President's weekly update
2 April 2020
I hope that you are all well in these difficult times. I also hope that you are adapting to working from home which is essential to maintain as many of our activities as possible. I recognise that for some of you this is difficult, not least if you have children at home or other caring responsibilities. Nonetheless it is important that you keep in contact with your line manager over this period.
Most critical just now is maintaining teaching, student contact (eg through online tutorials, chat rooms and personal contact) and preparing for online assessments.
Our staff have been working extremely hard to adapt to and deliver online teaching to our students and we are now preparing online assessments. We are working to ensure that students are not disadvantaged by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
We are also very aware of the serious impact of the current situation on research and particularly on many of our doctoral students and researchers. Staff who are supervising postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers need to maintain regular contact and devise any adjustments to the research work plan where possible. We are in regular dialogue with government and other funders about how we mitigate any adverse impacts.
I’ve had many positive responses to the message that staff who we require to come in to work at the University, such as those in maintenance, student residences, security and our Biological Services Facility, will receive an extra payment, and that all staff will have an additional two days paid holiday over Easter.
We have a number of staff and now some final year students who are working in hospitals or in other healthcare facilities, we should all applaud their very valuable contributions. We are also offering supplies and accommodation to the NHS.
I am also very touched by how many of our staff and students are volunteering to support those who most need help. It is important that all these efforts are coordinated and we have issued guidance on this.
While most laboratory-based research has been suspended, we continue to expand our research that is directly relevant to COVID-19.
We still have nearly 2,000 students in our residences who are unable to travel home or for whom this is their home. I am grateful to all the staff who are looking after them, it will be particularly upsetting for them if they are a long way from their families.
I have had numerous ‘Zoom’ meetings internally and externally. Senior colleagues and I are ‘meeting’ very regularly and we held Finance Sub-Committee by Zoom. The current financial impact of COVID-19 is already significant, with loss of income from residences, catering, shops at our Cultural Institutions, conferences, executive education etc, and with some additional costs for example for laptops and IT support. We are implementing savings in the short term, including recruitment, travel, events, building works and maintenance. We are also looking at the medium and longer term impact of likely changes in home, EU and international student recruitment amongst other significant financial concerns.
We have had very supportive letters from the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, Amanda Solloway and the Minister for Universities, Michelle Donelan, and I had a Zoom meeting with Mark Walport, Chief Executive of UKRI. All recognise the difficulties that universities face in teaching and learning, student support, research (particularly for PhD students and doctoral researchers) and financial impacts.
The Office for Students (OfS) has relaxed many of our reporting obligations. REF 2021 has been delayed and the Home Office has relaxed visa regulations until the end of May.
UoM Sport has created an online community to support staff, students and our wider community to look after health and wellbeing by being active at home. #StayInWorkOut
Please look out for information and messages on StaffNet and email, and I have also recorded video messages for staff, students and alumni. Above all else please continue to follow the Government’s advice to stay healthy.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor