President's weekly update
9 March 2023
Discussions with staff and students
Senior colleagues and I had discussions with staff and students in two of our Schools, and with a group of leaders from across the University.
Staff in the School of Social Sciences raised issues about service such as research support, People and OD and IT Services but recognised the challenges of staff vacancies, as in many sectors, and said they felt that things are improving, albeit not quickly enough. They also raised concerns about staff on fixed-term contracts, workloads and how we stop doing things or doing them more efficiently. These are all areas that are being looked at as follow-up to the Staff Survey. Several students spoke in praise of the staff who support them and were very happy and proud to be at the University.
In the School of Natural Sciences, students asked about the delay in releasing exam marks for semester 1, how they can build interactions with students and teaching in other departments and schools, and support for international students. Staff were concerned about the impact of some government security checks on research and recruitment of talented researchers, the effect of inflation on research and teaching costs, the future of European research funding and vacancies in Professional Services staff posts. We also had a discussion about the relative value and drivers for bringing support services for staff and students into School hubs.
In the meeting with over 50 leaders in the university, I gave a general update, followed by presentations on ‘levelling up’ by Professor Richard Jones, Vice-President for Regional Innovation and Civic Engagement, and flexible learning by Professor Dan George, Associate Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students. Questions were asked about environmental sustainability of flexible learning and international opportunities.
Government announcements and meetings
The government has released a further positive statement on commitments to research and innovation but has made no comment on association with Horizon Europe apart from a further three-month extension to the government guarantee of funding for successful European projects. The Nurse Review on the research and innovation landscape has been released and argues for more funding and a longer-term funding base, as well as association to Horizon Europe.
Regional issues
At one of our regular meetings with leaders of Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), we discussed recent government announcements and reports, likely statements in the Spring Budget next week, innovation zones and devolution.
I met Karl Smith, the new Principal of Rochdale Sixth Form College, to discuss the partnerships that we are developing between the five GM universities and the colleges in the city region. They have many students who obtain high A-level grades, despite challenging backgrounds, and we discussed how we can attract more of them to our University and the important role of Atom Valley, the site for advanced manufacturing on their doorstep.
International Women’s Day (IWD)
We held a great series of events to mark International Women's Day. At one of these, which was packed, I talked about my own career path and aspirations for equality, diversity and inclusion in the University. I was asked about managing ‘imposter syndrome’, balancing work and family life and about my failures - too many to describe but I gave some examples!
Global Leadership Board (GLB)
GLB, a group of fantastic supporters of the University who help with philanthropy, met in Manchester. We discussed progress in securing gifts, events for the bicentenary, plans for supporting students, environmental sustainability and health inequalities. Later we were joined by Sam Bronheim, Union Affairs Officer from the Students’ Union, and two of our student ambassadors who joined us through our Manchester Access Programme.
Thank you!
I am very grateful for the numerous, very kind messages in response to the announcement that I will be stepping down as President and Vice-Chancellor at the end of July next year.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor