President's Weekly Update
10 December 2015
I chaired a dinner of the Russell Group of Vice-Chancellors in London. The guest was the Minister for Universities and Science, Jo Johnson. There was much to discuss as so much is happening in higher education at the moment. We all agreed that the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review was much better than we had expected. We also discussed the consultation on the recent green paper which focuses on teaching quality and student choice amongst other things, the Nurse review of Research Councils, the importance of international students and the potential impact of the Etherington report on fundraising on our ability to raise donations from our alumni.
In London I also co-chaired the Council for Science and Technology with Sir Mark Walport where we discussed ongoing projects and future plans, interventions to improve educational outcomes and managing large and secure data sets.
I gave a talk to the Centre for Higher Education Research, Innovation and Learning (CHERIL) annual conference on practice and policy. I talked about how we integrate our core activities in research, education and social responsibility and how we enhance the educational experience of our students. This was, of course, in the context of major changes to the way universities are funded and overseen. Questions ranged from the challenges of measuring ‘teaching quality’, how we are distinctive in our offer to students and how we best influence government.
It was a pleasure to speak at the retirement event for Professor Margot Brazier. Margot gained a first class degree at the university in law at the age of only 20, and has been an academic ever since. She is acclaimed nationally and internationally for her research on healthcare law and bioethics, some of which has led to changes in the law, her role on many major national committees, her outstanding teaching and her great role as a mentor to many younger staff-a number of who attended the event.
I spoke at the launch of the new South Asia Gallery at our Museum. The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced £5m funding for the new gallery which will include expansion space for temporary exhibitions. The Chair and Director of the British Museum were at the event which sought input from the audience on what they would want of a new gallery.
In a meeting the same day with Professor Brian Cox, we discussed projects for ESOF (EuroScience Open Forum) using exhibits in the Museum and how he can contribute to local schools.
Last week I reported that we were hopeful of achieving the target reduction in jobs in IT Services through redeployment to other roles or through voluntary severance, as we had for staff on the redeployment register last month. I am pleased to report this week that this is indeed the case, so there will be no need to initiate consultations on compulsory redundancy.
I have just started this year’s round of Performance and Development Reviews (PDR) with all staff who report to me, then I will have my own PDR with the Chair of our Board.
I was interviewed and filmed for a leadership course for our students in nursing and midwifery, where I stressed the value of engaging and learning about leadership early in training. I gave the example of the value of my role as leader of the men’s and women’s rugby clubs and managing the bar committee early during my time as an undergraduate-I learnt a great deal!
At Senior Leadership Team meetings this week we discussed distance learning, how we support the next generation of University leaders, the distinctiveness of Social Responsibility for the University, how we grasp the opportunities of the Northern Powerhouse and the evolution of powers and budgets to greater Manchester. Finally, we considered the values and risks of standardising processes across the University in order to realise savings, increase effectiveness, optimise collaborations between various parts of the University and meet ever pressing needs of external engagement, most urgently in our IT support where we will need major investment and new tools.
For most of this week I will be in India as part of a ministerial visit with Jo Johnson and Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. In less than three days we are visiting Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
Feedback
Please send comments to: president@manchester.ac.uk
President's Weekly Update
10 December 2015
I chaired a dinner of the Russell Group of Vice-Chancellors in London. The guest was the Minister for Universities and Science, Jo Johnson. There was much to discuss as so much is happening in higher education at the moment. We all agreed that the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review was much better than we had expected. We also discussed the consultation on the recent green paper which focuses on teaching quality and student choice amongst other things, the Nurse review of Research Councils, the importance of international students and the potential impact of the Etherington report on fundraising on our ability to raise donations from our alumni.
In London I also co-chaired the Council for Science and Technology with Sir Mark Walport where we discussed ongoing projects and future plans, interventions to improve educational outcomes and managing large and secure data sets.
I gave a talk to the Centre for Higher Education Research, Innovation and Learning (CHERIL) annual conference on practice and policy. I talked about how we integrate our core activities in research, education and social responsibility and how we enhance the educational experience of our students. This was, of course, in the context of major changes to the way universities are funded and overseen. Questions ranged from the challenges of measuring ‘teaching quality’, how we are distinctive in our offer to students and how we best influence government.
It was a pleasure to speak at the retirement event for Professor Margot Brazier. Margot gained a first class degree at the university in law at the age of only 20, and has been an academic ever since. She is acclaimed nationally and internationally for her research on healthcare law and bioethics, some of which has led to changes in the law, her role on many major national committees, her outstanding teaching and her great role as a mentor to many younger staff-a number of who attended the event.
I spoke at the launch of the new South Asia Gallery at our Museum. The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced £5m funding for the new gallery which will include expansion space for temporary exhibitions. The Chair and Director of the British Museum were at the event which sought input from the audience on what they would want of a new gallery.
In a meeting the same day with Professor Brian Cox, we discussed projects for ESOF (EuroScience Open Forum) using exhibits in the Museum and how he can contribute to local schools.
Last week I reported that we were hopeful of achieving the target reduction in jobs in IT Services through redeployment to other roles or through voluntary severance, as we had for staff on the redeployment register last month. I am pleased to report this week that this is indeed the case, so there will be no need to initiate consultations on compulsory redundancy.
I have just started this year’s round of Performance and Development Reviews (PDR) with all staff who report to me, then I will have my own PDR with the Chair of our Board.
I was interviewed and filmed for a leadership course for our students in nursing and midwifery, where I stressed the value of engaging and learning about leadership early in training. I gave the example of the value of my role as leader of the men’s and women’s rugby clubs and managing the bar committee early during my time as an undergraduate-I learnt a great deal!
At Senior Leadership Team meetings this week we discussed distance learning, how we support the next generation of University leaders, the distinctiveness of Social Responsibility for the University, how we grasp the opportunities of the Northern Powerhouse and the evolution of powers and budgets to greater Manchester. Finally, we considered the values and risks of standardising processes across the University in order to realise savings, increase effectiveness, optimise collaborations between various parts of the University and meet ever pressing needs of external engagement, most urgently in our IT support where we will need major investment and new tools.
For most of this week I will be in India as part of a ministerial visit with Jo Johnson and Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. In less than three days we are visiting Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
Feedback
Please send comments to: president@manchester.ac.uk