President's weekly update
1 October 2020
You will all have seen the recent increase in infections across many parts of the world, including in the UK and in Greater Manchester (GM), which has some of the highest rates in the country. This is a difficult and worrying time for our community, and we fully recognise the understandable concerns of our students and staff. There has been much reporting of outbreaks in universities and we have seen a rising number of positive cases of infection in students, which is a cause for concern, while staff numbers with confirmed infection remain thankfully very low.
Our top priority is the safety and well-being of students and staff, which is why we have put in place a comprehensive range of support measures, which are under constant review.
We have issued clear guidelines on reporting students or staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are self-isolating because of potential exposure, and have published an update on campus operations, including the delivery of teaching and learning, in the light of our position on teaching to Tier 2 statement which aligns with government advice.
We are providing self-isolating students with access to a dedicated food delivery service, a laundry pick up service and online prescription delivery. Making sure our students have emotional support is really important and we are ensuring they are aware of the online 24/7 support available through Togetherall, our University Counselling Service and the additional support our ResLife teams can provide. All have access to online events, library facilities and our Students’ Union and we are checking all students regularly.
We are being as transparent as possible and will be publishing a daily update (Monday to Friday) showing known confirmed cases among students and staff. We are in regular contact with local public health leaders who are advising on any actions we should take. Please remind staff and students of the requirement to wear face coverings (unless they have a clear reason for exemption) and other safety measures such as keeping a two-metre distance.
Our arrangements ensure that our campus remains as safe a place as possible to work and study, in line with Government guidance. We will continue to review the situation and our response, and will keep staff informed of any changes.
In activities not related to the pandemic the Vice-Chancellors of each of the five GM universities, which has now formed the GM Universities Forum, met with the principals of the nine GM Colleges of Further Education to discuss how we can work more closely together to deliver educational benefit across the region. We will be holding further meetings to take our ideas forwards.
Researchers from the Global Development Institute have been awarded a new grant of £32 million from the government as part of UK Aid, to establish the African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC). Led by Professor Diana Mitlin, ACRC and its international partners will tackle complex problems in some of Africa’s fastest growing urban areas. Over six years, research will generate new evidence to catalyse integrated, sustainable, inclusive approaches to urban development.
I attended a virtual fundraising event with Lord Jim O’Neill, who holds an honorary chair with us. There was amazing attendance from the UK, Europe, USA and Asia for the event which was hosted by Rory Brooks, former chair of our Global Leadership Foundation and a major donor to the University.
The Board of our Biomedical Research Centre heard updates from each of the members on how our medical and health research quickly pivoted to undertake research into understanding COVID-19 and why different people respond differently to infection, had participated in trials of new treatments and vaccines and researched the social and economic impacts of the pandemic and lockdown.
At a meeting with leaders from across the University we discussed student recruitment, including recruitment of international students. The latter is looking slightly better than we had feared, though it is still too early to be certain how many will actually register.
I am doing a series of online events with alumni and donors from the Far East since I will not be taking my usual trip to China, Hong Kong and Singapore. This week Professor Markos Zachariades, Professor of Financial Technology and I spoke to over 600 participants, organised by Sherry Fu and her colleagues in our Shanghai Centre. I also spoke at another event with Professor Steve Furber, one of our leading researchers in Computer Science, with participants from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.
In my role as chair of the Russell Group, I chaired a formal meeting of the Board of 24 Vice-Chancellors in which we shared experiences of COVID-19. All are maintaining some face-to-face teaching, where it is safe and feasible to do so. We were joined by Kevin Foster, Under Secretary of State for Immigration and Visas, to discuss the recruitment of international staff and students, the speed and cost of visas and the welcome reintroduction of the post-study work visa for our graduates.
At another Russell Group meeting, we were joined by senior staff from the Treasury. They told us that although the budget has been cancelled this autumn, the Spending Review will proceed. I also had meetings with staff at the Russell Group and another with the chairs of each of the working groups to hear about priorities, most of which are identical to our own.
I joined a small informal meeting with Amanda Solloway, Under-Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation, to discuss ‘people and culture’ in research and innovation.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor