President's weekly update
23 May 2019
At the briefing before the Board meeting we heard about progress with devolution of the health budget to Greater Manchester and our role in this. We also had an update on the plans for the new Paterson Redevelopment Project at The Christie after the severe fire damage and the philanthropic donations that will be needed to close the funding gap to complete the building.
At the main Board meeting, Professors Graham Lord, Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health and Peter Clayton, Deputy Dean, spoke about activities in the Faculty and future plans. The Board noted that the Privy Council had approved recommendations for revisions to Statutes recommended by the Board at its meeting in February, following earlier consultation with Senate and General Assembly. We received a report from the General Secretary of the Students’ Union on its priorities and those of students. We noted our annual data on accidents and considered the outcomes of the Board Accountability and Planning conference. The Board discussed the financial implications of increased pension costs and the potential impacts of the Augar Review if it recommends a reduction in the cap on home undergraduate students’ fees.
Similar financial threats were a major part of the discussion at a Russell Group meeting in London, together with a discussion on Brexit, though all agreed that there is little to report at the moment. Professor Sir Adrian Smith, previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, and Professor Graeme Reid, from University College London, spent time with us discussing the review they are leading on possible alternatives to current EU research funding if we are unable to participate in existing schemes after Brexit.
It was a pleasure to meet Lord William Waldegrave, a former universities minister and now chair of Coutts bank, while I was in London. We have held several joint events with Coutts and their customers and Lord Waldegrave attended the most recent one at Jodrell Bank with Professor Brian Cox and me. We agreed to hold further joint events in Manchester and London.
I met with Jon Rouse, Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSCP) and who holds an honorary chair with us, where we each updated on the current work on health. I also attended the Board meeting of Health Innovation Manchester (of which Graham Lord and I are both members) which is the innovation arm of GMHSCP. There has been significant progress on digital health across GM and we hope to secure further major funding.
I gave an opening speech at an event to celebrate The University of Manchester at Harwell where we have considerable research activity at the Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron facility. A key aim now is to broaden the research collaborations beyond science and engineering.
I joined a panel at the Universities Human Resources conference in Manchester with Joanne Roney, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council, to discuss the contribution of universities to the city region, the challenges and the difficulty of making changes. It was the anniversary of the Manchester Arena bomb so we observed a minute’s silence.
The incoming Chief Executive of a company called Descente visited our new Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) where our staff have been working with their subsidiary company inov-8 on graphene enhanced running shoes. They told us of the great success of the shoes and work to incorporate graphene into other sports clothing.
I visited staff in our newly established Division of Teaching, Learning and Student Development (created from a merger of the Student Development and Community Engagement Division, the Teaching and Learning Support Office and the Careers Service) to hear about their work on preparations for the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and the design and delivery of distance and online blended programmes.
Thank you to colleagues who have contributed to the Our Values discussion. Our values will be central to our new strategic plan so you’re invited to take part by sharing your experiences of working here and comment on our existing values at StaffNet. I wrote that I love seeing our students graduating with their teachers and families all smiling.
Congratulations to all our students, staff and alumni, and of course our Chancellor, Lemn Sissay, who ran in the ‘Purple Wave’ as part of the Great Run in Manchester and raised money for charity. You can watch highlights of Lemn with some of our Purple Wave runners on BBC iPlayer (1hr 51mins).
There will be no message next week as I will be away for a few days over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor