President's weekly update
29 June 2023
Student progression and graduation
We are now in the busy period of examination boards to finalise student marks and classifications for progression into next year’s study or graduation. I am very grateful to the many staff who are contributing to these vital tasks.
Sadly, as for universities across the country, some of our students have been affected by the marking and assessment boycott by some members of UCU. Final marks are still to be ratified by exam boards, but at this point we can say that we expect that most students will not be affected by the marking and assessment boycott. All students will be very welcome at their scheduled graduation ceremonies though some will not yet have classifications. We will contact students directly at the earliest opportunity if they have been affected and offer them support.
We deeply regret this situation and the potential effects on some students who will not have degree classifications or all of their marks at this time. We will continue to do all we can to secure degree classifications as quickly as possible, and to mitigate any impacts.
Update on cyber attack
This is still very much a live issue, with many staff working hard to resolve the effects on our people and processes. While work is ongoing, we are aiming to operate almost as normal. We have held open meetings, and you can see updates, and FAQs on StaffNet.
Based on our investigations we believe that a small proportion of data have been copied that relates to some students, and some alumni and supporters. On Friday we wrote directly to those individuals who may have been affected by this.
If you receive emails claiming to be from those who instigated the incident, do not engage with or reply to these emails in any way. Our email filtering software is doing its job well and catching many of these, but if you do receive anything at all suspicious, do report it to IT Services. Please also ensure you complete our mandatory cyber training module and reset your password.
Distinguished Achievement Awards
It was a pleasure to reside over the annual event at which we recognise the outstanding contributions and achievements of our staff and students. You can watch the video on StaffNet.
Global Leadership Board
This Board, which does a great deal to help us with philanthropy, met in Manchester. I gave them an update on the many events, activities, successes and challenges. They were very impressed by our fantastic performance in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings and heard updates on our bicentenary plans and fundraising plans and successes. I also had a meeting with the chair of our Hong Kong Foundation, Patrick Vizzone, who was in Manchester for GLB to consider future members and our likely donors.
Feedback from staff
I held one of my regular meetings with a small group of staff from across the University to hear their views and any concerns. They commented on the huge improvements in our campus, great developments in our cultural institutions and the value of President’s fellowships. They also raised the importance of recognising and rewarding staff, the Student Experience Programme, our fundraising campaign and the need to recruit staff and students in AI.
International links
The UK Trade Commissioner to China, Lewis Neal, visited us. I talked about our partnerships with China and the value of our Chinese students. He also had a tour of Innovation District Manchester (IDM) and met senior staff.
Regional activities
I met Eamonn Boylan, the leader of Greater Manchester (GM) Combined Authority, to discuss plans for an Investment Zone in the city region, progress on IDM and our wider innovation activities.
At the Board of the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre we reviewed progress and plans under the mid-term review and identified new areas of activities, particularly those spanning across the health domains and how we can contribute to systems and operational issues in our city region.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor