Message from the Vice-President and Dean

04 Jul 2025

This week, Fiona reflects on what this time of year means for current and potential students of the future, updates on the work of the Global Graduates programme in New York, and celebrates the success of colleagues’ promotions and the Faculty’s numerous early career researcher Fellows who will join us soon.

Dear All

As we come towards the end of another academic year, I often reflect on the different life stages this time of year represents for our soon-to-be graduates, our existing students and those who may have taken their first steps to becoming a Manchester student in the near future.

The last two Saturdays of June saw thousands of prospective students visit the University for undergraduate open days. We had very warm and sunny weather, and many of our subject talks and information stands were busy as colleagues and student ambassadors gave visitors a snapshot of what they can expect if they come to study with us and live in our wonderful city.

For our current students part-way through their course it is the time they receive their exam results and can look ahead to their next year of study and the opportunities which that can provide.

I am once again hugely looking forward to taking part in graduation ceremonies for our final-year undergraduates and many of our postgraduate taught and postgraduate research students, which begin next week. It is such an honour to join our graduates, their families and friends in celebrating this important milestone.

Global Graduates in New York

Giving people from under-represented groups the chance to thrive in higher education and unlock their talent has always been a mission of our University. Last month I enjoying meeting several students in New York City who are benefitting from our Global Graduates programme, which takes this work a stage further.

Funded by generous alumni donors, the programme offers students from lower-income backgrounds high-profile workplace experiences across global cities including San Franciso, Zurich, Hong Kong, Singapore and London. The Global Graduates reception took place at management consultancy EY’s Manhattan offices, hosted by Manchester alumnus Paul Clark EY Partner, Global Alliance Leaders.

Guests including alumni and EY staff enjoyed hearing from eight of our Global Graduates, who shared experiences of their week in New York and the invaluable skills, knowledge and networks it has helped them develop. It was inspiring to find out first-hand how transformative the opportunities our institution makes available can be.

Venture Further Awards

Another excellent example of helping students fulfil their potential are the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre’s (MEC’s) Venture Further Awards. The UK’s leading university-led start-up competition, the awards attracted a record 175 entries this year. I attended the final event where 20 finalists pitched their business ventures across five categories, with winners each receiving £15,000 in funding.

Although MEC is based in AMBS, the awards are open to students and graduates across all Faculties, and it was great to see eight entries, including two winners and two second-placed prizes, from Humanities. It is just one demonstration of the important part innovation and social impact play in our Faculty and across the University as a whole.

Promotions and Fellowships

I am really delighted that 44 colleagues have been promoted to Senior Lectureships, four colleagues to Reader, two colleagues to Senior Research Fellow and 27 colleagues to Professorships in this year’s promotion round. It is exciting to see so many colleagues thrive here in Manchester and advance their careers in teaching and research. I am also very grateful to the two Faculty Promotions Committees who worked very hard too.

Supporting early career researchers is a key focus of the Faculty and I am really thrilled that we have awarded 26 fully funded post-doctoral fellowships this year. It is very uplifting to be supporting the next generation of scholars. Twelve of the awards are part of the University’s Bicentenary investment to recruit and back early career researchers between 2025 and 2027.

All three-year Fellowships have been awarded to outstanding researchers within four years of their PhD, with research centred on the priority research themes of Digital Futures, Sustainable Futures, Creativity, Global Inequalities and Adaptive Societies. Along with awards from the University centrally and external funders, it has been one of the strongest recent years for Fellowships in the Faculty, which is fantastic.

Two other recent external awards which are part of this impressive trend are a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship for Dr Ed Pulford and a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for Dr Maria Christou, both SALC colleagues. The competition for these Fellowships is intense and the peer review process is rigorous. Congratulations to Ed and Maria.

Distinguished Achievement Awards

Celebrating the success of both our staff and students came together under one roof yesterday lunchtime with the Distinguished Achievement Awards ceremony, held in Whitworth Hall. It was lovely to have five Faculty colleagues and students receive awards for their outstanding contributions across a range of areas.

Professor Melanie Giles (SALC) was presented with the Researcher of the Year award, while AMBS’s Professor Ali Owrak won the Teacher of the Year award. Niamh Cashell (SoSS) received the Postgraduate Research Student of the Year award and the Postgraduate Taught Student of the Year was Cemal Alomar (SALC). The Undergraduate Student of the Year award went to Roan Goulden (SoSS).

Global Manchester event

In an increasingly unstable world, the humanities play a vital role in providing context, ethical insight and critical thinking to address global challenges. The Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute’s (HCRI’s) participation in a special ‘Global Manchester’ event last night, highlighting the needs of communities affected by conflict, demonstrates the impact we can make by collaborating with like-minded partners to drive positive change.

Hosted in the Samuel Alexander Building by MAG (Mines Advisory Group), the event brought together Greater Manchester-based humanitarian organisations including Action for Humanity, Hope for Justice, UK-Med, and Omega Research Foundation. It showcased the collective global contribution of HCRI and these organisations, with Duncan delivering a powerful address.

The occasion showed how, as a great civic university with institutes, centres and other bodies having a real influence on policy and action on the ground, we are in a fantastic position to build on the Manchester 2035 foundations of social responsibility and our position as a distinct Manchester institution with global reach.

Regards Fiona

Professor Fiona Devine, Vice-President and Dean, Faculty of Humanities