President's weekly update
18 November 2021
Industrial action update
Most regrettably, UCU has now reported that there will be strike action based on the recent ballot on pay on 1, 2, and 3 December with action short of a strike (ASOS, which will consist of members only working their contracted hours and duties and not volunteering to do more) continuously from 1st December. We will of course do our utmost to minimise the impact on all of our activities, but particularly on our students.
Governance review
This week we discussed the recommendations and suggestions arising from the independent review of our
COP26
COP26 may have ended but we remain committed to driving climate action. In the last two weeks alone, we've extended 10,000 Actions into 50,000 Actions, creating the biggest sustainability initiative in higher education; and opened the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub, led by Professor Mike Shaver, the new Director of Sustainable Futures, to help SMEs reduce, reuse and embed plastics in the circular economy.
International activities
In a meeting with our North American Foundation (
Regional engagement
At a regular meeting with leaders from Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), we each gave an update on the Comprehensive Spending Review, which had some positive outcomes but also concerns emerging around Northern transport. We all await the government’s pending levelling-up white paper. University staff reported on progress on a number of major initiatives, particularly in innovation and business engagement and skills.
In a meeting with the four other vice-chancellors in Greater Manchester (GM), with all except the University of Bolton facing industrial action, we shared our concerns about the
Internal meetings
With senior colleagues and a representative of our Students’ Union, we began the annual round of school visits, with the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED). Students attending were largely international and asked about study online which is under discussion, and graduation ceremonies. Staff raised concerns about space, given the significant over recruitment of students this year, and professional support services particularly in HR, IT and research contracts and post-award transactions where we are well aware of pressures for a range of reasons, not least still due to COVID.
Minister for Universities
The Russell Group had a meeting with Michelle Donelan, Minister for Universities. She didn’t give out any information on the likely government response to the Augar review but indicated that it would be coming out ‘shortly’. She reaffirmed that barring a massive change in COVID infections (eg due to a new variant) any potential future changes to restrictions would be unlikely to apply to universities, where infection rates are very low. We also discussed pending actions on lifelong learning, the plans for the Office for Students to reduce bureaucracy and the need for universities to better promote the benefits of blended learning.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor