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President's Weekly Update

22 January 2015

Earlier this week, we held a meeting Heads of Schools, Directorates and other University activities. I presented a frank assessment of the key challenges that we face and I emphasised that  we will need a ‘step-change’ in performance if we are to meet the ambitious goals in our strategic plan Manchester 2020.  Our recent progress has been good on many measures, but we now need to focus on how we meet our ambitious goals. That will need some significant changes and challenges.

Professor Luke Georghiou (Vice-President for Research and Innovation) discussed the results of REF and our research priorities for the future, and Steve Mole (Director of Finance) spoke about the future financial challenges we are likely to face, which are significant. We are in a strong financial position just now but we face an array of potential extra costs (pensions, pay etc) and threats to income (notably on government funding for research and teaching) on top of existing cuts, for example to capital funding.

Then I described the University’s other key priorities in teaching and learning, social responsibility and our enabling goals.

Professor Luke Georghiou and I attended a dinner of the N8 (which brings together the eight research intensive universities in the north of England) in Leeds, at which Professor Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, was the guest. The discussion focussed on potential links between N8, the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA, N8 universities and partner hospitals) and the Crick Institute which Paul directs and which will open shortly in London. We considered how NHSA could work with the Crick, particularly in developing strong clinician scientists.

I met Dr Andy Westwood, who will soon take up the post of Associate Vice-President for Public Affairs with us.  Andy is very well connected with many areas of government, policy makers, higher education institutes and influencers and will spend much of his time in London.

I attended a meeting with the Leader of the City Council, Sir Richard Leese, and Professor John Brooks (Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University and current chair of the Oxford Road Corridor consortium, of which we are a member). The purpose was to meet Professor Bruce Katz from the Brookings Institution in the USA, who is an expert in the development of cities and metropolitan areas. We talked about the dramatic changes in Manchester over the past 20 years; the strength of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority; partnerships such as those between the City and local universities; and the implications of devolution of powers to Greater Manchester. The meeting was held in the fantastic Manchester Central Library which has recently reopened after a £50 million refurbishment. We were taken on a tour of the Library, which is spectacular  and well worth a visit.

The Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Professor Phil Nelson, and the Director of the EPSRC, Dr Lesley Thompson, came to Manchester and talked to Professor Colin Bailey (Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor) and me about developing the next stages of the Sir Henry Royce Institute for Materials Research and Innovation.

Professor Clive Agnew (Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students) and I met with Charlie Cook, General Secretary of the University of Manchester Students’ Union (UMSU), to discuss a range of topics facing the Students’ Union. In a separate meeting, we were joined by other colleagues to meet all members of the UMSU Executive and talked about the forthcoming general election and encouraging students to vote, our planned new residences in Fallowfield, UCU industrial action and the results of REF and the implications for the University.

We hosted a small dinner with the National Centre for Universities and Businesses (NCUB) of which we are a member. This was attended by several senior staff from the University and local business leaders. Dr David Doherty, the director of NCUB, outlined their organisation and the wish to be effective beyond the South East. Key issues discussed were the skills gap (particularly in engineering), investors in businesses, the difficulties of companies (especially the smaller ones) of understanding what universities can offer and support for entrepreneurs.

We saw a huge rise in our position in the Stonewall table of organisations with positive attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff, moving from being outside the top 100 to 43rd of about 400 organisations and the third highest university in the table. You can read more at:

We have launched 11 new awards to recognise and celebrate the many different types of social responsibility achievements of our academic and Professional Support Services staff, students and alumni. Please see if you could raise the profile of your work and communicate and enhance its impact by entering:

We said farewell to Professor Ian Jacobs as Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences as he moves to Sydney, Australia to become Vice-Chancellor of the University of New South Wales. Ian bought me a fantastic present after hearing my interview on Desert Island Discs - an easel, set of pencils and charcoals and drawing paper - which was the ‘luxury item’ I chose as a castaway. Anyone who saw the film made for Ian’s leaving event will never see Professor Bernard Keavney (Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Research) in quite the same light again!

     

Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor

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