Deputy President and Vice-Chancellor to step down at the end of the year
23 Oct 2024
Luke Georghiou remembers over 50 years of association with our university
Professor Luke Georghiou is to step down as Deputy President and Vice-Chancellor at the end of 2024, as he enters the next stage of more than 50 years of association with our university.
Luke joined the Victoria University of Manchester in 1973 as an undergraduate, studying physics before changing to Liberal Studies in Science (Physics and Engineering Stream). He went on to complete his PhD and work at the Policy Research in Engineering, Science and Technology (PREST) centre.
This later became the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research and Luke was Executive Director of PREST and its later incarnation from 1990 to 2004. As Professor of Science and Technology Policy and Management in MIOIR and the Alliance Manchester Business School, he has supervised 40 PhD students.
As Vice-President for Research and Innovation (2010 to 2017), Luke was responsible for the University’s research strategy and its implementation and doctoral training. Prior to this, he held the post of Deputy Dean and Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Humanities.
Luke said: “I have worked with all the Vice-Chancellors since I started at the University. My first was Sir Arthur Armitage. As an undergraduate, I had to go to his office to ask him for a grant to put on a theatre production! One of my last roles on the University Board was to be on the interview panel for the appointment of Nancy as our President and Vice-Chancellor.”
Policy contribution
Luke has contributed significantly to policy in the UK. He was influential in establishing the principle of Full Economic Costing (FEC), which aims to establish the full cost of research, after a nationwide study revealed the dilapidated state of UK research labs.
“This was quite a shocking finding and alarmed many in industry, particularly the pharmaceuticals sector,” Luke said. “Our work was cited in both the Conservative and Labour election campaigns.”
Internationally, among numerous other continent-wide appointments, he has worked with three European Commissioners for Research and recommended a refocusing of European research and innovation support on a series of grand challenges.
Representing Manchester
He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Manchester Science Park, and Northern Gritstone, the £312m spin out venture fund for Northern universities that he helped to establish. From 2016 to 2022, he chaired the Steering Committee of the European Universities Association Council for Doctoral Education and now sits on the EUA’s Innovation group. He has been on the editorial board of eight journals and has published extensively in leading outlets including Science and Nature. He was elected to the Academia Europaea in 2011.
Bicentenary
This year, Luke has been the sponsor of our bicentenary celebrations and says: “I’ve always been interested in the history of the University, and I am very proud to have led this year’s celebrations, alongside a great team. I’ve carried out work at both Victoria University and UMIST (where my father studied) in the past and was an advisor on our merger, to the extent that I was asked to write a book about university mergers and host a panel at the recent THE Summit. The events we’ve put on have been a fitting tribute to our history, achievements and community.
“I have always been happy at Manchester, and it has enabled me to fulfil all of my career ambitions and travel around the world, representing our university.”
President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Duncan Ivison, said: “Luke has made a remarkable contribution to our University and to wider public life over many decades. Since I started at the University his knowledge of innovation, policy and the institution have been invaluable to me.”
Luke will continue to work with his AMBS research colleagues, as well as continuing roles with Manchester University Press and our European Strategy Group.