Margaret Topping

Professor Margaret Topping is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at Queen's University Belfast.

After completing her BA, MSt and DPhil at the University of Oxford, she held teaching and research positions at Oxford, Bangor and Cardiff Universities. She came to Queen’s in 2011.

As a Professor of French and Intercultural Communication, she is an internationally recognized Proust scholar, but her current research interests are increasingly focused on debates around travel, tourism and migration, and the ethics and aesthetics of cross-cultural communication and representation. Professor Topping is the author of several books and many articles in these areas and has research collaborations with networks in Europe and the Middle East.

“My message to international students is, never lose sight of the courage and determination that led you to choose to study abroad in the first place, for it’s those qualities that will help you realize your ambitions.                                                                                                                                                                                                    You are developing as thinkers and leaders and innovators who can work across cultures, making connections that you’ll carry with you long after you leave university. That’s what will really make you stand out, so remember the words of Alvin Töffler, American writer, futurist and businessman, who said: ‘It is better to err on the side of daring than the side of caution’. My advice to you - continue to be daring, both in your studies and beyond!”

Increasingly, though, what unites and drives her research interests is a passion to communicate better the public value of the arts and humanities. Her forthcoming book, The Humanities Pandemic: Towards and Essential Services Approach argues for the importance of the Humanities in tackling global challenges such as Covid.

She believes fostering international partnerships and creating a diverse and inclusive campus are core to Queen’s mission as a local and global university.