Your Manchester 2016

The Magazine for Alumni and Friends October 2016

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manchester

Accelerate gender parity Naa Acquah believes in the power of challenging stereotypes

Our man in China A city alive with science Building our future together your manchester magazine

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The first year University news Our man in China Changing how people work and think A city alive with science Norman architecture Discover your inner engineer Building our future together A campus for the next 100 years Accelerate gender parity A two-way beneficial partnership A MAP for life Echoes of the past A shared experience Making a difference

Welcome to the 2016 edition of Your Manchester – the magazine for alumni and friends. he past year has been stuffed full of exciting alumni events and initiatives in Manchester, London and across the globe, news of some of which you will find in the following pages. We invited you to express your ‘inner engineer’ at this year’s Cockcroft Rutherford Lecture (pages 19-21), debate the EU referendum in the beautiful surroundings of the Royal College of Physicians in London, join ‘In Conversation With’ the President and ViceChancellor and Professor Sir Andre Geim in Singapore (see page 34), and meet the new Chancellor, Lemn Sissay MBE, at the Foundling Museum in London, where he is a Fellow, and at our own Manchester Museum.

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Speaking of the new Chancellor, you can read about his reflections on his first year in office on pages 4-5. His wish to inspire and be inspired is a thread that runs through everything he does at the University, and at the time of writing this welcome message he was conferring degrees upon this year’s graduates and speaking of how much they motivate him.

I am delighted that more of our alumni than ever are contributing to the life of the University, as volunteers, donors and ambassadors, championing our strengths. Nearly 6,000 of you have now volunteered with us, the majority helping students get ‘work-ready’, and some 5,500 alumni and friends are donors (see page 35 for more Facts and Figures). We are grateful to all of you for your interest, support and encouragement.

I don’t have enough room to cover everything I would like to here and there is so much more in the magazine. Please do turn the pages, enjoy a little bit of nostalgia and a whole lot of pride in your University of Manchester.

Claire Kilner Deputy Director (Alumni Relations)

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Join in the conversation www.facebook.com/AlumniUoM @AlumniUoM The University of Manchester Alumni Association

@AlumniUoM issuu.com/alumniuom

your.manchester.ac.uk Update your email details Email: alumni@manchester.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)161 306 3066

contact us Your Manchester is published by the Division of Development and Alumni Relations in conjunction with the Division of Communications and Marketing, The University of Manchester.

For further information concerning any of the articles in this issue: Tel: +44 (0) 161 306 3066 Email: alumni@manchester.ac.uk The articles printed here, to the best of our knowledge, were correct at the time of going to press.

We cannot guarantee that all articles submitted will be printed and we reserve the right to edit material where necessary. Furthermore, the views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of The University of Manchester, The University of Manchester Alumni Association or the Editor.

Thanks to: Kate Horton, Simon Harvey and Karen Daniel.

Cover: Naa Acquah, the General Secretary of the Students’ Union 2015-17 (see pages 26-27).

Photo credit: McFade

Openness and collaboration Ever since I can remember my life has been steeped in science – as a child I declared in an essay that I wanted to become a famous scientist. It’s hardly surprising that it became my chosen career path, even though I did consider becoming an artist at one point. All good scientists are very creative. was therefore delighted that Manchester was designated European City of Science in 2016 and that the city hosted the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), the biennial, panEuropean, general science conference dedicated to scientific research and innovation. We welcomed thousands of delegates to explore the theme of Science as Revolution: from Cottonopolis to Graphene City, echoing the rich scientific and industrial heritage of Manchester, the birthplace of the first industrial revolution.

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ESOF, which took place just a month after the European Union referendum, was deemed to be a tremendous success, and you can read more about this on pages 1617. In my opening remarks as ESOF 2016 Champion, I took the opportunity to express my belief that, following the Brexit vote, both the city and the University are and will remain irrevocably part of Europe.

Manchester is a city that is open for business and collaboration – science is about discovery and about the future of our planet, which transcends politics.

I want to reassure you, our global alumni community, that The University of Manchester will continue to welcome and embrace students, staff and academic and business collaborations from across the

world. I have brought together a group of senior colleagues to explore the future challenges and opportunities that the altered relationship with the EU will bring.

Research, scholarship, discovery and education are not constrained by political borders. They are endeavours that depend critically on international exchanges of ideas, discoveries and people, and we will continue to look to our friends in Europe and further afield for inspiration and opportunities for collaboration.

Through ESOF, we were able to showcase the University’s ambitions to be a world leader in advanced materials and health.

One unique outcome that I wish to introduce here is Health Innovation Manchester (HInM), a partnership across healthcare research, academia and industry that is contributing to devolution of the health budget to Greater Manchester. We already work closely with our NHS and industry partners, but HInM means that ideas can move much more quickly from the lab to having an impact on people in Greater Manchester, and ultimately around the world. This new approach harnesses and builds on collective expertise to accelerate future gains for patients. A perfect example of openness and collaboration.

Thank you for your continuing support and interest in the University.

Professor Dame nancy Rothwell President and Vice-Chancellor

AT A glAnCe The University of Manchester is ranked 35th in the world by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of Universities (5th in the UK, 7th in Europe) We have 38,590 students – the largest campusbased student community in the UK We have regular contact with more than 320,000 alumni from over 200 countries and territories More than 94% of our graduates go straight into employment or further study (HESA 2015) We have 25 Nobel Prize winners among current and former staff and students The Research Excellence Framework 2014 judged 83% of our research activity to be 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' We attracted more than £345 million in research funding in 2014/15 www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/facts-figures

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CHANCELLOR

Lemn Sissay MBE

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The first year Lemn Sissay MBE (Hon LittD 2015) was installed as Chancellor of The University of Manchester on 14 October 2015. We asked him to reflect on his first year in this role. hese are four lines of The World Wakes – a small flavour of 16 pages, a month’s worth of notes and research, from the laptop of our Chancellor. They are part of a thoughtprovoking poem, commissioned for the University’s National Graphene Institute: “My brief was to produce a poem which allows the reader to imagine a new world.

It’s a challenging brief but it’s my responsibility to rise to the challenge and shine.”

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You don’t so much interview Lemn Sissay as experience an hour of his time – a dynamic, discursive, enlightening, fast-moving, thoughtful and sometimes vulnerable roller-coaster ride.

A year into his Chancellorship, Lemn is learning a lot, still getting to grips with the enormity of the role and what he describes as the vastness of the University. But he’s enjoying himself.

“It’s better than lifting the FA Cup,” said the official poet for the FA Cup competition in 2015.

“Alumni reaction is heart-warming. I was in Broadway Market in Hackney the other day when I saw five young women, bright as summer, sharp as a pin, looking fantastic, synapses sparkling and they shouted ‘Chancellor, Chancellor!’. It turns out they were all newly graduated alumni. We took a selfie and I put it on my Facebook page.

“I had exactly the same reaction from an 80-year-old woman at the Foundling Museum. She had the same brightness of intelligence, she shook my hand, and whispered she was an alumna and how proud she was that I was Chancellor.

“If a third-year student or our alumni actually know who their Chancellor is, that’s a good start, isn’t it? It is my aim to inspire and be inspired, and so I love getting feedback, it feeds me.”

Lemn is a poet, writer and broadcaster. His work adorns buildings, walls and pavements throughout Manchester and London.

Brought up near Wigan, he was fostered and finally given up to a succession of children’s homes. All this despite his Ethiopian mother thinking he would be returned to her when she finished her studies.

… make the implausible, synch the unsinkable, take sea water and make it drinkable, build the unheard of and will the illogical, link the unthinkable and think the impossible …

“A lot of young people in care in children’s homes like myself are basically set up to fail.

There was never any expectation that I would go on to college. It was not an option and I didn’t consider it.

“One of the best things that can be offered to a young person who’s spent a life in care is education, because it helps to elevate, classwise; it offers new horizons, new journeys and the possibility that you can contribute to make our society a better place.”

Lemn left the last home aged 18, and picked up jobs as a self-employed gutter cleaner, door-to-door bleach and washing-up liquid salesman, and a cloth cutter on an Eastman Cutter machine. Three years later and his first collection of poetry, Tender Fingers in a Clenched Fist, was published, with the Guardian, among others, hailing him as an emerging talent.

“I’m here once a week on average. I actually get butterflies when I’m on the train here because I love it here. If it’s ever bad here it’s just me that’s feeling bad here.

“I was moved to tears when I was elected because I wasn’t expecting it. I don’t expect to win. I try my best at whatever I do and that’s my limit. Be as good as you can be. In my life the idea of winning is a by-product of a state of mind.

“It all made sense and the time felt right in my life. If you look at all of my work so far with organisations like the British Council and the Southbank Centre, you’d say everything was leading up to me doing this role.

“But I’m doing it because I love it. I don’t imagine that I would have taken the role if it was any other university. My poems are tattooed into the skin of this city and for it to turn around to me and say ‘do you want this, Lemn?’ is amazing. I like the theatre of the graduation ceremonies and to be there at the definitive moment a student graduates means a heck of a lot.”

And if the Chancellor looks back at his remarkable life so far and the child he was in care homes, what advice would he now offer to his younger self?

“You are not defined by your scars but by the incredible ability to heal.

“A man from the Workers’ Film Association in Manchester once said to me, ‘Take it easy but take it all.’ And as far as I can see, he is right!”

i was moved to tears when i was elected.

He now lives in London but gets genuinely excited by returning to Manchester.

@lemnsissay

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UNIVERSITY NEWS

graphene commercialisation The latest stage in the story of graphene at the University has received planning permission from Manchester City Council. The research and technology development facility, the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), will accelerate the process of taking graphene products to the marketplace.

Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly, the centre will initially focus on a number of the University’s world-class graphene application areas, including energy, composites, formulations and coatings, electronics and membranes.

An artist’s impression of the Manchester Engineering Campus Development.

green light for new engineering campus Work is underway to build the Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD), one of the largest single construction projects undertaken by a higher education institution in the UK. The £350 million development will transform the way in which future engineers are educated. Due to be completed in 2020, MECD is part of the University’s £1 billion Campus Masterplan to create a world-leading campus. This flagship project will bring together a multi-disciplinary engineering and scientific community and

Public engagement with science President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell took up the role of President of the British Science Association (BSA) in September 2016. Established in 1831, the BSA is a registered charity that organises major initiatives across the UK including British Science Week, the British Science Festival, the CREST Awards and programmes for young people in schools and colleges. She said, “I’m looking forward to helping the Association with its goals of making science a fundamental part of society and culture, which is something I feel particularly passionate about.”

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consolidate the University’s student campus around Oxford Road. Located opposite the National Graphene Institute on Booth Street East and adjacent to the Manchester Aquatics Centre, the new site will act as a gateway between the existing University campus and the city.

Visit pages 24-25 to see how MECD fits into the Campus Masterplan. www.manchester.ac.uk/mecd

Along with the National Graphene Institute (NGI), which opened in 2015, and the Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, the GEIC will be crucial in maintaining the UK’s worldleading position in graphene and other 2D materials’ research. Whereas the NGI features academic-led research in partnership with industry, the GEIC will be industry-led, working with academia and focusing on innovation and applications.

Set to open in 2018, the GEIC is partially funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, Innovate UK and Masdar, the Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company owned

by Mubadala. www.manchester.ac.uk/graphene/ collaborate/geic

Plaque for nobel laureate The University unveiled a plaque in honour of Nobel laureate Sir Lawrence Bragg on 10 December 2015, 100 years to the day he should have received the Nobel Prize for Physics. It is sited on Coupland Street on the Martin Harris Centre, which was previously part of the Physics Department during Sir Lawrence’s time at the University – he was Langworthy Professor of Physics from 1919-37. He actually received the award in September 1922; the delay was due to World War I. Sir Lawrence and his father, Sir William Bragg, were jointly honoured for their analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays. Aged 25 at the time, he remains the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Sir Lawrence Bragg

a decade of success

exciting times for manchester museum Manchester Museum has received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund for its Courtyard Project. The museum, a popular attraction for visitors to the University and city, will be transformed with a major twostorey extension, a new main entrance and much-improved visitor facilities, all inspired by a new ethos of a ‘museum for life.’ The plans include a new exhibitions gallery, providing almost three times as much space as the museum currently has for temporary and touring shows, and a permanent South Asia Gallery, the result of a landmark partnership with the British Museum. Work will begin in May 2018 and the finished building will reopen in early 2020.

The Manchester Leadership Programme (MLP) – in which students take part in academic events and community volunteering as part of their degree – is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Unique to the University, the MLP enables students to gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a responsible global citizen. Since 2006, 9,000 students have carried out 350,000 hours of volunteering, contributing to society and developing the kinds of skills and experiences that graduate employers seek.

An artist’s impression of the new entrance on Oxford Road.

The Heritage Lottery Fund’s development funding of £406,400 has been awarded to help the museum progress its plans to apply for a full grant in 2017. News of this support marks the second major commitment to the scheme, following a Treasury announcement of £5 million towards the South Asia Gallery.

With nearly 90 per cent of the total project funding identified, the museum is now actively seeking additional supporters to join it in the vital last step towards making the Courtyard Project a reality.

www.manchester.ac.uk/mlp Opened in 2006, the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, the first purpose-built interdisciplinary institute of its kind in the UK, has secured over £160 million in research funding, launched start-up companies and is dedicated to training the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists through its many EU programmes. A series of events throughout the year will culminate in a research symposium to celebrate its achievements.

Follow the progress of the Courtyard Project at www.courtyardprojectmm. wordpress.com

www.mib.ac.uk

Credit: Benjamin Ealovega

Sir Mark Elder

honorary Professorship The University is delighted to appoint Sir Mark Elder CBE as an Honorary Professor in the Department of Music. Sir Mark has been Music Director of the Hallé since September 2000, and works as a guest with the world’s leading opera houses and symphony orchestras. He has a wide-ranging discography of award-winning recordings and is International Chair in Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Sir Mark was on the shortlist for the role of Chancellor of The University of Manchester in last year’s election, which was won by Lemn Sissay MBE. His fellow nominee, the Rt Hon the Lord Mandelson, became Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University in April 2016.

In Place of War (IPOW) is an initiative delivering a creative, entrepreneurial, Universitycertified training programme in Africa, South America and the Middle East. Professor Ken McPhail, Associate Dean for Social Responsibility, Faculty of Humanities, said, “The programme will empower and equip over one million of the world’s poorest young people, and shows what a combination of the arts, entrepreneurship and a concern for social justice can achieve." inplaceofwar.net

See pages 30-31 for details of the Manchester Access Programme in its tenth year of supporting disadvantaged school children.

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UNIVERSITY NEWS

university refreshes manchester 2020 A refresh of Manchester 2020, the University’s strategic plan, was launched in October 2015. The original Manchester 2020 set out a plan to achieve our vision to be a world-leading university, recognised globally for the excellence of its research, outstanding learning and student experience, and its social, economic and cultural impact.

The core goals remain central to our strategy. The key changes place more emphasis on ambition, focus and distinctiveness, and environmental sustainability.

The Lovell Telescope at night.

Jodrell Bank celebrations The 70th anniversary of Sir Bernard Lovell’s first steps into a “whole new science” at one of Britain's most important space observation sites is being marked with a year-long programme of events. Sir Bernard set up old Army radar equipment on the site in Cheshire to detect cosmic rays and investigate meteors – the site was to become the University’s Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics – and began work on 14 December 1945. The observatory has since played an important role in the research of meteors, quasars, pulsars, masers and gravitational lenses, and was heavily involved with the tracking of space probes at the start of the space age.

The Lovell Telescope, which has been probing the depths of space since the summer of 1957, is now undergoing a restoration programme as part of the First Light project, a major redevelopment that aims to conserve and celebrate the heritage of the Jodrell Bank site.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has pledged £12 million and the Garfield Weston Foundation has donated £750,000.

The University is currently fundraising to meet the remaining shortfall of £4.9 million.

www.jodrellbank.net

manchester students most targeted by employers A survey of vacancies, starting salaries and undergraduate work-experience programmes at the country’s 100 leading employers showed how these companies targeted Manchester students ahead of all others, including Oxford and Cambridge.

The Graduate Market in 2016 is published

by High Fliers Research.

Tammy Goldfeld, Head of the University’s Careers Service, said, “We’re obviously delighted that our students – for the second year running – are the most targeted by

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leading graduate recruiters, as well as encouraged by the ongoing recovery of the graduate jobs market.

“Our recruitment fairs were fully booked last year, as employers continue to appreciate the talent of our students and the uniqueness of a Manchester education, which provides our graduates with the additional skills and experience employers are looking for.” www.highfliers.co.uk

The refresh comes at a time when the University and the higher education sector as a whole are facing new challenges and opportunities. It builds on new or revised University strategies including those for research, teaching, social responsibility, internationalisation, and communications and marketing.

www.manchester.ac.uk/2020

royal award for school governor initiative The School Governor Initiative, which supports staff and alumni to take up school governor positions in state schools and colleges, has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. At the end of 2014/15, the total number of staff and alumni governors stood at 433. This equates to 36,372 volunteering hours, reaching 94,850 learners.

See page 40 for details of how to get involved with the School Governor Initiative.

top 10 city Manchester – “The UK’s cultural boomtown” – is on the 2016 Lonely Planet Guide’s list of top 10 cities in the world to visit, with the University’s Whitworth featuring as one of the sights to see. The gallery continues to receive accolades following a major £15 million transformation, including gold at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2016 in the large visitor attraction category.

Edward Astle

new chair for Board of governors served on the boards, and ran substantial divisions, of Cable and Wireless, BICC and National Grid. He has also served as Pro Rector, Enterprise, at Imperial College London. He is currently a non-executive director of Intertek plc, is one of three independent directors on BT’s Equality of Access Board and is Vice Chair of the Shannon Trust, a prisoner literacy charity.

The University has awarded Medals of Honour – the highest accolade the University bestows – to two former members of the Board of Governors.

President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell presented the medals to Robert Hough CBE, DL and Gerry Yeung OBE, DL.

The University has reorganised its faculty structure. All departments and schools are now divided between three faculties: the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health; the Faculty of Humanities; and the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Untitled 2016, by Anya Gallaccio, sited in Whitworth Park. The commission has been supported through a major Exceptional Arts Award from Arts Council England and by The Oglesby Charitable Trust, Art Fund and The Karpidas Foundation.

Credit: Michael Pollard

Edward Astle has been appointed as the new Chair of the University’s Board of Governors, the body that carries the ultimate responsibility for our overall strategic direction and for the management of our finances, property and affairs generally. He succeeded Anil Ruia, who held the position since 2010. Mr Astle spent most of his career in the telecoms and utilities sector where he

www.lonelyplanet.com

outstanding result for teach First programme The Teach First North West programme, which sits within the School of Environment, Education and Development, has been judged outstanding by Ofsted. The programme, led by the Manchester Institute of Education in partnership with the charity Teach First, trains teachers to work in schools with the aim of raising aspiration levels among disadvantaged pupils. It was praised

for the ‘outstanding effectiveness’ of its leadership and ‘can do’ spirit of participants, and was awarded the highest rating possible across all four areas of assessment. The University of Manchester is now the only university provider in the North West to have its entire teacher training provision rated as ‘outstanding’

by Ofsted.

www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth

recognition of creative teaching Manchester Medical School has been awarded Apple’s Distinguished Program Status, which recognises the School’s use of iPads, apps and content to promote creativity, collaboration, innovation and critical thinking to transform learning and teaching.

The iPad is embedded throughout the undergraduate MBChB programme and the technology creates personalised learning tailored to the diverse needs of all medical students. www.manchester.ac.uk/mms

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MICHAEL WOOD

i’ve been fascinated by china ever since i was a school boy.

Michael Wood in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.

Our man in “We’ve had word from a very good source that even China’s leaders have seen some parts of the series – can you believe it!”

Historian, broadcaster and Professor of Public History at the University Michael Wood (Hon LittD 2015) fizzes when he is enthused. And he is as likely to fizz over the campaign to save Baguley Hall in Wythenshawe or a lecture at the Lytham St Anne’s Classical Association as he is about The Story of China, his latest television series exploring 4,000 years of China’s culture, people and landscapes.

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Credit: Maya Vision

Early morning with dancers by the walls of Kaifeng.

Credit: Maya Vision Credit: Maya Vision

China

With Korean scholars at the Confucian cemetery in Qufu.

e regards all of these activities as exemplars of what a good Professor of Public History should be doing, but his farthest piece of outreach work has inadvertently become one of the two major events that have enhanced Manchester’s standing with China.

The visit of Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, to the National Graphene Institute on 23 October 2015 was the first visit of a Chinese president to Manchester, and its significance as part of a rare visit to the UK was noted by many observers.

The University is proud of the breadth and depth of its links with China. They include collaborations with leading companies and universities in key research areas, and we host a Confucius Institute for Chinese studies on campus. We have more than 170 Chinese staff, and welcome more than 4,000 students from mainland China each year.

Now, Michael’s six-part series on The Story of China may also have garnered Manchester many admirers in China, following an overwhelmingly positive public response. “Making the series was a huge challenge and a great adventure,” he said.

“I was really pleased by the public response, which in Britain has been wonderful.

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“I’ve never been stopped in the street so often by strangers saying how much they’d enjoyed something I’ve done.

“The Chinese reaction was very interesting too. Within 36 hours a huge debate began online after it was pirated and made available with full Chinese subtitles, and the six programmes have had millions of views.

I was interviewed in the People’s Daily, the China Daily and got an amazing sympathetic review from the state news agency Xinhua.

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MICHAEL WOOD

(Above and below) President Xi Jinping (centre) visits the National Graphene Institute.

“The striking thing, given their position of power today, is how sensitive the Chinese are to how they are represented in the outside world. But they loved it and they were intrigued that you could have a film with a grand sweep historical narrative, distilling many of the academic arguments but was presented in a way that was populist and immersive in tone.

“The Chinese tend to perceive the BBC as unsympathetic to them, but the online discussions saw the films as being different – not actually made by the BBC (though the series was shown on BBC Two) but made by ‘a professor from The University of Manchester’, which of course has helped the University’s name recognition in China, coming after President Xi Jinping’s visit.”

He continued, “Reaction to the series has enabled a lot of intriguing conversations about future projects, including one idea about a popular TV guide to Chinese literature. It would be great to do something else because we had a superb Chinese crew and team, and we would like to keep it together.”

An American version of The Story of China is now being edited, and the series is already being taken up by other countries following worldwide distribution. There is even talk of the series being shown on China’s English language news channel, CCTV.

Celebration of Philanthropy 6 April 2017 Professor Michael Wood will be the keynote speaker at our special day of celebration to thank and recognise donors to the University.

See page 38 for more details.

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“I’ve been fascinated by China ever since I was a school boy here in Manchester,” Michael added. “I remember buying Chinese poetry from Sherratt & Hughes in Cross Street, and later I shared a house as a postgraduate with a German expert on China. I travelled across China in the 1980s but I hadn’t been back for a while.”

In the series, he set out to counterbalance conventional western views of China by shifting the focus on to its people and their stories, and conveying the warmth and fun of the Chinese people. Highlights include ruined cities of the Silk Road, desert oases and the ancient capitals of China, all brought to life with temple festivals and ancestral celebrations, traditional storytellers and Buddhist musicians.

Six months of preparation and two years of filming, with a dozen trips to China, coincided with his work at the University.

He enjoys contact time with students so much that he has agreed to continue his various activities at Manchester.

So, as he reflects on the series, does he think it may have added to the on-going awareness building around China and Chinese culture? “I hope so; you always hope that films can play a role. I’m of the generation who grew up with The Great War and Seven Up and those types of programmes. We all want to ‘educate, inform and entertain’ (as John Reith said), and I think that’s still what public service broadcasting should be about. I’m still ploughing my Reithian furrow really!

“Ever since I started doing films here in Manchester I’ve also believed that, if you can spark people off, especially young people, make them see things in a different way, then that’s great, that’s what we can do through film making.”

Visit mayavisionint.com for the latest news about The Story of China.

RESEARCH BEACON

Changing how people work and think The University has identified five research beacons where we have a unique concentration of high-quality research activity and are at the forefront of the search for solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. Here, we throw the spotlight on one of these beacons – Addressing Global Inequalities, which is advancing our understanding of the world in which we live to improve lives. he University has been at the forefront of development studies for more than 60 years, and is an internationally recognised, driving, intellectual force in critical thinking, teaching and research. As the next stage in our commitment to this field, we have now united the strengths of the Institute for Development Policy and Management and the Brooks World Poverty Institute to create the Global Development Institute (GDI), the largest of its kind in Europe.

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The new institute aims to create and share knowledge to inform and influence policy makers, organisations and corporations, so that they can make positive changes for people living in poverty. More than 45 academics and up to 100 PhD students are driving progress towards addressing global inequalities; within the GDI is the Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Doctoral College, the

David Hulme, Professor of Development Studies and Executive Director of the Global Development Institute.

Dr Rory Brooks (BSc(T) Management Sciences 1975, Hon LittD 2010) cuts the ribbon at the opening of the Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Doctoral College, the first philanthropically funded doctoral college in the UK. The college is made possible by the generous and ongoing support to the University from the Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Foundation.

world’s first doctoral college dedicated to the study of global development.

The GDI has four strategic research strengths: the world’s prosperity, inequality and poverty; political economy of globalisation; politics, governance and management; and environmental, urban and agrarian change.

Alumni too are playing their part. Over 60 years, the Institute for Development Policy and Management produced more than 10,000 graduates who are now based in more than 100 countries. The GDI wants to develop ambassadors and chapters in different countries to help with the University’s research, and will be offering continuing professional development opportunities.

Successful alumni events have already been held this year in Ghana and Uganda.

Leading global poverty researcher Professor David Hulme, Executive Director of the GDI, has ambitions for the new institute to create and support excellent research, achieve high levels of impact and provide top-quality graduate education within the next five years. The aim is to secure social justice and sustainable development within and across nations, particularly for the least advantaged groups.

He said, “Colleagues have worked extremely hard to bring this new institute about, and they’ve done it because they believe Manchester can be at the centre of creating ideas and knowledge to tackle some of the greatest challenges of our time.” www.manchester.ac.uk/gdi

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RESEARCH BEACON

Winnie Byanyima

A vision of the future of global development Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima (BSc Aeronautical Engineering 1981) made an impassioned appeal, challenging academics to come up with the “big new ideas” to fix the world’s broken economy, as part of her keynote lecture to mark the opening of the University’s Global Development Institute (GDI).

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he said that universities were an important source of new and imaginative ideas, and must be ready to play their part to take the world in a new direction. However, she began by reminiscing about her arrival in Manchester as a refugee from the brutal dictatorship of Idi Amin in Uganda.

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“I was angry from having to leave my country.

But it was my experience here in Manchester that gave me the opportunity to turn that anger into activism,” she told a packed audience. “I immediately joined other students. We protested. We organised. We got involved in fierce intellectual debates.

We supported the anti-apartheid struggle and the decolonisation struggles in Africa at the time.

“It was here that I also was exposed to global feminist thinking and I was active in the international society. I spent many, many hours in the John Rylands Library – frankly, I was not sitting in the engineering or fluid mechanics section where I should have been.

I was in the Africa section, reading African history, politics, anthropology. That was my favourite corner.

“Manchester grew me into an activist.

I developed skills that last with me until today.

I was exposed to political issues, and I was able to connect with struggles and movements around the world.”

Winnie went on to talk of major challenges that must be confronted, and the inequalities of income and wealth in a global economy

Members of the audience were keen to ask questions following Winnie’s lecture.

that works for a few at the expense of the many, where almost a billion people go to bed hungry every night. She focused on the young women who work in factories producing clothes for high-street brands, working up to 23 hours a day and earning less than $4 for their labour.

“We know that there has been remarkable progress in the past 20 years or so in reducing the number of people who live below the extreme poverty line. But is it enough? I don’t think so. These women aren’t asking for a life of super yachts and private jets. But they are demanding a life of freedom and dignity.

These women must be at the heart of our vision of the future of global development.

“We need to create a more human economy that works for people, rather than the other way round – a human economy rather than an economy for the one per cent.”

She talked in detail about the role of government, business and politics and the role of the University: "This new economy requires substantial new, disruptive ideas – and academia has a responsibility to help generate them. The new GDI can stand firm upon the University's radical tradition and play a role of global leadership for the future of international development. It can be a truly intellectual force that connects with struggles and movements around the world, and lays the groundwork for a more human economy.

“I think the success of the GDI will be measured, at least in part, by whether or not the work and ideas that you produce resonate with, and feel relevant to, the struggle of those garment workers I talked about, and to millions of others like them who have the odds stacked against them now, but who are determined to imagine a more equal world and a better future.”

Watch Winnie’s full keynote lecture at blog.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/winnie

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FOCUS ON SCIENCE

The President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, and the Leader of Manchester City Council, Sir Richard Leese, at the opening of ESOF.

Credit: Matt Wilkinson for ESOF16

A city alive with science

Professor Brian Cox was one of the keynote speakers at ESOF.

Science came home this year – to the city which split the atom, where the first programmable computer was developed and where revolutionary graphene was isolated. wo hundred years of scientific firsts and achievements in Manchester have been showcased to a worldwide audience through a yearlong science-fest, culminating in Europe’s most prestigious scientific conference – the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF).

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The conference was book-ended with the Manchester Science Festival, creating a dynamic and diverse programme of experiments, performances, walks and talks, science buskers, interactive demonstrations, a giant allotment, a oneact comedy about regenerative medicine, the world premiere of the UK’s first exhibition on graphene and, of course, a robot orchestra (also see pages 19-21).

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The five-day ESOF attracted more than 3,000 delegates from 83 countries, five Nobel laureates, 500 early-years researchers from global universities and science organisations, chief science advisers, policy makers, politicians and hundreds of accredited media and science communicators, all discussing current and future breakthroughs in contemporary science.

University staff took part in the conference, which was themed Science as Revolution: from Cottonopolis to Graphene City, and in many of the events surrounding it.

President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell was an ESOF Champion and Chair of the Steering Committee, and there were alumni and current students among the organisers of the main event.

As hosts, Manchester also became the first city to embrace the designation European City of Science for 12 months. With the attention of the scientific community firmly focused on the North West, the City Council, the city’s universities and cultural institutions grasped the nettle to showcase the ground-breaking science and cuttingedge industry of today’s Manchester. The programme showed everyone with only a passing interest the importance of science in our everyday lives.

A highly entertaining public engagement programme clearly captured people’s imaginations, but now the delegates have left and the robot orchestra played its last note, what is the legacy of European City of Science?

ere’s been a real buzz in the city around science all year long.

Manchester Central Convention Complex.

“We were proud to be chosen as hosts and there’s been a real buzz in the city around science all year long,” said Vicky Rosin, ESOF16 Programme Director. “But it wasn’t just about an academic conference. The events of the last year have accelerated the city’s and the University’s ambitions to be recognised as a commercial science city and have promoted to a global audience our joint investment areas – Life Sciences, Advanced Materials, and Technology and Communications.

“There’s a definite economic value too.

Although we don’t know the exact figures yet, hosting ESOF brought us in millions of pounds spent on hotel rooms, restaurants, shopping and entertainment, so that’s a tremendous benefit to the local economy.

Being European City of Science also helped us attract some 30 international and national science conferences between 2014 and 2016, and we’re now targeting further events for 2018 to 2020.

“We’ve tried to use the conference as a catalyst for the communication of science so that the legacy has momentum at every level, young or old, layman or scientist.

“The best outcomes for us will be the way the conference forged new relationships and new collaborations, engaging business with science for instance, which will help us to grow an intelligent and skilled workforce that can take advantage of the new opportunities which ground-breaking science affords us.

“We also hope we’ve inspired young people so that there’s a pipeline of new scientists, early stage researchers, pushing the boundaries of what we know.

“The people of Manchester have had amazing access to scientists and science, and I firmly believe that people’s participation and engagement with the activities over the summer and the whole year has increased their understanding and recognition that science is not just about labs and white coats. It’s about life, society and responsibility and some of the most fundamental and urgent issues of our day.” www.esof.eu www.manchestersciencecity.com

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NORMAN FOSTER

i believe in the power of architecture to li the spirits and help in the process of therapy.

Lord Foster

Norman architecture

A collaboration between Maggie’s Manchester and the Whitworth, the University’s art gallery, sees a group of works from the gallery’s fine art and wallpaper collections hanging alongside works from the Maggie's own collection in the new building.

One of the leading architects of his generation – and Manchester alumnus – Lord Norman Foster (Dip Architecture 1961, Cert Town Planning 1961, Hon LLD 1993) returned home to design a new Maggie’s Centre for the charity, which is celebrating 20 years of caring for people with cancer and their families and friends.

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aggie’s Manchester at The Robert Parfett Building, in the grounds of The Christie Hospital, was formally opened by The Duchess of Cornwall on 26 April 2006. The centre now provides emotional, practical and social support, and expects to receive 60,000 visits a year.

“Our aim in Manchester, the city of my youth, was to create a building that was welcoming, friendly and without any of the institutional references of a hospital or health centre – a light-filled, homely space where people can gather, talk or simply reflect,” said Lord Foster.

A major feature of Maggie’s Centres is their stunning architecture, with each individual architect offering a unique interpretation.

Stockport-born Lord Foster, through the world-renowned Foster + Partners, gifted and designed a centre inspired by the existing green spaces in which it sits, including surrounding gardens created by multi-award-winning garden designer Dan Pearson.

“That is why throughout the building there is a focus on natural light, greenery and views; with a greenhouse to provide fresh flowers, and an emphasis on the therapeutic qualities of nature and the outdoors. The timber frame helps to connect the building with the surrounding greenery – externally, this structure will be partially planted with vines, making the architecture appear to dissolve into the gardens.”

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Lord Foster worked in Alfred Waterhouse’s Victorian, Neo-Gothic Manchester Town Hall for two years after leaving school, and would satisfy his fascination of buildings by visiting others such as the John Rylands Library on Deansgate in his lunch hour. His architectural practice has been responsible for a strikingly wide range of award-winning work from urban masterplans to airports, civic and cultural buildings, private houses and furniture design. Highlights include London’s Gherkin, the Reichstag building in Berlin, Hong Kong International Airport and Hearst Tower in Manhattan, New York. www.maggiescentres.org/manchester

Credit: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners

Lord Foster and The Duchess of Cornwall at the opening of Maggie’s Manchester.

CITIZEN SCIENTISTS

Discover your inner engineer

Professor Danielle George was introduced by the President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell.

“How are we benefitting from all this technical innovation in space?” It was a question that stopped Professor Danielle George MBE in her tracks.

he had asked for audience questions at the end of a fascinating talk on her project at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, in which she used her expertise as part of a team of scientists looking at Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation – the oldest light in our universe from the dawn of time.

Scientists: Anarchy Among the Engineers!

“So I started talking to the man about sensors in smartphone cameras and X-ray astronomy giving us advances in security, and then found myself rambling on about Velcro for non-stick pans. I think I appeased him but later it made me think about the question.

As Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering at the University, she engineers the tools for scientific discovery, one of the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century as listed by the National Academy for Engineering. She is an alumna of both The Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST, became a professor aged 38, and is Vice-Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

“As children you all probably drove your teachers and parents mad by asking ‘how and why’. These are fundamentally important questions. The ‘why’ is the inner scientist in you and the ‘how’ the inner engineer.

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“The question put me on the back foot,” she told the audience at this year’s Cockcroft Rutherford Lecture, which she titled Citizen

“I want to convince you that we’re all born scientists or engineers. I also want to convince you that it’s our job to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, because if they’re not asking how and why then who is going to solve the big-world challenges that we face now and in the future?”

It is estimated that industry will need two million new science, engineering and technology professionals in the UK by 2020, and the gender disparity is still a major challenge. “Society has an understanding of what many professions do,” Danielle continued. “We know about medicine because we have first-hand experience of it. So it’s ironic that engineering and technical innovation is everywhere but it’s invisible – and that’s because it’s woven into the very fabric of everyday life. Many people simply do not know what engineers do or why technical innovation matters. And why should they if we aren’t out there helping them to understand how it changes everyday life.”

CONTINUED

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CITIZEN SCIENTISTS

Meet The University of Manchester alumni robot, a unique member of Danielle’s Robot Orchestra – before its transformation.

The Cockcroft Rutherford Lecture audience voted via key pads that it should play a stringed instrument, wear a University hat and scarf, and have the face of Chancellor Lemn Sissay!

The Cockcroft Rutherford Lecture is an annual event for alumni and donors to The University of Manchester in honour of two of the University’s 25 Nobel Prize winners, Sir John Cockcroft and Lord Ernest Rutherford.

Danielle went on to describe the way her own research – developing instrumentation for deep-space exploration – is being applied to find solutions to global issues such as water and food scarcity, through precision farming using radio waves, and reducing the emissions from jet engines using wireless sensor networks to develop more efficient engines.

She also explained the huge technical challenges of a current project, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the world's largest radio telescope, which is headquartered at Jodrell Bank. It is made up of an array of thousands of dishes spread out in remote areas across the planet. “Data challenges like these will only be solved by people from many different fields working together. I need academia, large industry, SMEs – and I need citizen scientists,” she said.

“The idea of putting data into the public domain is becoming increasingly popular.

It’s not new but it got me wondering if we could encourage citizen engineers here.

That’s when we came up with the idea of a robot orchestra and getting the people of Manchester and beyond involved in engineering.

“We asked everyone to discover the engineer inside themselves, and make their own robot using recycled components.

Hundreds of people came up with machines, one of which was made of electronic switches that laid down a drum beat, and we put them all together to make an orchestra.”

The orchestra was unveiled in July 2016 during the EuroScience Open Forum. The city’s renowned Hallé Orchestra composed a piece of music for the robots to play, led by a robot designed by engineering giant Siemens and called Graphene … because he was a good conductor! A grand performance took place in October, a highlight of the Manchester Science Festival.

“It was the first large-scale citizen engineering project in the world,” said Danielle. “A multi-disciplinary collaboration bringing together engineers, scientists, musicians, artists and members of the public to show that no matter who you are, we can all inspire the next generation, we can show the five-year-olds and remind the 75-year-olds that science and engineering is fun, and that’s what’s important to me.

“Who knows, maybe some of the people who were inspired by the robot orchestra may one day in the future use their skills to solve one of the world’s big engineering challenges.”

Watch Danielle George’s Cockcroft Rutherford Lecture at www.manchester.ac.uk/connect/ alumni/cockcroft-rutherford

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Carry on tinkering Professor Danielle George MBE (MSc Radio Astronomy 2000, PhD Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2006) was inspired as a child by a chemistry set, a microscope and, finally, a telescope, which she used to view lunar eclipses with her two sisters.

“They were good at feigning amazement when I said ‘wow!

Look at the Moon!’,” Danielle said.

Her passion for raising public awareness of engineering and science has won her many plaudits, including an MBE this summer in recognition of her contribution to engineering through public engagement, followed by a Royal Academy of Engineering Rooke Award.

Danielle was a Senior Electrical Engineer at Jodrell Bank Observatory until 2006 when she took up a lectureship post in the University’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. She came to national prominence in 2014 as one of only six women to present the televised Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, 16 years after President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell did the same. The lectures’ theme was ‘Sparks will fly: how to hack your home’.

Danielle George was presented with the 2016 Rooke Award by the Royal Academy of Engineering for her work in promoting engineering to the public.

“It was great fun and a truly life-changing experience for me in terms of my career and my life. However, I thought I was going to have to cancel when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter Elizabeth, but my husband said ‘why not’. So I was eightand-a-half months pregnant when we filmed them and in hospital giving birth when they were aired on television.

“I’ve been given a wonderful opportunity to be involved in public engagement and, supported by the University, in the last six months have spoken at 58 events. I love the questions that children ask me; they are so beautifully naïve – they don’t see why you can’t have robots picking apples or herding cows.

“We are naturally curious as people but technology has advanced so quickly that we no longer tinker about in the garage making transistor radios. I think we’re coming out of that era now, with accessible electronics like the Raspberry Pi and Arduino tiny computers making tinkering accessible once again. It’s great that primary-school children are coding as part of the National Curriculum.

“My daughter is 16-months-old and is already comfortable with my mobile phone and swiping but what is she going to be doing when she’s 18? The great challenge for academics is to make sure we too are changing with the technology tide and keeping up with a new age of tinkering.”

Watch the full interview at vimeo.com/168300526

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MASTERPLAN

We want to be the best and we have to invest now to achieve it.

Building our future together Four years after the publication of the ambitious Campus Masterplan in 2012, alumni returning to the University today are discovering an ongoing, dramatic transformation of many of the buildings and spaces that they remember from their student days. he Precinct Centre Bridge has gone, the multi-award-winning Whitworth has been redeveloped, and the National Graphene Institute and Manchester Cancer Research Centre have taken shape. And that’s just the beginning.

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Phase one of the ambitious £1 billion plan, the largest investment in capital infrastructure since the University’s foundation, is well underway. The first confident steps have been taken towards creating one of the world’s most modern campuses, an inspiring environment in which talented and creative students, teachers and researchers will thrive.

Underpinning this grand plan are strong foundations of philanthropy. Each step change in size, ambition, infrastructure, teaching and research over the last century and more has been achieved thanks to the generosity of some of the most forwardthinking industrialists, who funded the construction of many of the buildings we still use today.

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For the University’s Head of Philanthropy (Campus and Research), Dominic Boyd, today’s masterplan represents a once-in-alifetime opportunity to be a part of creating a campus for the next 100 years: “It’s an ambitious plan because we want to be the best and we have to invest now to achieve it, just as our predecessors did. We have no doubt that we’ll achieve what we’re setting out to do but if we want to realise the vision in full then we will need philanthropic support. It’s critical to our future.”

The first phase of the Campus Masterplan includes the new Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD), a redeveloped Alliance Manchester Business School, and a bigger and better Students’ Union.

At £350 million, by far the largest single capital project ever undertaken by the University and a flagship project of the masterplan, MECD will be located opposite the new National Graphene Institute on Booth Street East (off Oxford Road). It will

build on a proud heritage of innovation and discovery across engineering and science that began with the establishment of the Manchester Mechanics’ Institution in 1824.

The masterplan also includes a commitment to environmental sustainability by improving green spaces and public realm. Extensive landscaping will begin on Brunswick Street to create Brunswick Park, the largest green space on the campus featuring tree planting, wildflower planting, seating areas, and pedestrian and cycle paths. It will be a new green heart of the University for students, staff, visitors and the local community to enjoy.

“Of course buildings are only a means to an end but the vision is to provide excellent teaching and research facilities to support our mission to become one of the world’s leading universities,” added Dominic. “The University and the city have a history of discovery. It’s highly likely that future solutions to the greatest challenges we

A view of the campus looking towards the north.

To discuss ways in which you can support the Campus Masterplan, contact Dominic Boyd, Head of Philanthropy (Campus and Research), email dominic.boyd@manchester.ac.uk or call 0161 275 8577. www.manchester.ac.uk/masterplan

face today will be found by the people working in universities. If we are to harness the talents of the next generation of Nobel Prize winners then we need the best facilities possible.

“Since our origins in 1824, The University of Manchester has benefitted from philanthropic support that has allowed our innovative work to have a major impact on many areas of society.

“Today, we have identified a number of priority areas in which Manchester has the right expertise and commitment to have a similar impact on all our futures. By choosing to support one of our priorities with a gift – however large or small – alumni and friends can make their own impact on our students, communities and economy so that future generations may benefit from a world-class Manchester education.”

named in honour of…

Buildings bearing the names of philanthropists include: Beyer Building – a celebrated locomotive designer and builder, Charles Frederick Beyer (1813-1876) was a major donor to Owens College, which was reconstituted as The Victoria University of Manchester in 1903.

The Whitworth and Whitworth Hall – the trustees of the engineer Sir Joseph Whitworth (1803–1887) allocated part of his fortune to create what are now the Whitworth art gallery and Whitworth Park; and their several donations to Owens College included the magnificent Whitworth Hall.

Alliance Manchester Business School – a transformational donation of £15 million from Lord Alliance of Manchester and his fellow Trustees of the Alliance Family Foundation in 2015 has been invested both in the School’s new building and to drive its research agenda forward. The School has also received other donations from its alumni and friends to support the redevelopment programme, and several classrooms and lecture theatres have been named in acknowledgement of this support.

See over the page for highlights of the Campus Masterplan, and page 44 for images of the Precinct Centre Bridge demolition.

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Kilburn Building

Completion date: 2018

Completion date: 2017

National Graphene Institute

Schuster Annexe Completion date: 2017

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Sir Henry Royce Institute

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Completion date: 2019

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Aquatics Centre

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Jodrell Bank, Cheshire

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STREET

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Completion date: 2018

Royal Northern College of Music

RUB

The first phase of the Campus Masterplan is well underway. It includes the building of the new Manchester Engineering Campus Development, a new centre for the School of Law, the Alliance Manchester Business School, a major refurbishment of the Whitworth, and a bigger and better Students’ Union.

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The University of Manchester Library

Samuel Alexander Building

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Completion date: 2017

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GENDER PARITY

Naa Acquah, General Secretary of the Students’ Union, 2015-2017.

Accelerate gender parity The University of Manchester is graduating more women than ever before and that’s why, in a city rich with a history of trail-blazing and inspirational women such as Marie Stopes, Emmeline Pankhurst, Jean McFarlane and alumnae Christabel Pankhurst and Ellen Wilkinson, International Women’s Day is a special celebration. ver 2,000 more women graduated from the University in 2015 than men – representing 55 per cent of the graduates – compared to just 27 per cent in 1965. But for one General Secretary of the Students’ Union (SU), who has also achieved some notable firsts at the University, there is much more to be done.

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Born in South London, with Ghanaian parents, Naa Acquah loved Manchester from the word go and threw herself into her studies and University life. She became the first black female General Secretary in 2015, and became the first General Secretary to be re-elected in the role in 2016, presiding over the most diverse Executive Team mix in the history of the Union.

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As part of International Women's Day 2016, the University focused on the contribution of women across the campus. Naa was invited to take part in the Celebrating Inspiring Women at Manchester event, which brought together a panel of women also including entrepreneur and alumna Janette Faherty OBE (BA Politics and Modern History 1971), Professor Margot Brazier OBE and University President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell.

The World Economic Forum suggests that, at current rates, gender parity will not be achieved until 2133. So, “is the tide turning or do we still have a long way to go?”, Dame Nancy asked Naa on stage. She replied,

“I do think there is still a long way to go to achieve parity. It’s great that we have so many women students here but I think there’s a system and a culture in place that makes it difficult for women to reach the highest levels of management once they leave.

“Education is a gift. My parents told me that education is very important because it’s what’s in your head and no-one can ever take away what’s in your head. Education has increased women’s social abilities but despite that there is still a culture in place that really stops us from reaching the next levels, and with that comes a gender pay gap.

Data compiled in March 2016.

“I think we do have to keep celebrating days such as this. It’s really important that occasionally we sit up and we talk about women and the wonderful things women have achieved and the struggles women are still facing.

“The issues affecting young women students at the University today won’t go away unless we keep talking about them.

We have to challenge the stereotypes and cultures to empower women to be all that they want to be. Otherwise these problems are self-perpetuating.”

A Theology and Religious Studies graduate, Naa is about to complete a Master’s in International Relations in preparation for a career in international politics: “It’s sad that

gender parity across the world won’t be achieved in my lifetime but it’s all the more important that we talk about these issues.

For now, though, we should take our position as privileged people and make sure we’re giving back to people across the world who don’t have our opportunities.

“We’re lucky here in Manchester because we’ve had a strong women’s campaign for many years. But there’s a big issue around women’s safety and sexual assault on university campuses around the country.

Empowerment too is a big issue for women students at university. We need to hear women’s voices, and they need to drive and take change forward so that they can and will be those CEOs and leaders of the future.”

And which women have inspired this inspirational woman?: “I would choose my mum, Beyoncé and my former head teacher. My mum was the first in her family to go to university, she’s incredibly hard working and very caring – she’d give you her shoes if you said you had none. She came to this country hoping to continue her Ghanaian career as a lecturer but when that was not possible she switched to become a nurse.”

Watch the Celebrating Inspiring Women at Manchester debate in full at www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ivma MOevPo&feature=youtu.be

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VOLUNTEERING

Huw Edwards and Temidayo Benson Olomode

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A two-way beneficial partnership For graduates fresh out of University, access to a lifetime’s knowledge of work and experience is like gold dust – Manchester gold dust. For more than 10 years, the Manchester Gold Mentoring programme has connected alumni with current students to help them with the kind of information, advice and guidance they are unable to access in the lecture theatre. he mentors include alumni like Huw Edwards (BSc Physics 1978), whose engineering experience is vast, having worked for BP Global for 35 years in a variety of places including the UK, Alaska, Siberia and Calgary. More recently he was chief engineer at a large gas plant in Algeria, managing its technical integrity and operational elements.

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Huw re-connected with the University when he started postgraduate study in engineering management in 2010. He retired early in 2013 after surviving a terrorist attack at the gas plant in the Algerian Sahara. Forty colleagues were killed, he lost eight members of his team and, not surprisingly, the experience had a profound effect on his life. In the aftermath he sought a new sense of purpose, one solution being the idea of constructively helping others.

“I was routinely mentoring as part of my BP job,” said Huw. “Each year I would mentor three new engineers and provide them with operational experience, so it seemed like a natural progression to use my experience to benefit students.”

Credit: Jonathan Edwards

Manchester Gold Mentoring has been running for over 10 years and is highly regarded by both recruiters and students.

The scheme matches students to someone who has experience, insights and hindsight.

Many of the mentors are Manchester alumni who wish to give something back, share the knowledge they have gained of opportunities after graduation and guide current students. Some are also talent spotting for their organisation. All are volunteers and are willing to work on a one-to-one basis with their mentee. The prospective mentees have to provide an idea of what careers interest or inspire them and why they would like to be considered for the programme. They may simply have initial career thoughts or be at the stage of job applications, CV-writing and new job preparations.

One of Huw’s most recent mentees is Temidayo Benson Olomode (MSc Advanced Control and Systems Engineering 2015), now a graduate control and electrical engineer for Vynova Runcorn Ltd, a chemical production company with plants across Europe. Originally from Nigeria, Temidayo praises the mentoring programme and what he got out of it: “Huw has helped me greatly. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity of discussing and planning my life progress with a father figure, my own father having died some years ago.

i’ve got a lot out of mentoring … it’s not just one-way traffic.

“Coming from a diverse culture such as Nigeria and having secured a job in an engineering field directly related to my course, I felt it was important for me to make the right preparations for a new job in the UK work environment. I received a lot of support and advice from the University Careers Service but with Huw’s previous experience in a similar field, he was able to provide first-hand professional advice on the competency requirements of my new job role, and taught me how to plan and chart a career path.

“Huw also gave me some important advice about having the right attitude, social intelligence and motivation to thrive in the work environment, so I’m very glad to have taken part in the programme.”

So far, Huw has mentored four students in four-monthly periods involving face-toface meetings, Skype, FaceTime and email, and he has chosen to stay in touch with all of them outside the programme on an informal basis if they need him.

He explained, “Each mentee has had different needs. Temidayo already had a job lined up so we spent time developing his ready-for-work skills, imagining what it would be like on his first day and what might be expected of him in his first six months.

“The third-party perspective is valuable; I try to give a detached and unbiased opinion. I also have contacts who the students can talk to, so I can bridge my networks into theirs so they can get opinions other than my own.

“Manchester gave me the opportunity of getting a good physics degree and a good job, so if I can repay some of that back to the University then so be it. I’ve got a lot out of it too, it’s not just one-way traffic.”

Visit your.manchester.ac.uk/ get-involved to explore the volunteering opportunities available to our alumni.

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A DECADE OF MAP

MAP students at the end of the two-day University Life Conference.

Celebrating 10 years of success in 2016, the Manchester Access Programme (MAP) is the University’s flagship widening participation programme. Targeted at Greater Manchester students from backgrounds under-represented in higher education, MAP offers first-hand experience of student life. Dr Valeed Ghafoor (MBChB Medicine 2014) was a member of MAP’s second cohort and recalls the positive effect the programme has had on his life.

Dr Valeed Ghafoor

many of my friends didn’t get the opportunity that i did and i’ll always be thankful to maP for that.

A MAP ou could have judged me as an 18-year-old purely on my poor GCSE and A-level results. But I’ve clearly proven, with MAP’s help, that my ability was better than that. I was always capable of achieving much more but, if MAP hadn’t given me that opportunity, I don’t know if I’d have been able to show people what I’m capable of, and I don’t know what I’d have been doing now.”

“

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So speaks a young man from an area of Rochdale that faces many challenging problems. So speaks a young man who is now a fully qualified doctor, who wants to pay tribute to MAP’s staff for the faith they showed in him.

The students who take part in MAP may have experienced care provision, received free school meals, had to cope with personal or family issues, or come from families who have never accessed university education before.

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“I haven’t just benefitted from MAP – I wouldn’t be in the position I am in now if it hadn’t been for it,” added Valeed. “I come from an area known for drugs and violence and Ofsted-failing schools. In my area almost no-one goes to university and, if they do, they certainly don’t do medicine.

With my background I really didn’t think I would get good enough grades to be able to study medicine, but when I started to do quite well in my sciences and MAP encouraged me, I began to think it was a real possibility.”

Valeed is quick to point out that MAP is not a walk in the park or a simple passport to university. Fifty hours of study and workshops, an academic assignment and preparation for university applications are completed on top of a student’s A-level studies. Over the last 10 years, 1,344 young people have gained a place at a researchintensive university after completing

5,000

14,000

University staff and postgraduate researchers have provided 14,000 hours of guidance and support to MAP students doing the academic assignment.

2000

Over 2000 MAP students have received an early decision on their application to Manchester before submitting their UCAS application form.

3/4

of our MAP undergraduate students come from the lowest household incomes.

2898

£2,926,376

2898 students have successfully completed the Manchester Access Programme.

Over 2/3

of MAP students participating in the programme come from postcodes where there is little or no participation in higher education.

1344

1344 MAP students have been successful in gaining a place at The University of Manchester with many others progressing to other research-intensive universities.

10 key facts.

Each year, it takes over 5,000 hours of University staff time to successfully deliver the Manchester Access Programme.

484

Since 2010, 484 MAP students have graduated from The University of Manchester and have gone on to progress to a range of professional roles.

To date the total amount raised for the Undergraduate Access Scholarships from all sources is £2,926,376.39.

22

During the last 10 years there have been 22 MAP residential University Life Conferences that have taken place on the University campus.

Data compiled in November 2015.

for life MAP, and this year there were 1,200 applicants – more than double the number of places available.

“Places were very limited even when I joined the programme. It was a surprise when I got through – many of my friends had never even heard of it. But it wasn’t easy, it demanded commitment from me and it tested me across multiple domains, which were relevant for university life. By passing them I hope I showed that I had the potential to do whatever was required at university.”

Valeed achieved an A and two Bs at A-level and received a reduced offer to study medicine based on his completion of MAP. Like many MAP students, he also received one of the University’s scholarships, which are funded by generous donations from alumni and friends.

“The scholarship was incredibly helpful on a course like mine as without it I would probably have had to work outside my studies to pay living expenses. Mine was a taxing degree and I think that would have been very difficult and would have affected my overall result. I graduated in the top 40 per cent of my cohort and that had a bearing on the jobs I was offered.”

Valeed has just finished his second year at the Royal Preston as a Foundation Year Two doctor and is set to specialise as a GP trainee at the Royal Oldham Hospital this autumn.

“Many of my friends were not in the position I found myself in through MAP and yet these people were equally as bright as me. They just didn’t get the opportunity that I did and I’ll always be thankful to MAP for that.”

The future of MAP The University is continuing to work with local students studying at schools and colleges in Greater Manchester, supporting their progression to The University of Manchester or another research-intensive university through MAP. We are currently in the early stages of developing a programme of activities for those students who live outside of the local area and we plan to expand our reach to work with students from across the UK – giving all learners a platform on which to demonstrate their potential for university study and also the opportunity to engage with The University of Manchester in advance of starting an undergraduate degree course.

Visit www.mapis10.manchester.ac.uk for further case studies and comments left by MAP participants.

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HERITAGE

We’re preserving memories that will be shared well into the future.

The Archimedes’ Eureka sculpture

Echoes of the From textile looms, gargoyles and theodolites to a Lancaster bomber engine, robes, caps and a letter from Scott of the Antarctic thanking staff for their ‘interest and assistance’, the University’s cellars and corridors harbour some fascinating treasures.

ou would probably expect art and portraiture to be among the items the University is committed to protect, but some of the more unusual artefacts include various pieces of scientific equipment used to demonstrate experiments and a trowel engraved with former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour’s name, commemorating the opening of the Sackville Street Building in 1902.

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The University Collections, a diverse accumulation of 150,000 items relating to the institution across its history, is already in existence. But a concerted effort is now underway to ensure that many more items, which alumni know and love, are preserved wherever possible.

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As the University rolls out its Campus Masterplan there is a fresh impetus, not only to identify and catalogue historic items, but also to weave these echoes of the past into the fabric of new buildings.

So when completed, the new Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) will feature physical elements of our historic past, mirroring the example of the main doors of the Sackville Street Building that feature etched designs of its previous incarnations.

Our rich history is also celebrated in the Heritage Collection range of merchandise, which is being expanded to include ties, scarves, mugs and prints in the name of The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and Victoria University of Manchester (VUM).

Dr James Hopkins (PhD History 2011), University Historian and Heritage Manager, believes preservation of the University’s history is not just about institutional identity but also an important part of British history. “Ours is a distinctive history and we’re committed to looking after it, conserving it and making it more accessible to our current students, alumni and the public,” he said.

“For example, the new MECD has allowed us to explore the history of North Campus where we have fascinating artefacts relating to science and engineering, architects’ drawings of the Sackville Street Building, and public art such as the oak Vimto Monument and the Archimedes’ Eureka sculpture. In the George Begg Building, there’s the apparatus demonstrating the principles of fluid dynamics, used by Osborne Reynolds, one of the UK’s first Professors of Engineering.

past “Plans as to how we might use these artefacts are at an early stage, but doing the groundwork now allows us to understand what we have and work out how we can invest our new buildings with a sense of our history.”

Alumni are already playing a part in the MECD project, which will consolidate and welcome four engineering schools into the heart of the campus, and many from both UMIST and VUM have posted their stories and photos on the project’s heritage page.

Alumni are helping in other ways too. Some of the proceeds from sales of the new range of Heritage Collection merchandise goes to support the University’s history and heritage activities, as do the many donations offered by alumni at the end of their heritage tours of the campus, which take place weekly.

The Vimto Monument

A panel from the main doors of the Sackville Street Building.

James added, “Often our students didn’t think much about the history of the institutions when they were here. Now it’s become a part of their own identity and so when they return they want to know all about the buildings, their past and what they’re being used for now.

“The people our alumni met and the places in which they studied at a formative time of their lives are very important. I hope that by properly conserving some of the more offbeat and unusual items, which are well known among generations of our alumni, we’re preserving memories that will be shared well into the future.”

See the range of gifts available from the Heritage Collection at www.uom-giftshop.co.uk/heritage The University holds a regular series of heritage events and historical tours; details can be found at www.manchester.ac.uk/heritage-events Explore the heritage behind the new Manchester Engineering Campus Development and add your own memories at www.mecd.manchester.ac.uk/heritage

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ASIA PACIFIC

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell and Professor Sir Andre Geim taking part in an event in Singapore.

They were introduced by Hian Seng Tang, President of The University of Manchester Alumni Association Singapore.

A shared experience The University’s international ambitions are high, and the Asia-Pacific region is one part of the world with which we have many connections. his region, which typically includes much of East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania, has three Alliance Manchester Business School Global Centres – Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai – and is home to almost 40,000 Manchester alumni. This large community includes people working across all professions, employed in family businesses, in global companies, with a myriad of experiences and all with a common history that stretches back to Manchester.

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There are a range of active alumni groups, from India to New Zealand, and an everincreasing network of people are willing to share, help, meet and support each other.

University staff regularly host alumni events when they visit the region, including President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell when she travelled to Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney. She was joined in Singapore by Nobel laureate Professor Sir Andre Geim. Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov, also a Nobel laureate, visited Hong Kong to deliver a talk on graphene to alumni.

The University has managed the Study China Programme since 2007, which has enabled over 5,000 UK students to have first-hand experience of China. In March 2016, three alumni, Philip Zhang (LLM Law 2007), Jim Wu (MSc Development Finance 2004) and Melvin Huang (MSc

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Communication Engineering 2006), took part in a business networking event in Beijing for 20 UK alumni who were spending three weeks at Beijing Normal University.

In addition, Melvin hosted a visit to his company Syntun, a big data start-up, which was described by one participant as a “highlight of my trip”.

And alumni are generous in ways other than volunteering. The Hong Kong Foundation for The University of Manchester continues to provide financial support, this year making funds available to enable research collaborations with the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

We look forward to developing our links with our Asia-Pacific-based alumni – to encourage you to share your professional expertise with students and alumni, and introduce us to your networks that may help us meet our ambitious objectives.

For more on what’s happening in the Asia-Pacific region, view Connect Asia at issuu.com/alumniuom Watch the In Conversation With event in Singapore at youtu.be/nzls21CdJhI

education UK Alumni Awards Kelvin Chan (Global MBA student) and Bilal Majeed Khan (MSc Mechanical Engineering Design 2009), both from the Asia-Pacific region, received Entrepreneurial Awards from the Education UK Alumni Awards 2016.

Kelvin is the founder of Korean Corner, a Hong-Kong-based importer of Korean products, and Bilal is the founder of BMKDesign, a company supporting start-up entrepreneurs in Pakistan. www.educationuk.org/global/sub/ education-uk-alumni-awards-2016

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Putting you in the picture Our alumni are playing an increasingly important role in the life of the University and our students, contributing to core activities, especially student recruitment, employability and social responsibility. The support and vision of our donors is also vital to the future development and ongoing success of the University.

We have regular contact with more than 320,000 alumni from over 200 countries and territories

79.4% Europe

3.8%

13%

North America

Asia

2.6% Africa

0.4%

South America

0.8%

Oceania

Our alumni include:

d

A

10,962

5,800

1,241

medical doctors

engineers

entrepreneurs

qw 70

892

350

alumni working in overseas governments

journalists

q

A A

members of parliament

60

14

archaeologists

playwrights

2

1

professional poker players

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We welcomed over 10,000 new alumni in July 2016 We send out 220,000 copies of Your Manchester magazine to alumni and friends

165,000 alumni receive our quarterly e-newsletter Over 5,900 alumni have volunteered their time and expertise to help the University community since 2012 Over 700 students and researchers received donor-funded scholarships (2015/16) Over 5,500 alumni and friends donated to the University (2015/16)

ÂŁ18 million philanthropic income (2014/15) your manchester magazine

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

outstanding alumni awards 2016

Outstanding Alumni Awards are presented to alumni who have achieved distinction: in their profession; through exemplary service to the University or the wider community; or through outstanding service of a personal or humanitarian nature. Five awards were made in 2016.

Alison Nimmo CBE (BA Town and Country Planning 1985, BPI Planning 1986) Alison Nimmo was instrumental in the regeneration of Manchester City Centre following the IRA bomb of 1996, and in the delivery of the 2012 London Olympics. She has held a string of high-profile positions and is now chief executive of the Crown Estate. In 2014, Alison was awarded the prestigious Royal Town Planning Institute Gold Medal for services to planning throughout her career. She appeared on the Power List 2013 – the list of the most powerful women in the UK, compiled by BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, and The Power 1000 – the Evening Standard’s list of London’s most influential people.

Two of the 2016 Outstanding Alumni Awards will be presented at the December graduation ceremonies, to:

Outstanding and inspirational

Deborah Cohen MBE (MSc Technical Change and Industrial Strategy 1979) Deborah Cohen is BBC Radio’s Science Editor, responsible for maintaining the editorial standard of science output and broadcasting peer-reviewed science to a wider audience. She was awarded an MBE in 2009 for services to broadcasting and science, and is a respected commentator on the presentation of science on radio and TV. Throughout the 1980s she produced content for BBC Radios 3 and 4, covering a wide range of subjects in science, technology and medicine. She became Editor Science for domestic radio output in 1990. In 2000 she also took on editorial responsibility for the Science Unit of the BBC World Service.

gareth Owen OBe (BEng Civil Engineering 1990), Humanitarian Director, Save the Children UK Karen livingstone (BNurs Nursing 2003, MA Humanitarianism and Conflict Response 2012), Medical Adviser, UK-Med

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Dr Imran Hakim (BSc Optometry and Vision Sciences 1999) Imran Hakim gained investment from the BBC’s Dragons’ Den programme after he pitched his innovative, interactive teddy bear, iTeddy, in 2007. He has won several business awards including North West Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Fusion Entrepreneur of the Year and a Mosaic Award for Science and Technology. In 2009, he received an honorary doctorate for his work in business and innovation from the University of Bolton, and appeared on Growing Business’ list of top 40 entrepreneurs in the country under the age of 35. He now manages a diverse portfolio, which includes a lens laboratory, spectacle frame distribution business, optical retail outlets, as well as management, recruitment and investment companies.

Volunteer of the year awards 2016 John Norgrove receives his award from the President and Vice-Chancellor.

Alumni award winner John Norgrove (BSc Civil Engineering 1971) John Norgrove runs a foundation to help women and children in Afghanistan, which he established Linda Norgrove after the death of his daughter, Linda Norgrove (PhD Development Administration and Management 2003). Aid worker Linda was working on development projects in East Afghanistan in 2010 when she was kidnapped and killed. She was posthumously honoured by the University with an Outstanding Alumna Award in 2011.

The Linda Norgrove Foundation has given over £1 million to projects in Afghanistan to support female medical students with scholarships, provide widows with a sustainable source of income and fund an orphanage for disabled children, alongside a wealth of other schemes. John, his wife Lorna and the other trustees all volunteer their time to the charity without pay.

John said, “I'm so delighted to have received this award, but the 'icing on the cake' is knowing that Linda would have been delighted as well. It is an award from the University where we both studied, and for helping women and children in Afghanistan, a cause that would have been so close to her heart.”

Alumni award joint 2nd place

Alumni award joint 2nd place

Pam Warhurst CBE (MA Economics and Social Studies 1974) Pam Warhurst is the founder of Incredible Edible, an organisation that aims to give local communities the opportunity to grow their own sustainable fruit and vegetables, whilst improving biodiversity in the area at the same time. It has now been replicated in over 100 communities worldwide, including groups in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. incredibleediblenetwork.org.uk

Dr Gavin McColl (MBChB Medicine 2007) Dr Gavin McColl is a founding Trustee of On Call Africa, a charity that has a threepronged approach to improve access to healthcare in Zambia – mobile medical services, health education and sustainability.

There is a significant need to provide access to healthcare for villages in remote areas of the country, where there is only one doctor per 16,000 people. www.oncallafrica.org.uk

Alumni award 3rd place Dr Stephen Spencer (MBChB Medicine 2014) Madagascar Medical Expeditions is a project founded by Dr Stephen Spencer, in which medical students from the University study and treat the parasitic disease Schistosomiasis in Madagascar.

Many students, alumni and staff give their personal time and energy undertaking public engagement work or volunteering with disadvantaged groups in the community locally, nationally and overseas. As part of its strategic vision, the University aims to encourage greater social responsibility.

The Volunteer of the Year Awards – now in their seventh year – recognise and celebrate this activity. ‘Alumni of the Year’ is one of the award categories.

The judging panel is made up of representatives from University staff and alumni, the Students’ Union and community organisations. The overall winners in each category also receive the University Medal for Social Responsibility, part of the suite of President's Distinguished Achievement Awards. First, second and third places receive a donation to support the organisations where they volunteer.

Volunteer of the year awards 2017 The awards are organised by the Careers and Employability Division, which is part of the Directorate for the Student Experience. For full details of the awards and eligibility criteria visit: www.volunteeroftheyear. manchester.ac.uk

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Philanthropy matters Purple Plaques update 1,000 donors supported our special appeal in 2015 We received an overwhelming response to our Purple Plaques appeal last year, in support of the current generation of Manchester students. Donations reached over £126,500 in total, from supporters from all over the world. This impressive amount is now providing crucial scholarships for more than 40 financially disadvantaged students.

As the costs of travel, living expenses and other necessary expenditures increase, alumni support for scholarships means that talented students, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to further their education and realise their potential.

As part of the appeal, we also asked you to share your memories of Manchester by returning completed ‘purple plaques’.

Again, the response was terrific.

celebration of Philanthropy 2017 Our Celebration of Philanthropy is a biennial event, when students and staff welcome donors on to the campus to witness the impact of their donations.

The next Celebration of Philanthropy will take place on 6 April 2017, and we will send out invitations in due course.

Our guests will attend private tours of the University’s cultural and research institutions, including the Whitworth and Manchester Museum. A Philanthropy Showcase will also reveal how donations, both large and small, have a profound impact on our work.

Dozens of you used the #purpleplaque hashtag to join in on Twitter and post everything from photos of your favourite kebab houses to stories about inspirational lecturers.

Wartime blackouts and rationing in Ashburne Hall, invading police stations for RAG Week (and subsequently bailing students out), and the many alumni who met their partners while studying here – all of your stories are helping to bring the University’s past to life.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Purple Plaques appeal.

crowdfunding at manchester

We have launched an online platform – Crowdfunding at Manchester – to support our students and researchers in asking for donations from family and friends, alumni and the general public to make new projects happen. Projects can only go ahead if they meet their funding targets before their campaign finishes, and donors receive updates from each team so they can see exactly what impact their gift is having.

One project that received sufficient support is Team Gulu, set up by 11 undergraduate students. They raised over £9,000, exceeding their target. The donations allowed the students to visit rural Uganda to shadow doctors at the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital during the summer. They also spent time assisting in the running of clinics in isolated areas, working with Ugandan and Belgian medical students as part of the North Uganda Village Health Outreach Project.

Visit www.manchester.ac.uk/crowdfunding to see the current list of successful projects and others that may need support.

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raising cancer awareness

The CATS (Cancer Awareness in Teenagers and young people Society) is just one of the projects to receive a grant from the University’s Learning Enrichment Fund this year. The project is promoting awareness of the symptoms of cancers among young people, encouraging early visits to the GP. It was founded by James Adams, a current

medical student who was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 18. CATS is led by a core team of 14 students from a variety of courses – they are reaching out to their peers in innovative and engaging ways, using events such as pub quizzes and acoustic nights to spread their message.

Donor funding has supported their latest

initiative, providing every first-year student with a bus-pass holder that uses striking and memorable cat images to spell out the five most common signs of cancer. www.facebook.com/CATSmanchester

Purple pigs out and about for rag Staff from across the University joined students in raising money and awareness for good causes as part of RAG (Raising And Giving) Week 2016. One scheme was the Purple Pig Challenge, in aid of the Manchester Hardship Fund. This fund provides vital grants for students who find themselves facing difficulty meeting their essential living expenses. The grants help them to continue their studies and complete their degrees.

The staff volunteers distributed purple piggy banks around their departments, asking colleagues to donate any spare change. In one week, the piggies had collected £269.09. Even more importantly, they helped to spread the message about the Emergency Student Hardship Fund, which is only made possible through donations, both large and small, across the campus.

the gift of knowledge Donations to the University help to ensure that talented students continue their studies regardless of their financial situation; researchers continue to tackle fundamental world issues; and all who study at Manchester benefit from a distinctive and valuable experience.

Over 5,500 alumni and friends made either regular Direct Debit or single donations in 2015/16, with a number of donors choosing to remember the University in their will.

Legacy or planned gifts are special for many reasons, and they show just how much the University means to our benefactors.

To join your fellow alumni in making a gift, visit www.manchester.ac.uk/ donate to set up a regular Direct Debit or make a single donation.

To discuss a legacy gift, contact: Lesley Dowdall, Deputy Director, Development Email: lesley.dowdall@manchester.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)161 275 2373

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

A positive impact

Catherine Beavis

The University’s School Governor Initiative (UMSGI) is a well-established part of our social responsibility strategy. We were the first university to formally partner with SGOSS (School Governors' One-Stop Shop), a national charity whose aim is to help fill the 30,000 school governor vacancies across England.

Staff and alumni have already shown a strong commitment by volunteering in large numbers. chool governors perform an extremely important voluntary role in education by supporting and guiding schools to facilitate improvement.

This is why it is essential to have a full, diverse governing body that can provide a strategic management framework for schools, help to raise standards of achievement and make important decisions that will shape the future direction of a school.

S

Whatever your unique blend of skills, by becoming a school governor in England you can use your experience to make a positive difference to young people in state school education. You can put your existing skills to good use and acquire new ones.

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Catherine Beavis (MEd Education 1991) has volunteered as a school governor at Broken Cross Primary Academy and Nursery in Macclesfield since 2015, following a career as a teacher, head teacher and Ofsted inspector.

She said, “Obviously a governing body needs members with a wide range of diverse skills and experience. In my case I brought a specific background in education – both in the maintained and independent sectors – but the important thing is for each governing body to identify specific gaps in the skill sets of their governors in order to recruit the right people to help make their board more effective.

“The most rewarding aspect of being a school governor is having a sense that I'm able to make a positive contribution to the lives of young children, many of whom are from less advantaged backgrounds. You can make a difference. Don't be put off by thinking you have nothing to offer. You will have – but you need to find the right match for your skills and experience. But expect to put in time and effort; it’s well worth it and there aren't many things more important that you will volunteer to do.”

See page 8 for news of a national award for our School Governor Initiative, and visit our ‘Get involved’ pages to explore the options of becoming a school governor in your area at your.manchester.ac.uk/get-involved

Sir Norman Stoller opens the Stoller Biomarker Discovery Centre.

Landmark donation for precision medicine A new mass spectrometry research centre is transforming our ability to facilitate early detection of some of the world’s most serious diseases, thanks to a £1 million donation by the Stoller Charitable Trust. reatments for diseases like cancer and arthritis have traditionally been based on a ‘one size fits all’ approach, where the effectiveness of treatments can only be measured by the patient’s response to them. A new wave of medical research, pioneered at Manchester, is leading the way in identifying unique biomarkers – molecular clues that indicate the presence of a disease or condition.

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The Stoller Biomarker Discovery Centre opened its doors in June 2016 as a flagship facility in this effort. Its combination of research and pathology innovation means that biomarkers can be understood more quickly and potentially translated into treatments.

This will help get the benefits of biomarkers to the patients who need them. The team have already had success in identifying biomarkers that could be used to treat vascular diseases and psoriasis.

Director of the centre, Professor Tony Whetton, hails the facility as a major step forward: “Essentially this is the future of healthcare – getting the right treatment to the right person at the right time and in the right dose.

“Without the knowledge of biomarkers we won’t be able to identify which people need treatment or who will benefit from certain medicines, so this new centre underpins everything we’re doing in precision medicine in Manchester and beyond.”

Through the Stoller Charitable Trust, Sir Norman Stoller has dedicated years to philanthropy in the North West and beyond.

He led the team that built Seton Healthcare (SSL International plc), inventors of the tubular bandage, into a worldwide brand and one of Oldham's biggest employers. The gift from the Stoller Charitable Trust helped Professor Whetton and his team attract funding from the Medical Research Council and a major collaboration with medical technology company SCIEX.

manchester is leading the way in identifying unique biomarkers.

At the opening ceremony of the centre, Sir Norman said, “There are few subjects more important to us than the health of our family and ourselves, and even fewer subjects that stir the emotions more generally than that of cancer and other serious debilitating illnesses.

“I am a fully paid-up member of the cancer club but because of the worth of scientists and their discoveries, here I am. Is it any wonder that we wanted to give something back and support the work that they do?”

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

global employability a priority Employers are increasingly seeking to recruit ‘global graduates’ – graduates who see the world through a wider lens and who have both global knowledge and cultural agility. Global Graduates is an exclusive programme for students at The University of Manchester, giving them the opportunity to meet alumni in one of our host cities across the world.

In the scheme’s fifth year, and thanks to generous funding from donations and support from the University, we have been able to send groups of undergraduate students to Hong Kong, London and Paris, New York, San Francisco, Singapore and, new for 2016, Toronto. They met alumni working in a variety of organisations, including Google, Salesforce, LinkedIn, NBC Universal, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Amazon.

English Literature student Grace Bullas travelled to Hong Kong as a Global Graduate: “This unique experience is one that has undoubtedly strengthened my future aspirations of working internationally

and has furnished me with a whole portfolio of employable skills. I am now aware of the tangible opportunities available to me on a global level.”

With at least 75 per cent of the students taking part in Global Graduates being from widening participation backgrounds, this scheme gives them an incredible international networking experience that helps to build their confidence and their professional contacts.

We would like to thank all our alumni who support Global Graduates, either financially or by hosting our students. Your support has a huge impact on our students.

Read more about our students’ experiences of Global Graduates at ddar.manchester.ac.uk/ blog/tag/global-graduates

Grace Bullas in Hong Kong.

An international an unforgettable experience The Global Impact Awards are funded by donations from alumni and provide financial backing for students who wish to undertake volunteering opportunities around the world. The ethos of the awards is for the successful students, who go through an application process, to make a tangible difference to marginalised or neglected communities and so advance their own personal development. Each participant receives £250, with an additional Gold Award given to the most outstanding candidate.

Since their launch, the Global Impact Awards have helped more than 60 students undertake a wide variety of volunteering opportunities. In 2015, ten recipients travelled to countries as wide spread as South Africa, Sri Lanka, Nicaragua and Cambodia. Theological Studies in Philosophy and Ethics student Cecily Rooney spent four weeks with the charity Debate Mate in Rwanda, working on a project to introduce a new and interactive method of teaching debating into selected schools.

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Cecily Rooney with her students in Rwanda.

She said, “I am humbled by the lives of many of the people I met, especially those who had lost so much in the genocide but still cracked jokes with me and laughed at my sunburn. I am inspired by the children I taught. And I am excited for my future, whether that be in teaching or revisiting Africa. Without alumni donations, I would have experienced none of these things and for that I am forever grateful.”

In 2016, generous donations are enabling 13 students to contribute to a diverse range of volunteering projects, including a healthcare outreach project in Uganda, dental hygiene education in the Philippines and medical care provision in Haiti.

Ann Auma

perspective the fight against ebola While the Ebola outbreak that ravaged Western Africa for over 18 months has been brought largely under control, work continues around the world to develop a safe vaccine to prevent similar disasters occurring in the future. Ann Auma (MSc Immunology and Immunogenetics 2013), who received an Equity and Merit Scholarship from the University that was funded by Tim Sears (BA Commerce 1960) and Judith Sear (BA Arts 1961) – both members of the North American Foundation for the University of Manchester (NAFUM), has joined the Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit in Tanzania and is coordinating the laboratory work for a phase one trial on a vaccine candidate.

Ann needed the financial support provided by the scholarship to travel from her native Uganda to Manchester. Without this support, she would not have been able to access a world-class education in her field: “Few institutions are well equipped to offer training in immunology in Africa, let alone Uganda. The discovery of a vaccine against communicable diseases like Ebola will greatly reduce the global disease burden and I am proud to be a part of this worldwide effort.

“Receiving the Equity and Merit Scholarship was a dream come true for me. From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful for this wonderful opportunity. The scholarship truly touched me and inspired me to make a difference. Whenever I am faced with a challenge, thinking of my donors motivates me to keep working hard.”

Equity and Merit Scholarships currenty give students from Africa and Asia the opportunity to come to Manchester to study a postgraduate degree in fields relevant to their country’s development. Generous donor support makes these awards possible and gives students the chance to have a positive impact on their local communities. www.manchester.ac.uk/study/ masters/funding/international/ equity-merit-scholarships

The North American Foundation for the University of Manchester (NAFUM) is an independent charity based in the USA, which supports the University’s aims and objectives.

We welcome your support if you have read anything in this magazine that has inspired you to make or plan for a financial gift to the University and to volunteer with us, please either fill out and return the enclosed donation form (on the reverse of your update form) using the envelope provided or visit: www.manchester.ac.uk/ connect/alumni or www.manchester.ac.uk/ collaborate/support

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Now you see it, now you don’t

The Precinct Centre Bridge, across Oxford Road, was demolished during the summer months of 2015. The 46-year-old landmark was taken down as part of the project to develop the Alliance Manchester Business School, making room for improved student and sta facilities, and to provide 40,500 sq ft of new retail and leisure facilities.

The demolition has been condensed into a 50-second time-lapse video: www.masterplan.manchester.ac.uk/news/article/?id=15359

Facts and figures

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The photo booth proved to be popular with our newest alumni at this year’s summer graduation ceremonies.

Janine Watson

Alumni Association update

Dear fellow alumni hope very much that you are enjoying this edition of your alumni magazine, and that the articles inspire you to keep it on your coffee table to browse through and to share with friends over the weeks to come.

I

As you will read, we are delighted the University and its alumni relations have gone from strength to strength this year, with ever-increasing numbers of us attending events, linking up online and of course voting in elections.

And for all of you who participated in the Chancellor’s elections last year, I hope you enjoy following the activities of our hardworking Lemn Sissay. It’s been a pleasure to get to know Lemn over the last few months and I can tell you it’s an experience to walk across campus with him – he is incredibly popular among students and the amount of selfies is phenomenal, what a character! For those of you on Twitter, I urge you to follow him on @LemnSissay to see more of his poetry and his views.

The past 12 months has also been an exciting time for developments on campus, with roads, buildings and transport constantly improving life for all of us. For everyone who used to walk across the bridge in the Precinct Centre, it was a landmark weekend when it disappeared. Of course the views from Whitworth Hall up Oxford Road to Central Library are now clear and very impressive, rather like the relationship between the University and the City Council itself.

We’ve seen excellent work from the University in driving forward social responsibility. I was privileged to be at the recent General Assembly where there were presentations from local residents who had found jobs and were very proud to be working on the University campus, a really firm relationship of good neighbours.

Moving forward, the University will be playing a strong role as the rest of the UK watches and follows how the Northern Powerhouse takes shape. With my background in political journalism, I’m fascinated by all the analysis and very proud to see Manchester academic experts regularly popping up on top television programmes to provide their interpretations.

I hope these tasters tempt you to continue your involvement with the University and also the City of Manchester, whether that’s through sharing your skills and mentoring young people, enjoying lectures and events, participating in the giving programmes, or joining our volunteer programmes to support your local community.

However you choose to participate, please be assured our alumni team is here to help, creating a world-class community of alumni to the benefits of everyone involved.

Keep in touch We use online media for the majority of our communications.

• Please ensure that you are invited to participate in alumni elections by registering an active email address with us. (If you receive regular e-newsletters, then we have your email address already). You can update your details online at your.manchester.ac.uk • If you are not able to vote online, you can request a postal vote by emailing us at alumni@manchester.ac.uk or write to: Development and Alumni Relations The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL, UK • The Alumni Association Constitution can be found at your.manchester.ac.uk/ get-involved/governance

Best regards Janine Watson (BA (econ) Hons 1981) Chair, The University of Manchester Alumni Association

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

innovation at the Library One of the benefits of studying at Manchester is access to the resources of one of the UK's largest academic libraries, and our students are often keen to retain this privilege once they graduate. The University makes a significant investment in information to support research and learning. The online resources will prove invaluable to you in terms of personal research and professional development.

JSTOR a digital archive of over 1,500 academic journals

SAge Journals access to a further 645 scholarly and professional journals Key note a complete business intelligence solution and leading provider of market intelligence in the UK

Tap into your alumni network You may be a regular user of LinkedIn, but have you explored its ‘alumni search’ facility? It’s a fantastic tool that allows you to search alumni profiles according to location, employer, business sector, subject studied and more.

Find it from the home page by hovering over ‘Education’ on the menu bar and select ‘find alumni’ from the drop down.

Or here’s a quick link: lnkd.in/egUFysq Career-starters can find step-by-step instructions on how to make contacts at your.manchester.ac.uk/alumni-network. Mid-career alumni can opt-in, opt-out or say ‘check back soon’ simply by adding a short code to your profile (see text box below).

Linkedin codes

Alumni can add these codes to their LinkedIn profile: UMAn: gO = ‘Go ahead’ I’m available to be approached UMAn: nn = ‘Not now’ I want to take part but now is not a good time, check back later UMAn: XX = ‘Opt out’ I don’t wish to take part Use your alumni network and find someone who can help you answer your questions and give you an insight into a career or sector you’re interested in. If you’re an experienced graduate, then make yourself available and add ‘UMAN: GO’ to your LinkedIn profile.

Mint UK (formerly Dash) a comprehensive database of company information The Sustainable Organization library a collection of almost 10,000 resources on corporate social responsibility Ieee All-Society Periodicals Package access to the IEEE core collection of engineering, electronics and computer science periodicals Henry Stewart Talks full access to The Business & Management Collection of over 900 online video lectures and case studies by leading world experts Visit your.manchester.ac.uk to access these services free of charge or at a significant discount.

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alumni Facebook, twitter and instagram You can also stay connected with the University and our global community of graduates by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Your online contributions have already helped us lead the rankings table of Russell Group universities for social media alumni interaction, which means there’s always something going on.

Just search ‘AlumniUoM’ to find us. Or you’ll always be able to follow where we are on social media from the Your Manchester homepage.

For full instructions on how to ‘use your alumni network’, visit your.manchester.ac.uk/alumni-network

extras There are lots of ways to enjoy Manchester Extras – a package of over 40 special discounts and offers for Manchester alumni. Don’t miss out! Sign up now at your.manchester.ac.uk/extras

Join us!

Chancellor Lemn Sissay MBE hosted alumni at the Foundling Museum in London.

With over 200 alumni events held each year around the globe, there are plenty of opportunities to keep in touch with your fellow graduates.

Our alumni relations events are designed to oer an insight into University research and its impact on the world, to encourage debate and discussion on topical issues with experts and academics, to provide networking and career development opportunities, and to help our alumni meet old and new friends with a common history.

To keep informed about the latest alumni events in the UK or overseas, register for the exclusive alumni community website www.manchester.ac.uk/yourmanchester and make sure your details are updated regularly.

Watch out for your email invitations to events.

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TOM KILBURN, FREDDIE WILLIAMS AND GEOFF TOOTILL BUILT THE WORLD’S FIRST STORED-PROGRAM COMPUTER.

NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING ECONOMIST ARTHUR LEWIS, BRITAIN’S FIRST BLACK PROFESSOR.

MARIE STOPES, THE FOUNDER OF BRITAIN’S FIRST BIRTH CONTROL CLINIC.

WILL YOU SUPPORT THE NEXT WORLD-CHANGER AT MANCHESTER? By supporting scholarships at The University of Manchester, you could fund the next Nobel Prize winner, the next great humanitarian, or the person who goes on to cure a killer disease.

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“ It is my passion to work towards a world where millions of people do not die each year from treatable microbial infections.

Natasha Motsi, Manchester scholarship student and future world-changer

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Will you help fund a scholarship for another bright student?

By post: Your donation form is in this magazine By phone on: +44 (0)161 306 6021 Online at: www.manchester.ac.uk/donate Text UMAN24 £10 to 70070 to donate £10 today

URGENT

PLEASE RESPOND BY 30 NOVEMBER

100% of your donation will be used for student support – thank you so much for your generosity.

The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL Royal Charter number RC000797 KD271.09.16 The University of Manchester is an exempt charity under Schedule 2 of the Charities Act 1993. Our reference number with the Charities Division of HM Revenue and Customs is XR82062.