Message from the Vice-President and Dean
12 Jul 2024
This week Fiona reflects on a time of change as we reach the end of the academic year and celebrates a range of inspiring events and award wins.
Dear All
Did you stay up all night for the UK General Election? As an undergraduate student who completed a joint degree in Government (as it was called then) and Sociology at the University of Essex in the 1980s, I have always enjoying staying up and see the results roll in.
This election was especially thrilling as I saw my hometown constituencies – Bournemouth East and Bournemouth West – vote for Labour MPs for the first time since 1921. Like many other constituencies, the vote was split between the Conservatives and Reform.
Many of you, as social scientists, will be seeking to describe and explain this turn of events that led to a substantial Labour victory. Our resident expert, Professor Rob Ford (SoSS), was in a bunker in BBC headquarters crunching the numbers for the exit poll on election day.
He could not join us for the Distinguished Achievement Awards ceremony on Thursday 4 July, where he was named as Researcher of the year, along with Dr Reza Salehnejad (AMBS) who was Teacher of the year, Dr Henriette Pleiger (SALC) as Postgraduate researcher of the year, Postgraduate taught student of the year Tillie Quattrone (SALC), and Lida Koutsou (AMBS), who was Undergraduate student of the year.
In professional services, Christopher Kitchen, SEED Doctoral Services Administrator (Educational & Child Psychology Lead), received one of three individual professional services and cultural institutions awards. The SEED Ethics Administration team; Holly Crossley, Institute Administrator, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (AMBS); and Joel Loutfi, AMBS Teaching and Learning Manager, were also highly commended. Congratulations to all of you once again.
Meanwhile, for our final-year undergraduates and many postgraduate taught students graduation this week or next marks a significant milestone in their lives. Taking part in graduation ceremonies is the highlight of my working year and yours too I am sure.
It is such a privilege to share the celebration of our graduates’ achievements with them, their families and friends, as they take their next step. I hope their time with us has given them an excellent grounding in making the most of whatever they choose to do next.
This week, we also received the results of this year’s National Student Survey (NSS), which asked final-year students to share their views on their time with us at Manchester. The NSS is a very important way for us to understand what works well and what needs to be improved.
This is the second year that the NSS has used different questions and a new ‘positivity score’ measure, so we can compare this year’s outcomes with those from 2023. Our overall Faculty positivity score has increased slightly, with three Schools enjoying an increase in this score.
This is pleasing news. There are still areas where we need to improve, however, including the familiar areas of assessment and feedback and student voice. We will continue to work together in improving our performance here of course. You can read further details of our NSS results in my joint message with Fiona Smyth.
A couple of weeks ago, I was pleased to join dozens of US-based alumni at a special bicentenary reception in New York City. The event was hosted by leading sustainable development consultancy Arup and organised by the Division of Development and Alumni Relations (DDAR).
I enjoyed speaking about our bicentenary celebrations and commitment to widening access to our University to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, including through the Manchester Access and Success Fund.
Alumni also learnt more about the Global Graduates programme and North American Foundation for the University of Manchester, and strengthened further the alumni network in the US. Many of the graduates were from our Faculty and had a fantastic time in NYC too.
I continue to be inspired by the drive and creativity of our students. I am proud that AMBS’ Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) does so much great work in encouraging entrepreneurship for students, recent graduates and staff across the University.
The centre’s Eli Britt Harari Graphene Enterprise Award is a fantastic example of this in action. The award encourages innovation and making an impact in the commercial world through launching new businesses involving graphene or other 2D materials.
I was delighted to attend the awards ceremony last week, when the £50,000 top prize was won by Kun Huang of thin-film solar cell technology company Solar Ethos. The second prize of £20,000 was awarded to Hafiza Hifza Nawaz of Fabstics, a renewable energy products business.
Well done to Holly Smith in securing a British Academy (BA) Postdoctoral Fellowship. Holly is a Research Associate at AMBS’ Work and Equalities Institute, working on a major ESRC-funded project looking at how equality policies and regulation at work have developed across four different European countries. Her new BA project will examine how professional identity in the caring and creative industries affects those workers’ propensity towards strike action.
We have also won £1m to participate in the UKRI’s Polarities and Network Plus ‘Shifting Global Polarities: Russia, China and Eurasia in Transition (2024-28)’ theme. The initiative aims to develop new partnerships in academic and policy circles linked to a range of areas including social upheaval, geopolitics and security, environmental crisis and human rights.
The £5m network will be led by the University of Birmingham, with the Manchester team of Dr Elena Barabantseva (PI), Dr Marco Biasioli, Professor Stephen Hutchings, Dr David Stroup, Professor Hilary Pilkington, Dr Ed Pulford, and Professor Vera Tolz focusing on the topics of soft power and disinformation. Congratulations to the interdisciplinary team.
The University’s Open Research Fellowship programme has just announced five new Fellows for 2024/25, including Humanities representative Georgia Vesma. The Fellowship programme aims to cultivate a new generation of open research leaders.
Fellows become part of a network of advocates, promoting open research in their departments and fostering a community of practice. Georgia has secured a Fellowship for her project ‘Boundless opportunities: tools for open cross-disciplinary collaboration’.
This is my last message of the academic year. I have so enjoyed my first year as Vice-President and Dean of Humanities. I am inspired and humbled by all your hard work and everything we achieve together. I am certainly ready for a holiday and I imagine you are too. Please take that break before it all starts again!
Regards Fiona
Professor Fiona Devine, CBE FAcSS FRSA, Vice-President and Dean