Prodigal son returns

16 Jul 2012

Manchester graduate Gianpaolo Vignali has returned, taking his place on the other side of the lectern, teaching the Fashion Business course in the School of Materials.

Gianpaolo, 30, graduated from UMIST in 2002 with a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics. As Student Association President, he represented the students during the merger between UMIST and VUM. He was also captain of the student rugby team.

He recalls: “The merger was a great idea from an academic and research point of view. The only negative is that the two University rugby teams had to merge and there was a bitter rivalry – try merging Manchester City and Manchester United together and it goes far to explain how these two teams operated!”

After graduating, he studied for a Masters in Strategic Marketing at MMU Business School then took up a post as a Lecturer in Retailing at Leeds Metropolitan University. He returned to MMU as Senior Lecturer and Programme leader for Fashion Buying and Merchandising, steering the applications to the highest in the faculty and enrolment the largest in the department and also seeing the NSS scores improve by 0.2-0.3% in each area and setting up a Fashion Society for the students.

He adds: “It's awesome being on the other side of the lecture hall, more so delivering in some of the lecture rooms I sat and studied in as a student.

“I am developing a final year 40 credit unit which will allow students to set up their own company and trade. This type of teaching and learning and the assessment linked to this will help develop the employability skills of the students and prepare them for industry. It will also go a long way in helping shape the NSS as student satisfaction of this unit at my previous institution was high.”