Queen's Students' Union

What Queen's Students' Union does

Queen's Students' Union (QSU) is the recognized students' union and registered charity (NIC101788) serving approximately 21,400 undergraduate and postgraduate students at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland. The organization, founded in 1900, operates from the One Elmwood building in Belfast and is led by six elected full-time Student Officers (Union President, Undergraduate Education, Postgraduate Education, Activities & Engagement, Accessible Education, and Welfare & Community), supported by a staff team of approximately 50. QSU delivers a portfolio of interconnected services across six departments: SU Advice (confidential academic, financial, accommodation, and welfare advisory), SU Voice (democracy, elections, referendums, and 10 identity-based Student Associations), SU Clubs & Societies (240+ affiliated groups), SU Enterprise (entrepreneurship programmes, competitions, and funding), SU Volunteer (volunteering matching and Prestige Volunteers recognition), and Cost of Living Support (including The Pantry free refill station and food bank referrals).

The union is funded primarily through university block grants from Queen's University Belfast and student activity fees, with all services provided free of charge to enrolled students. Distribution is anchored on the One Elmwood physical premises (open seven days a week) and supplemented by a QUB Single Sign-On-protected online portal (home.q-su.org), social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, LinkedIn), and email newsletters. Strategic partnerships include Blackbullion (financial education), Invest Northern Ireland (enterprise resources), NUS-USI (cost-of-living campaign coordination), and South Belfast Foodbank/Trussell Trust (welfare referrals). Notable recent wins include lobbying QUB to deliver £150 cash payments to 21,400 students and £400 top-ups to 3,600 lower-income students, and achieving 91.88% student support in the Irish Language Rights Referendum. QSU is governed independently of QUB but with structural influence through Student Officer representation on university management bodies, and has no external venture, private equity, or institutional investment.

Name

Queen's Students' Union

Legal name

Queen's Students' Union

Website

https://q-su.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Queen's Students' Union is a registered charity (NIC101788) serving approximately 21,400 Queen's University Belfast students with free representation, advice, 240+ clubs and societies, enterprise support, volunteering, and cost-of-living welfare services, funded primarily by university grants and student activity fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Student Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Online Nonprofit Universities (EDAHALAK)

Keywords

• Student representation services
• Student advice services
• Student clubs and societies
• Student enterprise support
• Student volunteering programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. University Funding: Primary funding from Queen's University Belfast, registered as charity NIC101788 with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
2. Student Activity Fees: Funding derived from student activity fees as part of the students' union function

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Queen's Students' Union is a student-led, registered charity (NIC101788) that provides free representational, advisory, social, entrepreneurial, and welfare services to students of Queen's University Belfast. Its core deliverables include confidential academic and welfare advice, a democratic voice platform (elections, referendums, campaigns), 240+ clubs and societies, entrepreneurship programmes with funding, volunteering matching with recognition, and cost-of-living support such as The Pantry free refill station and food bank referrals.

Product overview

Queen's Students' Union operates as a student-led organization offering a suite of interconnected services organized into distinct departments: SU Advice provides confidential advisory services; SU Voice handles democracy and representation through votes and campaigns; SU Clubs & Societies manages over 240 activity groups; SU Enterprise supports entrepreneurship with programmes and funding; SU Volunteer facilitates community service matching; and Cost of Living Support addresses student financial hardship through The Pantry and food bank referrals. Student Officers serve as elected representatives, while Student Associations provide identity-based advocacy networks. The union also partners with Blackbullion for financial education. The platform is primarily web-based, offering no API access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SU Advice Independent and confidential advisory service for QUB students covering academic issues, accommodation, conduct, student finance, health and wellbeing, money management, and scam awareness.
• SU Voice
• SU Clubs & Societies
• SU Enterprise
• SU Volunteer
• Cost of Living Support Initiative providing practical and financial support during the cost-of-living crisis, including The Pantry free refill station, food bank referrals, and lobbying for university financial interventions.
• Student Officers
• Student Associations
• What's On Events

Quantifiable outcome

• £150 cash payment secured for 21,400 students in January 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Queen's University BelfastcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2023University partnership for The Pantry free refill station and broader cost of living support initiatives. QSU lobbies university for financial interventions including the £150 and £400 cash payments to students in 2022-23.
• BlackbullioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Financial education partnership providing free access to Blackbullion learning platform with modules including 21-Day Money Bootcamp, International Students, Starting University, Savings, Budgeting, Debt, Risk Management. Students register using Queen's email and select 'Queen's Students' Union' as institution.
• NUS-USIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational students' union partnership for 'Cost of Survival' campaign calling on NI Executive for cost-of-living payments, rent freeze, and free public transport for students.
• South Belfast Foodbank (Trussell Trust)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSU Advice operates as a referral agency for South Belfast Foodbank. Students in financial crisis can be referred for emergency food supplies. Referral up to six times per 6-month period.
• Forward South PartnershipminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlternative referral agency for South Belfast Foodbank. Contact: Emily Brown, Strategic Health Officer at Forward South Partnership.
• Invest Northern IrelandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResource partner for SU Enterprise, providing business information, events, competitions, and access to Belfast Office Business Information Centre for student entrepreneurs.
• The Graduate School (QUB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for postgraduate students offering additional enterprise opportunities and support beyond standard SU Enterprise services.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Oxford University Student Union: The official students' union of the University of Oxford, focused on academic representation, welfare, and societies; provides a peer benchmark for advocacy-led SUs serving research-intensive UK universities like QUB.
• University of Glasgow Students' Representative Council: The elected student representative body at the University of Glasgow, providing advocacy, advice, and societies; directly comparable to QSU as a Scotland/UK-based SU with a similar democratic model.
• UCL Students' Union: The students' union at University College London offering advice, clubs and societies, volunteering, and enterprise; comparable to QSU in offering breadth and operating as a charity receiving block funding from a large UK research university.
• Cambridge Students' Union: The student representative body at the University of Cambridge providing advice, campaigns, and societies; structurally analogous to QSU as a UK university-affiliated charitable SU.
• University of Manchester Students' Union: The official students' union of the University of Manchester, offering advice, representation, societies, and enterprise support to ~40,000 students; directly comparable to QSU in mission, structure, and funding model (block grant + student activity fees).
• Imperial College Union: The students' union of Imperial College London, providing representation, clubs, and advice; comparable to QSU in serving a research-intensive UK university with high international student share.
• University of Edinburgh Students' Association: Edinburgh's student-led representative body providing advice, societies, volunteering, and campaigns to ~40,000 students; comparable to QSU in size, charity structure, and breadth of services.
• Leeds University Union: The students' union of the University of Leeds providing representation, advice, and a large societies network; structurally and operationally comparable to QSU as a UK students' union of similar institutional profile.
• University of Bristol Students' Union: Student-led union at University of Bristol delivering representation, advice, societies, and enterprise programmes; operates as a charity on similar revenue streams to QSU and serves a comparable UK student body.

Others

• NUS-USI (National Union of Students - Union of Students in Ireland): The national umbrella body for students' unions across Northern Ireland and Ireland; not a direct competitor but an ecosystem peer with whom QSU coordinates campaigns (e.g., Cost of Survival) and benchmarking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/QueensSU_
• Facebookfacebook.com/QueensStudentsUnion
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/queens-students-union
• Instagraminstagram.com/queensstudentsunion
• TikToktiktok.com/@queensstudentsunion

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Queen's Students' Union