News 

Latest news from the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures (SALC).

• Message from the Vice-President and Dean
  This week, Fiona celebrates colleague recognition and appointments, reflects on International Women’s Day and an important MoU event, and looks forward to the opening of the Your Voice Matters survey. (09 Mar 2026)
• Making a Difference Awards 2026: Faculty shortlist announced
  Highlighting the Faculty projects shortlisted for a Making a Difference Award this year. (09 Mar 2026)
• Get to know Joe Blakey, Associate Dean for Environmental Sustainability
  Dr Joe Blakey, Lecturer in Human Geography in SEED, has recently taken over the role of Associate Dean for Environmental Sustainability in the Faculty. We spoke to Joe to find out more about what attracted him to the role, what he hopes to achieve, and his top tips to help colleagues be more sustainable. (09 Mar 2026)
• Find out more about the Emotionally Demanding Research Network (EDRN)
  The EDRN supports researchers and supervisors working on sensitive or emotionally challenging topics. (02 Mar 2026)
• Digital and AI Academy apprenticeship opportunities - build your data and AI skills
  Launching the next Data and AI Academy in partnership with Multiverse. (26 Feb 2026)
• The Legacies of Slavery in Manchester: A Q&A with Kerry Pimblott
  Dr Kerry Pimblott received funding from the Humanities Strategic Civic Engagement Fund (HSCEF) in 2024 for her project on the history and legacies of slavery in Manchester. (19 Feb 2026)
• Service excellence in action: Streamlining the timetabling review process
  To speed up the management of the timetabling review process, the Faculty Scheduling team created a simple, trackable method to review live timetables, quickly work through amendments and give teaching staff oversight of changes. Nick Prideaux from the team explains more. (19 Feb 2026)
• Copying content in Canvas
  A guide to the required processes for copying and importing content from migrated spaces into 25/26 canvas courses. (18 Feb 2026)
• MIE academic recognised in International Top 50 Voices in Higher Education 2026 list
  Dr Miri Firth has been named in Vevox’s Top 50 Voices to Follow in Higher Education 2026, an international list recognising sector-leading influence. She was also included in the Top 100 Influencial People list, highlighting her global impact in employability and flexible assessment. (12 Feb 2026)
• Message from the Vice-President and Dean
  This week, Fiona highlights the launch of NSS 2026, updates on some changes to leadership roles in the Faculty and University, and looks forward to the launch of the Your Voice Matters 2026 colleague engagement survey. (09 Feb 2026)
• Faculty success recognised in THE global subject rankings
  The Faculty of Humanities’ excellence in research and teaching has been acknowledged in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject for 2026. (09 Feb 2026)
• Service excellence in action: Supporting student caregivers
  The Student Support and Wellbeing team in SoSS has designed a student carer support plan for student carers, providing tailored adjustments to address the many challenges they face. Annie Griffin-Carter from the team explains more. (09 Feb 2026)
• Colleagues get involved in Time to Talk Day 2026 events
  This Time to Talk Day, colleagues across the Faculty hosted a range of activities for staff to encourage open conversations around mental health and wellbeing. (09 Feb 2026)
• Exploring the role of students as researchers: A Q&A with Jen O’Brien
  Professor Jen O’Brien received funding from the Humanities Strategic Civic Engagement Fund (HSCEF) in 2024 for her project with Ardwick Climate Action to understand Hums StARs – Students As Researchers – through the lens of our green space on campus. (09 Feb 2026)
• Colleagues craft living willow fence for Humanities Garden
  The Faculty’s Environmental Sustainability team gathered to build the fence as part of a special workshop. (09 Feb 2026)
• Nominees celebrated at second Faculty Office Appreciation Awards
  A special event took place in Christie’s Bistro last week to recognise the nominees of this year’s Faculty Office Appreciation Awards. (09 Feb 2026)
• Check in with your teams about line manager information visibility in Microsoft 365
  You can now view your own and other colleagues’ line manager information in MS365 applications, such as Teams and Outlook. (06 Feb 2026)
• Peer mentoring for PGR supervisors
  PGR supervisors are invited to join Peer Mentoring Circles: small, collaborative groups designed to strengthen supervisory practice. (05 Feb 2026)
• Introducing our new official carpooling scheme
  Boost your active commute with our new carpooling scheme. (05 Feb 2026)
• Planned network disruption on 17 and 19 February
  There is planned disruption to network services overnight on 17 and 19 February due to essential work taking place in our data centres. (05 Feb 2026)