Message from the Vice-President and Dean

04 Oct 2024

This week Fiona reports on discussions at the FLT away day, reflects on the launch of the University’s new Manchester 2035 strategy, and celebrates academic promotions and research success.

Dear All

We are now well into the start of the new academic year and I hope you have settled well into the rhythm of teaching and research for the coming weeks and months.

I am very pleased that the start of year has started smoothly. I would like to thank all the professional services teams involved in the preparations for all their hard work. The successful launch of the new student engagement and attendance system – SEAtS – is a very good example of this work and of the improvements being made that benefit everyone.

With new students having joined us and existing students returning, I would also like to recognise the huge efforts of our admissions teams in managing applications and admissions, and supporting all colleagues involved in the process. There is still significant turbulence in the sector.

I was delighted last month to celebrate all our Schools’ academic promotions at a special reception, which was held at AMBS. I am always pleased to have the chance to meet colleagues from across our Schools to congratulate them. I continue to be struck by the incredible breadth and depth of expertise in teaching, research and leadership.

Earlier this week I joined Faculty Leadership team colleagues for an away day. Supporting equality of opportunity is a crucial part of our job. Earlier this year, the UoM submitted its Access and Participation Plan (APP) to the Office for Students, setting out the strategy for improving opportunities for under-represented home undergraduate student group. This has now been approved.

We are delighted that we have seen an increase in students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have joined us across the four Schools in the Faculty. Access is just the first step, however. We discussed the importance of ensuring these students have an excellent student experience, perform well academically and get good degrees and then good jobs.

More broadly, doing as much as we can to enhance all our students’ experiences is crucial, with the annual National Student Survey (NSS) of our final-year undergraduates an important barometer. As noted back in July, we continue to perform poorly. Without doubt, there are pockets of excellence, most notable in SEED as senior colleagues heard at Faculty Core Brief yesterday.

We need consistency across all Schools and all programmes, however. April McMahon and her team have developed an action plan to address these challenges, and we now have a range of targeted actions in the Faculty and our Schools to improve our students’ experience. We will be reporting on progress to the University’s senior leadership team each month. The focus is clear.

At the away day we spent time discussing the importance of research with impact and the support required to enjoying impact at a faster pace. We heard from colleagues delivering research with impact and discussed areas of excellence and challenge, how we can learn lessons from across the University, sharing good practice and continuing to develop an impactful research culture.

We considered improvements in staff engagement at Faculty and School level, what works well and where we can do better. We are looking forward to supporting the University’s new Manchester 2035 strategy, for which President and Vice-Chancellor Duncan Ivison formally launched the consultation process at the University’s Foundation Day celebration event on Wednesday this week.

I was pleased to join colleagues from across the University to hear Duncan’s address, where he explored our future, our continued commitment to teaching, learning, research and social responsibility, and how we can meet our ambitions. Manchester 2035 is designed to bring students, staff, alumni and our partners together to tackle the challenges of the future.

I encourage you all to find out more from the main Manchester 2035 hub and get involved in shaping it. The Foundation Day celebration was particularly special as it marked the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the University in its current form, and of course our 200th anniversary overall.

Another exciting strand of the University’s future development is ID Manchester, newly rebranded as Sister. Last week I attended the launch of the new brand and the official reopening of the Renold Building on the University’s former North campus as the innovation district’s first space. It was exciting to be celebrating with leaders from across Manchester’s business and local communities.

Moving from the future to the past, yesterday I also enjoyed the celebration of publication of Manchester Minds edited by Professor Stuart Jones (SALC). The collection includes  fascinating accounts of several pioneering artists, scholars and scientists whose work and ideas hugely influenced our world today and have benefited communities locally, nationally and internationally.

Back to the present, and it is lovely to see our strong track record of securing smaller research grants. Clara Sandelind (SoSS) has been awarded a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant for her project ‘Unbounding Solidarity’, which explores how cross-border solidarity with refugees can also support common aims in welfare states.

Dr Nate Millington (SEED) has also received a Small Research Grant for the ‘Infrastructural repurposing and repair in Sao Paolo’ project. Dr Zhoakun Xin (SALC) has secured a Small Research Grant for ‘The Many Faces of Anger: Reshaping Emotional Norms in Late Imperial Chinese Literature’. Professor Kieron Flanagan has received an award from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for his project on ‘European security research: threats & opportunities’. 

It is especially good that many of our small awards act as a crucial stepping stone for colleagues developing a funding profile and leading on to larger projects and awards. These are just a few examples of how colleagues across our Faculty continue to make a difference. I look forward to celebrating even more examples of research and teaching excellence over the coming year.

Regards Fiona

Professor Fiona Devine, CBE FAcSS FRSA, Vice-President and Dean