UniLife Vol 12: Issue 4 (2 February 2015)

February 2015 Issue 4 Volume 12

unilife The free magazine for The University of Manchester

Research beacons light up

Message from the President The results of the national Research Excellence Framework (REF), which reports on the quality of research at higher education institutions in the UK over the period from the start of 2008 to the end of 2013, were announced on Thursday, 18 December 2014.

W

e submitted 1,652 staff (1,561 FTEs) as part of 35 submissions to 30 units of assessment (subjects), making ours one of the broadest submissions of any university. The proportion of eligible staff we included in our REF return was almost identical (~80%) to the previous Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) which took place in 2007/8.

(internationally excellent), 2* (internationally recognised) and 1* (nationally recognised).

This carried a weighting of 65%. It was combined with similar profiles for impact (weighted at 20%) and environment (15%). By weighting the profiles 4/3/2/1 the result is a composite measure known as Grade Point Average (GPA).

Like all universities, we were assessed on the basis of the quality of our ‘outputs’ (which are mostly publications); ‘impact cases’ demonstrating the social and economic benefit of research dating back to 1993; and ‘environment’ describing our research environment, our strategy, plans and research training.

The overall GPA of our university was 3.16, meaning that over 80% of the research we submitted was scored as 4* or 3*. We did particularly well on research environment and impact. The latter is especially important because of our emphasis on demonstrating the social and economic value of our research.

For each unit of assessment, independent panels assigned a profile to outputs with percentages in the categories of 4* (world-leading), 3*

On another important measure of research success - research power (GPA times the number of staff submitted), the University was ranked With Helen Taylor and Terry Flanagan at Mahdlo youth centre

5th behind University College London, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh.

Particular successes across a range of measures were in Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering; Allied Health Professions (Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy); Anthropology and Development Studies; Biological Sciences; Business and Management Studies; Computer Science and Informatics; Electrical and Electronic Engineering/Materials; Modern Languages and Linguistics; Physics and Astronomy; and Sociology.

So our preliminary analysis indicates that there is much to celebrate in the results. Over the coming weeks we will review our results in more detail to identify areas where we need to improve and consider any actions necessary. We have already identified some areas where we need to do much better.

What it already clear is that we submitted fewer staff than in the RAE 2008, while some other universities grew in size - in some prominent cases due to mergers and acquisitions. We now need to

At the architecture model workshop’s exhibition

Contact us News and story ideas Mikaela Sitford tel 0161 275 2112 email uninews@manchester.ac.uk www.manchester.ac.uk/staffnet/news Deadline 11 February 2015 Events and listings information tel 0161 275 8250 email unievents@manchester.ac.uk Deadline 11 February 2015 Ads tel 0161 275 8250 email uninews@manchester.ac.uk Deadline 11 February 2015 Next issue 2 March 2015

News Manchester’s research prowess confirmed

2

5

News University honours soprano and astrophysicist

7

Visiting Broadfield Primary School with Professor Brian Cox. Photo Courtesy of Oldham Sixth Form College

consider how we respond to that challenge given that there are not many research institutes on our doorstep that we can acquire and we can’t just recruit more world-class scholars without making savings elsewhere.

The most recent ‘Stock Take’ report, which assesses the University’s performance against our Manchester 2020 goals after the period of submission to REF, indicates success in most aspects of research, particularly so in industrial collaborations and invention disclosures.

Over the period of assessment for REF, our research grant and contract income was largely static indicating that our research activity did not grow significantly. More recent evidence (post REF) shows that the value of our research grants and contracts has been increasing substantially, so we now need to embed this good practice across all disciplines and not only continue, but enhance, this trajectory.

Nevertheless, it is clear that we need to further improve our research performance if we are to achieve our ambitions and compete globally. In order to do this we will need to be ever more focussed on areas of excellence if we are to provide the necessary investments in people and infrastructure to be among the best.

We also need to increase the volume and proportion of research at international quality (3 and 4*) and this is recognised in our research strategy. We have been focussing on the quality of research outputs and have seen improvements in the number of highly cited publications – 25% of our publications are in the top 10% for their fields over the past year compared with 22% the previous year. This improvement is welcome but needs to continue.

The funding outcomes of the REF will not be known for several months, but as a result of our reduced volume, it is likely that this will mean a lower income from QR (quality research) funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

activity and over the next six months will be ‘refreshing’ our strategic plan – Manchester 2020 – to take into account many external factors and the results of REF. Research is fundamental to The University of Manchester, both the discovery of new knowledge and its application for social and economic value.

Research also informs and enriches teaching, our students’ choice of university and their experience, and is a major underpinning part of our social responsibility agenda. We must therefore remain committed to the highest quality of research in order to meet the vision and goals of The University of Manchester.

President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Nancy Rothwell Vice-President for Research and Innovation Professor Luke Georghiou

At the Board of Governor’s planning and accountability conference in March, we will be planning future actions in all areas of University

Contents 2 4 8 12 18 20

Message from the President News Research Features What’s On Making a Difference

Front cover: Research at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, part of our new Research Beacons (see page 12).

Research Software to automatically outline bones in x-rays

11

Feature Whitworth opens its art this month

14

Photo by Peter Carr

3

News

The Purple Pig Challenge The University has launched the Purple Pig Challenge, inviting members of our community to become part of the tradition of philanthropy here stretching back to 1824.

The Purple Pig Challenge aims to raise awareness about the importance and collective impact of small, regular donations to the University by asking students, staff and friends to collect a Purple Pig (pictured), fill it with small donations each month, and return those donations in March 2015. More than 250 students and staff are taking part.

Participants will also be given the opportunity to vote on the cause which will be supported by their donations.

Senior managers support the launch of our participation in Pride

University storms up equality index

T

he University has risen up the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, not only entering its Top 100 Employers but going straight to position 43, out of approximately 400 organisations. It is the third highest university in the Index.

Stonewall is Britain’s leading tool for employers to measure their efforts to tackle discrimination and create inclusive workplaces for lesbian, gay and bisexual employees.

This remarkable improvement of 115 places reflects the hard work of ALLOUT, the LGBT Staff Network Group, and the support of the senior management team, business areas and staff and students.

The high placing also sends a positive message of inclusion to existing staff and students, potential employees, future students and the general public and directly aligns with the University’s 2020 agenda and HR’s people strategy.

This is the fourth year running that the University has seen improvement, rising from 235 in 2011, to 161 in 2012, to 158 in 2013.

Maria Balshaw

Whitworth Director named Cultural Hero Maria Balshaw, Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery, has been named CityLife Cultural Hero 2014.

P

rofessor Alistair Burns has been made a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours for services to health and social care, particularly dementia care.

Maria – currently overseeing a £15 million transformation of the gallery – has been selected from a shortlist packed with influential people from around Greater Manchester as the person who had made the greatest mark on the region in 2014.

Professor Burns – the National Clinical Director for Dementia in England – is Vice-Dean for Clinical Affairs in the University’s Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry and an Honorary Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist in the Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust (MMHSCT).

Maria, who is also director of Manchester Art Gallery and the Costume Gallery, was singled out by the Manchester Evening News for her ‘vision to take the Whitworth Art Gallery into a new era’.

He became the University’s Foundation Chair of Old Age Psychiatry in 1992, where he has been Head of the Division of Psychiatry and is Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences.

• For more details of the Whitworth’s relaunch, on Saturday 14 February, turn to pages 14.

4

Dementia services leader made CBE

Professor Alistair Burns CBE

The iconic Lovell Telescope

Manchester’s research prowess confirmed

T

he University’s place as one of the UK’s top research universities was confirmed in the results of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF).

REF is the new system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions, replacing the Research Assessment Exercise.

The results shows that 83% of research activity here at Manchester is judged to be “world-leading” (4*) or “internationally excellent” (3*), with 35% at 4*.

This confirms the University’s place as one of the UK’s top research universities – in fifth place in terms of research power (grade point average times number of staff submitted; and on 4*/3* times number of staff submitted).

We had one of the broadest submissions of any university in the UK, with research evaluated in

35 discipline areas. The University was recognised as excellent in disciplines which span the full range of academic research, including Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering; Allied Health Professions (Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy); Anthropology and Development Studies; and Biological Sciences.

The REF exercise also recognised our excellent research environment and how our research is having a genuine influence on the real lives of people, as evidenced by a series of impact cases studies, from new drugs and inventions to public policy.

• Turn to pages 2 and 3 for a joint message about our REF results from President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell and Vice-President for Research and Innovation Professor Luke Georghiou.

University home to £235m advanced materials institute

T

The nuclear materials component of the centre, one of 14 such components, will be supported by facilities at the National Nuclear Laboratory in Cumbria.

After spending the last ten years designing, building and operating the new e-MERLIN telescope network, the team behind it – based at the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy and its Jodrell Bank Observatory – have won the 2015 RAS team award.

The small team have delivered what is now one of the world’s most powerful radio telescopes, created by linking seven individual large dishes across the UK, including the iconic Lovell Telescope, via a dedicated optical fibre network to a powerful correlator at Jodrell Bank. e-MERLIN is now being used by hundreds of astronomers around the world studying the formation of stars and planets to the evolution of galaxies and probes of dark matter and dark energy.

Professor of General Practice, Aneez Esmail has been presented with a Higher Education Academy (HEA) Principal Fellowship award.

He was awarded the prestigious fellowship, the highest level of achievement given by the HEA, for his leadership and significant contribution to his field.

The new national research and innovation centre was announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement.

The new Institute, supported by industrial partners, will have its centre in Manchester, supported by satellite centres or ‘spokes’ at the founding partners, comprising the universities of Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College London.

A team who helped develop one of the world’s most powerful radio telescopes has been recognised by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).

Healthcare leader awarded prestigious fellowship

he University will be home to a £235 million advanced materials institute following the largest single funding agreement in its history.

The Sir Henry Royce Institute for Materials Research and Innovation will allow the UK to grow its world-leading research base in advanced-materials science, which is fundamental to all industrial sectors and the national economy.

Award for e-MERLIN telescope team

Professor Kostya Novoselov and Chancellor George Osborne

President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell said: “This considerable investment in UK science is testament to the outstanding research in advanced materials carried out in Manchester and at the new Institute’s partner organisations.”

Professor Esmail is the Director of NIHR Greater Manchester Primary Care Patient Safety Translational Centre (Greater Manchester PSTRC), based in the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences’ Institute of Population Health.

He has published significant research relating to public health and primary care and is internationally recognised for his research on discrimination in the medical profession.

He was also the University’s Associate Vice President for Social Responsibility and Equality and Diversity until September 2014.

5

News

Aerial shot of campus

Campus Masterplan Update This month’s issue of Unilife comes with the quarterly Campus Masterplan Update which provides a round-up of stories about – and a map showing – the various capital projects.

This issue features the Fallowfield residential campus deal which has now been approved by the City Council and which will see a 3,000 bedroom student village created at Owens Park; news about the Whitworth Art Gallery re-opening; and a focus on the University’s commitment to sustainability across the projects.

New Social Responsibility Awards The University has launched 11 new awards for social responsibility for the 2014/15 academic year.

The Making a Difference Awards will recognise and celebrate the many different types of social responsibility achievements of the University’s academic and professional support staff, students and alumni.

Culminating in a major awards ceremony hosted by the President and Vice-Chancellor in May 2015, the awards will cover categories such as sustainability, community and public engagement, and applied-teaching.

• For more information, see the insert included in this edition of UniLife or visit: www.socialresponsibility.manchester .ac.uk/get-involved/awards/

Patients to guide young doctors Trainee doctors at the University’s Medical School are to receive greater input into their studies from patients and the public, thanks to a significant donation from the Dr Edwin Doubleday Fund.

The £100,000 funding over five years will create the Doubleday Centre for Patient Experience and allows students to work with patients and be assessed by them from the first year of study, in order to better understand their needs, feelings and deliver better treatment.

6

Manchester Policy Week success

A

new infographic shows that over 2,500 people booked tickets for Manchester Policy Week in 2014 – an increase of more than 350% on the previous year.

who worked with academics and students from across the University and also external partners to deliver a week-long series of policy discussion and debate with the theme Addressing Inequalities.

It highlights a great success for the organisers of policy@manchester,

Despite a significant increase in the size and scope of Policy Week

in 2014, feedback from attendees reveals that event quality and impact also went up.

Highlights included an Opening Address from former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine.

Museum lands prestigious prize

M

anchester Museum has won the prestigious Lever Prize 2015 for its project for secondary and post-16 students Real Life Science.

The Lever Prize is an annual award given to arts organisations in North West England who are judged to be regionally distinctive with international or potentially international significance.

It is judged by the North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT), an independent group of influential business leaders who promote the region’s economic development, in partnership with Arts and Business.

The Real Life Science programme helps secondary and post-16 students to develop practical investigative skills through science workshops, uniquely combining practical science with the Museum’s collection, and the chance to meet scientists from across the University.

Manchester Museum

Tom Bloxham

Election of new Chancellor

Professor Dame Joceleyn Bell Burnell (second left) receives her honorary degree

Nominations for the role of Chancellor can be made this month (23 February).

University honours soprano and astrophysicist

T

he University has presented honorary degrees to British dramatic soprano Susan Bullock CBE and astrophysicist Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell DBE. Susan Bullock was presented with a Doctor of Music (MusD) by Professor Jeremy Gregory.

Her unique position as the world’s most sought-after British dramatic

soprano was recognised with the award of a CBE in June 2014.

Her notable engagements include highly popular appearances at the Last Night of the Proms 2011 and at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell DBE, FRS, PRSE FRAS was presented with a Doctor of Science (DSc) by Professor Steve Watts.

Bell Burnell is a Northern Irish astrophysicist. As a radio astronomy graduate student she inadvertently discovered pulsars, opening up a new branch of astrophysics – work recognised by the award of a Nobel Prize to her supervisor.

The Chancellor presides over meetings of the University’s General Assembly and the conferment of degrees, along with other ceremonial duties. The Chancellor also fulfils an important ambassadorial role for the University, working with the President and Vice-Chancellor to promote the University’s achievements regionally, nationally and internationally.

The Chancellor does not hold any paid appointment in the University and is elected by the staff, members of the Alumni Association, and members of the General Assembly. They hold office for a period of up to seven years.

The current Chancellor of the University is Mr Tom Bloxham, whose term of office ends on 31 July 2015. The election to appoint the new Chancellor will therefore take place over the next few months and nominations for this role can be made from Monday, 23 February.

• For more information, visit: www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/ chancellor-elections

Obituary: Sir John Mason Sir John Mason, Chancellor of UMIST from 1986 to 1996, has died aged 91.

Susan Bullock (second left) receives her honorary degree

Multi-talented actor returns to campus

A

ctor Roger Allam returned to campus to receive an Outstanding Alumni Award.

Roger has been in a wide range of theatre, TV and film productions and is best known for his roles in The Thick of It and Endeavour.

Roger said: “To receive the award was an honour, and a great surprise.”

Roger Allam (Drama, 1975) is one of the UK’s most acclaimed and

versatile actors. A regular on stage and screen for almost forty years, he created the role of Javert in the evergreen musical Les Miserables, starred as the private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen and became a household name as Peter Mannion MP in the BBC TV comedy The Thick of It, and as DI Fred Thursday in Endeavour for ITV. He has been nominated for six different Laurence Olivier Awards and won three times.

Roger Allam

An expert on cloud physics and former Director of the UK Meteorological Office, his work includes the Mason Equation, giving the growth or evaporation of small water droplets.

In the 1960s, he helped to modernise the World Meteorological Organization.

Knighted in 1979, his many achievements included being appointed the world’s first professor of cloud physics in 1961. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and received the Charles Chree Medal of the Institute of Physics, the Rumford medal, the Bakerian Lectureship of the Royal Society, the Glazebrook Medal of the Institute of Physics, The Symons Gold Medal of the Royal Meteorological Society and the Royal Medal of the Royal Society.

Sir John served UMIST as Chancellor from 1986-96 and received honorary doctorates from 12 universities.

7

Rex Features

Research

Toughen up on unhealthy lifestyles More public health interventions, along the lines of the smoking ban, are needed to tackle so-called ‘lifestyle’ diseases, according to University academic Dr Stanley Blue.

Dr Blue, a lecturer in Social Sciences, calls for a courageous shift in public health policy, moving focus away from efforts to change individual behaviour and towards breaking social habits and practices that are blindly leading us into bad health.

In a paper published in the journal Critical Public Health and co-authored with colleagues at NICE and Lancaster University, Dr Blue says new ideas are needed to tackle non-communicable – or ‘lifestyle’ diseases – including heart disease, cancer, asthma and diabetes.

It examines how some social practices reinforce each other, such as getting a takeaway and watching TV, whereas others, such as drinking at home or going to the gym, compete for time in our busy days.

The smoking ban is given as an example of a measure that effectively decoupled the relationship between going out for a meal or a drink and having a cigarette.

Dr Blue said: “Smoking, exercise and eating are fundamentally social practices, therefore we need to re-shape what is deemed socially acceptable and normal in order to change them.”

Depression in dementia studied A University study of more than 400 people in eight EU countries with severe dementia has found that those residing in long-term care homes are less likely to suffer from depressive symptoms than those living in the community.

In the groups studied by Professor David Challis and his team, 37% of the 217 people living in the community showed signs of depression compared to 23% of the 197 in care homes. It is one of the few studies comparing similar groups of people living at home and in nursing homes.

8

Mites and ‘springtails’ from below-ground

The unbelievable underworld

A

new study has pulled together research into the most diverse place on earth to demonstrate how the organisms below-ground could hold the key to understanding how the world’s ecosystems function – and how those organisms are responding to climate change.

Published in Nature, the paper – by Professor Richard Bardgett from the Faculty of Life Sciences and Professor Wim van der Putten of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology – not only highlighted the sheer diversity of life that lives

below-ground, but also how the rapid responses of soil organisms to climate change could have far-reaching impacts on future ecosystems. It also explored how the below-ground world can be utilised for sustainable land management.

Professor Bardgett explains: “Recent soil biodiversity research has revealed that below-ground communities not only play a major role in shaping plant biodiversity and the way that ecosystems function, it can also determine how they respond to environmental change.”

Cloud brightening for cooler planet

U

niversity scientists have identified the most energy-efficient way to make clouds more reflective to the sun in a bid to combat climate change.

Marine Cloud Brightening is a reversible geoengineering method proposed to mitigate rising global temperatures.

Dr Paul Connolly has identified the best way of propelling a fine mist of salt particles high into the atmosphere to increase the albedo of clouds – the amount of sunlight they reflect back into space.

This would then reduce temperatures on the surface, as less sunlight reaches the Earth.

Conceptualised image of cloud brightening ship Credit: John McNeill

Research disproves Victorian dad stereotype

V

ictorian working-class fathers weren’t strict, distant and unaffectionate with their children according to research from historian Dr Julie-Marie Strange.

Drawing on music hall songs, visual culture and fiction, Dr Strange’s research followed the Victorian working man through the front door of his home to observe him at rest and at play with his children.

It revealed that men were incredibly affectionate with their children, very involved and injected laughter and fun into the home.

The study disproved the validity of the negative stereotypes closely linked with the Victorian working-class father like being absent, tyrannical, distant, drunk, violent and resentful of his children.

She said: “The term ‘Victorian father’ has become shorthand for a man that is strict, distant and unaffectionate with his children. This shows how firmly the stereotype is imprinted in our culture. But I found little evidence of this austere, absent man in my research.”

Professor Nigel Scrutton

£3 million for cutting edge biotechnology University scientists have been awarded nearly £3 million to develop new sustainable ways of manufacturing the chemicals used in thousands of our everyday products.

Professor Nigel Scrutton and his team at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology are one of five beneficiaries of the BBSRC’s Strategic Longer and Larger Grants (sLoLaS) scheme which funds high-value, long-term research projects.

Fossil fuels currently provide the raw material for the manufacture of many everyday products that we take for granted including pharmaceuticals, food and drink, plastics and personal care. The combined effect of fossil carbon depletion and climate change are forcing us to replace fossil fuels with cleaner, more sustainable forms of energy.

In total £15.8 million is being handed to five research teams as part of the sLola scheme, which aims to provide world-leading teams long-term funding and resources to address major challenges.

App lets kids breathe easy

Professor Scrutton’s five-year research programme is at the heart of this agenda.

His team will design bespoke biological parts and assemble them in novel ways to create a bio-based production pipeline within a synthetic, engineered microbial biofactory.

By adopting a production pipeline that embraces the ‘design-build-test-deploy’ life-cycle they will turn knowledge assets into innovative chemicals production solutions to support industrial and academic drug discovery programmes.

esearchers at the University and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have developed a new interactive smartphone game which can help children use a key asthma inhaler (‘a spacer’) far more effectively, allowing them to breathe more easily.

Professor Scrutton says the grant is a substantial boost for Manchester: “Our vision is to harness the power of synthetic biology to propel chemicals and natural products production towards ’green’ and sustainable manufacturing processes.”

An image from the app

R

Getting young children to breathe into ‘spacers’ is not always easy and can cause distress for both children and adults. Dr Tariq Aslam was faced with such a problem for his son, Rafi, who experienced repeated distressing wheezing attacks.

This led Dr Aslam to create a new way of using a spacer by mounting a smartphone onto it programmed to display an interactive game linked to the outflow valve of the mask.

Whenever a child breathes properly into the spacer they see themselves winning on a game played on the screen. For example, the child can ‘blow away’ unfriendly characters to the hero or blow the hero’s boat across a river.

• Industrial biotechnology is one of our new Research Beacons. For more information turn to page 12.

9

Rex Features

Research

Power lines and ill-health link queried

Several past studies have suggested that the magnetic fields created by phones, high-voltage power lines and other electrical equipment are harmful for humans.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has categorised low frequency magnetic fields as “possibly carcinogenic”.

The team, from the Faculties of Engineering and Physical Sciences and Life Sciences, studied the effects of weak magnetic fields (WMFs) on key human proteins, including those crucial for health, and found that they have no detectable impact.

Dr Alex Jones said: “More work on other possible links will need to be done but this study definitely takes us nearer to the point where we can say that power-lines, mobile phones and other similar devices are likely to be safe for humans.”

High-impact journals might not boost careers Economists working in academia are being advised to think twice before publishing in high impact journals.

New research led by Professor Dan Rigby, published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, examined whether careers were most enhanced by publishing in high impact journals.

The key findings were the lack of relationship between journals’ impact factors and the perceived career payoffs from publishing in them.

10

Dr Donald Ward in the lab

Kidney disease danger

D

r Donald Ward has discovered that very small changes in the level of acidity in blood may have a detrimental impact on the health of patients with kidney disease.

This leads to too much of the hormone PTH being released, which is likely to lead to a greater risk of calcium and phosphate damaging arteries.

His research at the Faculty of Life Sciences identified that these very small changes prevent the body from being able to accurately monitor calcium levels.

Computer says ‘yes’!

U

niversity scientists have developed a computer model charting what happens in the brain when an action is chosen that leads to a reward.

The model could provide new insights into the mechanisms behind motor disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease and also shed light on conditions involving abnormal learning, such as addiction.

Dr Mark Humphries, from the Faculty of Life Sciences, explains: “We wanted to look at how we learn from feedback – particularly how we learn to associate actions to new unexpected outcomes.”

The model provides a common framework in which to place new findings on all aspects of learning from outcomes and could reveal novel insights into motor disorders and conditions such as addiction, where the association becomes so strong that the action is repeatedly chosen even when it is not appropriate to do so.

How reward affects our brain

Rex Features

New evidence suggesting that power lines and mobile phones do not cause physical harm to humans has been found by researchers at the University.

An image from the ‘bone finder’ software

Software to automatically outline bones in x-rays

R

esearch into disorders such as arthritis is to be helped by new software developed at the University which automatically outlines bones – saving thousands of hours of manual work.

Amidst a national shortage of radiographers in the UK and an increasing requirement for researchers to work with large databases of radiograph images, the software is being designed to automatically pick out the shapes of bones in the images.

The system can already identify hips but the researchers, led by Professor Tim Cootes from the University’s Institute of Population Health, will now adapt it to map out knees and hands and to be able to learn to identify other bones and structures within the body.

The funding will allow further development to ensure the system is accurate enough that it can be used in hospitals to help provide faster diagnosis of problems in patients.

Draining cancer’s fuel tank Scientists at the University have discovered a potential weakness in cancer’s ability to return or become resistant to treatment, by targeting the ‘fuel’ part of stem cells which allows tumours to grow.

The researchers based at the Institute of Cancer Sciences and the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, led by Professor Michael P. Lisanti (pictured), investigated the role of mitochondria which produce and release energy within cells.

They discovered that mitochondria are especially important for the proliferative expansion and survival of cancer stem cells.

Ethnic inequalities mapped across the country The lives of ethnic minorities across the country have been mapped by researchers at the University’s Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE).

Images showing differently sized molecules entering or being excluded from synapses

Mind the gap

P

rofessor Dan Davis and his team have been investigating how different types of immune cells communicate with each other – and how they kill cancerous or infected cells.

The Faculty of Life Sciences researchers, working in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, took molecules of different sizes and colours and used microscopic imaging to see which size of molecule could get

into the gap between an immune cell and another cell. They found that only the smaller molecules could penetrate the gap.

Published in Nature Communications, their research highlights that some types of drugs aren’t able to penetrate the gap between the cells so they can’t easily reach targets within the gap to work effectively.

CoDE staff have drilled down into Census data to produce a profile ranking every district in England and Wales by experiences of education, employment, health and housing, comparing the experience of minority groups to White British residents living side by side in 2001 and 2011.

Despite Britain continuing to diversify, the work finds that differences in living standards for minorities and white British residents have remained persistent since 2000. Left alone, the problem will not solve itself, academics warn.

Dr Nissa Finney said: “These inequalities are not, and will not, disappear of their own accord.”

11

Feature PhD student Ashley Philips lines up nano-electrospray tip to ion mobility mass spectrometer

Global challenges, Manchester solutions 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.

In a series of five features, UniLife looks at them in more depth.

W

orld-class research is the first goal of our Manchester 2020 strategy. Our aim is to be among the top 25 research universities in the world by 2020.

We’re fortunate to have a wide range of high-quality research activity that is rivalled by few other universities. In the recent Research Excellence Framework, we made submissions in 35 discipline areas. Much of our research combines expertise from across disciplines, making the most of the opportunities that our size and breadth of expertise affords.

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. These are: • Industrial biotechnology • Energy • Cancer • Advanced materials • Addressing global inequalities This month, we look at how our industrial biotechnology experts are finding sustainable alternatives to the petrochemicals used to manufacture the goods we use every day.

12

PhD student Robin Hoeven performs a DNA transformation

Research Associate Dr Hanan Messiha investigates enzyme mechanisms inside an anaerobic glovebox

Industrial biotechnology Ending manufacturing’s reliance on carbon Fossil fuels have been the primary energy source for society since the Industrial Revolution. They provide the raw material for the manufacture of many everyday products that we take for granted, including pharmaceuticals, food and drink, materials, plastics and personal care.

But our dependency cannot continue. The combined effect of fossil carbon depletion and climate change means we must find cleaner, more sustainable alternatives. We need solutions that will help us respond to society’s grand challenges: an ever increasing and ageing population, affordable healthcare, resource efficiency, food security, climate change and energy shortages.

The bio-industrial revolution Just as Manchester was at the heart of the first Industrial Revolution, The University of Manchester is now leading the way, both nationally and across Europe, towards a bio-industrial revolution. We’re at the forefront of a European industrial renaissance, creating next-generation chemicals for industrial and healthcare needs.

Using biological resources such as plants, algae, fungi, marine life and micro-organisms, industrial biotechnology (IB) is changing how we manufacture chemicals and materials, as well as providing us with a source of renewable energy.

“IB really is at the core of sustainable manufacturing processes. It’s certainly the future as we globally move from petrochemical to bio-based manufacturing capabilities,” explains Professor Nigel Scrutton, Director of the University’s Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB).

“IB provides an attractive alternative to traditional manufacturing technologies to commercially advance and transform priority industrial sectors.

It’s yielding more and more viable solutions for our environment in the form of new chemicals, new materials and bioenergy.”

The potential impact on everyday life is huge.

IB could spare 33 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year – the equivalent of the energy use of 2.5 million homes. It could produce detergents that save households 30% of electricity by being able to wash laundry at 30°C. Half of all our medicines will come from biotechnology this year.1

Our biotechnology expertise

The future As the 21st century progresses and we move towards more bio-based economies, we need solutions for the manufacture of chemicals that are smarter, more predictable and more sustainable.

At The University of Manchester we’re advancing this agenda and have the capacity to deliver renewable and sustainable materials, biopharmaceuticals, chemicals and energy that will transform the UK and European industrial landscape.

In the MIB, the University has one of Europe’s leading industry-interfaced institutes, with worldleading capabilities in chemicals synthesis and manufacture. Professor Scrutton believes that the scale and breadth of research activity at the University enables us to look beyond the immediate or traditional fields to find innovative approaches that draw upon our varied expertise.

At a glance Industrial biotechnology in Manchester • The University leads four of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy (NIBBs).

“The University is a beacon of interdisciplinary research. Manchester’s vision and commitment to team-based research was realised in 2006 in the delivery of the MIB, the UK’s first purpose-built interdisciplinary biocentre. Research institutes of this type are really the engine rooms for driving interdisciplinary science, uniting skills and expertise from a range of disciplines in highly collaborative programmes,” he explains.

• 30% of the MIB’s research portfolio involves overseas partners.

• MIB drives successful UK and international programmes in the fine chemicals areas.

For example, the Institute produced new oxidase enzymes now used commercially

by Codexis to manufacture building blocks for the new hepatitis C drugs Telaprevir and Bioceprevir.

“Here at MIB, for example, we’re making significant breakthroughs in the areas of IB and synthetic biology, where a multidisciplinary approach is absolutely fundamental to success, drawing on disciplines such as organic and synthetic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, enzyme kinetics, genomics, proteomics, bio-informatics and bioprocessing.”

The University partners with some of the world’s leading companies from across the chemistry, biotechnology and biopharmaceutical sectors – including GlaxoSmithKline, Shell, Unilever and Pfizer– to drive the creation of new bio-based chemicals.

• The University’s grant portfolio in industrial biotechnology is worth more than £100 million.

References 1

EuropaBio. Biotechnology Industry Manifesto 2014-2019 for the European Parliament and new Commissioners.

13

Feature Unmanned Nature, Cai Guo-Qiang, 2008

Whitworth opens its art this month The Whitworth Art Gallery will reopen its doors on Saturday 14 February 2015, Valentine’s Day, following a £15 million transformation. The gallery was bursting at the seams and the new development has doubled the public space, but more than that it has reimagined its community-spirited heritage to create an amazing public space for the 21st century. Here UniLife looks forward to its bright and beautiful future.

S

ince 2005, the Whitworth’s audience has increased by 120%. In 2013, the Whitworth welcomed almost 190,000 visitors and its formal learning programme reaches 12,000 primary and secondary school pupils annually.

The gallery was “bursting at the seams,” according to Director Maria Balshaw, and the new development has doubled the public space with amazing new facilities such as expanded gallery spaces, a collections centre, a learning studio and study centre allowing the

gallery to welcome more visitors, engage more school children and present more and larger exhibitions.

The opening programme, leading with a major solo exhibition from one of Britain’s most acclaimed contemporary artists Cornelia Parker MBE, will celebrate the Whitworth’s eclectic and extensive collection of historical and contemporary fine art, textiles and wallpapers.

For the reopening weekend of 14 and 15 February, the Whitworth has

Artist’s impression of the gallery’s East Elevation on Oxford Road

14

compiled a compelling programme of events including 15 curator-led exhibition tours, nine ‘study centre conversations’ between curators and leading University academics, a literary salon, performances and a firework display in the new art garden accompanied by the 80-strong Halle Youth Orchestra.

All the opening weekend’s events are free and full details are at: www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth

Bringing art, nature and people together

I

n 1889, the Whitworth was England’s first art gallery to be built in a park. In 2014, the building has been transformed to bring the inside out, and outside in.

Whitworth Park was originally dedicated to ‘children and neighbours’ and the gallery wants to rekindle this with two new posts.

Funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation will bring a new Cultural Park Keeper, Francine Hayfron, whose specific task will be to bring art, nature and people together.

Francine says: “I am passionate about using outdoor creative activities to enhance people’s wellbeing and lives, so I am really excited about the journey ahead here at the Whitworth.”

In its original form, the park keeper’s role was more focussed on community engagement than keeping visitors off the grass so the Whitworth’s cultural park keeper will engage ‘children and neighbours’ with programmes and activities with a focus on existing park users and new audiences. Francine will forge

new local partnerships, manage a large team of volunteers and create more opportunities to bring the outside in and vice versa.

Francine’s work will be supported by a second new appointment, Landscape and Sustainability Technician, Patrick Osborn.

The Whitworth redevelopment has not only opened up the gallery to the park with its new parkside entrance and art garden, it has also commissioned several new sculptures for the park. Patrick’s role will be to ensure the highest quality maintenance and upkeep of the much expanded landscape areas and outdoor environment.

Patrick says: “I am planning to encourage a wide array of diversity in the garden of both plant and animal life and particularly looking forward to setting up our bee hives.”

Both Francine and Patrick are really excited to be part of a new programme that has reimagined the role of park keeper for 21st century Manchester.

Francine Hayfron and Patrick Osborn on site

Dishing up home-grown delights

T

he new Whitworth café – overlooking the newly-designed Art Garden and historic Whitworth Park – will have a familiar face at the helm with the return of award-winning chef Peter Booth with his company, The Modern Caterer.

Peter established The Modern Caterer at the Whitworth in 2004 and his understanding of the Whitworth’s commitment to deliver a unique and authentic experience is echoed in the new menu, influencing the way the food is sourced and produced.

He has developed a menu both traditional and inspired, with a selection of dishes created exclusively for the Whitworth. Highlights will include Orchard Garden smoked salmon, smoked onsite, and a Whitworth-own sloe gin using specially planted fruit trees.

Peter says: “The new café and restaurant will offer the very best in seasonal organic food and drink that is expertly sourced and creates big, bold flavours in a stunning new environment.”

Artist’s impression of the Café in the Trees

15

Feature

Students on a My Learning Essentials workshop

Putting our students centre stage – and on the road to success S

My Learning Essentials, the Library’s comprehensive skills programme, is making a huge impact on the progression, development and success of our students. Over 15,000 students have become regular users of the programme in just the first 18 months, and its community of users and contributors continues to grow. Here UniLife looks at its award-winning work.

upporting the University’s strategic goal to deliver an outstanding learning and student experience, My Learning Essentials encourages our students to be proactive, independent learners, empowering them to identify their own areas for development and enabling them to seek opportunities for improvement.

In order to deliver My Learning Essentials to such a large student body, a flexible and responsive structure is paramount.

The programme features online and face-to-face elements which work in tandem to deliver support to students at the point of need, whether they are working on a literature review at 2am or planning ahead for a presentation or exam.

Both elements use a student-centred and highly interactive style, which has achieved significant recognition for its pedagogy and engaging use of technology, including a Blackboard Catalyst Award for Innovative Blended Learning.

Everything on the programme is constantly evaluated in order to inform its future direction and the student voice is given centre stage.

All resources and workshops are developed in response to a demonstrated student need, and student feedback is used to constantly adapt and develop the programme to ensure that the Library is providing our students with the right support at the right time.

My Learning Essentials will now continue to develop as part of the University’s My Manchester Plus

16

project, which aims to bring together a comprehensive range of co-curricula development opportunities which support student learning, wellbeing and employability from across the University.

The Library is also keen to embed the programme further into curricula in partnership with our academic colleagues to enable it to provide more of our students with direct access to opportunities to develop the skills essential for success in their studies.

To find out more about My Learning Essentials or talk about future development, visit www.manchester.ac.uk/my-learningessentials, follow us on Twitter (@mlemanchester) or email us at mle@manchester.ac.uk

17

Listings John Rylands Library (Deansgate)

Later Day Saints exhibition launches on 23 January 2015 and runs until 28 June 2015

The Merchant of Print exhibition launches on 29 January 2015 and runs until 21 June 2015

EXHIBITIONS Loving Illumination - Paintings of Light 4 December 2014 - 29 March 2015 Merchants of Print: from Venice to Manchester 29 January 2015 - 21 June 2015 Later Day Saints 23 January 2015 - 28 June 2015 TOURS Printing Press Demonstrations 3, 9, 19, 27 February 2015, 10am - 2pm Introductory tour Every Wednesday and Friday, 3pm Striking Gold 4 February 2015, 12noon - 1pm Explorer tour 10 February 2015, 3pm - 4pm and 22 February 2015, 11am - 12pm Unusual Views: Library tours for photographers 17 February 2015, 11am - 12pm Tour en Français - French language only tour 21 February 2015, 11am - 12pm FAMILY Toddler Tales 5 February 2015 10.30am - 11.30am Dragon tales 7 February 2015 11am - 12pm For further details of our events, please visit our website

What’s On Manchester Museum

Magic Carpet 27 February 2015, 10.30am (book on 0161 275 2648, free) Early Opening for Early Birds 28 February 2015, 9am - 10am (drop in, free)

EXHIBITIONS Siberia: At the Edge of the World Saturday 4 October 2014 - Sunday 1 March 2015 Romuald Hazoumè: Dance of the Butterflies 14 February 2015 - December 2015 FAMILY ACTIVITIES Baby Explorers 3 February 2015, 10.30am and 17 February 2015, 11am - 2.30pm (book on 0161 275 2648, free) Living Worlds 16 - 20 February 2015 (drop in, free)

18

Big Saturday: Climate Science Challenge 28 February 2015, 11am - 4pm (drop in, free) TALKS, TOURS AND WORKSHOPS FOR ADULTS Manchester Museum sings 1 February 2015, 2pm - 4.30pm (book online at mcrmuseum.eventbrite.com or phone 0161 275 2648, free) English Corner 3 February 2015, 1pm - 2.30pm (drop in, free) Collection Bites: Rah-rah, Senenmut Lover of the Egyptian Queen?

4 February 2015, 1pm - 2pm

Tour of Siberia: At the Edge of the World 11 February 2015, 1pm and 25 February 2015, 9am - 10am (book online at mcrmuseum.eventbrite.com or phone 0161 275 2648, free) From Amulets to Golden Flies: Understanding Egyptian Jewellery 14 February 2015, 9.15am – 4.30pm (book on egyptologyonline.ls.manchester.ac.uk/ events) Talk: Romuald Hazoumè on Dance of the Butterflies 14 February 2015, 3pm - 4pm (book on 0161 275 2648, free) Opening times Tues – Sat 10am - 5pm The Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, Manchester 0161 275 2648 manchester.ac.uk/museum Follow us on Twitter @McrMuseum facebook.com/ManchesterMuseum

FREE ADMISSION Public opening times: Sun-Mon 12pm – 5pm, Tues – Sat 10am – 5pm Reader opening times: Mon-Weds, Fri-Sat 10am – 5pm, Thurs 10am – 7pm The John Rylands Library 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH General/Reader Enquiries: 0161 275 3764 Email: uml.specialcollections@manchester.ac.uk Visitor/Event Enquiries: 0161 306 0555 Email: jrl.visitors@manchester.ac.uk

Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre EVENTS Lovell Lecture – PLATO: Discovering Earth-like planets around other stars 5 February 2015, 7.30pm – 9pm (book on 01477 571766, £8) Meet the Expert 16 - 20 February 2015 (free but normal admission applies) Solar System Science Show 16 - 20 February 2015 (runs Monday to Friday at 11am, 12pm, 2pm and 3pm and last for 30 mins, free but normal admission applies) Telescope night 25 February 2015, 7.30pm – 9pm (book on 01477 571 766, £20 adults / £18 concessions / 10% discount for annual pass holders) Opening times 10am-5pm Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9DL 01477 571 766 jodrellbank.net

The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama LUNCHTIME CONCERTS Walter Carroll Lunchtime Concert Series: Elizabeth Jordan: Clarinet works of John Adams and Steve Reich 12 February 2015, 1.10pm - 2pm (free) Walter Carroll Lunchtime Concert Series: Psappha 19 February 2015, 1.10pm - 2pm (free) Quatuor Danel Seminar: Performing String Quartets (2) 26 February 2015, 2.30pm - 3.30pm (free) Walter Carroll Lunchtime Concert Series - Quatuor Danel Lunchtime Concert 26 February 2015, 1pm - 2pm (free) Manchester Universities String Society 27 February 2015, 1.10pm - 2pm (free) EVENING CONCERTS MUMS Brass Band and Wind Ensembles 7 February 2015, 7.30pm - 10pm (book on 0161 275 8951, £10.50/£6.50/£3

The Whitworth Art Gallery Reopens on 14 February 2015 An art garden, sculpture terrace and orchard blur the line between the gallery and the park it calls home. A £15 million development has created new spaces that reflect its beautiful setting – and allow it to do more of what it does best: stage outstanding exhibitions in one of the most remarkable galleries in the north.

Fall in love again: the Whitworth’s opening weekend 14 - 15 February 2015 (free) To celebrate the reopening, the Whitworth team will introduce the new spaces and exhibitions with an extraordinary schedule of events throughout the weekend.

Highlights of the programme include talks with Cornelia Parker, Jeanette Winterson and Stuart McKnight, performances in the new art garden including a live performance from the Hallé Youth Choir and an evening party on Saturday 14 February with a collaborative performance by Italian artist Nico Vascellari and French Musician, Ghédalia Tazartès.

MUMS Symphony Orchestra 21 February 2015, 7.30pm - 10pm (book on 0161 275 8951, £10.50/£6.50/£3)

THINGS TO DO

Quatuor Danel Evening Concert (this concert is at Manchester Grammar School) 27 February 2015, 7.30pm - 9.30pm (book on tinyurl.com/qymofnr, £10/£4)

Tuesday Talks 17, 24 February 2015, 3, 10 & 17 March 2015, 11am-12.30pm (free)

MANTIS Spring 2015 Festival 28 February 2015, 6pm - 7.30pm (book on 0161 275 8951,£8.50/£5.50/£3)

Independent Art School Each Thursday, 6.30pm-8.30pm (for prices and to book, visit: theindependentartschool.com/Manchester)

LITERATURE Literature Live: Denise Riley and Frances Leviston 16 February 2015, 6.30pm - 8.30pm (book on 0161 275 8951,£6/£4) BBC Quiz The 3rd Degree 25 February 2015, 6pm - 8.30pm (free) The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama Bridgeford Street, Manchester, M13 9PL 0161 275 8951 email boxoffice@manchester.ac.uk manchester.ac.uk/martinharriscentre

International Society French Evening Saturday 14th February (prices/details to be confirmed) Ecuadorian Evening Saturday 28th February (prices/details to be confirmed) Opening times Mon-Fri 9.30am – 7pm Small World Café opening times Mon-Fri 11am – 3pm 327 Oxford Road 0161 275 4959 email int.soc@manchester.ac.uk internationalsociety.org.uk

Saturday Supplement Monthly, 11am-4pm

Thursday Lates Each Thursday, 6pm-9pm (free)

Gig Guide Manchester Academy 1, 2 and 3 Wed 14 Jan

Aaron Carter - £22.50

Fri 20 Feb

Enter Shikari - £19.50

Fri 16 Jan

Drowning Pool + Wayne Static (Static X) - £17.50 Cancelled – refunds available from point of sale.

Sat 21 Feb

Gus G - £12

Sun 22 Feb

Before You Exit and Christina Grimmie + Hannah Trigwell - £15

Fri 16 Jan

Empire Signal + Tom Walker + No Sunlight + Ink - £6

Sat 17 Jan

Alex Goot + Luke Conard £10

Sat 17 Jan

Colibra + Purple Merlin + Ashes Of The Wake + Creep Joint + Arcadia - £7

Tues 20 and Jan Northern Sessions Wed 21 RNCM Popular Music Degree Thurs 22 Jan Fever 105 with Greg Wilson - Doors 10pm – 4.30am – this is an 18 + event - £10 Fri 23 Jan

Tove Lo - £12

Sun 25 Jan

Amon Amarth - £15

Sun 25 Jan

Jessie Ware - £22

Tues 27 Jan

King Creosote + Sorren Maclean - £15

Wed 28 Jan

Lavrentis Machairitsas + Prospectus - £20

Fri 30 Jan

Nazareth - £20

Fri 30 Jan

Early Mojo + Jack The Ripper + Alfie Eastwick - £6

Fri 30 Jan

Some Kind Of Illness + Alana Bondi + Josey Marina + Trip Kings + Dave Sheard - £7

Sat 31 Jan

Burgaboy - £12

Sat 31 Jan

Kosheen - £17.50

Sat 31 Jan

Joe + 112 + Ginuwine £32.50

Great Escape: Yoga and Movement First Thursday of the month, 8.30am-9.45am (£5)

Sun 1 Feb

Neck Deep + Knuckle Puck + Trophy Eyes + Seaway £10.50

Movement First Thursday of the month, 1pm-3pm (free)

Fri 6 Feb

Milky Chance - £10

Fri 6 Feb

Dillon Francis - £11.50

Inside View Last Wednesday of the month, 1pm-2pm (free)

Fri 6 Feb

Crown The Empire + Set It Off + Dangerkids + Alive Like Me - £12

Sat 7 Feb

Hudson Taylor + Southern - £11

Sat 7 Feb

The Dunwells - £10

Sun 8 Feb

Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox - £17.50

FAMILY EVENTS Artist Sundays Each Sunday, 10am-5pm (drop in, free) Outdoor Art Club, for ages 8+ First Saturday of the month, 10am-11.30am (free) Artbaby – Musicbaby Each Wednesday, 10.15am-11.15am or 11.30am-12.30pm (free, but please book online a week in advance) Toddler Art Club Each Monday, 10.30am–11.30am or 11.30am–12.30pm (free, but please book online a week in advance)

Thurs 12 Feb 36 Crazyfists - £14 Fri 13 Feb

Gruff Rhys - £15

Fri 13 Feb

Freddie McGregor + Johnny Osbourne + Christopher Martin + Romain Virgo + Terry Linen - £27.50

Sat 14 Feb

The Used - £18

Sat 14 Feb

Kerrang Tour 2015 with Don Broco + We Are The In Crowd = Bury Tomorrow + Beartooth £16.50

Sat 14 Feb

Chelsea Grin / Veil Of Maya - £12

Sun 15 Feb

Saint Raymond - £10

Early Years Atelier Each Monday, 10am-4pm (free) Art Picnics Any time during gallery opening hours (free) This is just a taster of what’s on. To read our full events programme or for further information and booking, visit the Whitworth’s website.

Watch this space for details of our forthcoming outreach events...

Whitworth Art Gallery Oxford Road, Manchester 0161 275 7450 email whitworth@manchester.ac.uk manchester.ac.uk/whitworth

Tues 17 Feb

Arrested Development - £20

Tues 17 Feb

The Decemberists - £18.50

Thurs 19 Feb Black Label Society + Black Tusk + Crobot - £20 Fri 20 Feb

Jack Savoretti - £13

Fri 20 Feb

Darlia + Nothing But Thieves - £8

Mon 23 Feb Marmozets - £10 Tues 24 Feb

Marduk / Belphegor Doors 7pm - £16.50

Wed 25 Feb Fightstar - £15 Thurs 26 Feb Pond - £12.50 Fri 27 Feb

Benjamin Booker - £8.50

Sat 28 Feb

Music Beats Austerity with Billy Bragg + Grace Petrie £20 solidarity / £10 standard / £5 concession

Sat 28 Feb

Attila + Silent Screams + Fathoms - £9. This has been rescheduled from Monday 13th October – Original tickets remain valid.

Tickets from Students’ Union, Oxford Road Royal Court (Liverpool) 0151 709 4321 (c/c) Students’ Union Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL 0161 275 2930 manchesteracademy.net

Chaplaincies St Peter’s House Chaplaincy Sunday, 11am Holy Communion 12.45pm Lunch (1st Sun) Sunday, 5.30pm Student Service (term-time only) Wednesday 12.15pm Eucharist, followed by free soup lunch (term-time only) RC Chaplaincy Avila House Mass Times (term-time only) Sun, 7pm (in the Holy Name Church) next door to the Chaplaincy Mon, Tues, Thurs and Friday, 5.30pm in the Chaplaincy Chapel Weds, 1.05pm in the Chaplaincy Chapel The Jewish Student Centre and Synagogue 07817 250 557 Email Rabbi Ephraim Guttentag: ephraim@mychaplaincy.co.uk Muslim Chaplaincy South Campus Mosque, McDougall Centre Jammaat (Group Prayer) Daily Juma Prayer Friday 1.15pm Honorary Imam: Imam Habeeb, h_chatti@hotmail.com North Campus Mosque Basement of Joule Library, Sackville Street Building Jammaat (Group Prayer) Daily Juma Prayer Friday 12.30pm The role of Volunteer Muslim Chaplain is to provide pastoral support, guidance and a listening ear to Muslim staff and students.

Chaplains’ contact details are available in the prayer rooms or via St Peter’s House.

19

Feature (l-r) Sarah Swithenbank, Amy Barnett and Emma Britain

Opening the gateway to a new future The University’s strategic plan, Manchester 2020, lists one of our goals as contributing to the social and economic success of the local, national and international community.

Through our engagement campaign, the University collects stories of how our staff, students and alumni are making a difference to society, and here UniLife shares some of those stories with you…

Three University colleagues get to meet some of our future students years before they get here – or before they get to any research-intensive university or, indeed, anywhere where they are leading a life they thought not possible.

Student Recruitment and Widening Participation Coordinator Amy, who delivers the programme, says: “I get to see the impact the experience has on the pupils, I see them return year after year and how they develop. It’s a great experience.”

It is a glimpse into the future that is as inspiring to them – and the dozens of University student ambassadors who work for their programme for secondary schoolchildren, Gateways – as it is to the youngsters invited onto campus.

Student Recruitment and Widening Participation Officer Emma, who runs the programme and manages the team, agrees: “I get to play with the data, I remember their names, and we get to see a side of the kids that their parents and teachers might not see.

Emma Britain, Amy Barnett and Sarah Swithenbank are the team behind the award-winning Gateways, a campus-based activity programme for around 2,000 Greater Manchester pupils from schools and areas where university attendance is low.

The programme helps the pupils – 12 from each school year group, from year 7 through to 11, from 42 schools – to find out more about University, the range of academic subjects studied at Higher Education, as well as develop their skills and access information and guidance about their own educational futures.

The activities are designed to fit their ages, whether it be year 8s extracting DNA from strawberries or year 11s presenting their enquiry-based learning task results as any undergraduate would.

“The children see that learning isn’t the same everywhere you go, that subject you don’t like at school might be different here. It blows their minds.

“We get to dispel myths for both children and parents, for example that you need to have money to go to university, and remind them that all degrees give you the chance to develop transferable skills that employers look for.

“And I have the opportunity to demonstrate the University’s commitment to the community, which is really good experience for me.”

The team’s inspired work has been rewarded – they were presented with the NEON (National Educational Opportunities Network) Widening Access Initiative Award, 2014.

Student Ambassador Rummanah Chothia helps Year 8 learners extract DNA from a strawberry

Next Issue 2 March 2015 M1256 01.15 The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL Royal Charter Number RC000797

Cert no. SGS-COC-3059