President's weekly update
2 March 2017
At the Social Responsibility (SR) Governance Group this week, which I chair, we heard about international opportunities, particularly in relation to student volunteering overseas, and the research undertaken by our Global Development Institute. There are specific opportunities we are developing with Indian companies which must spend 2% of net annual profits on social responsibility. We also discussed wider dissemination of our SR activities and priorities to our students, our plans for public and community engagement, priorities for the next year, a review of academic leads for key SR activities and how we secure stronger support for our public engagement activities from internal and external funding sources.
With Professor Clive Agnew, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, I visited two Schools this week. In the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, we heard about recruitment of new academic staff and improved grant income. Students were very positive about their undergraduate and postgraduate experiences but were very clearly against the idea of a two-year degree – as recently suggested by government – one said that in chemical engineering ‘it would be dangerous’. In the staff meeting we discussed the ongoing review of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Brexit and teaching efficiencies.
During our visit to the School of Computer Science we discussed the current review of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Brexit and many new opportunities around data sciences. Students asked about exam marking and overseas fees and praised the School Staff Student liaison committee.
Andy Burnham MP, Labour candidate for the position of elected mayor of Greater Manchester (GM), visited the University. He had tours of the National Graphene Institute and the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons and heard about our widening participation and access programmes for students, community engagement, plans for graphene and other two-dimensional materials and our great cultural assets. We were keen to emphasise the value of the very strong and multiple partnerships between the University, the City of Manchester and GM more widely.
I also hosted a visit by Professor Alex Halliday, Vice-President of the Royal Society, who I know well from my time on the Royal Society Council. Alex met holders of Royal Society Fellowships and our Fellows of the Royal Society and learnt about plans in health, particularly related to devolution, the Sir Henry Royce Institute and graphene. He had a tour of the University campus, the National Graphene Institute and visited Jodrell Bank Observatory and Discovery Centre. He was particularly keen to hear views of any changes in the way the Royal Society operates that would be helpful.
I chaired a citizenship ceremony in my role as Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester to formally confer British citizenship on about twenty people from 12 countries.
I was filmed for a video to mark five years of the BP International Centre for Advanced Materials (ICAM) to discuss why this was so important to us, the many successes to date (not least as a very firm foundation for the Sir Henry Royce Institute) and our expectations for the future. It is unusual for industry to grant such long-term funding to universities ($100m over ten years) and an important component of the ICAM, of which we are the hub, is the partnership with the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London and the University of Illinois at Urbana in the US.
I was also filmed talking about our Student Lifecycle Project which aims to improve the way we interact with our students and enhance their experience. The project is led by Professor Clive Agnew, and is a collaboration between our Directorate for Student Experience and IT Services and should lead to benefits for staff as well as students.
Senior colleagues and I have spent much time preparing for the Annual Board of Governors’ Accountability and Planning Conference at which we review progress over the past year towards Manchester 2020 and discuss future plans, opportunities and risks. The conference is held at our Chancellor’s Hotel in Fallowfield, which will reopen on Monday, 6 March after an extensive refurbishment. You can book Chancellors for meetings, conferences, weddings or just a meal and overnight stay and you can find out more at:
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
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