President's weekly update
13 September 2018
This week has seen the launch of Our Future– an initiative to encourage colleagues to think about what the future holds for our University and share their ideas about the kind of institution we want to be – looking as far ahead as 2030. The ideas which you put forward will help to develop our University’s strategic vision and subsequent strategic plan. This is a very different approach to developing our vision and strategic plan which gives a voice to our University’s greatest asset – you, our staff. We will also be engaging with our students and external stakeholders. You’ll be hearing more about Our Future from your manager, through StaffNet and other University communications channels over the coming weeks and I’d encourage you to get involved by taking part in dedicated team meetings, University-wide events or by putting forward your own ideas online.
Many international students are now arriving on campus. I am sure you will make them feel welcome - for most it will be the first time they have travelled so far from home. Next week (Monday, 17 September) is the start of Welcome Week for all our students. I hope that you will all wear your ‘Ask Me’ badges and answer any queries students have.
I spent most of last week in the Far East, particularly in Hong Kong. It was a busy time meeting individually with several of our major supporters. We also held a special event to thank them all for their generosity. I attended a Board meeting of our Hong Kong Foundation. This does a great deal to support us forging partnerships in Hong Kong, identifying and introducing alumni and other potential friends of the University and supporting students. Many members of the Foundation will come to Manchester in October for a joint meeting with our Global Leadership Board and North American Foundation, and they will attend our Foundation Day.
I attended a large alumni event in Hong Kong which was lively as always, with many photos and excitement. I gave an update on the University and thanked the University Alumni Association of Hong Kong, which is one of our most active associations. I was given a lovely purple heart-shaped badge with my name in lights!
I visited the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) with which we have a formal partnership and some funds for collaboration. I met their new President, Professor Rocky Tuan, who knows us quite well as he was on the external advisory board for our Wellcome Trust Centre for Extracellular Matrix Biology. We both agreed on the success of the collaboration and welcomed the fact that we would extend and expand our previous collaborative fund with details of the next phase to be announced soon. Please also note a new collaborative fund with the University of Toronto which is open for applications.
From Hong Kong I travelled for a day by car to Shenzen in China (it will be much quicker in a few weeks when the high speed train link opens). There I visited the headquarters of Huawei to discuss collaborations in research, student internships and graduate recruitment. They are opening an office in Manchester very soon which will make working with them even easier. I met the Deputy Party Chairwoman of Shenzen and heard about the massive growth of the city (20 million population, from a small fishing village just 30 years ago), then visited Tsinghua University’s Shenzen campus. I will be meeting the President of Tsinghua main campus on a trip to Beijing later this month.
Back here in Manchester we held the official opening of Brunswick Park which was attended by many from our Directorate of Estates and Facilities, the designers and members of the construction team, senior staff and members of Brunswick local community. It looks beautiful and the sun even shone briefly. I thanked all those involved in the completion of this complicated project and those who have had to put up with disruption. I hope you will all agree the park is a wonderful addition to our campus.
I had a tour of the new Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites hotel which recently opened and will be known as ‘The Lume’. It is just behind the Alliance Manchester Business School and adjoins our new Executive Education suite (so right on campus) and it is extremely impressive. It has a gym for residents, conference facilities, and provides a great option for visitors to the University in the hotel, or for those here on longer trips in the Staybridge Suites. It also has a bar and restaurant that are open to non-residents. Further details and booking details are available at: Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites.
I spoke at the closing event for the first cohort of our Inspiring Leaders programme which is our new development programme for leaders here at the University. I heard about what they had learnt during the programme and how they will take this forward. Key words participants wrote on the posters about their future actions included engaging more with their staff, focus and creating time, being brave and thinking differently and testing new ways of working.
I had my first meeting with Patrick Hackett, who joined us on 1 September and will take over from Will Spinks as Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer on 1 October. Patrick has already met numerous people and is getting to know the University well.
On a visit to London I met several of our UK donors to update them on the University and discuss the impact of their very significant gifts. I also attended the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, which I co-chair with Patrick Vallance, the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor. Growth in research and development spend, stimulating innovation and the key areas of the government’s industrial strategy were the main topics of discussion.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor