downloadable guide - Queen`s University Belfast

INSI DE
THIS
GUID E:
PGSA Events
2
About the University
2
About the City
2
Surviving Week One
3
Welfare & Bureaucracy
4
Shopping
5
Eating and Drinking
6
Further Afield in NI
6
GUEST COLUMNS:
•
Smita Kheria
•
Noelle McCavana
•
Yanwen Hu
•
Patrick Moore
•
Mark Tame
•
Pádraig Bolger
•
Nicola Lynn
DON’T
PA N I C
PHOTOGRAPHY:
P. Moore
the.earth.li/~paddy
PGS A P RES E NTS : A M ODER N
S TUDE NT ’ S I NDI SPE NS IBL E G U IDE
TO T HE C ITY OF B E LFA ST
We are the Postgraduate
Students' Association
(PGSA). We exist to organise social and academic
events for PG students,
bringing people together
across the divisions of departments and accommodation. We've written this
guide to help you ease into
your new life as a PhD student in Queen's. There are
a few words about what
you can expect over the
next few months and years.
And for those of you who
are new to this city or University, it's got lists of good
things about both, and details of the, uh, idiosyncrasies that you might need to
work around.
PGSA Events
The PGSA organise many
events over the course of
the year, giving you the opportunity to leave the safety
of your department and
meet students who are researching strange and unfamiliar topics. Please check
out our website at www.
qub.ac.uk/pgsa for times and
locations.
There are three major social events, at which we lavish upon you free food and
drink. These take place
around Christmas (with
mulled wine and mince
pies!), Easter (with a pub
quiz and exciting prizes!)
and midsummer (when we
emerge, blinking and confused, into the sunlight for a
picnic).
Fortnightly coffee mornings
City Hall: Note the statue of grumpy Queen Victoria
let us all get together over
free coffee and Jaffa Cakes
to discuss Lindsay Lohan,
themes of childhood innocence in Matthew Barney's
The Cremaster Cycle, and
how hard we're all finding
this PhD lark. Regular pub
nights are there for a similar purpose, albeit with
fewer biscuits.
Theory Evenings provide
the opportunity to discuss
high-minded ideas and feel
like a Proper Academic.
This is an informal, interdisciplinary, postgraduate student reading and discussion
group, which meets twice a
month for intellectual exchange on topics that fall
under the general rubric of
"theory." This will include a
variety of writings that address a range of questions
relevant to contemporary
formations in different disciplines, i.e. Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Politics,
Media and Culture etc.
We also organise seminars,
which will cover the highlights of current research in
Queen's and interesting
topics from invited speakers.
Finally, as a special treat for
those of you new to Belfast,
we're putting on a bus tour
of the city, which should be
rather jolly.
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 2
H OW T O G ET A P H D IN T HREE E ASY
S TEPS
OK, so you've decided to
study for a PhD. You might
have heard a lot about what
this involves, or you might
not have a clue. It's a wonderful and terrible thing; a
rollercoaster with lows of
motivation-sapping tedium
and highs of exciting discovery. Aside from the intellectual stimulation of your
work, you are surrounded
by fascinating, intelligent
people, and you have opportunities to travel the
world for conferences or
collaboration with departments in other countries.
But let's be clear about this;
doing a PhD is really hard.
Don't worry, I guarantee
that you are more than capable of getting through it.
If you weren't, you wouldn't
have been able to come this
far.
The experience differs
wildly from one student to
the next. Some will start
with a well-defined project,
and be able to get to work
on it within a week or two.
If this isn't the case for you,
don't be surprised to find
yourself reading for the first
six or twelve months, before you find a thesisworthy (or chapter-of-athesis-worthy) problem to
work on. This isn't something to worry about. It's a
common statement from
people who've made it
through, that "the easiest
thing about doing a PhD is
the work that actually goes
into your thesis." If you
knew now what you'll know
when you've graduated,
you'd be able to do it all in
six months. The hard part,
the part that stretches it
out to three (or so) years,
is the process of becoming
an independent researcher,
not a spoon-fed undergraduate.
This will involve making
mistakes; exploring dead
ends; learning how to find,
and how best to examine,
interesting and unexplored
topics. And that's in addition to gaining the technical
and academic skills specific
to your discipline. But, as
we said before, you'll get
through it. You'll probably
enjoy it; this is an amazing
opportunity to study the
things that fascinate you, in
an environment dedicated
to intellectual curiosity.
“the easiest thing about
doing a PhD is the
work that actually goes
into your thesis”
Advice to Postgraduates Starting their Studies at Queen’s
I am coming to the end of my PhD life, just as you are beginning. The next few years shall be filled with highs ("Yes! The paper has been accepted!"), and lows ("Aargh, another day in the lab... meh."), but you will make it though intact, and the richer
for it.
I can offer a few bits of retrospective advice for you, and please think them over. First and foremost is that your PhD is
yours, not your supervisors’. It is you who should shape it and push it in the direction you want to go. Further to this, try and
get on with your supervisors, listen to them, for they've been where you are now, they know what's to be done and often how
to do it, but if you disagree with them — and you will — argue your point strongly, but keep them on your side at all times.
You will need them. Write up as you go along, even if it may seem tedious at the time.
Finally, enjoy it. You will have freedom to do what you want and in a manner of your own choosing. It won't always be easy,
and at times it shall be hard, but it is worth it in the end.
Patrick Moore, Electrical and Electronic Engineering
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 3
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY
Queen's University Belfast
was founded in 1845, and
seems to be doing quite
well for itself. It recently
become part of the Russell
Group of universities, which
means it's a bit good, and it
is in the middle of building a
big new library, which must
mean it has a fair bit of
spare cash lying around.
The spiritual and administrative centre of the University is the Lanyon building, one of the three visually
appealing structures that
QUB owns (fun game: try
and spot the other two!).
In addition to the Postgraduate office and some
physicists, it houses the
Naughton Gallery (which
is small, free and worth going to) and a statue of Galileo looking serious. Behind
the Lanyon building is
Queen's main courtyard,
which is a very pleasant
place to sit and eat lunch
during the five days of sun
that summer typically brings
to Belfast.
branches of Oxfam, Endsleigh Insurance, a pharmacy
and a Bank Of Ireland
branch, and discounted
newspapers are available
from the shop. The cafeteria has a range of notunreasonably priced food,
and the Clements coffee
shop in the Union is as
cool as every other branch
of Clements in the city.
QUB's only student newspaper, The Gown, occasionally publishes paper
copies, but its main existence is a blog at thegown.
blogspot.com/
Also worth a look is Quest.
This is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal edited by QUB postgraduates
and designed to publish
postgraduate work in any
given field of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. (www.qub.ac.uk/
sites/QUEST)
Physical Education
Centre (just at the end of
The
Two bars play host to
live music and sweaty
undergrads-and-alcopops
club nights
the Botanic Gardens) has a
well-equipped gym, a swimming pool, and various
sports courts and pitches
available for booking. As a
Queen's student, you have
automatic membership to
the PEC, and entry is £2.
Alternatively you can buy an
all-inclusive membership for
£100, or choose one of the
other packages such as
swimming or climbing
(www.qub.ac.uk/sport).
There are many student-run
societies within Queen's.
Contact details can be
found at quis.qub.ac.uk.
Addresses and contact information for all items
listed in bold can be found
in the Directory section, at
the back of this guide.
The University's libraries
are scattered around the
city. Details and opening
times can be found via the
Libraries website, which is
linked off the Queen’s
homepage. This is also
where you can log-in to
check your loans, renew
books and access journals
whilst off-campus.
The Students' Union,
across the road from the
Lanyon building, has two
bars, which play host to live
music and sweaty undergrads-and-alcopops club
nights. It also contains
The Student Union: its fancy new shell hides a much older building
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 4
ABOUT THE CITY
For a small city, Belfast actually has quite a lot going
on. We attempt to give you
an overview here, but really
only scratch the surface.
Cultural highlights include
the Belfast Festival At
Queen's held in September
(www.belfastfestival.com)
and the significantly edgier
Cathedral Quarter Arts
Festival (www.cqaf.com),
which provide the city with
music, theatre, comedy, art
and a sense of vibrancy.
One sad truth about Belfast,
however, is that if you want
to see a lot of good bands,
you should probably just
move to Dublin. But don't
worry, not everyone passes
us by! The range of concerts you can see in Belfast
stretches from Justin Timberlake (scream), through
Bloc Party, all the way to
everyone’s favourite grindcore pioneers, Napalm
Death. A fairly comprehensive list of upcoming live
music can be found at
www.ents24.com
Queen's Film Theatre,
S U RV I V I N G W E E K O N E
Assuming you have your
accommodation sorted out
you'll first want to find your
office, which you'll probably
be sharing with a few other
students. All PhD students
are entitled to a desk, and
access to a computer. In
almost all cases, these will
be ready without fuss when
you arrive; if not, complain
(see 'Welfare and Bureaucracy' for a list of people
who will, or should, listen).
If you want to get involved
with any student-run societies, you should head along
to The Freshers' Fair. It's
held in the Union (check
our site for details on
times), and has stalls from
most clubs and societies; a
good range of sports, arts,
and, oh dear, 'politics'. It's
worth going to, if only to
get registered with the
University Health Centre and pick up some pro-
motional pens.
One of the most beneficial
things you can do over the
course of your PhD is make
friends with your departmental secretaries. These
angels can make your life
much easier, so be nice to
them. Typically, they'll be
the ones who will sort out
your travel and accommodation for conferences, look
after your mail, and make
sure you have all the keys,
codes and other ephemera
which will allow you to
function within the University. We think you should
probably bake them a cake.
As part of your PhD, you
are required to complete
30 days of Postgraduate
Training. Of this, 10 days
must be 'On the job' type
training, such as going to
conferences. The rest has
to be 'instructor-led' train-
on University square, is the
best, indeed the only, place
in Belfast for independent
and international cinema. It
also has a stylish little bar,
so you can watch challenging Ukrainian films whilst
thoroughly tanked.
The classy-looking Waterfront Hall shows a variety
of acts, including comedy,
singers we've never heard
of, and Abba tribute bands.
The Grand Opera House
really is quite grand, though
it seldom shows opera. Its
repertoire instead consists
mainly of theatre, comedy
and musicals. With occasional fantastic productions,
and a stunning interior, it
can be a wonderful place to
go if you want to feel all
cultured for an evening.
Head down Stranmillis Embankment to behind the
PEC and you’ll find the
Lyric Theatre, which has
a varied programme of
plays, often including new
Irish drama. Their patron is
Qui-Gon Jinn from Star
Wars: Episode I, which is
aces.
What I wish I had known...
I wish I’d known the exact every-day weather here; it is so
moody and unpredictable. Generally, as far as I know, it's not
very hot in summer, the maximum temperature in summer
doesn't exceed 30 degrees, so you may not need many Tshirts. The other side of the weather is rainy, it's necessary to
take a umbrella or wear a waterproof clothes all the time when
you are out, especially in winter. Sometimes the wind is so
strong that it is hard to hold a umbrella, waterproof clothes
may be more practical.
I wish I’d known where I can buy fresh seafood. When I first
came here, I only bought food from supermarkets, like Tesco
and Dunnes Stores, but they do not supply some fresh seafood. Then I heard of the Friday Market - fortunately, it is
also open on Saturday! You can buy crabs, prawns and mussels there, also some fresh vegetables and fruits as well.
I wish I’d known some more activities that can be participated
during my leisure time, playing sport and drinking are the
main entertainments in Belfast. Now I know every Tuesday I
can go to The Movie House on the Dublin Road for two
pounds fifty (half price) to watch movies for the whole day.
Moreover, three times a year almost all the shops will sell their
goods at a big discount, around Easter, the end of July, and
Christmas.
Yanwen Hu, Finance
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 5
S U RV I V I N G W E E K O N E
(
CONT.)
ing. To this end, the Postgraduate Office offers a
range of courses like
'Appreciating Diversity' and
'Working with Long Documents.' Don't stress too
much about all of this; it's
just part of a Governmental
initiative to ensure you have
the skills necessary to be a
Leader of Industry, not just
a Leader of Academia, as
the former tend to pay
more tax. Some of the
courses are enjoyable, some
are useful, and some provide tea and sticky buns
halfway through. They are,
however, compulsory. As a
result, all the interestingsounding ones get booked
up quickly after each term's
list becomes available
online. It's a good idea,
therefore, to book your
courses early (go to www.
qol.qub.ac.uk), lest you find
yourself relearning, in great
detail, how to use Microsoft
Excel simply to reach your
training quota.
During term time, you'll
probably have the chance to
get involved in teaching undergrads. Depending on
your department, you could
be giving lectures, marking
assignments or assisting in
labs. This can be very rewarding. It can also be frustrating and slightly depressing, depending on your students, but definitely worth
doing, if for no other reason that you get paid for it.
In some departments, you'll
be expected to start teaching soon after term begins,
so ask around to find out
what the deal is.
The University Health Centre in Lennoxvale
Take Breaks!
The most important thing I’ve learnt while I’ve been
doing my PhD is that you have to remember to look after yourself. It’s easy with deadlines and work mounting
up to forget about yourself at times, but running yourself
ragged gets you nowhere. So when a colleague asks you
to go for coffee, or lunch out, then go. You’ll be glad
you did, when you know people better, get to talk about
something other than your research and get a well
earned break.
And don’t forget your holidays too. Take them and leave
the PhD behind for a week or two. You and your thinking will be refreshed when you come back to it. And if
you think people are asking you to do too much, then
don’t be afraid to say no.
The most important thing is to get you through these
three years happy, healthy and with a good research thesis at the end. You need to look after yourself to do that.
So remember to take your breaks.
Nicola Lynn, Aeronautical Engineering
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 6
W ELFARE & B UREAUCRACY :
D EALING WITH P ROBLEMS DURING
Without wanting to worry lems with your first superviyou so soon after you've
sor, you should talk to your
started, we'll just say again second supervisor.
that doing a PhD can frequently be stressful and dif- General enquiries and probficult, and, like life in genlems with PhD life, from
eral, can throw up a variety financial worries to quesof problems. There are a
tions about rules and regunumber of routes for deal- lations, can be directed to
ing with anything that wor- the Postgraduate Office
ries you.
(www.qub.ac.uk/home/
Research/
Difficulties with your PhD PostgraduateOffice/) who
work should first be taken will be happy to help you
to your supervisor; it's his out.
or her job to make sure
that you graduate with the For concerns not directly
minimum of hassle. How- related to your studies, the
ever, not all supervisors are University provides help in
wonderful people dedicated the form of the Student
to your academic wellGuidance Centre. It's
being. If you have any prob- here that you can find ca-
YOUR P H D
“If you are female,
international, or mature
you have additional
representation…”
reers advice, counselling
and disability services.
The Postgraduate Students'
Representative in the Students' Union this year is
David McKeown, who can
be reached at su.pso@qub.
ac.uk. General issues with
postgraduate life should be
sent in his direction. However, don't expect rapid
action; this should probably
be a secondary avenue for
solving any problems.
If you're female, international or mature, you have
additional SU representatives, who can be contacted
via the SU website (www.
qubsu.org).
Postgraduate Study: A Mature Student’s View
I am living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks!
I graduated from QUB with a BA Hons in French in 1970, and returned in 2002, after a few gap decades, to study for a Master's in French Literature. I had been away from full-time education for over 30 years, but I found that I was able to ease into
university life with a minimum of stress. In my case the advice to start with part-time study was invaluable.
Everyone I encountered, staff, students and administrators, was friendly and helpful. When I suffered personal tragedy they
were unfailingly sympathetic and thoughtful, enabling me to keep going. To the mature student taking the plunge I would say,
"Go for it!" What we may have lost in youth and energy we make up in experience. We can learn from our younger colleagues,
but we also have something unique to contribute. Mature students have so much to offer because they have spent time in different environments and have a wider knowledge of how the world works.
Postgraduate study can be a lonely business, but Queen's has ways and means of integrating you into its community. Of course
you have to be willing to take a few small steps yourself, but you can meet your fellow students whose areas of study may be
different but whose aims and interests are similar. Contact with others in the same position as yourself can lead to fruitful exchanges and friendly relations, and can make all the difference as to whether your time as a postgraduate is solitary hard struggle or stimulating supported achievement.
I graduated with a MA in 2005 and was offered full-time doctoral study. I hope to submit my thesis in 2008. My postgraduate
years at QUB have been some of the busiest and happiest of my life. I count myself lucky to have been offered an opportunity
that I know I would have been unable to grasp when I first graduated way back in 1970.
Noelle McCavana, French Studies
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 7
W ELFARE & B UREAUCRACY :
T AXES , H OUSING AND P RINTING P OSTERS
you will almost certainly be
able to find a room in Elms
Although your PhD stipend Village, Guthrie House or
is not subject to tax, the
Mount Charles. The rent is
money that you make from quite reasonable, the rooms
teaching is. Unfortunately, and facilities are frequently
for various complicated and of an acceptable quality
tedious reasons, the level of (though mushrooms growtax will automatically be set ing from walls are not untoo high. You can claim all heard of), and the large
this tax back by taking your houses and apartments are
P60 form (which you'll re- a good way to meet other
ceive from your department students.
at the end of the academic
year) to the HM Internal Be warned, however, that
Revenue Centre in WelQueen's Accommodalington Place. You can then tion Services don't always
expect to get a refund by
have your best interests at
post within a few months. heart; they have been
If you don't do this straight known to (temporarily)
away, don't worry; you can evict students at short noreclaim tax from up to
tice, to renovate property
seven years ago, as long as or make room for conferyou can find your paperence guests.
work…
If you want to find private
Housing
accommodation, internet
listings sites are a pretty
You have two options in
good bet. We like www.
finding a place to live: Uni- daft.ie, www.rentinbelfast.
versity accommodation and com and belfast.gumtree.
the private sector.
com.
Accommodation within
If you feel like you are being
Queen's is very convenient; unfairly or illegally treated
by your landlord, be it
Queen's or a private company or individual, you
should go to the Housing
Rights Service on High
Street. They will be able to
advise you on your legal
rights as a tenant, and inform you of the best course
of action if they are being
violated.
Taxes
Printing Posters
“the rooms and facilities
are frequently of an
acceptable quality”
How to improve the taste of a humble
McVities Penguin bar ten-fold
I wish I'd known this at the start of my PhD:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Put the kettle on and make yourself a cup of tea.
Take a Penguin bar and bite off two diagonally opposing corners.
Submerge one of the bitten corners in your cup of
tea.
Suck the tea up through the bar from the other broken corner.
Once the tea reaches your mouth, remove the Penguin and eat it, taking care not to lose it on its way
to your mouth.
Enjoy!
Pádraig Bolger, Physics
PGSA at Pride 2007
Information Services provide large scale plotting –
perfect for your conference
poster or protest banner.
You can email your file to
be printed to posters@qub.
ac.uk, giving details of the
size you want (A0-A4) and
your student number. Collect your poster from the
Computing Helpdesk
Room, though they won’t
hand it over till you pony
up some cash (or a departmental charge code – ask
your angelic department
secretary).
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 8
S HOPPING
(SPENDING
YO U R S T I P E N D O N F O O D , B O O K S
‘Asia Supermarket’ on
the Ormeau Road stocks a
wide variety of ingredients
from Asia and beyond, and
also sells good cheap woks
and other cookware. On
the Lisburn Road, check out
Camseng, just past
Tesco. Spicy World sell,
unsurprisingly, a goodly
amount of spices, as well as
economically priced meats.
“the Arcadia has a nice
line in biltong and
droëwors”
Two recommendations for
delis: Arcadia on the Lisburn Road, and The Olive
Tree on Ormeau. Both are
full of tasty olives and
cheeses, and William in the
Arcadia even has a nice line
in biltong and droëwors.
Ask nicely and you might
get free samples to try before you buy.
If you’re looking for halal
products, check the Belfast Islamic Centre’s Visitor’s Guide (available
online, see directory)
St George’s Market was
renovated a couple of years
ago, and now hosts a remarkably good Farmer’s
Market, full of local produce. This is the place to be
on Fridays and Saturdays, as
you can shop for cheeses,
seafood, and deli products
and get to know the farmer
who grew your parsnips.
Don’t be put off by the occasionally awful musicians
employed to ‘add ambi-
ence’; focus on the food
and you’ll find some delicious goodies for your
lunch. Try buying some
crackly white ‘Belfast baps’,
some cheese and salami,
and head off for a picnic.
Perfect.
Nearly as numerous as Belfast’s pubs, gin palaces and
imbibing emporia are its offlicenses, wine-merchants
and spirit-grocers. The closest to QUB is probably the
imaginatively named ‘dr:
nk’, which caters to its student customers with cheap
beer and alcopops. If you
are after something more
unusual (orange bitters,
perhaps?) try The Vineyard on Ormeau. Friendly
and knowledgeable staff will
help you choose from their
impressive range of inebriants.
Waterstones is the main
book shop in the city centre, but Eason and WH
& F I N E RY )
Smiths also carry a selec-
tion of new books. For all
your comics book needs,
check out Forbidden
Planet, which also stocks
t-shirts, toys for nerds and
statuettes of anatomically
dubious vampires.
Belfast is well served for
secondhand book shops;
the Oxfam charity bookshop is probably the largest,
and is certainly very well
organised. Bargain Books
in North Street has a good
SF / Fantasy section and the
owner knows his stock
well.
Nearer QUB, Bookfinders
is recommended – the
slightly chaotic layout is
more than made up for by
the charming and helpful
staff, who do indeed have a
great record for finding difficult-to-source books.
Other bonuses include a
little café serving yummy
cakes, and occasional eve-
Bookfinders Café: try their yummy cakes
ning poetry readings.
The Students’ Union run a
secondhand bookshop
called Chapter 1, which is
mostly stocked with course
texts from undergrad
courses. Not a disrecommendation, but not much
use to most postgrads.
The University Book shop
(‘The Bookshop At
Queens’) is particularly
good for textbooks, and
Irish History / Local Interest
titles. On Botanic Avenue,
we find No Alibis, which
specialises in crime fiction.
They also organise a busy
schedule of events, both
musical and literary. Also
on Botanic, there is the
War On Want charity
bookshop. Smallish, but
usually worth a perusal and
they also stock a small
range of Fair Trade goods,
including tasty chocolate
bars.
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 9
What I would do in my first month at QUB, if I could go back!
Put my hands on a reference manager first thing and get to grips with it – Referencing is an indispensable requirement for research and a reference managing software like Endnotes, Refworks (provided by Queen’s), Biblioscape or perhaps a free version like JabREF (if you don’t support paid software for whatever reason!) can help you access your references, search and
manage your reference database, and create references and bibliographies and footnotes in the required format in your papers/
submissions instantly. They are also very easy to use. Really they are! If you don’t try and get around to using one early on in
your research, you might find yourself reluctant to switch to it later as you would have already build up a sizeable database and
gotten used to the more labour-intensive and time consuming method of manual referencing!
Sign up for ZETOC alerts - ZETOC is excellent in helping you keep up-to-date with contents of particular journals or authors
whose work is relevant to your research. It has an impressive database of research journals and once you set your ‘keywords’
and ‘author names’, it automatically sends you emails with the table of contents from your chosen journals and articles that
match your search criteria for authors names or keywords. As you do your literature review, you can add/modify your keywords/chosen journals and thereafter be rest assured of not having to worry about knowing and finding the new volume of a
research journal as it is released!
Try NVivo for doing literature review - If you are someone who knows they will have to do lots of reading (and I mean lots of
reading) for your literature review, I recommend using Nvivo7. Even though it is essentially sold as a qualitative “data” analysis software, it is really a very flexible tool so that one can use it according to their own working style and requirements of
dealing with any semi-structured or unstructured written data i.e. literature! Don’t believe what I am saying - check out www.
sdgassociates.com/downloads/literature_review.pdf
And last but not the least, get a copy of “How to get a PhD” by Estelle M. Phillips and Derek S. Pugh. This book tells you all
about how not to do a PhD and knowing all the things you ought not to do is nearly all it might take.
Smita Kheria, Law
S HOPPI NG
(
CONT
You’ll find the usual UK selection of high-street shops
in the City Centre: Marks
& Spencers, Next, Zara,
etc. The only major chain
not represented at the time
of writing is H&M - venture out to the Rushmere
Centre in Craigavon if you
are desperate.* For cheap
basics you really can’t beat
Primark or Dunnes
Stores, both just off Royal
Avenue.
For slightly more flamboyant clothes, try Rusty Zip
on Botanic – ‘retro vintage’
clothes and accessories at
student-friendly prices. Also
fun to browse in is Fresh
.)
Garbage, on Rosemary
Street. Established in the
late sixties, this ever-busy
wee shop sells band merchandise, ‘gothic’ clothing
and a wide selection of
beads, bongs and bangles.
If you’re in the market for a
posh frock, try starting at
Paul Costelloe at BT9,
and work your way out of
town along the Lisburn
Road. There’s plenty of
boutiques full of designer
fashions, but be warned:
some are eyewateringly expensive.
* Rumour has it that H&M will
open a store in the yet-to-becompleted Victoria Square shopping centre. Hurrah!
Rusty Zip on Botanic: get your gladrags on!
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
E AT I N G
O
UT
Page 10
IN
B
E FA S T
So many restaurants, so
little space… We don’t
have room for a full restaurant review section, besides
which we’re too poor to
try them all on your behalf.
Instead we focus on those
staples of the student’s diet:
coffee (to keep you awake
for late nights in the lab)
and lardy takeaways (for
consumption after said hard
work).
Coffee and Cakes
Clements is the reason
that Starbucks hasn’t really
caught on in Belfast. Their
first café opened in 1999,
and in 2007 you never seem
to be more than 10 minutes
walk away from one (in
South and Central Belfast,
anyway). Named for Pope
Clement VIII, who is
thought to have enjoyed a
cappuccino or three in his
time, Clements serve Fair
Trade coffees; and also
snacks and cakes. You’ll be
served by an ever-changing
staff of hipster baristas, who
also choose the background
music. Definitely worth a
visit, if only for the delicious
caramel squares.
Another Fair Trade hero is
Common Grounds on
University Avenue – they
serve tasty coffee and sandwiches and salads, and claim
to use Fair Trade ingredients wherever possible. All
profits go to various development charities, so the
warm glow you feel inside
doesn’t just come from
your hazelnut latte. Opens
late, and often has live music in the evenings.
Clements: We’re in love with our barista. You will be too.
Grizzled celebrity chef Paul
Rankin took a break from
his gruelling ‘Ready Steady
Cook!’ schedule to open a
chain of cafes in Northern
Ireland (you might have noticed the one in Belfast International Airport). Sometimes known in Belfast as
“Mankin’ Rankin’s”, they
really don’t deserve the
nickname. Café Rankin is
slightly more expensive
than Clements or Common
Grounds, but the food is
reliably tasty.
Cheap (but good) take
away food
When The Sphinx on
Stranmillis Road was closed
for renovations, Belfast
mourned its loss. On reopening, the queue
stretched right around the
block. The Sphinx isn’t
fancy, but is a strong contender for the ‘Best Kebab
in Belfast’ award. Vegetarians can rejoice in delicious
falafel, served in a pitta with
tangy Sphinx Sauce. Yummers!
“Only in Ireland will
you find a takeaway
devoted to potatoes”
Only in Ireland will you find
a takeaway entirely devoted
to the humble potato.
“Spud’s” [sic] is a longtime Belfast favourite, serving baked potatoes, chips
and tasty champ. Carbohydrate heaven.
If you fancy traditional Fish
and Chips, try Café Fish
or Taste & Sea, both on
the Lisburn Road. Both
serve good versions of the
classic fish supper, and
Taste & Sea also offers
‘gourmet burgers’.
‘Vegetarian specialist’ is the
claim of Esperantos’
menu: they definitely live up
to it, and also provide
enough flesh to satisfy the
hungriest meat-eater. The
menu varies from pizza and
donor kebabs to falafel and
onion bhajis. Very busy at
the weekends post-pub
closing time.
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 11
T HE D EMON D RINK
Belfast has many pubs and
bars, so you’re bound to
find one to suit your taste.
In no particular order here
are some PGSA committee
favourites:
The Kitchen Bar opened
in 1869 and remained a Belfast favourite until 2004,
when they knocked it down
to build a shopping centre.
Thankfully, after the move
the bar is still worth a visit;
try a pint of ale along with a
Paddy Pizza (cheese and
tomato on soda bread). The
Kitchen is especially nice on
Fridays, when there is a traditional music session, complete with Uilleann pipes. If
the Kitchen is busy, Bittles
Bar is just around the corner and is small and cosy see how many Irish authors
you can spot in the paintings.
The John Hewitt is
known for good beer and
good jazz. Tucked away
near St Anne’s Cathedral,
this pub is an excellent
place to start a tour around
the cathedral quarter.
Katy Daly’s is a pub
known for its live music,
both within the bar itself
and in adjacent venues The
Limelight and the Spring
And Airbrake. Music selection tends to towards
the indie side, with a hefty
dose of cheese on club
nights. The three venues
are linked, but expect to
pay a separate cover for
listed events
The only pub owned by the
National Trust, The
Crown, is very touristy,
but still a good place for a
“try a pint of ale along
with a Paddy Pizza”
pint. Check out the stained
glass decorations crafted by
Italian artisans moonlighting
from their day jobs building
Belfast churches. The individual snugs are cosy, but
you have to be quick to secure one as they are very
popular (try booking
ahead). The Belfast Pub
Tour starts here, and covers six of Belfast’s historic
drinking holes.
Real ale fans will want to
plan ahead for the Belfast
Beer Festival run by
CAMRA (Campaign for
Real Ale) – 22-24th November in the Kings Hall.
Also contemplate taking the
train to Hilden, where you
can visit ‘Ireland’s oldest
independent brewery’ and
sample some beer along
with a meal in their TapRoom restaurant.
Welcome to Postgraduate Studies at Queen’s
Now that you're about to get started with your PhD there are a few things I can offer you in terms of advice. First, it is important to have a good relationship with your supervisor and co-supervisor. They are the two people who will guide you
during your next three years, so it's pretty important that you all get along. The next thing is self-motivation. Your supervisor is unlikely to give you any strict deadlines for the work you are to carry out (you're not an undergraduate anymore!).
This means you have to work to your own timetable, which has good and bad aspects. It is important to make sure you
know when it's time to get the work done, but also when it's time for relaxing. It is all too easy to get absorbed in your
work, so it's good to find ways to stop yourself and break up your day/week/month.
Discussing your work and closely related research topics with other PhD students is a great way to help you develop your
ideas. If your department or research group holds regular meetings or seminars, try and make the effort to go. Even presentations on research topics not directly related to your own can spark something in your mind and lead to interesting
work in the future. Conferences are also a great way to discuss ideas and to meet other PhD students working in your research area. You get to network and have the opportunity to collaborate with people from around the UK and the rest of
the world. Training courses are also good for meeting new people at Queen's. At first I saw these as a burden, taking away
my study time, but after a while I began to realise that you do meet interesting people at the courses!
If you're an international student and not from Northern Ireland, then I would recommend over the next three years that
you take the opportunity to visit the many historic and beautiful places in the north, and beyond. Areas such as the Antrim
coast, the west coast and Dublin mean that there are enough things to do at the weekends, that you don't have to stay in
Belfast all the time.
Mark Tame, Applied Maths and Theoretical Physics
PGSA’s Guide to Belfast
Page 12
F URTHER A FIELD IN N ORTHERN I RELAND
Three years sounds like a
very long time. Long
enough to research and
write the Best Thesis in the
World™. However, the
days quickly slip past, and
before you know it you’ll be
in final year, frantically busy
as you try and finish your
thesis before your funding
runs out. Do make time
before you graduate to see
some of the sights of
Northern Ireland – here are
our top picks:
Giant’s Causeway
Take the scenic North
Coast road out of Belfast
up to the Causeway coast.
Ancient geological formations make for an aweinspiring view, and the area
has enough excitingly
bloody myths and legends
to keep you awake at night.
Also in the area are Bushmills Whiskey Distillery,
and the ruins of Dunluce
castle. It is probably easiest
to explore in a car, but
there are some public
transport links (see www.
translink.co.uk)
Devenish, Lough Erne
Devenish Island is one of
the foremost monastic sites
in Ireland. Head for Lower
Lough Erne and take a ferry
from just outside Enniskillen. The religious community was established in the
sixth century and suffered
Viking raids in 1157 CE, and
built a tall round tower to
keep their valuables safe
from those Nordic Nasties.
There are church ruins,
tombstones and stone carv-
ings a-plenty, and a small
museum to keep you dry
when it inevitably rains.
Carnalea-Belfast Walk
Catch a train from Botanic
Station out to Carnalea on
the southern side of Belfast
Lough. Head from the station down to the sea – it’s a
short walk. Point yourself
towards Belfast and start
walking, keeping to the
coastal paths. This walk is a
beauty: there are sandy
beaches, green open spaces,
and pretty views across the
lough. To reach Belfast
should take about three
hours, but the pleasing thing
is that you are never far
from the railway line if you
get tired – just head inland
to find a station. If you can
make it to Holywood
G ETTING I NVOLVED IN PGSA
though, you are rewarded
with both an ice-cream van
and a very fine pub – The
Dirty Duck. Stop here for a
pint of the local brew (the
Hilden brewery is just
down the road). Continue
triumphantly towards the
city, and pat yourself on the
back when you arrive.
Marble Arch Caves
While you are over in the
wilds of Fermanagh, do stop
by the Marble Arch caves
for even more Fun With
Geology. There’s an underground lake, rivers and waterfalls and a bunch of
spooky cave formations.
We reckon it’d be the perfect place for an evil overlord to site his secret headquarters.
If you want to get involved with the
PGSA in any way - if you want to help
organise stuff, or you have ideas for
events, from conferences to movie
nights - then get in touch. We’re an
informal bunch, and committee meetings are open to all.
Even if you don’t fancy organising
something yourself, do come along to
a coffee morning, or to one of our
seminars. We promise not to bite.
As ever, do check our website for upto-date event listings and contact details.
www.qub.ac.uk/pgsa
PGSA Social in the Great Hall, December 2006
78 Lisburn Rd
Limelight (The)
17 Ormeau Av
Asia supermarket
189 Ormeau Rd
Lyric Theatre
55 Ridgeway St
Bargain Books
15 North St
Marks & Spencers
48-52 Donegall Pl
Belfast Islamic Centre
38 Wellington Park
Naughton Gallery
Bittles Bar
70 Upper Church Lane, off
Victoria St
47 University Rd
Next
Lanyon Building, University
Rd
40-46 Donegall Pl
No Alibis
83 Botanic Av
University Terrace, off
University Rd
539 Lisburn Rd
Oxfam bookshop
52-54 Dublin Rd
Paul Costelloe at BT9
45-47 Bradbury Pl
Physical Education Centre
(PEC)
Postgraduate Office
Botanic Gardens
CAMRA NI
27-29 Fountain St;
Castlecourt, Royal Av
www.camrani.org.uk
Camseng
1-25 Lower Windsor Av
Chapter 1
Student's Union, University
Road
Student's Union, University
Road; 139 Stranmillis Rd;
66-68 Botanic Av
12-24 University Av
Bookfinders
Bookshop At Queen's
Café Fish
Café Paul Rankin
Clements
Common Grounds
Computing Helpdesk
Crown Bar (The)
Dirty Duck (The)
dr:nk Off-sales
Dunnes Stores
Eason
Room G01N, Lanyon
North, University Rd
46 Great Victoria St
directory
Arcadia
2-4 Kinnegar Rd,
Holywood
University Rd (near The
Globe), Malone Rd (near
Botanic Inn)
Corn Market, High St
Queen's Accomodation
Services
Queen's Film Theatre
(QFT)
Rusty Zip
Lanyon Building, University
Rd
Elms Village, 78 Malone Rd
20 University Sq
28 Botanic Av
Sphinx (The)
74 Stranmillis Rd
Spicy World
35 Donegall Pass
Spring And Airbrake
17 Ormeau Av
Spuds
37 Bradbury Pl
St George's Market
May St
Student Guidance Centre
www.qub.ac.uk/
directorates/sgc/;
University Terrace, beside
Bookshop At Queen's
University Rd, opposite
Lanyon Building
Students Union
Forbidden Planet
20 Donegall Pl; 70-72
Botanic Av
158 Lisburn Rd; 44
University Rd
52-54 Ann St
Fresh Garbage
24 Rosemary St
Grand Opera House
17 Great Victoria St
Vineyard (The)
375-377 Ormeau Rd
Hilden Brewery
Grand St, Hilden, Lisburn
W5 at The Odyssey
HM Revenue Centre
War On Want bookshop
Waterfront Hall
2 Lanyon Pl
John Hewitt (The)
Beaufort House, 31
Wellington Pl
www.housingrights.org.uk;
4th Floor Middleton
Buildings, 10-12 High St
51 Donegall St
www.w5online.co.uk;
Odyssey Centre, 2 Queen's
Quay
24 Botanic Av
Waterstones
46 Fountain St
Katy Daly's
17 Ormeau Av
WH Smiths
40-46 Donegall Pl
Kitchen Bar
36-40 Victoria Sq
Zara
Unit 3, 1-9 Donegall Pl
Esperantos
Housing Rights Service
Taste & Sea
147 Lisburn Rd
Tescos
369 Lisburn Rd
University Health Centre
5 Lennoxvale, Malone Rd