President's Weekly Update
3 December 2015
I hosted a dinner at the Royal Society in London for about 100 of our alumni and guests, many of whom are generous donors to the University. I gave an update on the University and Dr Ania Jolly from the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences gave an excellent talk on graphene and its applications, particularly in medicine.
Just before this event it was a pleasure to catch up with Sir Ralph and Lady Zahava Kohn for afternoon tea. Ralph has three degrees from the University and is a very generous supporter of our research on brain disease.
I delivered a presentation as part of the final session of our Headstart programme for staff from across the University who aspire to take on leadership positions. I talked about my own experience of leadership, the challenges and rewards, and then I answered a range of questions before handing out certificates to mark their successful completion of the course.
I spent a day at the Royal Society for its Council meeting and the annual Councillor’s lunch at which we said farewell to those who are retiring, including the President, Professor Sir Paul Nurse. Society staff had commissioned a great caricature by Gerald Scarfe. We welcomed new members and the new President, Professor Sir Venki Ramakrishnan. Following this, I attended the Anniversary meeting for Fellows, then the open session including the award of medals. This occasion included a report on the main activities of the Society over the last year from the Executive Director and the President’s Anniversary Address.
Senior colleagues and I met Rob Cotton, Chief Executive of NCC group, a growing company that works on cyber security and has its headquarters in Manchester. We explored many areas, including student exchange, internships, graduate recruitment and research collaborations.
Rohan Silva visited us. He met with Professor Colin Bailey, Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, and me and had a quick tour of the campus with Professor Andy Westwood, Associate Vice-President for Public Affairs. Rohan is one of our graduates in law, whom I have met several times in his role as senior policy advisor to the Prime Minister. He now runs an innovative business incubator called Second Home in London’s Tech City and is keen to explore similar opportunities in Manchester.
I also met Jamil Khalil, a very successful local entrepreneur who runs an innovative internet company called Wakelet. Jamil has employed several of our graduates and offers some interesting opportunities for student projects and web based information for students and staff.
At the Senior Leadership Team meeting we reviewed this year’s Annual Performance Reviews and discussed outcomes, main targets for the coming year and the format of the reviews.
Last month, I reported that all of the staff on the Redeployment Register have either been redeployed to other roles or have accepted voluntary severance. I am also pleased to report that we are now very hopeful of achieving the target reduction in jobs in IT Services through voluntary severance, so there should be no need to initiate consultations on compulsory redundancy. We also held a very constructive meeting with all three campus trades unions earlier this week about future arrangements in relation to the Redeployment Register.
I spoke at The Whitehall & Industry Group’s Annual Women's Networking Lunch on women in leadership to an audience of about 130 delegates (all female). I talked about my career, leadership style and what it is like leading a University. From the many questions, it seemed that while there were notable similarities with running companies, there were also some quite fundamental differences. Several of the attendees were University of Manchester graduates or had children who are studying with us - all enjoying their experience enormously!
We have launched our Making a Difference Awards 2016 this week. The 10 awards recognise and celebrate the many different types of social responsibility achievements of our staff, students and alumni. You could raise the profile of your work and communicate and enhance its impact by entering here:
The University’s new magazine, produced by the Division of Communications and Marketing, is out now, both online and on news-stands across campus. It will appear three times a year and is an expression of the spirit of exploration, discovery and innovation that defines our University. To view it online or to find out where you can pick up a copy, go to:
Congratulations to Dr David Brough from the Faculty of Life Sciences who won the Bionow Promising Technologist of the Year Award. Dave did his PhD with me, then returned to Manchester after spending several years in Cambridge.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
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