President's weekly update
6 July
We held the annual Distinguished Achievement Awards event to celebrate the achievements of our staff and students in our splendid Whitworth Hall. Awards were made in the Professional Support Services, Library and cultural institutions for both large and small teams and individuals and in the Faculties to teachers and researchers of the year and undergraduate and postgraduate research students of the year. The event was attended by award winners, their guests, nominators and staff from across the University. You can find out more about the winners at:
At the Board of the Russell Group of Vice-Chancellors we discussed many obvious topics, including likely changes that might be brought in by the new government, international students, results of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF, in which the Russell Group generally did quite well, though three universities were awarded bronze - we received silver), Brexit and pensions. The dinner guest was Jo Johnson, the Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation and we covered similar topics and the possible impact of the outcome of the general election.
The Chief Executive of the Nuffield Foundation, Tim Gardam, visited us. I met him over lunch to discuss the main areas of funding of the Foundation, which will spend an extra £20 million per annum on research and training. The Foundation has particular interests in education and skills, children and families, economic advantage and disadvantage and law in society. Before meeting with me Tim discussed many common research interests with a group of staff from across the University, then we discussed (yet again) the importance of data on health and social care.
I spoke at an event in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Anthony Burgess, who was a graduate of our University and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1982. The event was hosted by our Centre for New Writing which has a list of distinguished past and present members.
At the last Planning and Resources Committee meeting of the academic year we welcomed the new General Secretary of the Students’ Union, Alex Taylor. It was a full agenda as we discussed the TEF, student applications for study in the next academic year and the importance of maintaining quality of entrants, our Public Engagement Strategy, insurance of our assets and our risk register, in addition to the normal business.
I attended the annual Soiree at the Royal Society which displays many exhibits of science and is open to the general public during the daytime - especially children. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet so many old friends and key contacts in science.
Senior staff from the Wellcome Trust visited to discuss their programmes and funding for neuroscience. They met many of our neuroscience researchers, including me, to discuss major opportunities for funding and a new initiative that is being planned for significant funding for mental health research. This could be very relevant to us because they are interested in health inequalities and the bridge between medical and social sciences.
I met one of our Chinese alumni, Philip Zhang, who is very active in our Alumni Association in Beijing. Philip has developed a brilliant app to help people learn to speak Mandarin. He has donated this to all students linked to our Confucius Institute - I am hoping to get it downloaded on to my phone.
I met Dr Andrew Hosty, Chief Executive of the Royce Institute. This is a partnership in advanced materials with the hub (with £150m of external funding for the building and equipment) in Manchester and collaborators across the UK. Progress is good and the relationship between the hub and partners is developing well. You can read more about Andrew and the Royce Institute at:
I spoke as part of a panel at a Manchester International Festival event in Festival Square on internationalisation, chaired by Andy Bounds, northern correspondent for the Financial Times. I described our particular strengths and the opportunities in health, life sciences and in advanced materials, the importance of our international students and our key academic and commercial international links. We heard about the rapid growth in tourism to the region and the planned increases in direct long and short haul flights from Manchester Airport.
Manchester International Festival is now running with a huge range of events, several involving the University. For a guide to events, visit: