This month has felt very short and very busy – probably the result of the Easter break compressing deadlines. I hope you all managed to get some downtime, even if it was just a long weekend.  

A real highlight for me this month was the GDI conference on ‘The Future of Global Development’. It was really stimulating to participate in two days of discussions on such wide-ranging topics and to hear from learned and high-profile speakers such as Winnie Byanyima (Head of UNAIDS), Daniela Gabor (Professor at SOAS and former advisor to the G20 and European Parliament), and leading economist Jim O’Neill. Videos of the plenaries and some of the panel discussions are on the GDI YouTube page – well worth a watch! Huge congratulations to the whole team for putting together such a stellar and well-attended event. 

Congratulations also to MIE colleagues behind the English Pronunciation Issues & Practices which was successfully staged in Manchester for the first time earlier this month, attracting participants from all over Europe, as well as from North America and Asia. And to Steven Courtney, who was recently elected as the new Chair of the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS). 

Looking ahead, on 7th May we’ll be welcoming our Dean of Humanities, Fiona Devine, for her annual visit to the School. I hope that many of you will be able to join us for a Q&A session with Fiona from 11am on that day. We’re in a time of change for the University (and for the wider world) which is exciting but also can be unsettling – this is your opportunity to raise important questions with senior leadership as well as hearing more detail about some of those changes.  

I am very pleased that we have appointed two exceptional colleagues to join the School’s research leadership team. From 1st August, Prof Gareth Clay (Geography) will be joining the School Executive, taking over from Prof Pam Qualter, as our new Research Director while Dr Jeremy Carter (PPEM) will be our new Associate Director Research Impact, replacing Prof Stefan Bouzarovski. We will have an opportunity later in the summer to thank Pam and Stefan for the excellent work they’ve done in their respective roles. Gareth and Jeremy will have a particularly critical role in the coming years as they help to steer us in preparation for REF 2029. In the meantime, they will be shadowing Pam and Stefan from May onwards. In addition, I’m pleased to report that Prof Sam Hickey and Dr Alan Lewis have both agreed to extend their terms as HoDs (for GDI and Architecture respectively) by one year to 31 July 2027. 

We are now heading towards exam season, which I know can be a fraught time for students and staff alike. Please do signpost our students to the support services that are available to them, including the SEED Student Support Hub (on the ground floor of Humanities Bridgeford Street) and the study and revision services offered by the Library.  

At the same time as looking after our students, please also look after your own wellbeing and that of your colleagues. April is Stress Awareness Month and the University has put together a range of resources and events to help manage workplace stress – find out more here. Staff wellbeing is key to our School, and one of the things I’ve really enjoyed doing in recent weeks, when time allows, is to drop in to staff wellbeing sessions that regularly take place in the student hub. Aroma therapy making was a particular highlight! 

With the Dean’s visit and next week’s SEED social coming up, I hope to see many of you in person in the next few weeks.  

Very best wishes 

Khalid