President's weekly update

17 February 2022

Board of Governors

Our Board members had a session with a group of about 30 undergraduate and postgraduate students, to hear their views and concerns, some of which we have actions ongoing and others we will be following up.

At the Board of Governors meeting, we considered performance metrics and the new online dashboard for Board members, which was very well received. Professor Luke Georghiou, Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, reported on our performance in innovation, which has been very strong, including a record number of spin-out companies. My regular report included the government’s Levelling Up White Paper, student numbers for this year and applications for next year and the USS pension.  They also heard the very positive response to our external stakeholder survey.

We have been asked by UUK to comment on the UCU proposals which have now been costed by USS, which I described last week. UCU argues that the cost is lower than that determined by USS, but it is the latter which determines formal costings, then consults the employers and then has to gain approval from the pension regulator. The Committee of University Chairs (CUC) has issued a statement.

We heard the mid-year update on our financial position, which is relatively healthy though with many calls on expenditure. The Board also discussed member skills and succession planning, and in my absence, members discussed my performance over the past year.

A recommendation of our independent review of governance last year was to give staff and students more insights into the working of our Board – and to know its members better. To start this rolling, we are preparing a range of communications including individual profiles of Board members. The first profiles of Edward Astle and Jatin Patel have been published this week with more to come.

School visit

In a series of meetings with senior staff, and open meetings with students and then with staff in the School of Natural Sciences, students asked for more in-person teaching and felt that feedback for some areas could be improved. Staff commented on workloads due to increased student numbers, the importance of cross-disciplinary and cross-Faculty teaching and research and we heard about their successes in research and strong plans for sustainability and EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion).

Staff open meeting

After a general update, we answered questions on car parking, flexible learning, IT support, and why we cannot move more quickly towards net zero.  The answer to the latter question is complex and includes the high costs of transition, right sources of funding, rapidly changing technologies, and ensuring we invest in the right technologies at the right time; additionally, some of the changes such as the major refurbishment of buildings will need careful planning to minimise disruptions. We are already putting a lot of effort to map a pathway to a zero carbon campus and limiting our emissions and use of energy. Of course, we also undertake a great deal of research on sustainability which potentially could have an even bigger impact – see our Sustainable Futures.

• Watch the open meeting recording

Chinese Scholars and Students Association

At an online event to celebrate the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Tiger, I spoke alongside the Chinese Consul General and The Lord Mayor of Manchester with over 250 attendees.

Greater Manchester Civic Engagement

At one of our regular meetings with leaders of Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority we discussed our actions on the government’s levelling up agenda, some of our ongoing projects and meeting the skills needs of the region where there are now many job vacancies, especially in the digital economy.

Our next Chancellor

Nominations are now open for our next Chancellor to succeed Lemn Sissay. Lemn’s seven-year term will end in the summer but he will take up an honorary chair in creative writing.

Next week - meetings light

We are all trying to minimise the number of meetings next week to give everyone a bit of a break, though we recognise that some meetings will have to go ahead.

Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor

Feedback

• president@manchester.ac.uk