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6 May 2014Issue 7 Volume 11
unilifeThe free magazine for The University of Manchester
Celebrating ourpedal power
Message from the President
ost people probably don’t want to poreover our Annual Financial Statementswhich are rather long. But for those who do, they are publicly available at
www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/governance/corporate
The commonest questions asked are: “Where doesour money come from? How do we spend it? Whathappens to our ‘surplus’? Where is the moneycoming from for our Campus MasterPlan? Whatdoes the future financial picture look like?”
The infographic on the right shows the sources ofthe £827 million income to the University in thefinancial year 2012-13 (which runs from 1 Augustto 31 July). There has been a major shift in the mix of our income streams over the last few years.Tuition fees have risen from 25% to 37% of income and Funding Council grants have fallenfrom 28% to 21% over the last five years. Full timeinternational student fees have risen from 10% to16% of total income during the same period.
The second infographic shows how our £778 millionexpenditure was distributed by type of cost and by location.
A further analysis of the Shared Services expenditureof £265 million can be done by location: CentralProfessional Support Services account for £128 million,of which Estates account for £46 million, Division of Student Experience £44 million, IT Services £16 million and other PSS £22 million. The Libraryand Cultural Institutions account for £29 million.General University overheads including utilities,estates related costs such as depreciation and rates,insurance and student bursaries account for £86 million. Costs mainly associated with intellectualproperty and commercialisation account for £4 million, Strategic Investment Research Fund £6 million and Subsidiaries £12 million. Faculty PSSaccount for another £63 million.
It is clear from visits to Schoolsand from the recent President’sQuestion Time, that many staffand students are interested inthe University’s finances.
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Contact usNews and story ideasMikaela Sitfordtel 0161 275 2112email [email protected]/staffnet/newsDeadline 14 May 2014
Events and listings informationPhilippa Adsheadtel 0161 275 2922email [email protected] 14 May 2014
Ads Sarah Davenporttel 0161 275 2922email [email protected] 14 May 2014
Next issue 2 June 2014
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NewsFirst live President’s Question Time
NewsProfessor advises BBC4 7
Finance
Contents2 Message from the President4 News12 Research15 Feature18 What’s On20 Making a Difference
Front cover: UMBUG celebrates1,000 members.
Photo by: Mark Waugh
ResearchMillion suns shed light on fossilised plant
FeatureClose encounters with the 15th century
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Many of our major income streams (home/EU studentfee income, government funding and research councilgrants) are not increasing with inflation – and aretherefore effectively declining at a rate of about 2% ayear. In contrast all of our costs are rising with or aboveinflation. Pay increased by 2.5 % last year (1% nationalaward and the rest mainly on increments which abouthalf our staff receive each year), and someconsumables costs such as gas, electricity and researchsupplies rose by more than inflation. One source ofincome that is growing steadily is philanthropy.
Research income (from grants and contracts) isn’treally income because the cash brought in is lessthan the full costs. For example, for UK ResearchCouncils we get only 80% of the full economiccosts. For other sources it is less.
All our income is allocated ‘as it is earned’. Thismeans that almost all of our income is distributed toour four Faculties because that is where fees, grantsand most other income is brought in. Each Facultythen makes a contribution back to the generalrunning costs of the University. The level ofcontribution made by each Faculty is based on aseries of formulae for staff, students, space etc. Thensenior staff discuss and agree where we may need tomake adjustments to the levels of contributions forstrategic reasons. Within the three large Faculties –the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, theFaculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and theFaculty of Humanities – a similar process occurs forthe income and contribution of Schools.
In Professional Support Services, the Registrar, Secretaryand Chief Operating Officer, Will Spinks, agrees budgetswith each of the main Directorates and the DeputyPresident and Vice-Chancellor oversees the budgets forthe Library, Manchester Museum, Whitworth Art Galleryand Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre.
Only very small sums of money (less than 1% of ourincome) are held centrally for strategic initiatives.
We monitor our income expenditure carefully on amonthly basis by reviewing the management accountsand discussing any shifts in funding or expenditure atFinance Sub-Committee. The Board of GovernorsFinance Committee also reviews our current and likelyfuture financial position including any debtors andinvestment performance, and the chair in turn reportsto the full Board of Governors. We are also monitoredby the Higher Education Funding Council for Englandfor ‘financial sustainability’.
As a charity, we don’t make ‘profits’, and any surplusis reinvested in the University – in staff, students andfacilities. Like most universities in England, we areshowing higher surpluses than before 2011, becausealmost all government funding for capital has beenabolished. In the past, capital grant income wasn’treturned on our profit and loss account, so wasn’tobvious unless you looked into the accounts. Nowwe have to generate funds for capital from ourincome and expenditure – as surplus. So it nowshows up on our general accounts. Put another way,income for capital shows ‘on our books’, butexpenditure doesn’t.
Our Campus Masterplan will be funded in part frompast cash we have been able to generate, in partfrom future ‘surpluses’ over the next ten years andfrom the £300 million public bond we raised lastyear. It may seem that we are spending a lot ofmoney on buildings, but in fact the cost of stayingon our North Campus in inefficient buildings thatwould require major investment just to maintain is
almost the same as the funds we will be putting intonew buildings. When it is complete, and all studentsand staff are located on a single site, we will havesignificant savings on fuel and building maintenance– and of course we will be on a single campus.
We are currently in a strong financial position. Butas we explained to our Board, there are significantfinancial risks ahead such as the costs of meetingthe very large deficits in all staff pension funds,potential further cuts in government funding andincreases in inflation.
Even for those who are comfortable with finances,universities are complex organisations with multipleincome and expenditure streams. We are happy toanswer any questions from staff and students and wetry to be completely transparent over our finances.
Professor Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
Steve Mole, Director of Finance
he University is to deliver a number ofMOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), an exciting new development in onlineeducation that allow higher education
institutions to reach out to audiences that mightnot otherwise have access to their teaching material.
MOOCs are taught entirely online, and are freelyavailable at no cost to anyone in the world with an internet connection.
They last six to eight weeks and are taught mostlythrough videos, supplemented by discussionforums, self-test quizzes and reading or webresearch activities. Anyone who achieves a passgrade in the activities and a final assignment isawarded a certificate of completion.
The University’s first MOOC, in partnership withworld-leading MOOC platform providers Coursera,is “An Introduction to Population Health”, led by Dr Catherine Reed, Director of the successful
Masters in Public Health distance learningprogramme, jointly taught by Professor AneezEsmail and supported by several academiccolleagues who will participate in online discussions.
Our other MOOC courses will include Water Supplyand Sanitation Policy in Developing Countries,Introduction to Physical Chemistry, Global Healthand Humanitarianism and Our Earth: Its Climate,History and Processes.
Professor Richard Reece, Associate Vice-Presidentfor Teaching, Learning and Students, said: “Thedevelopment of these courses is an important step for Manchester. They will appeal to a broadaudience from across the globe, and will form animportant part of fulfilling our commitment tosocial responsibility.”
• For more information visit: www.coursera.org/#manchester
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taff members have had their first ever chanceto put face-to-face questions to the Presidentand members of her Senior Leadership Teamand hear their responses.
Held in response to the Staff Survey 2013, the eventsaw just over 50 members of staff from across theUniversity in an improvised studio in the ManchesterDental Education Centre (MANDEC).
Alongside the President were Karen Heaton,Director of Human Resources; Steve Mole, Directorof Finance; and Professor Martin Humphries, StaffSurvey Steering Group Chair.
They responded to questions on topics selected bycolleagues in an online poll: Staff career development,the University's financial situation and the StaffSurvey (Behaviours, Leadership, PDR, Reward and Recognition).
Media Relations Manager Jon Keighren welcomedthe audience, introduced the panel members andkept the proceedings running along smoothly.
As the cameras rolled and the first ever ‘President’sQuestion Time’ went live, the event trended onTwitter. Staff joined in with comments and questionson Twitter during the event.
The positive feedback from staff included: “The session was appreciated … a live Q&A sessionwith a streamed webcast shows a willingness todiscuss topics and not hide behind the written word.It makes the communication seem more genuine.”
President's Question Time had 350 views during itslive broadcast on StaffNet and can be watched at:
• http://vimeo.com/90769176
First live President’s Question Time
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News
Nancy getting ‘miked up’.
About to start. Panel responds to questions from the audience.
University to teach thousandsaround the globe
Osborne announcesnew doctoraltraining centre The University has been awarded £6 million toestablish a new Centre for Doctoral Training in‘Materials for Demanding Environments’,George Osborne announced last month.
The new Manchester CDT, one of 22 CDTsannounced by the Chancellor, will equip theacademic and industrial leaders of tomorrowwith the necessary scientific and commercialskills to introduce the next generation ofengineering materials into operation.
Professor Philip Withers, from the School ofMaterials, said: “We are delighted to have beenawarded this CDT, which will build on ourspecial relationships with industrial partners toprovide the highly skilled materials engineersneeded by the oil and gas, power generationand aerospace industries to develop the newmaterials required to operate in increasinglyharsh environments.”
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undreds of cyclists rode in to celebrate1,000 members of the University ofManchester’s Bicycle Users’ Group
(UMBUG), making it the biggest in any Universityacross the UK.
With one in 10 University staff cycling to work, ourrate is five times better than the UK average.
At the celebration UMBUG Chair Dr Michael Banepresented the 1,000th member, Susie Wallace, withan “UMBUG 1000” branded hoodie, t-shirt andcake.
Susie said: “I'm proud to be part of such a fantasticgroup of cyclists. To have 1000 members is soimpressive and means that there is a lot of supportavailable to new and existing members.’’
During the presentation, Professor Colin Hughes(Associate Vice President for Sustainability), ProfessorAneez Esmail (Associate Vice President for SocialResponsibility) and Julian Skyrme (Director of SocialResponsibility) – all regular cyclists themselves –praised the work of UMBUG in supporting cycling
‘Wheely’ good show!
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Carsten Timmermann and his son Jota.Rachel Abbott.
Professor Colin Hughes, Dr Michael Bane, Susie Wallace,Julian Skyrme and Professor Aneez Esmail.
New Director for Institute of Cancer SciencesOne of the world's most cited scientists –knighted by the Queen for services to the subject– has taken the helm as Director at the Instituteof Cancer Sciences.
Professor Sir Salvador Moncada has beenresponsible for discoveries which have arousedhuge excitement in the scientific world andfounded, and until recently directed, the WolfsonInstitute for Biomedical Research at UniversityCollege London (UCL).
Professor Moncada (pictured) takes up his newpost during an exciting phase for the University,which is due to open a new £28.5 million
Manchester Cancer Research Centre building inWithington in partnership with The Christie NHSFoundation Trust and Cancer Research UK laterthis year.
Professor Moncada said: "The University ofManchester has an outstanding history ofresearch and innovation and there are currentlymany exciting things happening within the fieldof cancer. It’s a fantastic time to work in this areaof research and I am delighted to be leading ateam of scientists and clinicians which has alreadymade a big contribution to the understandingand management of this very important disease.”
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Prestigious grantfor baby talkThe University has secured one of the largestgrants ever awarded by the Economic and SocialResearch Council.
The £9 million cash injection over five years willsee a new ESRC International Centre forLanguage and Communicative Development(LuCiD) set up to deliver crucial informationneeded to design effective interventions in childhealthcare, communicative development andearly years’ education.
The Centre, a partnership between Manchester,Liverpool and Lancaster universities, will alsodevelop new technological products for parents,including a Babytalk app, which will allow parentsand health professionals to record a child’svocabulary and monitor their progress.
Centre Director Professor Elena Lieven, from the School of Psychological Sciences, said: “This Centre will transform our understanding of the way that children learn to communicatewith language. It will provide the evidence basenecessary to develop successful interventions for children at risk of language delay.”
Minister for Universities and Science, DavidWilletts MP, said investment in this area wouldhelp to influence and shape policy and deliver abetter society.
Parliamentary receptionfor research review
research review of Social Care Services for Deaf Older People written by Professor Alys Young has been officiallylaunched by Minister of State for Social Care, NormanLamb, at Westminster.
The review, known as 'The Young Report', concerns better ways toassess and deliver services for growing numbers of older people whoare amongst the 70,000 Deaf British Sign Language users in the UK.
This cultural-linguistic minority community is usually overlooked inpolicy initiatives which recognise the significance of diversity andculture in appropriate service provision, because Deaf BSL users aremore commonly seen as being ‘disabled.’
Professor Young’s study, at the School of Nursing, Midwifery andSocial Work, was funded by the two specialist organisations, RADand SONUS, working with the Deaf community and in partnershipwith the University.
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News
Professor Alys Young and Minister for Social Care Norman Lamb.
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Scientist recognised for entrepreneurial spiritDr Curtis Dobson has won the Commercial Innovator of the Year award at the BBSRC’s Fostering Innovation Awards 2014.
He scooped the £15,000 award in recognition of two healthcarecompanies based on his research. Ai2 Ltd specialises in novel anti-infective peptide technology and Microsensor Ltd is developing a new approach to the early detection of medical device infection and environmental monitoring. Dr Curtis Dobson.
wo Manchester academics collected CBEsfrom HRH the Prince of Wales at aninvestiture at Buckingham Palace.
The CBEs were awarded in the New Year’s HonoursList to Professor Carole Anne Goble, School ofComputer Science, for services to science, and toProfessor Douglas Kell, School of Chemistry and theManchester Institute of Biotechnology, for servicesto science and research.
Carole is a leading authority on the Semantic Web –a means of enriching the Web with knowledge –having an impact on bioinformatics, e-Science,open science and applied computer science.
Douglas is a leading figure in the field of systemsbiology, the multidisciplinary approach to tacklingcomplex biological problems using theory,computer modelling and experimentation.
TAcademics collect their medals
Professor Carole Anne Goble and Douglas Kell.
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Mike’s marathon effort
egular readers of Unilife may rememberthe recent Whitworth Pop-Up thatincluded stunning displays andinspirational activities in Selfridges as part
of their Festival of Imagination.
Now the Whitworth has “popped-up” again, thistime closer to home, in ASDA near to theUniversity in Hulme.
During the Easter holidays artist Harriet Hall’stransportable pop-up roadshow ‘Brief Encounters’gave participants a mission – to choose a luckydip image or word from the Brief Encounter Walland use it as inspiration for an ‘arty outcome’using simple materials such as newspaper,wallpaper, electric tape and string which theycould help themselves to.
The participants then had their photograph takenwith their creations, which were tweeted all weekthrough #popupwhitworth.
Media Relations Officer Mike Addelman ran theGreater Manchester Marathon in less than fivehours on behalf of Crohn’s and Colitis UK.
Mike's 11-year-old son, Jake, was diagnosedwith Crohn’s Disease at three. As a result of thisdebilitating illness, he has been in and out ofhospital for most of his life, takes ten pills everyday and needs an intravenous infusion every two months.
Mike (pictured below) completed the 26.2 milemarathon in four hours and 57 minutes and said:“I’d like to thank everyone for their brilliantsupport. I've raised £920 so far, which is afantastic amount.”
• You can still support Mike’s run by donatingat: www.justgiving.com/Mike-Addelman1
Creating art at ASDA.
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Ainscow leads schools challenge
Professor Mel Ainscow (CBE) is to be the WelshGovernment’s new champion for SchoolsChallenge Cymru, Education Minister HuwLewis has announced.
Schools Challenge Cymru is the WelshGovernment’s multi-million pound, flagshipimprovement programme to increaseperformance in around 40 Welsh schoolsoperating in the most challenging circumstances.
Professor Ainscow (pictured above) will provideknowledge, expertise, quality assurance andsupport to the Schools Challenge Cymru initiative.
Professor advises BBCdrama The Crimson Field
professor from the School of Nursinghas taken a journey back in time to helptelevision producers recreate a 1915field hospital for new BBC drama
The Crimson Field.
TV producers signed up Professor ChristineHallett, Manchester's Professor of NursingHistory, to advise on the six-part drama’s scriptand work on set for a week teaching leadactors about what work would have takenplace at a field hospital during the war.
She demonstrated nursing techniques from the time including bed bathing, bandaging,bed-making and aseptic and antiseptic wound
care and briefed lead actors about theircharacter’s likely career, including HermioneNorris (Cold Feet, Spooks).
The drama, set in a tented field hospital on the coast of France, follows a team of doctors,nurses and women volunteers workingtogether to heal the bodies and souls of menwounded in the trenches and was filmed in afield in Wiltshire.
Professor Hallett said: “A lot of the supportingactors had worked on Casualty and so theywere very interested to see how medicalpractices had changed.”
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The star-studded cast of The Crimson Field. Photo courtesy of BBC.
Shoppers enjoy a BriefEncounter…at Asda!
University celebrates Students as Partners
The University celebrated working together – byboth students and staff – with its annual awardsevent for the ‘Students as Partners’ programme.
The programme, run by the Teaching and LearningSupport Office, coordinates volunteer work by higheryear students to help first-year students make theirpersonal and academic transitions to university.
This involves more than 1,700 students and stafffrom 70 disciplines across the University workingtogether to enhance the student experience.
Thirty Outstanding Contribution awards and theScheme of the Year Awards were announced. Sixteams of students were the recipient of a StudentTeam Working Award, sponsored byPricewaterhouseCoopers.
First place in the Curricular section was PeerAssisted Learning Scheme (PALS). PALS is a dynamic,student-led education project run by year 4 medicalstudents at University Hospital South Manchester.
2nd place: Food Waste at The University ofManchester, Information Technology Managementfor Business - Year 2. 3rd place: Inspiring Change in Nursing Education and Practice, Nursing.
First place in the Extra-curricular section wasMadagascar Medical Expedition 2014. Three final year medical students will travel to northernMadagascar to conduct invaluable research and contribute to a national screening andtreatment programme.
2nd place: The Marriage of Figaro. 3rd place:Maximising Activity for Top Class Students throughCollaborative Integration.
• For more information visit:www.tlso.manchester.ac.uk/students-as-partners or [email protected]
Accolade for topfemale economistProfessor Rachel Griffith has been awarded the 2014 ‘Birgit Grodal Award’ given to Europe’sleading Female Economists.
The Council of the European Economic Association(EEA), awarded the prize, named after BirgitGrodal, its first female elected President.
News
ore than 130 first year students from theFaculty of Life Sciences took part in a“Sustainable World Event”, considering a
range of issues focused on dwindling natural resourcesand how we can plan better for the future.
As part of the University’s social responsibilitystrategy, students took part in this pilot event for the‘Ethical Grand Challenges’ Signature Programme.This sustainability challenge is the first in a series ofthree issues all undergraduate students will beconfronted with in the future; social justice andworkplace ethics events will be in the second andthird year.
The event included workshops Currents fromCurrants (investigating the use of solar energy fromfairly common materials) and Climate Relief GreenNose Day (a brainstorming session on a green charity
initiative modelled on BBC’s Red Nose Day).
Neli Stefauoua, a Physiology student, said: "I reallyenjoyed the afternoon, It really made me think aboutissues of sustainability in new ways.”
The Ethical Grand Challenges signature programmeaims to equip our graduates to address some of themost profound ethical challenges of the 21st century.By 2017/18 every Manchester undergraduate studentwill be confronted with a set of major ‘Ethical GrandChallenges’ through the completion of a commonprogramme in each year of their undergraduate study.
To find out more see:www.manchester.ac.uk/socialresponsibility
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he opening of the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre as part of the Manchester Central Library meansthat one of Europe’s leading specialist
libraries on migration, race and ethnicity will beeven more accessible to students, academics andlocal communities.
As part of the £50 million refurbishment of CentralLibrary, the Resource Centre has its own reading andteaching spaces, and its archival collections are
central to the interactive digital exhibitions that are a major new feature of Central Library.
Director Jackie Ould said: “This is a fantasticopportunity for us to increase the visibility of ourcollections and develop partnerships between theUniversity and the wider community, as well ascontinuing to provide the personal support we havealways given to students using our collection.”
• For more details visit:www.racearchive.manchester.ac.uk
Iconic new home forrace relations centre
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Students look at Ethical Grand Challenges.
The centre’s new Archives+ interactive exhibition.
From blueberries to green noses
he University is involved in an exciting three-way collaboration between the Stroke Association, Contact and theSexuality Summer School this month.
Renowned performer Peggy Shaw will perform hershow about her experience of having a stroke ‘RUFF’at the Contact on Wednesday 18 May, as part ofScience Stroke Art, a partnership between the StrokeAssociation and the University.
The solo performance is “a tribute to those who havekept Shaw company these 68 years, a lament for theabsence of those who disappeared into the dark holesleft behind by the stroke and a celebration that herbrain is able to fill the blank green screens with newinsights and an opportunity to share them with herfavourite confidants – the audience.”
It will be followed by ‘Ask the Doctor’, in which localstroke clinician and Manchester alumnus Dr KhalilKawafi will answer guests’ questions about stroke.
The Sexuality Summer School offers a week of queercultural events and public lectures in Manchesterevery May; this year’s theme is Queer Anatomies.
• For more information see:http://sexualitysummerschool.wordpress.com
Success forstudent poetCreative Writing student Annie Muir hastopped the annual Poetry Book Society'sNational Student Poetry Competition for herpoem ‘Seven Postcards'.
John McAuliffe, Director for the Centre of NewWriting, where Annie is based, said: “We aredelighted that Annie won this competition. Ourundergraduate students work to a really highstandard and it is terrific to see their workrecognised in this way.”
Chair is NorthWest’s firstPatients in Manchester are to benefit from anew Florence Nightingale Foundation Chair inClinical Nursing Practice Research – the first inthe North West.
Professor Angela Tod will follow the celebratedsocial reformer’s role reviewing and developingevidence to deliver high quality care to patients.
The appointment has been made by theFlorence Nightingale Foundation in partnershipwith the University and Central ManchesterNHS Foundation Trust.
Stroke survivortakes to stage
anchester Museum has announced a new exciting partnership with PeopleUnited, an arts charity that explores the
role the arts can play in growing a more kind andcaring society.
With wonder as their stimuli, artists Daniel Bye withSarah Punshon and Boff Whalley – of political popband Chumbawamba fame – will create acollaborative community performance in the Museuminspired by the Museum's collections.
Boff said: “I'm really looking forward to working withPeople United and Manchester Museum because Ithink I share with them an ideal: to make work thatreflects the changes – good and bad – in the worldaround me.
“One of my current obsessions, and I think thischimes perfectly with People United and ManchesterMuseum, is how history can be taught as a vital partof social change; specifically for me history taughtthrough theatre and song.”
Nick Merriman, Director of Manchester Museum,said: “Manchester Museum is a space where youoften encounter the unexpected – the opportunity to work with Dan, Sarah and Boff enables us toexplore this in new ambitious ways, drawing on ourextraordinary collections and rooted in our vision to work towards a sustainable world.”
Museum partnership for kind and caring society
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Boff Whalley. Daniel Bye.
Peggy Shaw.
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Particle physicsresearch winsawardA University particle physicist has been awardedthe 2014 Institute of Physics HEPP Group Prize for his world-leading work on sub-atomicparticles called neutrinos.
Neutrinos are electrically neutral, weaklyinteracting subatomic particle, so they can pass through normal matter unimpeded.
Dr Justin Evans, from the School of Physics and Astronomy, was responsible for the analysisof data that led to the first direct observation of anti-neutrino oscillations by muons –unstable subatomic particles – and the world's most precise measurement of theneutrino mass splitting.
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News
niversity archaeologists have spent fouryears leading a community archaeologyproject, exploring how the role of
Manchester’s Whitworth Park has changed over time.
Its culmination is a new exhibition at ManchesterMuseum, ‘Whitworth Park: Pleasure, Play and Politics’.
The exhibition will reveal the story of this very popularVictorian and Edwardian park through finds such aschildren’s toys dropped or lost in the boating lake. Ofparticular interest are personal objects that resonatetoday, or those that shed light on the behaviourexpected of visitors to the park and what happenedin reality.
The free exhibition opens on Thursday 22 May andruns until 5 October.
Visit: http://whitworthparklife.wordpress.com
Whitworth Park-life revealed…
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Making a big School feel smaller
Ruth Colton and Nick Overton at work.
Professor Sian Jones at the dig.
anchester Medical School – the largestmedical school in the UK with around2,200 undergraduates – has launchedspecial student communities to stop them
feeling isolated.
The School’s size and the structure of its courses mean that students can often feeldisconnected from the School and have difficultymeeting fellow students outside of their ownlearning groups.
Manchester Medical Student Communities – eachnamed by its members after an inspirational figure
in medicine or public health – involves face-to-facegatherings and 24/7 online portal The Hub, enablingstudents to build social and future professionalrelations and to share information on their hospital experiences.
Dr Cathy Holt, Senior Lecturer in CardiovascularBiology and the School’s Academic Lead for theproject, said: “The School’s new Student Communitiesencourage better interaction amongst students andfacilitate peer mentoring throughout the course.Interaction is encouraged across all five year groupsand beyond.”
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Medlock Primary School pupils at Whitworth Park dig.Photo credit: Manchester Museum.
From Bugs toDrugsDiscover how medicines are made at a freeOpen Day Extravaganza hosted by ManchesterPharmacy School.
‘From Bugs to Drugs’ takes place this Saturday(10 May) at University Place and will cater forall ages, from primary school pupils to highschool pupils, parents and carers.
Set against a public health theme, visitors willjourney through the different stages of thedrug development process and look to find acure for a new and highly infectious – and ofcourse fictitious! – microorganism that turnshuman beings into zombies if infected.
• To book [email protected]
Helping ourgraduatingstudents getjobs...The University is holding its GraduateRecruitment Fair on 11 and 12 June.
The fair – organised by the Careers Service –will feature 180 exhibitors with hundreds ofopportunities for 2014 aimed at final yeargraduates/postgraduates in a wide range ofdegree disciplines.
For publicity items such as suggested texts forSchool Facebook pages, emails, newsletters,posters or leaflets, [email protected] or telephoneext 52834.
For full details visit:www.manchester.ac.uk/graduatefair
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Studentscelebratesuccess
Funding boost for world’smost powerful telescope
he University has been awarded more than£6 million towards its part in the designwork for the international Square KilometreArray (SKA) radio telescope.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)confirmed the funding – together with a further £13 million for other UK partners – to pay towardskey SKA development and design work over the nextthree years.
The SKA, which has its headquarters at theUniversity’s Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, willbe the most powerful radio telescope array in theworld when scientific observations start from 2020and will address fundamental unanswered questionsabout the Universe.
Manchester scientists are leading the SKA Signal andData Transport (SADT) consortium, which will beresponsible for solving the challenges around handling, processing and transporting the hugeamount of data that will be generated by SKA.
TSquare Kilometre Array radio telescope.
anchester Business School is celebratingthe amazing success of its students whotook part in the IT Management forBusiness Degree (ITMB) e-skills competition.
Led by lecturer Ali Owrak, the teams won first placein every category and received a special prize forbest university. No other university has ever won all categories.
The competition involved students from 19universities pitching their project ideas to some ofthe largest employers in the UK with one aim – tochange young people's perceptions of the careersthey can enjoy within the industry and inspire moreto pursue these careers.
The teams were awarded £1,600 prize money intotal as well as a trophy to bring back to the school.Their success didn’t stop there – news of their workhas spread and they have been approached by anumber of companies including GlaxoSmithKline,Morrisons and HSBC, keen to work with thestudents. Maggie Berry, director ofwomenintechnology.co.uk, has also been in touch.
Ali said: “I’m exceptionally proud of what weachieved and the hard work from the students. We set out at the start of this project to unitestudents from all three years. We wanted toultimately create an ‘ITMB family’; we definitelyachieved that and more!”
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Research
Saving the heart ofthe communityTwo University Professors are investigating themarketing of historic churches, in a bid to keepthem at the heart of their communities.
Dominic Medway, Professor of Marketing atManchester Business School, and Gary Warnaby,Professor of Marketing in the School of Materials,are embarking on a two-year research project withThe Churches Conservation Trust, a charity thatprotects English historic churches which are nolonger in parish use.
Dominic said: “Our work will explore newmarketing strategies the Trust could undertake tohelp ensure these historic buildings are kept openand remain in use at the heart of communities.”
In line with the University’s commitment to socialresponsibility and support for third-sectororganisations, the research will be carried out on ano-charge basis to the Trust.
tunning images of a 305-million-year-oldharvestman fossil revealancestors of the modern-
day arachnids had two sets of eyesrather than one.
Manchester researchers, workingwith colleagues at the AmericanMuseum of Natural History, used X-ray imaging to reveal featuresnever before seen and say theirfindings add significant detail tothe evolutionary story of thisdiverse and highly successfulgroup of arthropods.
“Although they have eight legs, harvestmen are notspiders; they are more closely related to anotherarachnid, the scorpion,” said author Dr RussellGarwood, a palaeontologist in the University’s Schoolof Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences.
“Arachnids can have both median and lateral eyes,but modern harvestmen only possess a single set of median eyes – and no lateral ones.”
Ancient ‘spider’ images reveal eye-opening secrets
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Any future projects coming up?A key objective is redeveloping our alumniwebsites. I’m working with the Library toincrease the online resources alumni have accessto – something for which there’s a great demand.
Who would be your ideal dinner party guests? I love stand-up comedy so I would definitely wantto sit around the table with comedian Louis C K.I’m also really interested in the 19th CenturyLiberal movement – so I’d invite the famous localphilanthropist Edward Ryley Langworthy. FinallyI’d have to invite Liv Boeree – not only is she analumna with a first in Physics, she’s a professionalpoker player and a model as well…
What would you say to your 16-year-old self now? Don’t think that because it’s a dream it’s nevergoing to happen, but have a realistic fall back andkeep putting one foot in front of the other. Nevergive up.
Favourite book, film and TV programme? My favourite book is Don Quixoté, I love thecharacter and the meaning of the book. And myfavourite film is The Big Lebowski – I’m a huge fanof Jeff Bridges and the Coen Brothers. FavouriteTV programme – I am a massive fan of Fresh Meat– it’s close to my heart as it’s written by twoalumni (Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong) and starsformer student Jack Whitehall (though his careertook off before he graduated).
What is your earliest childhood memory? Not a memory but I have a photo of me holdingthe arm of a snow man in Sweden (where mymother’s family are from), looking expectant anddisappointed at the camera that the snowmanwasn’t whisking me away on a magical journey!
Any interesting hobbies?I used to be into theatre and getting on stage butturning thirty has made me want to get fit so Ispend more time at the gym – which isn’tinteresting at all is it?
A meeting with… Markus Karlsson-Jones,
Markus Karlsson-Jones, ourAlumni Officer for OnlineCommunications, started atthe University in October 2006as a Thesis AdministrationAssistant. He now looks afteronline communicationscontent aimed at formerUniversity students includingsocial media presence, regulareNewsletters, email campaignsand website.
What’s the best part of your job?Learning new ways to interact with our onlineaudience through the ever changing and variedworld of social media and digital communications.It’s constantly evolving as new platforms emergeand existing ones revamp themselves.
Any challenges? There is a bottomless appetite in social media forvaried content which is interesting and meaningful toour audience. Making efficient use of my time tocollect and share that content is probably mybiggest challenge. It’s paying off though!
How did you get to the role you have now? I fell into University administration but I decidedCommunications was an area I was really interestedin and I was lucky that a maternity cover positionopened up in the Division of Development andAlumni Relations.
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Research
esidents of ethnically diverseneighbourhoods can expect to experience fewer assaults than residents of neighbourhoods with little or no
ethnic diversity, according to a new way ofmeasuring violence.
Ian Warren says public health data on assaults –from ambulance service, A&E and hospitaladmissions records – give a more reliable picture ofcriminality than official police figures, criticised bythe UK Statistics Authority earlier this year.
Ian said: “I hope this work, and others like it, willfocus the attention of policy-makers and all thoseinterested in reducing the burden of violence on the police and the NHS.
“These findings show ethnic diversity dampens the relationship between poverty and violence inGreater Manchester. Higher levels of poverty andresidential instability were both shown to result inhigher levels of violence.”
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bese people who have stomach surgery tohelp them lose weight will halve their riskof heart attack according to new researchfrom a team of doctors at the University.
The procedures, known as bariatric surgery, involvetechniques such as gastric banding, which areavailable on the National Health Service (NHS), UKfor selected patients.
Research by led Dr Mamas Mamas, in the Instituteof Cardiovascular Sciences, reveals that death rateswere reduced by 40 per cent, and that heart attacksin particular were reduced by half – compared toobese people who did not have surgery.
Gastric surgery halves heart risk
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Global study fordiabetes careThe first patient has been recruited in a globalstudy to evaluate the best surgical practice toremove dead tissue from wounds that fail toheal effectively in diabetes patients.
The results of the study, being carried out byUniversity microbiologists and ManchesterRoyal Infirmary’s Diabetes Centre and VascularSurgery Department, may lead to changes inclinical care that significantly improve quality of life for patients with diabetes.
Diabetes can lead to a loss of feeling in the feetwhich, coupled with poor circulation, can leadto foot ulcers. Ulcers can become infected andtake a very long time to heal.
The study will evaluate the effectiveness ofusing a new technology known as theWoundWand™ Debridement Device, whichpreclinical trials suggest may be more effectiveat reducing bacterial counts.
Cancer survivor backs study to improve screening
Lorraine Benn.
David Walliams.
13
n ovarian cancer survivor fromManchester is backing research toimprove screening.
Lorraine Benn, aged 53, from Worsley, lost twosisters to ovarian cancer prompting her to havean elective hysterectomy as a precaution. Whenthe results came back from histology, she foundshe had stage 2 Ovarian Cancer despite havinghad no symptoms.
The 53-year-old is now backing research beingcarried out by the University – a participatingcentre in the UK Collaborative Trial of OvarianCancer Screening (UKCTOCS) – to assess whetheror not screening for ovarian cancer can help toimprove survival.
She said: “I hadn’t had any symptoms at all andthere was nothing to suggest anything waswrong. If I hadn’t had the operation when I did,things could have turned out very differently.”
Professor Ian Jacobs, University Vice Presidentand Dean of the Faculty of Medical and HumanSciences, said: “We have shown that ourscreening tests can pick up the cancer one totwo years before most women will develop anysymptoms of ovarian cancer.”
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Ethnically diverse neighbourhoods ‘safer’
Use celebritieswisely, Professorurges charitiesCelebrities working with internationalcharities are at their most useful when theywork behind the scenes speaking to moversand shakers, rather than filling column inchesof newspapers, according to new research.
Professor Dan Brockington reveals the public is,surprisingly, not good at noticing the charitablework of celebrities in his new book.
Instead, it’s the power brokers in business and Government who are more influenced bythe famous.
He said: “Though charities are doing a goodjob in the way they work with celebrities –there’s more they can do to influence thepeople where the power lies.”
New lead onrheumatoidarthritis A new international study has revealed how genetics could explain why differentenvironmental exposures can trigger the onset of different forms ofrheumatoid arthritis.
A team at the Arthritis Research UK Centrefor Genetics and Genomics at the University,part of a large international consortiuminvolving scientists from across 15 academicinstitutions, have better defined the geneticdistinction between two disease subtypes.
Centre Director Professor Jane Worthingtonadded: “We hope it will lead to patientsreceiving a swifter, accurate diagnosis andmore appropriate, targeted treatment.”
Professor Jane Worthington.
Call for morefrequentmammograms Approximately one third of women are athigher risk of developing cancer and mightbenefit from more frequent mammograms,research by Professor Gareth Evans, in theInstitute of Cancer Sciences, shows.
The study looked at over 50,000 womenparticipating in the UK NHS Breast ScreeningProgramme.
Professor Evans said: “Our results suggestthat three-yearly screening is very effective foraround 70% of the female population, butthat those women who have a higher thanaverage risk of developing breast cancerprobably require more frequent screening.”
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major new study is to look at howproviding more hospital services around the clock affects patient care – and how cost effective it is.
The research will investigate patient experiencesand outcomes at Salford Royal NHS FoundationTrust over eight years to provide vital informationon the benefits, costs and potentialconsequences of extending the hours of fulloperation.
Professor Matthew Sutton, Professor of HealthEconomics, said: “This research will providehospitals, local commissioners and theDepartment of Health with vital information onthe costs, benefits and potential unintendedconsequences of extending the hours of fulloperation of the NHS.”
Study into 24/7patient care
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Research
anchester scientists have used one of the brightest lights in the Universe toexpose the biochemical structure of a 50 million-year-old fossil plant to
stunning visual effect.
The team of palaeontologists, geochemists andphysicists investigated the chemistry of exceptionallypreserved fossil leaves from the Eocene-aged ‘GreenRiver Formation’ of the western United States bybombarding the fossils with X-rays brighter than amillion suns produced by synchrotron particleaccelerators.
The researchers, working with colleagues at theDiamond Light Source in Oxfordshire and theStanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource in theUS, published their findings in Metallomics.
By combining the unique capabilities of twosynchrotron facilities, the team, led by Dr NicholasEdwards, from the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, was able to producedetailed images of where the various elements ofthe periodic table were located within both livingand fossil leaves, as well as being able to show howthese elements were combined with other elements.
Co-author Professor Roy Wogelius said: “In onebeautiful specimen, the leaf has been partially eaten by prehistoric caterpillars – just as moderncaterpillars feed – and their feeding tubes arepreserved on the leaf. The chemistry of these fossiltubes remarkably still matches that of the leaf onwhich the caterpillars fed.”
Million suns shed lighton fossilised plant
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Close encounters with the 15th century
Students of Italian Medieval Literature get to holdhistory in their hands at Manchester.
The remarkable collection of 15th century books atThe John Rylands Library takes the subject out ofthe classroom and brings it to extraordinary life.
Senior lecturer in Italian, Dr Guyda Armstrong,focuses on Dante’s “Divine Comedy” in all its guisesfrom manuscript through print and even as a mobilephone app.
Her “Beyond The Text” course examines the culturaland technological history of the iconic poem –which is constantly being regenerated.
But it’s when her students feel the pages of thecenturies-old books themselves that they trulycelebrate the learning experience.
It’s through those primary sources that they learn todevelop a critical approach to research.
“We call them encounter sessions or close-ups,”says Dr Armstrong, who has won teaching awardsfrom both Harvard University and The University ofManchester. “It’s absolutely mind-blowing for thestudents to handle something that was made in the15th century. It gives them a real sense ofthemselves. It makes them think.
“There aren’t many places you could do this kind of work. It’s individual to Manchester, using thecultural heritage of the city to teach our students,our unique offering, you might say.
“The Library is one of the leading places in theworld to hold these Dante editions. We havevirtually all the early printed editions of Dante – in the UK our holdings are only rivalled by the British Library, Oxford, and Cambridge.
“Manchester students can work with the historicartefacts and their research into those artefacts isfed back into library catalogues.”
Dr Armstrong has worked closely with Rylands RareBooks and Maps Manager, Julianne Simpson, andManuscripts and Archives Manager, John Hodgson,since she began teaching this course seven yearsago. Last year the John Rylands Research Institutewas set up to develop research on the collections.
“Our students are becoming independentresearchers in their own right,” says Dr Armstrong.“They are doing at undergraduate level what wewould normally expect senior researchers to do.
“There are millions of books at the Rylands andexperts just don’t have time to examine each andevery one.
“My students have made some really importantdiscoveries, identifying new features of the books,for example, that have all contributed to theLibrary’s font of existing knowledge.
“They also see how their own learning maps ontothe other research cultures at the University.
“We are all learning from this material – learningtogether and collectively – and it’s really importantto model that collaboration.”
Not surprisingly the work has given many graduatesa taste for further research – acting as a trajectoryfor Masters and PhDs.
Sarah Todd graduated from Manchester in Frenchand Italian in 2010, completed her Masters in Italianin 2011 and is now completing her PhD on medievalItalian literature in Leeds.
“I definitely wouldn't have pursued a career inacademia were it not for the amazing resourcesavailable in the library,” she says.
“My entire MA was pretty much centred on thestudy of rare books and manuscripts in the Rylands,and because of the richness of both the collections– and the teaching – I was trained how to effectivelycarry out my own research, not just how to write anessay. I graduated as a competent bibliographer.”
The University’s new Learning Through Research programmeteaches our undergraduate students about their subject byhaving them look at – or do – research. This will not onlyenhance our students’ learning experience, it will improvetheir employability by increasing the scope of their studiesand skills base. Here UniLife meets one of the academicsshowing our students a new way of learning…
Dr Guyda Armstrong.
Feature
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New mums can rest easy over their babies’ skincarethanks to University researchers.
Trials into the effects of specific branded productslike bath wash and baby wipes show they are assafe as water.
But olive oil can damage the skin barrier, promotingand exacerbating atopic eczema.
As a result of the study many hospital neonatalunits have removed it from their store cupboards –and midwives and health visitors have changed theiradvice to mothers.
Professor of Midwifery, Dame Tina Lavender, wholed the research team at Manchester, said eczemaaffected around 30% of babies and was on the rise – partly because of environmental factors.
Yet there was no real evidence-based research into products parents could buy from supermarket shelves.
“Eczema has been a growing issue in midwifery andthere have been huge debates in the media aboutwhether you should use any products on your skinor whether water is best,” said Dame Tina.
“I became interested in it in terms of getting the evidence out there so parents could makeinformed choices.
“The NICE guidelines, which are outdated now,recommended water only but there wasn’t anyrobust evidence out there.
“We worked with mums, midwives and healthvisitors to find out what they thought about skinregimes and it became clear there was a lot ofconflicting advice.
“Women were using products but trying to hide itfrom health professionals. It seemed wrong thatthey were feeling guilty about using a product that’s on the shelves – branded for babies.
“They wanted to use baby wipes because it wasconvenient. With bath products some mothers felttheir baby was cleaner and it helped with bedtimeroutine. Even midwives and health visitors weresaying ‘we’re not supposed to recommend anything but…’
“That was the starting point. There were clearlyimportant questions that needed answering.”
Dame Tina’s team used clinical observations andsensitive biophysical assessment tools to trial theproducts of market leader, Johnson and Johnson –who part-funded the research.
The test were designed to show whether they wereequivalent to water and measured skin hydration,PH, and water evaporation. Mums were asked tokeep a diary and midwives recorded blemishes onthe skin.
It’s thought that as a result of the findings NICE may change its guidelines next year.
Dame Tina moved to Manchester five years agobecause of its reputation for nursing and midwiferyresearch. The main focus of her work is prolongedlabour and she has worked across Africa where itaccounts for one in every 22 maternal deaths.
She believes the link between academia andindustry is valuable provided research is conductedrigorously with eminent researchers in the field.
“Most commercial companies will do their own in-house investigations but have never subjectedtheir baby products to a randomised pragmaticclinical trial,” she says. “We would have reportedregardless of the results. The impact of this is thatparents can choose what’s best for them. It’s theway we should go.”
Feature
The Research Excellence Framework – the new system for assessingthe quality of research in UK higher education institutions – asks usto show the impact that our research has on the world. Here UniLifelooks at how our researchers really are changing the world…
17
Saving babies’ skin – and new mums’ peace of mind
Professor Dame Tina Lavender.
ManchesterMuseum EXHIBITIONS
All exhibitions at The Manchester Museumare FREE
until 7 SeptemberFrom the War of Nature
Sat 24 May – 5 Oct, FREEWhitworth Park: Pleasure, Play and Politics
FAMILY ACTIVITIES
Most activities are free and drop-in, someactivities may need to be booked and maycost up to £1.50, all ages
Every Sat and Sun, 11am-4pmDiscovery CentreDrop into the Discovery Centre for drawingand other art activities inspired by theMuseum’s collection and pick up one ofour free Museum activity sheets.
Available Sat and Sun 10am or 2pm –bookings one month in advanceNew! Children’s Birthday Parties
Tues 13 & 27 May, 10.30am, 11.30am and1pm, FREE (booking essential)Baby ExplorersSensory play and interactive story sessionsfor babies who aren't walking yet.
Sat 24 May, 11am-4pm, FREEBig Saturday: World of Reptiles
Mon 26 May – Fri 30 May, 11am-4pm, FREEMay Half Term – The Vivarium
Fri 30 May, 10.30am & 11.30am, FREE(booking essential) Magic CarpetStory making and activity sessions. Fortoddlers up to 5yrs and theirfamilies/carers.
THINGS TO DO
Thurs 22 May, 6.30pm, FREEAfterhours: Survival
TALKS, TOURS AND WORKSHOPS FOR ADULTS
Every Tues and Thurs, 12pm, FREEVivarium Tours
Every Weds and Thurs, 1pm, FREETaster Tours
Wed 7 May, 1pm, FREECollection Bites: From the War of Nature
Fri 16, 23 & 30 May, 1pm, FREELunchtime exhibition talks: From theWar of Nature
Opening times Open: Every day 10am-5pmSun-Mon (and Bank Holidays) 11am-4pm
FREE admission
Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, Manchester 0161 275 2648www.manchester.ac.uk/museum Follow us on Twitter @McrMuseum www.facebook.com/ManchesterMuseum
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The Martin HarrisCentre for Musicand DramaFREE LUNCHTIME CONCERTS
Thurs 8 May, 1.10pmQuatuor Danel
EVENING CONCERTS
Fri 9 May, 7.30pm, £13.50/£8/£3Quatuor Danel
The Martin Harris Centre for Music and DramaBridgeford Street, Manchester, M13 9PL0161 275 8951 email [email protected]/martinharriscentre
Listings
What’s OnFrom the War of Natureat Manchester Museum
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Whitworth Art Gallery Re-opening 25 October 2014
The Whitworth Art Gallery has started anew and exciting chapter in its history. Amajor building project is now taking placeto transform and extend the 120-year-oldgallery, doubling its public areas whilstreducing its carbon footprint and improvingfacilities for visitors.
This new development by architects MUMAwill re-connect the 19th century buildingwith Whitworth Park through an elegantcontemporary extension. The newWhitworth will bring you more art, moreactivities, more events and more space. Itwill be all things our many visitors havealways loved about the Whitworth.
We look forward to welcoming you backon Saturday 25 October 2014.
Visit our website for details of ourforthcoming outreach events…..
Whitworth Art GalleryOxford Road, Manchester0161 275 7450email [email protected]/whitworth
InternationalSocietyVisit some of the most beautiful andinteresting locations around England,Scotland and Wales. There are visits takingplace almost every weekend throughoutthe year.
Sat 10 MayYork
Sun 11 MayNorth Wales visiting Anglesey (withfull day guided tour)
Sat 17 MayThe Lake District with a ride on theLakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, acruise on Lake Windermere and a visitto the Lake District Visitors Centre
Sun 18 MayKnowsley Safari Park
Sat 24 MayNorth Wales visiting the SnowdonMountain Railway, Swallow Falls andBetws-y-coed
Sun 25 MayWarwick Castle
Sat 31 MayHadrian’s Wall (with full day guidedtour)
Sat 31 MayOxford (with guided tour)
Sun 1 JunThe Lake District visiting Windermereand Holker Hall’s Garden Festival
Opening times Mon-Fri 9.30am – 7pm (during term time)Mon-Fri 9.30am – 5pm (during vacation)
Small World Café opening timesMon-Fri 11am – 3pm
327 Oxford Road (next to Krobar)0161 275 4959 email [email protected]
Jodrell BankDiscovery CentreJodrell Bank Discovery Centre offers a greatday out for all the family. Come andexplore the planets using our model of theSolar System. Find answers to the wondersthe Universe, listen to the sounds of the BigBang and discover what the scientists areresearching ‘Live’ in our interactive SpacePavilion. The glass-walled café offersspectacular views of the iconic Lovelltelescope and fantastic homemade cakes!
EVENTSSat 24 May – Sun 1 JunAmazed By ScienceThurs 29 MayLovell Lecture - Prof. Gary Fuller
Information: Live from Jodrell Bank website
Tickets: http://ow.ly/hQCFU Ticketsinclude entry to the Discovery Centre.
Opening times10am-5pm
For more information and prices please visitour website Jodrell Bank Discovery CentreMacclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 9DL01477 571 766www.jodrellbank.net
Chaplaincies St Peter’s House Chaplaincy Sunday, 11am Holy Communion12.45pm Lunch (1st Sun)Sunday, 5.30pm Student Service (term-time only)Wednesday 12.15pm Eucharist, followedby free soup lunch (term-time only)
RC Chaplaincy Avila House Mass Times (term-time only)Sun, 7pm (in the Holy Name Church) nextdoor to the ChaplaincyMon, Tues, Thurs and Friday, 5.30pm in theChaplaincy ChapelWeds, 1.05pm in the Chaplaincy Chapel
The Jewish Student Centre and Synagogue07817 250 557Email Rabbi Ephraim Guttentag:[email protected]
Muslim Chaplaincy South Campus Mosque, McDougall Centre Jammaat (Group Prayer) Daily Juma Prayer Friday 1.15pm Honorary Imam: Imam Habeeb,[email protected]
North Campus MosqueBasement of Joule Library, Sackville Street Building Jammaat (Group Prayer) Daily Juma Prayer Friday 12.30pm
The role of Volunteer Muslim Chaplain is toprovide pastoral support, guidance and alistening ear to Muslim staff and students.Chaplains’ contact details are available inthe prayer rooms or via St Peter’s House.
The John RylandsLibrary(Deansgate)EXHIBITIONSUntil 22 JunBus Stop StoriesUntil 29 JunAftermath (exhibition to mark thecentenary of the IWW)Until 3 AugThe Space Between: exhibition ofartworks by Anthony McCarthy
FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITIESThurs 8 May, 10.30am-11.30amToddler TalesSat 10 May, 11am-12pmEnchanting TalesFri 16 May – Sat 17 May, 5pm-9am(booking essential)Ahoy, there! Piratical PandemoniumSun 25 May, 1pm-4pmAftermath: Wartime Tea DanceFri 30 May, 1pm-4pmBuild a castle
THINGS TO DOTues 6 May, 2pm-3pm (booking essential)Katherine Tynan: diary of a womanduring wartimeMon 19 May, 3pm-4pm (booking essential)Unusual ViewsTues 20 May, 11am-4pmMarblingThurs 22 May, 5pmAftermath: Stefan Boness
TOURS Booking required for all tours.Sat 10 May, 12pm-1pmHere be Dragons!A tour of the Library for childrenThurs 15 May, 2pm-3pmTours and TreasuresTues 20 May, 11am-12pmAftermath: Curator tourWed 28 May, 11.30am-12.30pmConservation studio toursFor further details of our events, please visitour website.
FREE ADMISSION Public opening times: Sun-Mon 12-5pm,Tues-Sat 10am-5pmReader opening times: Mon-Weds, Fri-Sat10am-5pm, Thurs 10am-7pm
General and Reader Enquiries Telephone: 0161 275 3764Email: [email protected] and Event EnquiriesTelephone: 0161 306 0555Email: [email protected]
Gig GuideManchesterAcademy 1, 2 and 3Wed 7 May Clean Bandit - £11 The Hold Steady - £17 Janelle Monae + Cody Chesnutt - £26.50
Thurs 8 May Martin Stephenson and The Daintees + Helen McCookery Book + The Old Town Quartet - £16.50
Sat 10 May The Clone Roses + DJ Clint Boon - £12 Jagwar Ma - £12.50 Y Key Operators + Double Fret - £6
Mon 12 May Action Bronson - £16.50
Tue 13 May Pentatonix - £16.50
Wed 14 May Lit + Blame - £17.50
Sat 17 May CASH – The No.1 Jonny Cash Tribute - £10 Capone-N-Noreaga and Onyx - £20 Embrace - £19.50
Mon 19 May H.E.A.T + Supercharger - £7
Wed 21 May Fishbone + Clay Pigeon - £15
Thurs 22 May The Hoosiers - £10 The Slam Dunk Ska Punk Tour – Goldfinger/ Zebrahead + Fandangle - £15
Sat 24 May Gigantic – Classic Indie All Dayer – Ned’s Atomic Dustbin + The Wedding Present + CUD + The Sultans Of Ping + The Frank & Walters (from 1.30pm) - £25
Sun 25 May Escape presents CULMINATION – Marcel Woods/ TV Noise/ Harry Shotta Show Live/ Sandy B Live/Paul Taylor/ Original Sin/Whelan and Di Scala + many more - £23 Dodgy (Acoustic) - £15
Wed 28 May The War On Drugs - £14
The Three Johns - £10
Thurs 29 May AWOLNATION + Eliza And The Bear + Odjbox - £13 FutureProof + Connor Harris + Canary Swing + Rewind - £8
Fri 30 May P A N T H E R featuring Patrick Hagenaar - £7
Francis Dunnery Band – The Best Of Tour - £22.50
Sat 31 May The Enemy - £15
Sun 1 Jun Schoolboy Q - £16
Mon 2 Jun Mashrou Leila - £15
Tickets fromStudents' Union, Oxford RoadPiccadilly Box Office @ easy Internet Café (c/c) 0871 2200260Royal Court (Liverpool) 0151 709 4321 (c/c)Students’ UnionOxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL0161 275 2930 www.manchesteracademy.net
The University’s strategic planManchester 2020 lists one of our goals as contributing to the social andeconomic success of the local, nationaland international community. Our newengagement campaign to encourage staff to highlight how they are ‘making a difference’ to society was launchedfeaturing campus installations and a new blog. Here UniLife looks at acolleague we can be proud of…
immy Pickering stands outside the iconicSalford Lads Club, made famous by one of Manchester’s best known, most lovedbands The Smiths when they posed outside
for an album cover.
But it’s not just a pose. Jimmy has attended eventshere as part of his work as a mentor for Reclaim,the multi-award winning charity that works toinspire and enthuse youngsters in the North West’sdisadvantaged communities.
Reclaim helps young people engage directly withthe decision makers influencing their lives. Directedby the agenda of its young members, promotingleadership and facilitating dialogue with the police,council, politicians and media, it helps those whoare often marginalised to realise their voice – andgain confidence and self belief.
Student Recruitment and Widening ParticipationCoordinator Jimmy spent six months mentoringfifteen Year 9 boys. He recalls: “We mentorsattended Reclaim every month, playing football,rapping (not very well!) and showing academic staffaround Salford to highlight the way the boys on theproject perceived their local area.
“Reclaim spreads a fantastic message that youngpeople should be proud of their local area, and itwas great to see the change in a number of theboys as they gained in confidence and tookinspiration from meeting so many new people from around Manchester and Salford.”
Mentoring young people is a theme for his workinglife as well.
Jimmy coordinates our flagship post-16 wideningparticipation scheme the Manchester AccessProgramme (MAP). With more than 560 local statecollege students on the programme this year, allwith no history of higher education in their family,the team encourages and supports them to worktowards gaining entry to a research-intensiveuniversity.
He organises on-campus events and skillsworkshops for the students and helps 125academic colleagues supervise up to six studentseach in producing a fully academically researchedand referenced essay.
And he has just become Local Authority governorat Heald Place Primary School in Rusholme.
Jimmy says: “Working with local young people issomething which I both enjoy and think is vital forthe future of Manchester, both in ensuring thestudent body of the University represents thediversity of the area’s inhabitants and for allowingas many young people as possible the chance thepursue the opportunities they deserve.”
Next Issue 2 June 2014
M1076 02.14 The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL Royal Charter Number RC000797 Cert no. SGS-COC-3059
Feature
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J
Inspiring the nextgeneration Jimmy Pickering.
