Queen’s University Belfast

Founded as Queen’s College in 1845, it became a university in its own right in 1908. Today, it is an international centre of research and education rooted at the heart of Northern Ireland. The University has won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education on five occasions – for Northern Ireland’s Comprehensive Cancer Services programme and for world-class achievement in green chemistry, environmental research, palaeoecology and law.

Four prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Awards further recognises the University’s contribution to society. Queen’s received the award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts in 2008, was awarded the title of the UK’s Entrepreneurial University of the Year in 2009, won the Outstanding Engineering Research Team of the Year category in 2010 and received the Most Innovative Teacher of the Year Award in 2011. With more than 17,000 students and 3,500 staff, it is a dynamic and diverse institution, a magnet for inward investment, a patron of the arts and a global player in areas ranging from cancer studies to sustainability, and from pharmaceuticals to creative writing.

The School of Education is a key education leader in the UK and Ireland offering an exciting and wide range of courses, from initial teacher education to adult education;Master’s and PhD programmes; the most successful taught Doctorate in Education in Ireland; specialist programmes in autism spectrum disorders, applied behaviour analysis, educational leadership, inclusion and special needs, and TESOL; and the extensive Open Learning programme. The School is home to four leading research centres, with an extensive range of national and international partnerships. The School is the editorial home to three major international journals: British Educational Research Journal; Education, Citizenship and Social Justice; and Effective Education.

• Key Contacts

  Professor Karola Dillenburger (k.dillenburger@qub.ac.uk) is Professor of Behaviour Analysis and Education and Director of the Centre for Behaviour Analysis in the School of Education (http://www.qub.ac.uk/cba) where she coordinates the MSc in Autism Spectrum Disorders, initiated the approved Behavious Analyst Certification Board (BACB) online course sequence, and supervises many Masters and PhD students. Prof Dillenburger’s research focuses on evidence-based early intervention for vulnerable children including those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, parent education and parenting across the lifespan.

  Prof Dillenburger is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D) and has worked extensively in child care, education and therapeutic settings before being called to Queen’s University Belfast over 20 years ago. She has published widely including 5 paper-copy books and one ibook, five multimedia training resources on DVDs and CD-ROMs, and over 60 academic peer-reviewed papers. She frequently is invited to teach or deliver international keynote addresses in USA, India, Europe and Australia. She was involved in the development of Simple Steps (www.stamppp.com).

  Professor Dillenburger encourages potential ‘outgoing’ ASSISTID fellows to get in touch with their research proposals and ideas as early as possible.