UniLife Vol 12: Issue 5 (3 March 2015)

March 2015 Issue 5 Volume 12

unilife The free magazine for The University of Manchester

Whitworth opens with a bang

Message from the President Universities make a vitally important contribution to cultural engagement as they are uniquely equipped to provide exposure to new ideas and experiences.

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s a great example of this, we have just celebrated the opening of the spectacular refurbishment and extension of our Whitworth Art Gallery.

The Whitworth has a remarkable international collection of historic and contemporary fine art, textiles and wallpapers, with over 55,000 artworks in total.

The collection includes artists such as William Blake and J M W Turner; Picasso and Van Gogh; Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud; Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas. It sits in Whitworth Park, facing the local communities of Rusholme, Moss Side and Hulme.

The Whitworth’s work with local communities, from families with babies, to local teenagers, to older people, is nationally renowned and exemplifies our University’s commitment to social responsibility.

It is this commitment to access that has drawn £8.5 million of funding from the Heritage Lottery

Fund and £2 million from the Arts Council England, in addition to the University's own resources, to transform the Whitworth.

The new gallery embraces the adjacent Whitworth Park, with two new wings and an art garden featuring sculptures between them.

New exhibition spaces, a café in the trees, a Study Centre, a Learning Studio for young people and an even bigger programme of activities for students, visitors to the city and local residents alike, mean that the Whitworth will take its place as one of the UK’s leading art galleries.

Our cultural institutions have, for a long time, been at the vanguard of our widening participation and social responsibility agendas by providing a gateway to the University for learners, families and members of the community from under-represented groups.

The Manchester Museum, the Whitworth, the John Rylands Library on Deansgate and the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre are working together on a new 'Cultural Explorers' programme, targeting 1,000 people - mostly local primary school learners.

Our Martin Harris Centre offers a wide-ranging music and drama performance programme and our close neighbour the Contact Theatre, also on campus, has an amazing record of engaging diverse young audiences in its work. And through our curricula and extra-curricula activity, many students employ creativity to address social issues.

History shows that any great university needs to demonstrate a commitment to both the sciences and the arts. Professor James Thompson, our Associate Vice-President for Social Responsibility, is leading a very exciting initiative linking the two.

The Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre is often considered as a ‘science centre’, but it tells the important history of the Observatory and the Lovell telescope which have a great place in British heritage.

Speaking at the Whitworth opening

Since the appointment of our University historian, James Hopkins, we are starting to celebrate and recognise our great history, and there is a brochure available on the University website.

Sir Kostya Novoselov sets off firework display

Science and culture, arts and the wider humanities, are core to our mission and our future. The Whitworth’s opening exhibition includes a fine example of sci-art collaboration.

Artist Cornelia Parker has worked with our own Professor Kostya Novoselov to develop the world’s first cultural use of graphene. Taking a microscopic sample of graphite from a William Blake drawing, Kostya created graphene which triggered a firework meteor shower over Whitworth Park to mark the re-opening of the Gallery. Such a unique collaboration could only happen right here, on our University campus in Manchester.

We also have many successes in our research and our students, notably in music and drama - two of our graduates were recently nominated for Oscars, actor Benedict Cumberbatch and film maker Orlando Von Einsiedel. We know that many students choose to study at the University because of our great cultural activities.

They also choose to study here because of the wider 'place' - Manchester. Manchester is, to use the phrase coined by artist Peter Saville, the Original Modern city.

The Industrial Revolution here created a model for the world. Post-industrial regeneration was heralded

by Factory Records and the Manchester music and club culture that is still recognised the world over.

These days bands still strive to make their name in the City: the Manchester International Festival (MIF) has carved out an international reputation for presenting only the most daring new commissions.

Among the numerous gigs which were part of MIF 2013 was the ‘must see’ music event of the year,

Contact us News and story ideas Mikaela Sitford tel 0161 275 2112 email uninews@manchester.ac.uk www.manchester.ac.uk/staffnet/news Deadline 18 March 2015 Events and listings information tel 0161 275 8250 email unievents@manchester.ac.uk Deadline 18 March 2015 Ads tel 0161 275 8250 email uninews@manchester.ac.uk Deadline 18 March 2015 Next issue 7 April 2015

News Apprentice campaign transforms lives

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News Minister marks £40 million investment

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Part of Cornelia Parker’s exhibition

which took 60 people at a time to a secret location within Chethams School of Music. It was like having your own personal concert.

The huge interest which the ‘new’ Whitworth has attracted, from local people, the media, and the international art world, demonstrates the importance of culture, something this University and the City of Manchester value so highly.

Manchester has a remarkably rich array of culture; for example the Manchester Art Gallery, the Museum of Science and Industry, three major orchestras, and the largest number of theatres of any city outside the capital, including the Royal Exchange.

The BBC’s move to Salford was certainly driven by the lively cultural scene, and has hugely raised the media profile of the region.

In times of significant funding limitations, our City continues to invest in culture and to attract major external funding. MIF will hold its fifth edition this summer. It attracts huge audiences, has powerful

international reach and it is held very dearly by the City and the University.

The Central Library is another wonderful example of major investment by our City to refurbish a precious building and resource as a place of both wonder and work. HOME is a new organisation formed from the merger of the Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company which will open soon on First Street.

Even more recently ‘The Factory Manchester’ was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on one of his recent visits to Manchester. It will be a major new flexible arts venue attracting top national and international names and will be the new home of MIF, with almost £80 million of government funding.

It is no surprise that the New York Times listed Manchester as one of the top 50 places to visit this year and indeed many of our cultural activities have global reach and recognition.

can cultural attractions serve as anchors to attract complementary investment…. but the sort of creative people who flock to the city also have a valuable contribution to make.”

Culture has a fundamental place in our University and the City in driving future success and in making Manchester a place people want to visit, study, work and to live.

Manchester’s cultural institutions serve our students, our residents and the world, embodying world class excellence and locally relevant social benefit. It is why Manchester is seen as the cultural powerhouse of the North.

President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Nancy Rothwell Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery Maria Balshaw

Sir Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council said recently: “Not only

Contents 2 4 7 10 14 16

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

Front cover: Cornelia Parker’s Blakean Abstract lights up Whitworth launch Photo by David Cerene

Research How tuna stay warm with cold hearts

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Feature Global challenges, Manchester solutions – in advanced materials

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News

Winners of the PZ Cussons Challenge

Students ‘Venture Out’ in enterprise competition Whitworth Hall played host to the tenth Venture Out competition, which saw students from thirteen schools across the University pitching their enterprise ideas.

There were five categories in this year’s competition – business, social, digital, research, and graphene, as well as a new innovation challenge category, offered by the competition’s sponsor PZ Cussons and having finalists pitch their ideas live to a judging panel.

The winners were: Graphene – Leonid Nichman, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, investigated how to deal with impurities in graphene.

Research – Eve Blumson, Uybach Vo, Matthew Rosser and Osman Zarroug, Faculty of Life Sciences and Manchester Pharmacy School, identified endometriosis markers to develop a clinically useful non-invasive diagnostic test.

Digital – Joshua Smith, School of Social Sciences, developed an app to enable consumers to replace existing plastic loyalty cards and sign up to new loyalty schemes at the touch of a button.

Social – Botakoz Kassenali and Abhishek R Patil, Manchester Business School, developed a project to encourage older people to get involved in the modern digital world.

Business – Christos Kounnas, Manchester Business School, proposed ‘Tool Exchange’ to allow owners of DIY, cookery and other tools to rent them out for a short-term period.

The PZ Cussons Innovation Challenge to ‘help consumers in Africa stay safe and hygienic when they haven’t got easy access to clean water’ was won by Dannu Danil, Shaun Teo, and Prashant Chandrashekar, Manchester Business School, with a bicycle that produces energy from kinetic movement and stores it inside the attached power adaptor for daily needs such as boiling water in order to sterilise it.

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Visitors see Cai Guo-Qiang’s Unmanned Nature

Whitworth opens with a bang!

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he Whitworth is back! The University gallery reopened its doors on Valentine’s Day and welcomed almost 18,000 visitors to see its £15 million transformation over the launch weekend.

The opening saw the first ever cultural use of graphene. Cornelia Parker’s ‘Breath of a Physicist’ had Nobel Laureate Sir Kostya Novoselov breathe upon a graphene sensor he made from a speck of graphite harvested from a drawing by William Blake in the Whitworth collection, triggering Parker’s ‘Blakean Abstract’, a firework display inspired by Blake.

Other highlights included a live performance from the Halle Youth Choir with fireworks, talks with Jeanette Winterson and artist Cornelia Parker and an interactive art and music experience for families.

Dr Maria Balshaw, Director of the Whitworth, said: “The Whitworth's founding was that it be for the perpetual gratification of the people of Manchester.

Watching nearly 18,000 people enjoy the new gallery this weekend showed just how special this place is.

The support from the local community has been overwhelming and we hope that they will continue to enjoy the Whitworth for the next 126 years.”

University commended for apprentice campaign

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he University has been recognised by the National Apprenticeship Service as the first university in England to commit to directly recruiting apprentices to its workforce on a sizeable scale.

The University has now launched its 2015 apprenticeship campaign to encourage managers to consider hiring apprentices when suitable vacancies arise, with a target of at least 100 apprentices in post by the end of the year.

Steve Grant, Assistant Director of Human Resources, said: “The feedback I have received from our apprentices’ line managers, and from the apprentices themselves, is that the programme is hugely successful and that we could and should do more.”

One apprentice, Jamie Scott, joined us as an apprentice chef last year following a serious car crash in 2007 that left him fighting for his life. The 35-year-old former soldier and building site gang leader found he could no longer carry out work involving heavy lifting. He and his wife moved to Manchester, but Jamie was out of work for two years and they struggled financially.

(l-r) Jamie Scott and University Executive Martin Smith

Jamie joined the University through ‘The Works’ initiative, which aims to get the city’s long-term unemployed back into work by equipping them with the skills local employers are looking for, before becoming an apprentice, with further training and paid work for at least another 12 months.

Now a father-of-two, Jamie has NVQ levels 1 and 2 under his belt and is working towards his level 3 with Trafford College – where he recently won ‘apprentice of the year’ – while working in the University’s Owens Park halls of residence kitchens.

“The apprenticeship has changed my life,” he says.

“I think the University’s apprenticeship scheme is great and can’t believe how it has turned my life around; I’d recommend it to anyone.”

Election of the Chancellor, 2015 The University is electing a new Chancellor this year – and giving staff, alumni and members of its General Assembly the chance to nominate someone they believe would fit the role.

Business Secretary Vince Cable talks to Professors Perdita Barran and Douglas Kell

Minister marks £40 million investment

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usiness Secretary Vince Cable visited the University’s Institute of Biotechnology to meet scientists working on Synthetic Biology after announcing £40 million of funding for this cutting edge research.

The five-year funding will boost national research capacity and ensure that there is the expertise to nurture this growing industry in the UK. The investment comes from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Medical Research Council (MRC) and capital investment from UK Government.

Of this, the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) will receive £10.3 million to set up the Centre

for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM). The Centre will develop new products and methods for drug discovery and production, focussing on new antibiotics, and agricultural chemicals, as well as new materials for sustainable manufacturing.

Professor Nigel Scrutton, Co-Director of SYNBIOCHEM, added: “Our vision is to harness the power of Synthetic Biology (SynBio) to propel chemicals and natural products production towards ‘green’ and sustainable manufacturing processes.

“More broadly, the Centre will provide the general tools, technology platforms and SynBio ‘know-how’ to drive academic discovery and translate new knowledge and processes towards industrial exploitation.”

15 minutes to improve your workplace

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ur staff are our most valuable asset.

If we are to meet our ambitious Manchester 2020 goals, we need to ensure that the people who work here feel encouraged, valued and motivated – and the main way to measure this is by asking for feedback about the experience of working here.

The Chancellor is the ceremonial head of the University, who works to promote the University’s achievements regionally, nationally and internationally. The current Chancellor of the University is Mr Tom Bloxham (pictured), property developer and founder of the urban renewal property development company Urban Splash.

Nomination forms will be issued to staff through University news channels, and alumni and members of the General Assembly by direct email/mail contact.

Honouring man who brought literature to the masses An exhibition featuring the first publisher to be credited with making literature affordable to the masses is being held at The John Rylands Library.

‘Merchants of Print: from Venice to Manchester’ – which also features a programme of public events – will celebrate the legacy of the Italian Aldus Manutius (1449-1515) who brought the Greek and Roman classics to the public through the new technology of printing and pioneered the pocket sized book we now take for granted.

The John Rylands Library’s world-leading collection was drawn together by the merchant collectors and citizen scholars of the industrial North of England during the nineteenth century.

We did this through the Staff Survey 2013 – 71% of you responded, giving us a true mandate for the action plans which were developed to address issues at University and local areas.

And now it’s time for Staff Survey 2015, to build on the foundations of the last survey – launching next Monday, 9 March.

It only takes around 15 minutes to complete, and you can be sure that all the information you supply will be anonymous and treated in strictest confidence.

You will be entered into a weekly prize draw to win an iPad from the time you fill in the form.

And you will be able to make a £1 donation to your choice from one of three local charities, shortlisted by a staff vote, supporting the University’s third goal of social responsibility.

The survey results will be published in summer, with action plans being agreed in September at a University-wide, Faculty and local level.

Visit: www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/ staff-survey-2015

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News New Director of Health Innovation Professor Jackie Oldham has been appointed the University’s Director of Health Innovation.

Building on her role as Director of MIMIT and MAHSC Health Technology, Jackie will working closely with the University and leaders from local government, healthcare, academia, science partnerships and industry to improve the opportunity for innovation in healthcare.

Manchester aims to become a globally recognised centre that attracts the best innovators, is a place of discovery and invention and that leads to adoption of new treatments to improve the lives of its citizens and beyond.

Planet of the Apes

President and Vice-Chancellor Nancy Rothwell said: “Having worked with Jackie on several projects previously, I greatly welcome the fact that she has taken up this important new role. I am sure she will make a real difference.”

Unique partnership in online learning The first ever set of online courses developed by a university and the Natural History Museum has opened for enrolment.

In a unique partnership, Manchester and the Natural History Museum have created short, personalised online courses for the public.

The courses bring together the world-leading knowledge and teaching expertise of both institutions, covering topics such as extinctions, forensics and the biology and classification of biodiversity.

The first series of courses, expected to start in Spring, focusses on extinction and ranges from ancient extinction events, including what happened to the dinosaurs, through to modern and potential future extinctions.

For more information or to enrol visit: www.ls.manchester.ac.uk/ distancelearning/nhmcourses

Solaris

Playing God in Manchester

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unique film series has kicked off in Manchester bringing together the diverse themes of religion and science.

The Playing God Film Series will explore how science and religion are portrayed in six films being shown across March, April and May at the Anthony Burgess Foundation. At each film screening an expert speaker will provide a brief introduction before

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Head of School Professor Fiona Devine said: “When we opened our doors in 1965 we were renowned for innovation in business education. Much has changed in the world since then, however our core aim of generating the highest quality research to inspire the business leaders of the future remains the same.

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the film and then lead a post-screening discussion with the audience.

The series has been organised by the Science and Entertainment Laboratory based in the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine.

The films range from the 1935 cult classic The Bride of Frankenstein to the original Planet of the Apes, The Exorcist and the 2014 film I Origins.

Dr David Kirby explains the thinking behind the series: “We wanted to look at all six films in a new and different way, asking fresh questions about the content, and challenging audiences to consider the nature of and connections between science and religion.”

Celebrating 50 years of Manchester Business School anchester Business School has launched a new campaign to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Established in 1965, following the publication of the Franks Report, the School is the joint oldest Business School in the UK.

© NHM, London

The Exorcist

“Our 50th anniversary is a particularly exciting time as we build on this history and continue to generate

MBS 50th Anniversary booklet

world-class research, deliver an outstanding learning and student experience and ensure social responsibility runs throughout all of our activity.”

For more information visit www.fifty.mbs.ac.uk, share your stories emailing memories@mbs.ac.uk or request a copy of a booklet by emailing dianne.connah@mbs.ac.uk

Research

Professor Michael P. Lisanti

Schoolgirl comment points to new cancer treatments

A blue fin tuna

How tuna stay warm with cold hearts

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niversity scientists have discovered how prized bluefin tuna keep their hearts pumping during temperature changes that would stop a human heart.

Dr Holly Shiels, from the Faculty of Life Sciences, carried out the research with Dr Gina Galli from the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, and Professor Barbara Block at Stanford University in America.

She says: “When tunas dive down to cold depths their body temperature stays warm but their heart temperature can fall by 15°C within minutes.”

A way to eradicate cancer stem cells, using the side-effects of commonly used antibiotics, has been discovered by a University researcher, following a conversation with his young daughter.

Tracking bluefin tuna in the wild using archival tags, they were able to measure how deep the fish dived, its internal body temperature and the ambient water temperature. They then used the wild data to set the experimental conditions in the lab with single tuna heart cells to see how they beat.

Professor Michael P. Lisanti, Director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Unit, led the research. His team used five types of antibiotics – including one used to treat acne (doxycycline) – on cell lines of eight different types of tumour and found that four of them eradicated the cancer stem cells in every test.

Dr Shiels adds: “We discovered that changes in the heart beat due to the temperature, coupled with the stimulation of adrenalin by diving adjusts the electrical activity of the heart cells to maintain the constant calcium cycling needed to keep pumping.”

Graphene displays clear prospects Semi-transparent, flexible electronics are no longer just science-fiction thanks to graphene’s unique properties, University researchers have found.

Rex Features

Published in the scientific journal Nature Materials, researchers from Manchester and the University of Sheffield researchers show that new 2D ‘designer materials’ can be produced to create flexible, see-through and more efficient electronic devices.

Video-based therapy may help babies at risk of autism

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esearchers at the University have, for the first time, shown that video-based therapy for families with babies at risk of autism improves infants’ engagement, attention and social behaviour, and might reduce the likelihood of such children later developing autism.

Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Jonathan Green, said: “Our findings indicate that using video feedback-based therapy to help parents understand and respond to their infant’s individual

communication style during the first year of life may be able to modify the emergence of autism-related behaviours and symptoms.

“Children with autism typically receive treatment beginning at three to four years old. But our findings suggest that targeting the earliest risk markers of autism – such as lack of attention or reduced social interest or engagement – during the first year of life may lessen the development of these symptoms later on.”

New partnership promises better medicine delivery The University and AstraZeneca (AZ) have entered into a new research collaboration to generate cutting-edge protein formulation science.

AZ’s global biologics research and development arm MedImmune will work with researchers at Manchester’s Centre of Excellence in Biopharmaceuticals (COEBP) on testing and understanding the fundamental principles of protein solution behaviour in order to find better ways to administer breakthrough medicines to patients.

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Research

Teachers ‘posh-up’ accents A lecturer in linguistics found that teachers feel under pressure to change their accents to be understood in the classroom.

Dr Alex Baratta examined accents in the classroom and discovered that trainee teachers feel they are ‘selling out’ by neglecting their regional accents in favour of more ‘standard’ classroom speaking voices.

He found that many people felt like fakes for ‘poshing up’ their accents to fit in to certain work and social situations.

Mapping the Universe Scientists from around the world have joined forces to lay the foundations for an experiment of truly astronomical proportions: putting together the biggest map of the Universe ever made.

Rex Features

Dr Alex Baratta

Heroin abuse

Age concern in heroin study

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lder users of opioids such as heroin are 27 times more likely to become a victim of homicide than the general population, a University study of almost 200,000 users has found.

The study – the largest ever study of heroin user deaths – is the first to record age trends in opioid users’ mortality and the results demonstrate that many health inequalities between users and the general population widen with age.

The most common cause of death was drug poisoning and the risk of this increased as users got older.

Dr Tim Millar from the Centre for Mental Health and Risk led the study. “Crucially, opioid users need to hear this new information on overdose, to emphasise that their risk of overdosing increases as they get older,” he said.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg

“What happens on ultra-large distance scales tells us something about how the newborn Universe behaved when it was only a tiny fraction of a second old,” said Stefano Camera, at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics.

How does a machine smell?

University scientists have come up with a way of creating sensors which could allow machines to smell more accurately than humans.

Every odour has its own specific pattern which our noses are able to identify.

Using a combination of proteins coupled to transistors, for the first time machines are able to differentiate smells that are mirror images of each other. This could allow the creation of a new generation of biosensors able to sniff out problems, such as food that has gone off or pollution.

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Taking stock of Coalition’s social policy record

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major study finds it is the poor, not the rich, who have carried the burden of the Coalition’s austerity measures.

The authors acknowledge that the Coalition faced a high level of debt and current budget deficit following the global financial crisis.

The report, led by Professor Ruth Lupton, found that poorer groups have been worst affected by changes to direct taxes, benefits and tax credits despite the Coalition’s promise that the rich would carry the burden of the cuts.

In response it made some strategic choices: not to cut the NHS (in cash, though not in need terms) nor schools; to increase spending on pensions; to raise the income tax threshold and to cut the top rate of tax.

The research, undertaken with LSE and the University of York, audited the government’s performance over the past five years across a range of key social policy areas, from health to housing.

The analysis underpins the debates running up to the general election in May.

Rex Features

Researchers from the Cosmology Science Working Group of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which includes the University, have worked out how to use the world’s largest telescope for the task. The SKA will be a collection of thousands of radio receivers and dishes spread across two sites in South Africa and Western Australia.

Professor Louis Appleby

Rex Features

Staff problems could be suicide warnings Intimacy can last in later years

70s shades of grey

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‘racy’ new study has lifted the lid on the sexual appetites of the over 70s to reveal that older people are continuing to enjoy active sex lives well into their seventies and eighties.

A team from the University and NatCen Social Research found that more than half (54%) of men and almost a third (31%) of women over the age of 70 reported they were still sexually active, with a third of these men and women having frequent sex – meaning at least twice a month.

The data comes from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing with this study being lead by Dr David Lee who is an Age UK Research Fellow at The University School of Social Sciences.

The new paper was published in ‘Archives of Sexual Behavior’ and is the first study on sexual health of its kind to include people over the age of 80 and uncovers a detailed picture of the sex lives of older men and women in England.

A national study of every NHS mental health service in the UK has found that high turnover of staff and more patient complaints could be linked to suicide risk among patients.

Researchers, led by Professor Louis Appleby, found that mental health services which had higher levels of non-medical staff turnover (eg nursing staff) and more complaints by patients were also more likely to have higher patient suicide rates.

Cosmic radio burst caught red-handed A team of astronomers using twelve telescopes have for the first time captured a ‘fast radio burst’ happening live.

The achievement will help scientists trap more bursts in the future, which could offer insight into the evolution of the universe. University academics working from Jodrell Bank were members of the team that captured the burst using the Parkes radio telescope located in eastern Australia.

Tackling food poverty The University is joining forces with charities to research ways to tackle food insecurity and reduce food waste in the UK. Artifically intelligent robot scientist Eve

Robot Scientist ‘Eve’ could boost search for new drugs

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ve, an artificially-intelligent ‘robot scientist’, could make drug discovery faster and much cheaper.

University scientists have demonstrated the potential of artificial intelligence by using Eve to discover that a compound shown to have anti-cancer properties might also be used in the fight against malaria.

Robot scientists can automatically develop and test hypotheses to explain observations, run experiments using laboratory robotics, interpret the results to

Led by Dr Kingsley Purdam, a lecturer and expert on food insecurity and foodbanks, the Faculty of Humanities team is working with FareShare Greater Manchester, Lifeshare, Cracking Good Food, the Rainbow Christian Centre and the Compassion Foodbank.

The research seeks to find out how society can reduce waste and get more food to those who cannot afford it.

amend their hypotheses, and then repeat the cycle, automating high-throughput hypothesis-led research.

Professor Ross King, from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, said: “The cost and speed of drug discovery and the economic return make them unattractive to the pharmaceutical industry. Eve can reduce the costs, uncertainty, and time involved in drug screening, and has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide.”

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Feature

Global challenges, Manchester solutions – in advanced materials

PhD students Yin Wang and Basem Al-Zubaidy look at a Magnesium-Aluminium welded sample

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, advanced materials, cancer, energy, and addressing global inequalities.

In this, the second of five features, we look at how our experts are developing advanced materials that can survive the most extreme environments and will transform our lives.

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esearch and innovation into advanced materials at The University of Manchester focusses on solving some of the world’s most critical problems.

We need metals that can survive in the harshest conditions, enabling us to dig at deeper ocean depths or to transport the fuels of tomorrow.

As the world becomes more connected we need to travel more often and at greater speeds, and to be able to communicate with more immediacy.

To meet the needs of industry and society, we’ll need stronger, lighter materials.

A graphene membrane

PhD student Allan Harte studies nuclear fuel cladding material

Aircraft engine fan blades

At the forefront of advanced materials

Materials of the future

Manchester is world-leading at developing new and existing materials for extreme environments.

We also lead the world in characterisation of materials – measuring and exploring materials to help us fully understand their properties and potential.

And then there’s graphene. One-atom thick, this material is set to revolutionise the material world – and it’s a story made in Manchester. Our team of more than 200 graphene and related two-dimensional materials researchers are constantly coming up with new ways to improve and transform current products, from providing clean water for millions in developing communities to creating sustainable energy storage devices.

Our reputation is reinforced by vast capital and research investment, with more than £248 million of live research projects. In all of our advanced materials research we are working with dozens of industrial partners to bring discoveries from the lab to the lives of real people. For example, we helped Rolls-Royce develop an aero engine that is 25% more fuel efficient than its closest competitor.

We bring researchers together from across the disciplines, but also from across institutions and sectors. Our £64 million partnership with BP has established the University as a leading hub for advanced materials expertise, working with some of the finest researchers across the world to help deliver fuel for generations to come.

Not only is our expertise recognised by industry – it also has royal approval. We’ve received a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for our pioneering work in materials behaviour and failure. This work has benefited sectors including nuclear, aerospace, oil and gas, airport security, automotive, biomedical materials, manufacturing and defence. This research also produces wider benefits by transferring this knowledge and understanding into medical and life sciences, cultural heritage, palaeontology and food technology, as well as training future engineers and scientists in the use of leading imaging techniques.

Manchester’s world-class status as not only the birthplace of graphene, but also the centre of its commercialisation, has been reinforced by more than £120 million of capital funding to establish the National Graphene Institute and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre.

Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for demonstrating the properties of graphene. According to Kostya, the breadth and interdisciplinary nature of research at the University makes it the perfect place to bring graphene’s applications closer to the market.

“Research into graphene is developing very fast in this University. The reason for this is that Manchester is one of the largest universities to manage to collect a critical mass of people in different areas of science,” he explains. “These collectively push graphene research far and in many different directions.”

The University of Manchester will also be the home of the £235 million Sir Henry Royce Institute for Materials Research and Innovation, supported by partner universities. This will play a crucial role in addressing

the challenges facing society and making advanced materials a catalyst for economic growth in the UK. At The University of Manchester we’re committed to advancing how materials work for the world.

We’re revolutionising applications for society and industry, and finding solutions to some of the planet’s most challenging problems.

At a glance Advanced materials in Manchester • We’re home to the global knowledge base in graphene and 2D materials, with over 200 dedicated researchers, two Nobel laureates and more than £170 million of current investment.

• Dalton Nuclear Institute’s paper on welding for nuclear new build received more than 230 citations over a decade.

• Our 3D characterisation capability is enabling us to study the properties of new protective coatings for materials such as aluminium used in planes.

• BP has four senior staff permanently on site at the University, giving them an immediate pipeline to our expertise.

Find out more www.manchester.ac.uk/beacons

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Feature

Our pioneering women The University of Manchester holds a special place in history. Our origins as England’s first civic university are closely linked to Manchester’s development as the world’s first industrial city. We were formed at the birth of the modern world and our founders invested us with progressive principles and a desire to improve people’s lives through research and teaching. Throughout our history we have led the way and helped shape the modern world through discovery, ideas and knowledge. Here UniLife looks at how we are working hard to preserve our heritage in a series of features. And this month, we celebrate International Women’s Day by telling the story of talented women at the University.

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oday women make up more than half of The University of Manchester’s student cohort.

Graduates include distinguished names like Christabel Pankhurst, Dr Marie Stopes, Kathleen Drew-Baker and Ellen Wilkinson. Even the President and Vice Chancellor, Nancy Rothwell, is female.

But go back a hundred years or so and it’s a very different story…

The prevailing view in the mid to late nineteenth century was that higher education was unhealthy for women.

Many physicians felt that level of mental activity could actually be damaging to delicate female minds.

The Manchester Mechanics Institution – later UMIST – pioneered early access to education, founding a girls’ school in 1835 and 10 years later was offering ‘higher day classes for females’.

But it was 1883 before Owens College lifted its bar on women – with the foundation of the new Victoria University – and it was still only the very resilient who made it through.

“There were plenty of restrictions on women,” explains the University’s Historian and Heritage Manager Dr James Hopkins. “In some instances they needed a chaperone to attend

The Women’s Common Room 1901

Students at Ashburne Hall 1900-1901

lectures; and often professors would escort female students back to the Women’s department; and they were banned from the men’s union.

“They had to be pretty determined just to enrol.”

Those who did also faced a limited choice of subject. English, History and Botany were amongst those considered the most suitably ladylike – and they were positively excluded from courses like Engineering and Medicine.

Through the early part of the twentieth century female students speak of feeling ‘tolerated’ rather than welcomed, and as late as the 1930s they still had their own single sex common room.

But the radical spirit that has always driven Manchester meant its women were destined to break down those barriers.

Some of the early female graduates went on to great things. By 1904 the University had its first female medical graduate in Catherine Chisholm. In 1906 Christabel Pankhurst graduated in Law and in 1911 Gertrude Powicke left with a degree in Modern Languages.

Despite experiencing appalling discrimination when she tried to get a job, Chisholm became one of the

Dr Marie Stopes, botanist and author of Married Love

earliest paediatricians and went on to set up a new hospital for women and babies.

Pankhurst campaigned vociferously for women’s rights and the right to vote.

And after working with displaced refugees during the First World War, Powicke went to Poland to help tackle the deadly typhus epidemic there.

Tragically she died from the disease at the age of 31 and, because she wasn’t Catholic, lies buried immediately outside a Warsaw churchyard.

education. Jean McFarlane was England’s first ever Professor of Nursing.

More recent Manchester graduates include Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC, Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England, and journalist Anna Ford.

“While we were early in accepting women here, you had to be quite an amazing woman to overcome the inherent social prejudices of the time,” says Dr Hopkins.

In later years Marie Stopes and Kathleen Drew-Baker would both make their mark. Stopes was the first female lecturer in the Faculty of Science but is best remembered for promoting women rights in marriage and sexual relations though her book ‘Married Love’.

“However, our University has always had a liberal and progressive spirit and was far more open to new ideas than many of the conservative Oxford and Cambridge colleges. A lot of women flourished here as a result and went on to make a significant impact here and around the world.

And Drew-Baker – feted in Japan for a remarkable discovery that allowed seaweed to be grown artificially – continued her research work despite not being paid after the marriage bar prevented her being employed once she married a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering.

“Those trailblazers laid the foundations for change and through the decades women from our University continued to challenge prejudice and achieved and contributed enormously in all areas.

Ellen Wilkinson went on to become Britain’s first female minister for

“We’ve come a long way in the past hundred years. There’s been a complete turnaround.”

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Listings The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama LUNCHTIME CONCERTS, FREE Thurs 5 Mar, 1.10pm Leah Stuttard: The Wool Merchant and the Harp

The Whitworth Let’s meet between the trees

The Weather and its Moods 12 March – 28 June 2015

What’s On

John Rylands Library (Deansgate) EXHIBITIONS The Weather and its Moods 12 March - 28 June Later-Day Saints until 23 June Merchants of Print until 21 June FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES Thurs 5 Mar, 10.30-11.30am Toddler Tales Enjoy great stories, songs and other fun activities. Just drop in! Suitable for ages 0-5 Sat 7 Mar, 11-12pm Dragon Tales Join us to hunt out the Library’s mythical beasts before settling down for stories!

Wed 18 Mar and Fri 20 Mar, 3-3pm Introductory Tour Thurs 19 Mar, 3-4pm Explorer Tour Sat 21 Mar, 12-1pm Tour en Français - French Language Only Tour La Bibliothèque John Rylands Deansgate ouvre ses portes pour vous emmèner à l’intérieur, et vous faire découvrir le site, dédié aux livres et à son architecture Victorienne.

Sat 21 Mar, 4-5pm Wonder Woman Tour Weds 25 Mar and Fri 26 , 4-4.30pm Introductory Tour Weds 1, 8 and Fri 9 Apr, 3-30pm Introductory Tour

Sun 8 Mar, 11-12pm Explorer Tour Weds 11 Mar and Fri 13 Mar, 3-3.30pm Introductory Tour Sat 14 Mar, 3-4pm Wonder Woman Tour Sun 15 Mar, 11-12pm Unusual Views: Library Tours for Photographers

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Thursdays, 6pm-9pm, FREE Thursday Lates Thursdays, 6.30pm-8.30pm Independent Art School For prices and to book, visit: theindependentartschool.com/manchester First Thurs of the month, 8.30am-9.45am, £5 Great Escape: Yoga and Movement First Thurs of the month, 1pm-3pm, FREE Movement Last Weds of the month, 1pm-2pm, FREE Inside View FAMILY EVENTS First Sat of the month, 10am-11.30am, ages 8+, FREE Outdoor Art Club

Mondays, 10am-4pm, FREE Early Years Atelier (no booking required)

Sat 4 Apr, 11-12pm Dragon Tales Join us to hunt out the Library’s mythical beasts before settling down for stories!

Sat 7 Mar, 3-4pm Wonder Woman Tour Join us on a tour of the Library exploring the role that Enriqueta Rylands and other women have played in shaping our library and the history of Manchester.

Tues 3, 10 and 17 Mar, 11am-12.30pm, FREE Tuesday Talks

Weds 4 Mar, 12-1pm Hebrew Collections

Thurs Mar 5, 10-2pm Printing Press Demonstration Drop in and see our printing press in action.

Try your hand at making your own print.

Weds 4 Mar and Fri 6 Mar, 3-30pm Introductory Tour

Monthly, 11am-4pm, FREE Saturday Supplement

Sundays, 10am-5pm, Drop-in, FREE Artist Sundays

EVENTS

Booking required for all tours.

THINGS TO DO

TALKS

Thurs 2 Apr, 10.30-11.30am Toddler Tales

TOURS

The Whitworth is now open – and if you missed our reopening events, there’s still plenty to see, do and enjoy each day. The gallery events programme offers tours, talks, walks, music and even an art picnic.

Read on for some highlights of what’s on, or see our full listings on our website.

Thurs 12 Mar, 5.30-7pm Vanishing for the Vote The suffragette census boycott in Manchester and beyond.

Thurs 19 Mar, 7-9.30pm Third Thursday Late: An Evening of Cabaret with First Draft The John Rylands Library will be joining forces with First Draft to host a very special night of cabaret inspired by some of our most intriguing and often hidden treasures.

Opening Hours Sun – Mon 12-5pm Tues – Sat 10am-5pm General and Reader Enquiries Telephone: 0161 275 3764 Email: uml.specialcollections@manchester.ac.uk Visitor and Event Enquiries Telephone: 0161 306 0555 Email: jrl.visitors@manchester.ac.uk

Thurs 12 Mar, 1.10pm Christian Wolff – 64 Years of Music with Philip Thomas (piano) Fri 13 Mar, 1.10pm VAGANZA presents Eastern Exchanges, Part I Thurs 19 Mar, 1.10pm Gamelan Degung Manchester’s Music Students and Guests.

Fri 20 Mar, 1.10pm The University of Manchester Musical Theatre Society Showcase of musical theatre scenes followed by a performance of Britten’s Phantasy Quartet for oboe and strings.

EVENING CONCERTS Fri 6 Mar, 7.30pm, £11/£7/£5 Psappha BIG LUNG (world premiere of concert hall version) Williams Machine (world premiere) Sound Carvings from Rano Raraku Sat 7 Mar, 7.30pm, £10.50/£6.50/£3 Manchester University Wind Orchestra (MUWO) and Manchester University Strong Orchestra The programme will include works ranging from Sibelius’ atmospheric Rakastava to Ticheli’s celestial second symphony.

Fri 13 Mar, 7.30pm, £8/50/£5.50/£3 VAGANZA presents Eastern Exchanges, Part 2 Sat 14 Mar, 7.30pm, £10.50/£6.50/£3 MUMS Chamber Orchestra Ensembles Sophie Smith plays Ney Rosauro’s spectacular Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra.

Thurs 19 Mar, 7.30pm, £10.50/ £6.50/£3 Manchester University Big Band (MUBB) Fri 20 Mar, 7.30pm, £10.50/£6.50/£3 Ad Solem: University of Manchester Chamber Choir Mozart’s Requiem WE WELCOME EVENTS

Mondays, 10.30am–11.30am or 11.30am– 12.30pm, FREE Toddler Art Club (please book online a week in advance)

Weds 18 Mar, 8pm, £8 Kim Gordon Girl in a Band Kim Gordon in conversation with Dave Haslam including Q&A and book signing.

Wednesdays, 10.15am-11.15am or 11.30am-12.30pm, FREE Artbaby – Musicbaby (please book online a week in advance)

Sat 21 Mar, 7.30pm, £15 adv/£17 on the door Hey! Manchester presents The Handsome Family plus guests More information and tickets from heymanchester.com

Any time during gallery opening hours, FREE Art Picnics 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.

New opening hours The gallery and shop are open: 10am-5pm daily (9pm on Thursday) The café and restaurant are open: 8am-9.30pm, Monday to Friday 9am-9.30pm, Saturday 10am-7pm, Sunday The Whitworth Oxford Road Manchester 0161 275 7450 email: whitworth@manchester.ac.uk Visit now: manchester.ac.uk/whitworth

Tues 24 Mar, 1pm and 7pm, Weds 25 Mar, 10am and 2pm, £10/£8/£5 Thurs 25 Mar, 10am, Black Box Theatre Company present Macbeth CENTRE FOR NEW WRITING Mon 16 Mar, 6.30pm, £6/£4 Literature Live with Susan Stewart and Rebecca Perry Tues 17 Mar, 5pm, FREE Venue: Samuel Alexander Lecture Theatre CIDRAL Roundtable Susan Stewart: Poetry, Thinking and the Senses 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

Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre

The Manchester Museum

Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre offers a great day out for all the family. Come and explore the planets using our model of the Solar System. Find answers to the wonders the Universe, listen to the sounds of the Big Bang and discover what the scientists are researching ‘Live’ in our interactive Space Pavilion. The glass-walled café offers spectacular views of the iconic Lovell telescope and fantastic homemade cakes!

Manchester Museum is home to an array of treasures from the natural world and the many cultures it is home to. Highlights include a TRex and fossils of other pre-historic creatures, ancient Egyptian artefacts and live amphibians and reptiles.

EVENTS Weds 11 Mar, 7.30-9pm, £20/£18 Astrophotography Night Getting Started in Astrophotography with Dr Ant Holloway. Learn how to use your DSLR or Compact System Camera to get started in astrophotography. Booking essential.

Sat 14 and Sun 15 Mar, 11am, 12pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm Get Ready for the Eclipse!

On Friday 20 March, the Moon will move across the face of the Sun blocking out much of its light in a partial eclipse.

Discover more about how this phenomenon occurs and find out how to view it safely in our science show.

Sat 28 and Sun 29 Mar, 11am, 12pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm Science Shows: The Moon and the Eclipse Join one of our fun and inspiring science shows to learn more about our moon. There will be rocket launches and demonstrations illustrating what it is like on the Moon.

EXHIBITIONS All exhibitions at Manchester Museum are FREE Romuald Hazoumè: Dance of the Butterflies until Dec 2015 Making Monuments on Rapa Nui: the Statues from Easter Island until 6 Sep 2015 FAMILY EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES Tues 3, 17, and 31 March 10.30-11.15am, 11.30am-12.15pm and 1-1.45pm, FREE Baby Explorers Book on 0161 275 2648 (Bookings will be taken a week in advance from 2pm) Sat 21 Mar, 9-10am, Drop-in, FREE Early Opening for Early Birds Enjoy self-led tours, object handling and craft activities for families with children under 5 and their older siblings Sat 21 Mar, 11am-4pm, Drop-in, FREE Big Saturday: The Body Experience Explore the human body from head to toe with researchers from The University of Manchester. Part of British Science Week

Information: Live from Jodrell Bank website livefromjodrellbank.com

Fri 27 Mar, 10.30-11.30am and 11.30am-12.30pm, FREE Magic Carpet Book on 0161 275 2648 (from a week before from 2pm), under 5s and their families/carers

Tickets: http://ow.ly/hQCFU Tickets include entry to the Discovery Centre.

Saturdays and Sundays, 11am-4pm, Drop-in, All Ages, FREE Discovery Centre

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.

Drop-in, All Ages, FREE Hands-on Throughout the week visit one of our handling tables and get hands-on with objects from the collection.

Thurs 19 Mar, 2-3pm, Drop-in, FREE Rock Drop: Geology Identification Sessions

Every Thurs, 12pm, FREE Vivarium Tours Book on 0161 275 2648 Manchester Museum The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL. Open daily: 10am-5pm 24-26 Dec, 1 Jan: closed 0161 275 2648 manchester.ac.uk/museum @McrMuseum

Gig Guide Manchester Academy 1, 2 and 3 Mon 2 Mar

In This Moment + Fearless Vampire Killers + Starset £10

Wed 4 Mar

Cavenant + Analog Angel + Naked Lunch + Cyferdyne - £17 Death DTA + Massacre + Abysmal Dawn + Loudblast - £18.50 (6.30pm doors)

Fri 6 Mar

Jaws + Happyness + Spring King - £10

Sat 7 Mar

Corrosion of Conformity £17.50

Tues 3 Mar, 1-2.30pm, Adult Drop-in, FREE English Corner Sat 7 Mar, 1.30-4.30pm, Adults, FREE Forensic Science: A Bog Body Mystery A hands-on practical science workshop.

Book online at mcrmuseum.eventbrite.com Tues 10 Mar, 7.30pm, Adults, £4 Why be Normal?

Book online: ticketsource.co.uk/date/141662 (50% donated to the Lesbian and Gay Foundation). Organised in partnership with SICK! Festival Tues 17 Mar, 7.30pm, Adults, £4 Is There Such a Thing as a Rational Suicide?

Book online: ticketsource.co.uk/date/141659 £4 (50% donated to charity) Organised in partnership with SICK! Festival

Catfish and The Bottlemen - £12.50 GUN - £14 Ameriie + Hayley Cassidy £17.50

Sat 28 Mar

Fuse ODG - £13.50 Cloudbusting (Kate Bush Tribute) - £12 Sex Pistols Experience + Ed Tenpole Tudor - £12

Tues 31 Mar Devin Townsend Project + Periphery + Shining - £18 Charli XCX – Cuckoolander - £14 Weds 1 Apr

Vintage Trouble - £17.50 The View - £14

Thurs 2 Apr

Sleeping with Sirens vs Pierce the Veil + Issues - £20

Fri 3 Apr

Laibach - £17.50

Sat 4 Apr

Of Mice & Men + The Amity Affliction + Volumes - £17.50

Bars and Melody - £20

Obey The Brave + Malevolence + Napoleon + Kublai Khan - £11 Mon 6 Apr

In Hindsight + Tides + White Clouds & Gunfire £10

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

The Stones - £10 Sun 8 Mar

The Veronicas - £14 Collie Buddz - £14.50

Mon 9 Mar

The Answer - £15

Tues 10 Mar Room 94 - £10

International Society

Wed 11 Mar Wednesday 13 - £13 Thurs 12 Mar Yellowcard & Less Than Jake - £18.50 Fri 13 Mar

Mon 2 Mar, 7.30pm, Adults, £4 Innocent Until Proven Guilty?

Book online: ticketsource.co.uk/date/141665 (50% donated to St. Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre). Organised in partnership with SICK! Festival

Fri 27 Mar

Every Wed and Thurs, 1pm, Drop-in, FREE Taster Tours Meet at the Information Desk (Floor G)

ADULT TALKS, TOURS AND WORKSHOPS Mon 2 Mar, 1-2pm, Adults, FREE Carry on Collecting: Sex, Gender and Ethnography at Manchester Museum Book online at mcrmuseum.eventbrite.com.

Part of the Wellcome Collection’s Sexology Season. wellcomecollection.org/sexologyseason

Thurs 26 Mar Mar Lordi - £18.50 (6.30pm doors)

Europe / Black Star Riders + The Amorettes - £26 Little Comets - £12

Sat 14 Mar

José González + Ólöf Arnalds - £18 Glass Caves - £8 Hardcore Superstar - £14

Sun 15 Mar

Papa Roach + Coldrain + The One Hundred - £20 Tragedy: A Metal Tribute To The Bee Gees & Beyond – Aero Twisted & The Arcane Listed - £10

Thurs 19 Mar Dropkick Murphys – Celtic Punk Invasion Tour + The Mahones + Blood or Whiskey - £19.50 Fri 20 Mar Sat 21 Mar

Amaranthe + Engel + Santa Cruz - £19 The Stranglers - £23 Reef - £18.50 Transmission (The Sounds of Joy Division) - £9

Sun 22 Mar

Four Year Strong + Hit The Lights + Forever Came Calling + Light You Up - £14 Nathan Grisdale - £14.50

Tues 24 Mar The Subways - £14 Logic - £12.50 Weds 25 Mar The Blackout – The Final Farewell Tour - £13 Lagwagon + Flatliners + Western Addiction - £18

Visit some of the most beautiful and interesting locations around England, Scotland and Wales. There are visits taking place almost every weekend throughout the year.

Sat 7 Mar North Wales visiting Anglesey (with full day guided tour) Sun 8 Mar Yorkshire Dales visiting Ingleton Waterfalls Walk and White Scar Caves Sat 14 Mar Central Lake District visiting Aira Force Waterfall and Ambleside Sun 15 Mar North Wales visiting Chirk Castle and Erddig Sat 14 - Sun 15 Mar OVERNIGHT TRIP to Bath with a visit to Stonehenge Sat 21 Mar South Lake District with a Boat Ride on Lake Windermere Sun 22 Mar Whitby Sat 28 Mar Alton Towers Sun 29 Mar North Wales visiting Ffestiniog Railway and Portmeirion Village 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

15

Feature

Jamie Bytheway

Challenging a stigma – faced by a quarter of us 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…

O

ne in four people will experience mental health difficulties at least once in their life.

But, despite it being a common issue, nearly nine out of 10 people who experience mental health problems say they have faced stigma and discrimination.

And people who have specific mental illnesses live on average 10-15 years less than someone who does not.

One of our University alumni, now a staff member, Jamie Bytheway has direct experience of these problems through a family history of mental health issues. As a result, she volunteers as a trustee for Manchester Mind, a local mental health charity.

Its myriad of services include an advice team with drop-in sessions, a support service for young people and intensive support to people who have a diagnosis of psychosis, have had a number of admissions to hospital and who find it difficult to engage with mental health services and may have other complex issues.

The charity also runs courses such as mental health training for employers – 1 in 6 workers experience mental ill health at any one time and it costs the UK economy over £26 billion per year – and even has a catering service ‘Good Mood Food’ that ploughs profits back into the charity and community allotment project ‘Bite’.

All of this not only supports people with mental health needs, it challenges the stereotypes and discrimination they face.

Jamie graduated with an English Literature degree in 2011 and now works as a coordinator for the Manchester Access Programme to help would-be students from backgrounds that are under-represented in Higher Education.

Of her role with Manchester Mind, she says: “I feel strongly that those who experience mental health difficulties should not have a reduced quality of life, whether that be through experiencing health problems, discrimination or other associated problems such as poverty or homelessness.

“I want to make a positive contribution to the lives of those who are experiencing or have experienced mental health difficulties in my local community.”

She adds: “I was really pleased to see the University sign the Time to Change pledge, as part of England’s biggest programme to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination. That is making a difference – and makes me proud to work here.”

• For more information about Manchester Mind and the work they do, visit: www.manchestermind.org/index.php

Next Issue 7 April 2015 M1270 02.15 The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL Royal Charter Number RC000797

Cert no. SGS-COC-3059