed to the final of INVENT 2025, where our students and graduates took home £19,500 in total!
Have you got a brilliant business idea of your own? Applications are now open for QUB Dragons’ Den and you could be in with a chance of winning a share of an amazing £25,000 prize pot!

Student Voice

Over 600 of you stepped up to represent your fellow students in roles like SU Councillor, Faculty Reps, School and Course Reps, and Association Chairs!
This semester we hosted the NUS annual conference for the first time, with over 200 attendees from SU’s across the UK.
We also hosted the National Union of Students’ – Union of Students’ in Ireland annual conference, where student representatives from across the region set national union priorities and policies.
Applications are opening soon to become a Student Officer or Student Rep for 2026/27! Curious and want to find out more? Contact our SU Voice team!

Student Officers

It’s been a busy semester for the team, who have been focusing on the priorities they outlined in their Plan of Work:

SU President, Amy, met with stakeholders and University leadership, which has led to the approval of a Student Support Implementation Plan, which will see the roll out of safety and wellbeing measures including the SafeZone app, night buses, quicker access to wellbeing and counselling, targeted awareness campaigns, and clearer, more consistent communication.
PG Officer Nadine has been awarded the Green Fund to start rolling out reusable period products on campus. As a first step, these sustainable options will be available at pop-ups in the SU Foyer. Róisín, Activities and Engagement Officer, has also worked with Queen’s Sport to increase access to free period products in sporting facilities on campus. From September, free period products have been available at Queen’s Upper Malone Playing Fields (The DUB).
Right now, each Faculty has its own rules about AI use, which can make things confusing. That’s why Eli, your Undergraduate Education Officer‘s current project is working to get the University to introduce a new combined AI policy for students.
Róisín, your Activities and Engagement Officer, hosted a series of activities including Green Dot Active Bystander Training (delivered by your Student Officer Team), Self-Defence Workshops and the Inner Strength Conference during November, which is globally recognised as the Awareness month for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.
Your SU President Amy, Postgraduate Officer Nadine and Activities & Engagement Officer Róisín, have been elected to sit on Senate for the 2025-26 year. This marks the first time three Student Officers – and three female students – have sat on the governing body.
Jack, your Welfare and Community Officer, has been working with the University to achieve the SOS-UK’s Drug & Alcohol Impact Accreditation. More information can be seen here.
We are working to get agreement on an Ethical Careers Policy in the University that restricts fossil fuel companies attendance at QUB Careers Fairs.
The SU President, alongside NUS-USI, AMLÉ and Ulster Uni SU President, are pushing for clearer rules and more flexibility to make cross-border travel easier for students. International students in Northern Ireland on UK visas aren’t automatically allowed to travel to the Republic of Ireland, as separate visa systems mean many non-EU students need an Irish visa to cross the border.

As we wrap up Semester 1, we’re incredibly proud of everything our student community has achieved. From raising awareness to supporting each other, you’ve truly made this semester one to remember.

We can’t wait to see what the second half of the year brings!