Celebrating success

29 Jun 2018

Staff have the key to unlock their potential

Successful applicants to Investing in Success, a University funded scheme for staff to explore ideas, create new projects and invest in their personal development, were invited to a special celebratory event on Wednesday, 20 June.

Speaking at the event Karen Heaton, Director of Human Resources said:

“I was incredibly impressed with the quality and breadth of applications we received.  The range and diversity of projects demonstrates a real passion for learning and an incredible wealth of ideas and ingenuity from staff members across the University.”  

“It’s vital that we invest in our people, and this is why Investing in Success is crucial to our further growth and allows us to tackle the future challenges that we face as an organisation.”

Investing in Success is supporting individual members of staff or teams from right across the University, irrespective of grade or position to help them engage in a particular project or activity.  Over 300 applications were received, 140 of which received funding from £100 up to £10,000 which will support an exciting range of activities including training, research projects, secondments and much more.  

During the event staff shared details of their projects including Kyriaki Protopapa from the Division of Development and Alumni Relations who was successful in securing funding to attend a one day skills session in London that will enable her to work effectively across cultures and improve understanding of international customs and business etiquette. 

Georgina Lewis, Berrisford Edwards and Cardy Camara received funding for the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) network, which will seek to readdress underrepresentation of BAME staff at higher grades, by delivering a programme called ’Achieving Your Potential’.  This programme will focus on personal and professional skills, creating positive role models and developing better networks to support staff in future.

Philip Shapira Professor of Innovation Management and Policy at Alliance Manchester Business School was successful in funding for a field work visit to the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. The visit will focus on emerging technologies to discover  where this next round of disruptive technologies is going, to reflect on how we can responsibly address their implications, and to embed those insights in our own innovation and developmental efforts at the University and in the UK.