Skip to navigation | Skip to main content | Skip to footer
Menu
Search the Staffnet siteSearch StaffNet

President's Weekly Update

22 June 2017

The results of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) were announced this week and our University was awarded ‘Silver’ status.  This result acknowledges the tremendous progress we have made in recent years to bring about significant improvements in the student experience particularly across teaching quality, assessment and feedback.  We know that we have more work to do and have key projects and strategies in place to ensure we continue to enhance our performance.  You can find out more about our TEF performance at:

You will be aware that in May 2017 the University’s Board of Governors approved proposals to begin consultation with the Trade Unions in relation to reductions in posts in some parts of the University.  While consultation with the Trade Unions is ongoing, we believe we have reached a stage in the consultation process where it’s appropriate to open the Voluntary Severance Scheme for applications from ‘at risk’ staff. Staff who are eligible to apply have been informed this week.  It should be noted that applications will be considered on the basis of the University’s core mission and requirements. This means that applications will not be accepted where an individual holds a critical skill which is not available elsewhere in the area, and/or where their loss would impact significantly on the University’s core activities. 

General Assembly was held this week. I gave an update on the many recent, ongoing and likely future changes to the UK Higher Education sector. Dr Julian Skyrme, Director for Social Responsibility, gave a presentation on ‘Measuring the Difference’ about outcomes from our social responsibility activities and you can read a more detailed report on our activity at:

Several senior staff and I held a dinner for new Professional Support Services and non- professorial academic staff from across the University. We asked them what was good and what was not so good about the University. All were positive about the reputation of the University, the great team working, goals and wider activities, and all liked the City and region. Staff who had joined from the commercial sector commented what a pleasure it was to work with such dedicated and welcoming colleagues but noted that sometimes the pace is slow and it can be difficult to bring about change. Several said they had been met with ‘but we have always done it this way’. Managing change and helping staff to deal with change came up in the results of the recent Staff Survey and this is clearly something we need to do better given the major changes around us.

Dr Nick Merriman, Director of our Manchester Museum, and I spoke at an event at the British Museum in London together with the Chair and Director of the British Museum and one of our alumni, Shalni Arora, to promote the Museum’s South Asia Gallery. Our Museum (the largest university-owned museum in the UK) is partnered with the British Museum. The event was extremely well attended by leaders of the South Asian community from Manchester and London and many with interests in museums and public engagement. Jo Johnson, the Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation was there and I acknowledged that the new gallery has its origins in an idea he put forward.

Professor Joseph Sung, President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), visited us. We have an ongoing partnership with CUHK and discussed many opportunities for future collaboration.

I made several films to congratulate the growing number of alumni associations in China, which are doing incredibly well. I managed (with the help of some phonetic text) to congratulate them in Mandarin and to wish them well. I must learn a little Mandarin beyond my current four words.

I chaired a meeting to discuss our strengths in ‘Fintech’, which describes companies that use new technology and innovation in order to compete in the marketplace of traditional financial institutions and intermediaries in the delivery of financial services – a combination of traditional finance with digital and computing expertise. Given the huge growth and opportunity in this area, we discussed how we can capitalise on the great opportunities in Manchester and well beyond.

I gave a keynote speech at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Powertech Conference, held in at our University, called: ‘Advice to a Young Scientist’. I spoke to almost 700 attendees about my career and some lessons I have learnt. This is the first time the conference has been held in the UK.

Senior colleagues and I were taken on a ‘history tour’ of the North campus, by the University Historian and Heritage Manager, Dr James Hopkins. We had previously been taken on a tour by James of the Main campus and requested something similar for the North campus where we heard the history of UMIST and its buildings.

Professor Clive Agnew (Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students), many other staff and I attended a lunch held by the Students' Union to say goodbye to the current Executive and hello to the new members. Clive and I both spoke about the importance of our relationship with the Students’ Union and that we both attach very high importance to interests of our students.  We also praised Naa Acquah, who has served two terms as General Secretary and who has managed to keep smiling through some difficult times.

Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor

Feedback

Please send comments to: