Queen’s University Belfast Science Shop
Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland established in1845. It has 25,000 enrolled students and offers programmes across a wide range of disciplines at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. QUB is focused on impact that serves society at home and across the world in life-changing ways, and aims to translate ideas, academic teaching, research and professional expertise into action.
The Science Shop was founded in 1989 to offer a research route into QUB for community organisations. We work directly with QUB students and staff to build small-scale collaborative research projects based on the needs of community organisations into the curriculum for both undergraduate and masters students.
Our partnerships are based on the principle of collaboration for societal benefit. We create mutual benefit amongst our stakeholders – students, academics, universities, community partners, wider society, and international colleagues. Every project is individually designed, we tailor our approach to each academic, student and community partner’s needs. We work to bring out the best in those we collaborate with.
We are leading members of the Science Shop International Network Living Knowledge and are at the cutting edge of practice in developing Community Engaged Research and Learning in higher education.
In 2023 we were presented with the prestigious Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence by Advance HE for collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning.
You can get in touch with the QUB Science Shop at science.shop@qub.ac.uk
Dr Emma McKenna
Emma McKenna has worked in The Science Shop for over 20 years. She co-ordinated the Erasmus+ CIRCLET project (2019-2022) which supported lecturers to rethink their curricula to create space for community engaged research and learning and was deputy co-ordinator in the EnRRICH project (2015-18) which sought to redesign curricula for community engagement. She has mentored Science Shops across the world, including in Canada, India, Hungary, France and Spain. She is a Principal Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and an Associate Editor for the NCCPE’s Research For All journal.
Chougher Maria Doughramajian
Chougher Maria Doughramajian is the Community Engaged Research and Learning Officer at the Science Shop at Queen’s University Belfast. She is the President of Voices of Young Refugees in Europe and Vice-President of Voicify. Chougher holds graduate and postgraduate qualifications from the American University of Armenia and the University of Toronto in Communications, Human Rights and Genocide Studies. She recently obtained a M.Phil. degree in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation at Trinity College Dublin, as a recipient of the prestigious Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship.
Eileen Martin
Eileen has been supporting Community Engaged research and Learning in Higher Education across Europe for over 25 years. As Manager of The Science Shop at Queen’s, Eileen works with community partners, students, staff and senior managers across the University to develop and facilitate engaged research projects and to create a strategic context for this work. She has a particular interest in supporting staff to embed Community Engaged Research and Learning in the curriculum. Eileen was instrumental in developing the first Queen’s Community Strategy and has contributed to training on Public and Community Engagement and participated in several European Commission funded projects over the past 15 years.