UniLife Vol 12: Issue 6 (7 April 2015)

April 2015 Issue 6 Volume 12

unilife The free magazine for The University of Manchester

Manchester Graphene – open for business

Message from the President Last October we celebrated the tenth anniversary of our University; so how is the University performing against the targets set in Manchester 2015 and Manchester 2020?

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he strategic plan of the ‘new’ University, developed in 2004, was called ‘The Manchester 2015 agenda’, and set out ambitious goals to be achieved by 2015. This was subsequently revised to form ‘Manchester 2020’, which itself will be reviewed and refreshed this year.

Now that 2015 is upon us, it is timely to reflect on our achievements to date, our ambitions for the future and the actions we need to take now to realise those ambitions.

The goal that grabbed most attention back in 2004 was our stated aspiration to be amongst the top 25 universities in the world, as measured by the Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

In 2004 we were ranked 78th, today we are ranked 38th which is a respectable position, but remains a long way from the top 25, and climbing further in the ARWU is becoming increasingly difficult as we compete on a global stage with some of the world’s finest institutions.

We are at the point in our annual Planning and Accountability cycle when we consider our performance over the past year and our plans in the short and longer terms, including the ever-changing external pressures facing the higher education sector, which will have a significant bearing on the refresh of our strategic plan.

According to the ARWU, we are currently 5th in the UK, which accords with the recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) results which were reported just before Christmas, where we were placed 5th in ‘research power’ (the number of staff submitted multiplied by the quality score for research).

Performance is reviewed for each area of the University and measured against each of our published key performance indicators. A summary of the University’s performance will soon be available in our annual Stock Take Report. This year we have introduced ‘infographics’ to give a quick view of each of our core activities across the University.

Our own ‘benchmarking’ of our research performance against competitor universities over the past couple of years reveals that we are behind where we should be in research grant income per academic member of staff, though the growth in income over the last 12-18 months is now improving our position significantly.

The Stock Take Report was an important focus of discussion at our recent annual Board of Governors’ Planning and Accountability Conference as it highlights our current position and future projections. A large part of the two-day conference was spent on planning our future and the actions needed to deliver our ambition.

We are also behind some of our competitors in the percentage of staff with world-leading research outputs and the percentage of overall staff submitted to REF. However, the impact cases that we submitted to REF, together with our research environment, were ranked very highly and we have done very well on business partnerships, patents, start-up companies and research income from business.

We continue to excel in the recruitment of quality international students, we remain the most popular university for undergraduate applications and have improved significantly in undergraduate student satisfaction, though for the latter we still need to meet our target of 90% overall satisfaction.

Meeting the Division of Development and Alumni Relations team

There have been many notable successes over recent years, not least in the award of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of graphene to Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov; several Queen’s Anniversary Awards; major overseas funding for the Graphene

At the opening of the National Graphene Institute

Engineering Innovation Centre and the new student village in Fallowfield; the announcement of over £200 million for the Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials and numerous other national and international awards for our activities, our staff and our students, and progress in transforming our campus has exceeded our predictions in 2004.

We have performed reasonably well against many of the 2004 targets, in spite of major changes in the external environment during the last ten years.

We have been particularly successful over the past year, but we now need to significantly step up our performance. This will be challenging as UK universities face rising costs, declining public funding and increasing global competition.

Based on our current position and future projections, the key messages we delivered to the Governing Board at the conference were: • Moving from ‘good-to-great’ as a University whilst maintaining our distinctiveness is a difficult challenge, but one that we must, and will address in order to meet our ongoing commitment to excellence.

• We are progressing fairly well, with some areas of world-leading research and outstanding learning and student experience, but a step-change in performance in some notable areas across the University is required.

• To meet our ambition, and address current and future external pressures, some re-shaping of the University may be needed.

• We need to create financial headroom, by increasing our income and reducing our costs, to deliver our ambition and mitigate external pressures.

Contact us News and story ideas Mikaela Sitford tel 0161 275 2112 email uninews@manchester.ac.uk www.manchester.ac.uk/staffnet/news Deadline 15 April 2015 Ads tel 0161 275 8250 email uninews@manchester.ac.uk Deadline 15 April 2015 Next issue 5 May 2015

News The Whitworth – a picture of success

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News University links with Mexico

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With Professor Brian Cox, Dara O Briain and BBC Director General Tony Hall at Stargazing LIVE

Over this next year, we will ‘refresh’ the Manchester 2020 plan and targets, in some cases to raise the level we aspire to achieve, either because we have exceeded the current targets or because others are doing better and we need to step up.

experience, together with high employability in our graduates at all levels, whilst ensuring that we deliver on our aims to make a difference to society through our social responsibility goal.

Achieving those ambitions will require further focus, investment and a commitment to quality in our research - particularly in the five areas of real strength and distinctiveness which we have identified, and in opportunities to build on excellence and secure both major funding and recognition.

Our scale and breadth are an advantage, but resources are always limited and future funding will be challenging. As expected, we will see a significant reduction in government funding under the Quality Research (QR) core funding allocation, as a result of the lower volume of our staff returned and those recognised at the highest levels of research quality in the Research Excellence Framework 2014, compared to 2008, while some competitor institutions grew significantly. Hence there will be some activities where we will have to reduce investment, cut costs, and others that we may have to stop altogether.

We must also continue to deliver quality and distinctiveness in our students’ educational and wider

Discussion at the Board of Governors conference was around our ambition and distinctiveness;

One goal that will not change is our ambition to be amongst the leading universities in the world, which was strongly supported at the conference, though we may use a range of measures that better reflects the nature and activities of the University.

a culture of high expectation and delivery; areas of focus in research, education and social responsibility; quality staff, both current and new recruits; operational efficiency and effectiveness and financial flexibility.

The Board agreed that we must create the financial ‘headroom’ to continue to invest in our strategic priorities while meeting future external financial challenges.

Having received the full endorsement and support from our Board of Governors, we must now turn our plans into actions and outcomes.

Professor Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Bailey, Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Contents 2 4 7 10 15 16

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

Front cover: Sir Kostya Novoselov and Chancellor George Osborne at the opening of the NGI Photo by Jill Jennings

Research Asian Monsoon rains drove mammal evolution

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Feature Global challenges, Manchester solutions – in cancer research

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News

A youngster tries her hand at the Whitworth

The Whitworth – a picture of success

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he £15 million revamp of The Whitworth has paid off with a huge rise in visitor numbers – an amazing 80,000 in the first four weeks of opening, which is a five times increase on the same period in 2013.

Last chance to have your say Staff Survey 2015 ends this month but there’s still time to take 15 minutes to improve your workplace, try and win an iPad and help a local charity.

The first iPad winner Dominic McCullagh, at the School of Physics and Astronomy, said one of the most positive changes since Staff Survey 2013 is improved communication within the School, thanks to support from the Head of School, Professor Stephen Watts.

Dominic isn’t the only one to benefit – after completing the survey you can choose to make a £1 donation to one of three local charities, The Christie, St Ann's Hospice or The Mustard Tree.

• The survey is open until Monday, 20 April.

General Assembly elections results The results of the General Assembly elections have been announced.

The General Assembly is a 200-strong governance body that represents staff, students and other principal stakeholders in the University. It scrutinises the work of the Board of Governors and supports the oversight of the University's financial affairs.

The elected staff members, who will take their seats from 1 September 2015, are Dr Shaun Speed, Dr Reinmar Hager, Dr Tracey Speake, Daniele Atkinson, Dr James Hopkins, Dr Kamie Kitmitto, Laura Hill and Dr Pamila Sharma.

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Gallery Director Maria Balshaw said: “We thought we might get 40,000 visitors, and when we told the Heritage Lottery Fund that number they said, ‘That’s quite ambitious’.

“We felt confident of that: we’re much bigger, the exhibitions are fabulous and we’ve opened up to the park. But 40,000 is what we were preparing for!”

The Whitworth also enjoyed huge success on social media, making the top ten in Instagram’s most liked posts table.

The images, posted by Tim Hatton (@the.hat), one of several Instagrammers invited to the gallery before it re-opened, enjoyed 668,842 views. You can join Tim and post your own images of the Whitworth using #galleryinthepark.

The Whitworth has bucked a new trend from some London galleries of clamping down on photography, in particular the use of selfie sticks. The gallery is happy to encourage visitors to photograph and share their images.

University welcomes two new Deans

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he University has appointed two new Vice-President and Deans, at the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) and the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences (MHS).

Professor Martin Schröder

Professor Martin Schröder, an expert in materials chemistry applied to energy research, will lead EPS and Professor Ian Greer, a clinician scientist and leader of international note, will lead MHS. Professor Schröder joins Manchester from the University of Nottingham, where he is currently Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, responsible for leading the Faculty’s research and teaching strategies, infrastructure and financial planning.

He said: “The breadth of work that is carried out in Manchester is truly impressive and I can’t wait to play my part in developing even further the world class expertise that the Faculty contains. These are exciting times for us all.”

Professor Greer is currently Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences and Provost responsible for research policy at the University of Liverpool, where he significantly increased research income, instituted practices to develop progression for early career researchers, recruited internationally renowned scientists and attracted new investment

Professor Ian Greer

in partnership with the private sector, NHS and government. He is also Chair of the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA).

He said: “I’m delighted to be joining The University of Manchester, which is internationally renowned in the healthcare field. The city and the University are also at the forefront of new ideas for the delivery of health and social care services in the UK.”

Chancellor George Osborne at the National Graphene Institute with Sir Kostya Novoselov and Antonios Oikonomou

Chancellor officially opens National Graphene Institute

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hancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has officially opened the University’s £61 million National Graphene Institute (NGI).

The Chancellor visited the recently completed institute and toured its state-of-the-art cleanrooms and laboratories with Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov.

The NGI is the national centre for graphene research and will enable academics and industry to work side-by-side on the graphene applications of the future.

More than 35 companies from across the world have already chosen to partner with the University working on graphene-related projects.

The construction of the NGI was managed by the Directorate of Estates and Facilities and is one of the flagship projects of the Campus Masterplan.

The Government provided £38 million for the construction via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with the remaining £23 million provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Sun, moon and stars come out at Jodrell Bank

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or the fifth year in a row Jodrell Bank hosted Stargazing LIVE. And this year was unique as the BBC broadcast a special solar eclipse live show.

An estimated 4.7 million people tuned in on Friday morning to see the moon slide in front of the Sun. The clouds in Cheshire drifted away at just the right time to give the schoolchildren assembled in front of the Lovell telescope, and viewers on TV around the world, a full view of the celestial spectacular.

The reputation-only rankings are a subsidiary of the annual THE World University Rankings, published in the autumn. The 2015 reputation rankings are based on the world’s largest invitation-only survey of academic opinion, featuring 10,500 respondents from 142 countries.

In just five annual rounds the survey, now carried out by THE in partnership with Elsevier, has attracted almost 70,000 responses from senior published scholars, providing a rich and unique insight into the academic prestige of universities across the globe.

The University is celebrating winning the Guardian University Award for Online and Distance learning for the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) “Introduction to Physical Chemistry”.

fantastic experience it was watching the eclipse and it was great watching it from Jodrell Bank.”

And a delighted Brian Cox said: “That was a spectacular event – and we all feel very lucky because the weather forecasts weren’t that great.”

Youngsters use solar glasses to safely watch the eclipse

The University has risen to #50 in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2015.

Online course wins national award

Hosts Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain talked viewers through what was happening.

Afterwards President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Nancy Rothwell said: “What a

Manchester rises in THE ranks

Dara O Briain praised the University teams working hard behind the scenes to make the live shows such a success. “We have been here five years now and, for me, Jodrell Bank has become a home-from-home, it’s always a real pleasure to come back to the University.”

“Introduction to Physical Chemistry” has already attracted 15,520 active participants from 159 countries.

The University was also runner up in four categories: Employability - Meet the Professionals speed networking events (Development and Alumni Relations); International project – In Place of War (Music and Drama); Social and community Impact – work on international disaster relief (Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute); and Sustainability project – the end of term re-use scheme for leftover student equipment (Directorate for Student Experience).

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News

Director General of Conacyt Dr Enrique Cabrero Mendoza and Professor Colin Bailey

Workplace Giving charity Unicef

Workplace Giving is growing An increasing number of our staff are supporting their favourite charities from monthly pay.

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he University has signed three major agreements with Conacyt, an organisation which promotes and strengthens the scientific development and technical modernisation of Mexico.

The signing comes as 2015 marks the Dual Year of UK and Mexico – a year-long celebration of cultural, educational and business exchange between the two nations.

Since the new Workplace Giving scheme was launched in October 2014, figures show that donors have increased by 187%; donations have increased by over 100%; and the generosity of our staff will provide at least £109,000 in annual donations to their favourite charities.

The three agreements include a partnership that gives research staff the chance to carry out defined research projects in Manchester, the expansion of a current scholarship programme to allow a wider

Staff join the scheme by committing to donate a minimum of £5 a month to a charity featured on the Workplace Giving UK website.

Museum elephant’s famous walk recreated

• Visit: www.workplacegiving.co.uk/giving

Film first Manchester is the first Russell Group university to offer an MA Screenwriting course.

The University’s Centre for New Writing will equip emerging screenwriting talent with the practical skills required to succeed in the UK film and television industry pioneered by Professor of Creative Writing and celebrated author, Jeanette Winterson.

Students will be taught through workshops, seminars and one-to-one meetings with tutors and visiting professionals and also gain hands-on industry experience through internships with leading production companies including Red Productions (Last Tango in Halifax, Queer as Folk), Hammer Films (The Woman in Black, Let Me In) and BBC Films (Billy Elliot, Philomena).

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University links with Mexico range of research projects to be undertaken by Mexican research students and the creation of a purpose-designed Research School at the University.

Professor Colin Bailey, Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said: “The relationship between Manchester and Conacyt has been built through hard work and trust over a number of years, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people involved. Without the dedication of staff within Conacyt and Manchester, this relationship, which affects the lives and futures of so many young people, would not be possible.”

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ne of Manchester Museum’s prize exhibits is the skeleton of Maharajah – now a comic book artist is to recreate the famous story of his journey south in The Elephant that Walked to Manchester.

In 1872 Maharajah was transferred from Wombwell’s travelling menagerie in Edinburgh to Manchester’s Zoological Gardens at Belle Vue. After the intransigent elephant wrecked his railway carriage at Waverley Station, his keeper Lorenzo walked him the 200 miles instead.

Comic artist Oliver East will retrace the walk over 10 days, accompanied not by the elephant but by his phenomenal imaginative, drawing and narrative skills. He will arrive at the Museum, to be reunited with Maharajah, on the afternoon of Friday, 17 April.

To mark the completion of Oliver’s walk and for Manchester Histories Festival, the Museum will also unveil the Tigon – a half lion, half tiger that lived at Belle Vue Zoo 100 years ago.

Oliver East with Maharajah

Research University part of court roll out University researchers are part of a new national unit which will establish Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC) across England.

Dr Karen Broadhurst and Ian Jacob will be part of the new National FDAC Development Unit funded by the Department for Education which will support the roll-out of more of these specialist courts across England.

A life restoration of Ichthyosaur Anningae by James McKay

Extinct marine reptile uncovered

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new type of ichthyosaur, an extinct marine reptile which was alive at the same time as the dinosaurs, has been identified from a fossil found on Dorset’s Jurassic coast.

The fossil had been in the collections of Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery for more than 30 years until Dean Lomax, palaeontologist and Honorary Scientist here at Manchester, uncovered its hidden secrets.

Dean first examined the fossil in 2008 when he noticed several abnormalities in the bone structure, which made him think he had something previously unidentified. Working with Professor Judy Massare of Brockport College, New York, he spent over five years travelling the world to check his findings.

Similar-shaped to dolphins and sharks, ichthyosaurs swam the seas for millions of years during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, before being wiped out.

Being 'laid off' can lead to a decade of distrust People who lose their jobs are less willing to trust others for up to a decade after being laid-off, according to Dr James Laurence, an ESRC Future Research Leaders Fellow at Manchester.

Dr Laurence explores experiences in the labour market and how they spill over into the wider community.

He finds that being made redundant or forced into unemployment can scar trust to such an extent that, even after finding new work, this increased distrust and cynicism persists for at least nine years after the initial experience.

Graphene oxide flakes interact with cell membrane by Sir Kostya Novoselov

Graphene shows potential in cancer treatment

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niversity scientists have used graphene to target and neutralise cancer stem cells while not harming other cells.

The team of researchers, led by Professor Michael Lisanti and Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan, has shown that graphene oxide, a modified form of graphene, acts as an anti-cancer agent that selectively targets cancer stem cells.

He says: “The study shows that the experience of redundancy can scar an individual’s trust in others. This has important implications not just for the person involved but for society as a whole as trust can have significant benefits, from health and happiness, to social cohesion, efficient democratic governance and economic development.”

The flakes inhibited tumour sphere formation in all six types, suggesting that graphene oxide can be effective across all, or at least a large number of different cancers, by blocking processes which take place at the surface of the cells.

The researchers suggest that, used in combination with conventional cancer treatments, this may deliver a better overall clinical outcome.

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Research Do politicians communicate effectively?

Politicians will have to do better at two-way conversations with the electorate, according to researchers at the Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research.

Dr Kingsley Purdam and Rosalynd Southern sent covert emails to 775 parliamentary candidates from a hypothetical voter to gauge how MPs and hopefuls were communicating.

Rex Features

A textual analysis of the replies suggested that only 27% of candidates provided a directly relevant answer. Increased communication and dialogue could transform the model of democratic representation in the UK, they find in their working paper.

Rap singer Eminem

Poetry of rap revealed

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study of tracks from the debut albums of major hip hop artists found that rhyming patterns come as second nature to some of rap's biggest stars – likening them to modern-day poets.

A third year Linguistics student led the research, which looked at the tracks of artists including multiple Grammy award-winners Eminem and Public Enemy.

Rex Features

Louise Middleton, supervised by Dr Wendell Kimper, found that traditional and complex rap rhymes are

Self-harm in Manchester continues to rise The latest figures released by University experts show that self-harm rates in Manchester are increasing.

Data made available by the Manchester Self-Harm Project (MaSH) shows that between 2008 and 2012 the biggest increase in hospital presentations following self-harm was in men aged 35-54, though the group with the highest overall self-harm rate is still young women aged 15-24.

Dr Pauline Turnbull explained: “It does look likely that the increase in men between 35 and 54 could be linked to the effects of the recession.”

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so intuitive for some rappers that they appeared to come naturally and ‘not within their conscious control’.

She also found that some artists boast better vocabularies than most other rappers, with artists like Eminem having a natural flair for words.

The study looked at rhyming patterns, vocabulary size, rhyme rate and the position of the rhyme in or across lines.

On board NASA’s Global Hawk

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cutting-edge science instrument developed

by University researchers took to the skies aboard NASA’s Global Hawk research aircraft for the first time.

The aircraft is flying above the equatorial regions of the Pacific Ocean at an altitude of 20km, where the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere, meets the stratosphere above. Scientists believe this area, known as the tropopause, plays a critical role in Earth’s climate.

Professor Martin Gallagher and Dr James Dorsey helped to develop AIITS (the Aerosol Ice Interface Transition Spectrometer) which measures particles like dust, water droplets, and ice crystals.

AIITS is able to detect and measure the scattering and surface properties of single ice crystals in these clouds. These fundamental measurements will be used to improve weather models.

(l-r) Dr James Dorsey and Professor Martin Gallagher

Human stem cells

Creating cartilage from stem cells Professor Sue Kimber and her team have succeeded in producing cartilage formed from embryonic stem cells that could in future be used to treat osteoarthritis.

Rhizomys Pruinosus by Vincent Herbreteau

Monsoon drove mammal evolution

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ew research has shown that the Asian Monsoon rains played a key role in the evolution of mammals.

And the findings, published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, could have implications for conserving species living in the vast area affected by monsoon rains.

A team from the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, along with researchers from the University of Bristol, the Chinese Academy of Science and Harvard University, looked at the pattern of variation of the South Asian monsoon over time and compared it with the evolution of African mole rats and bamboo rats.

During the study, the researchers analysed the ability of embryonic stems cells to become precursor cartilage cells. They were then implanted into cartilage defects in the knee joints of rats.

After four weeks cartilage was partially repaired and following 12 weeks a smooth surface, which appeared similar to normal cartilage, was observed.

Police at an EDL march in Batley

Policing policy and practice partnership

No link between incentive and reduced mortality

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study conducted at the University’s Health eResearch Centre found that there was no link between a £10 billion pay-for-performance incentive scheme aimed at GPs and a reduction in premature deaths.

The team, led by Dr Evan Kontopantelis, applied a complex data-analysis method that was able to focus on the available information and analyse the relationship between specific GP surgeries and the populations they serve.

The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) was first introduced in 2004 and links up to 25% of a GP’s income to their performance in over 100 quality indicators.

They found that there was no corresponding drop in premature mortality for the surgeries that scored high on performance.

A new programme of research and knowledge sharing involving the University’s School of Law is to play a key role in informing future policing policy, following funding for a major new research collaboration in the North of England.

A £3 million grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which is supplemented by more than £3 million from policing partners and other universities, will enable academics and the police to take a major step forward in developing and testing innovative approaches to policing and crime reduction.

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Feature

Global challenges, Manchester solutions – in cancer research

CRUK Manchester Institute medicinal chemistry PhD student Dan Mould investigates the potency of potential new epigenetic modifiers

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 third of five features, we look at how our experts are committed to the full spectrum of combating cancer to help reduce its impact.

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esearch is a key weapon in our fight against cancer. Survival rates from the disease have doubled in the last 40 years in the UK. Developing new treatments to cure cancer and tackle side-effects is crucial for people around the world, but this work must be carried out alongside new methods to change lifestyles, build resilient health services and help reduce cancer’s impact.

The University of Manchester has a rich history of cancer research, stretching back to the early 20th century research of Sir Arthur Schuster into x-radiography and radium. Today, we’re working on the full range of ways to tackle what is the cause of more than one in four deaths in the UK. “Things happening right now in Manchester will have an impact around the world,” comments Professor Sir Salvador Moncada, Director of our Institute for Cancer Sciences.

“Indeed, we are contributing to the understanding of not only prevention, early diagnosis and effective management of the disease, but also to the understanding of emotional and community support that is required for the patients and their families.”

UoM sandwich student Kelly Ayton preparing novel test compounds in the CRUK Manchester Institute Drug Discovery Unit

Professor Sir Salvador Moncado

Bioscientist Samantha Fritzl at work in the CRUK Manchester Institute Drug Discovery Unit

Fundamental science and drug discovery

The consequences of cancer

Fundamental discoveries made by our cancer scientists have led to greatly improved understanding of how cell division goes wrong and the mechanisms behind the onset of the disease.

This has led to breakthroughs such as clinical trials with AstraZeneca for the drug anastrozole, which prevents relapses in breast cancer.

We’ve contributed substantially to government initiatives which have helped the 90,000 working people a year diagnosed with cancer return to work after treatment. Studies involving GPs, patients, managers and occupational health workers all contributed to this research base, helping more survivors than ever before to return to employment.

Our trials have played a key role in developing international standards. One example is the ALL3 trial, designed by Professor Vaskar Saha, which focused on acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), a form of cancer diagnosed in around 370 children a year in the UK. This work has helped to improve the outcome by 10% for children with relapsed ALL in the UK, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

The University also piloted the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool to help carers ask for help with the physical and psychological cost of looking after someone who is dying of cancer. Around 4,500 people have now been helped with this tool and it is being rolled out across the country.

Behaviour change

We’re blessed with scale – hundreds of researchers are based in our Faculties and the Institute of Cancer Sciences, the Manchester Cancer Research Centre and the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute. We also have close links with the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, western Europe’s largest cancer centre.

Research at Manchester has helped identify reasons for the growing number of skin cancer cases. Our researchers found that rather than more affluent people and those from the south of the country, who receive more sunlit hours in the day, it’s the less affluent in the north who are increasingly likely to develop a skin cancer. This is due to the rise in cheaper holidays and tanning salons.

This research has been followed up with education programmes, such as behaviour change initiatives to make sure sunbeds are used safely.

An all-round approach

At a glance Cancer research in Manchester • £30 million is being invested in recruiting internationally leading investigators to the Manchester Cancer Research Centre.

• Six NHS trusts work with us as part of the Manchester Academic Health Sciences Network, providing unrivalled access to patients and samples.

• 60,000 women will be invited to join a study into whether personalised breast cancer risk prediction can be introduced into the NHS Breast Screening Programme – the largest study of its kind in the UK.

This partnership approach is well demonstrated through the Manchester Cancer Research Centre. A new £28.5 million building will open in 2015 and house an additional 150 scientists and a further 100 clinical trials support staff using new and advanced equipment. This joint venture between the Christie, Cancer Research UK and the University will deliver even more world-class research into cancer biology, drug discovery and clinical trials.

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Feature (l-r) Georgina Lewis, Patrick Johnson, Hamied Haroon and Paul Marks-Jones

Creating a campus in harmony It’s less than ten years since the University’s Equality and Diversity team was busy knocking on doors trying to persuade people just to think about the subject. These days it’s setting the trend: plenty of work to do and with awards to match. Here UniLife celebrates its work, simply put, to “create a harmonious environment” for everyone.

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his year the University soared 115 places up the Stonewall Index, making it the UK’s 43rd best place to work for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) employees.

It already holds the bronze award for gender equality through the Athena SWAN charter; it has signed up to the Two Ticks scheme to make sure disabled candidates are encouraged to apply for jobs; and it backs the Time To Change pledge, supporting those with mental health issues.

It has been recognised by Business in the Community for its inclusive approach to its Black and Minority Ethnic population and it is also piloting the Race Charter Mark.

The man at the Equality and Diversity helm, Patrick Johnson, says it’s not just about meeting legal obligations but about creating “a harmonious environment” for everyone.

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and the commitment of Manchester’s senior leadership to an equality and diversity strategy.

Jobs of grade 7 and above are now advertised externally to help improve the diverse nature of the shortlists.

And Equality and Diversity team members support up to ten staff networks themselves, often meeting members on a one-to-one basis to offer help and advice.

Research associate Hamied Haroon, co-chair of the disabled staff network, says that has gone a long way to dealing with the isolation many disabled people feel.

“At the time Patrick took over, it became a legal requirement for the University to have a disability equality scheme,” he says. “Until then I never knew there were any other disabled staff at the University!

“Disability is such a varied thing; there is such a range of conditions that can make you disabled – physical or mental health problems, autism, learning difficulties.

“There are three key areas for us,” he says.

“Eliminating any form of discrimination or harassment for staff and students; advancing equality of opportunity; and fostering good relations between different people who have a ‘protected characteristic’ as it’s known.”

“The biggest issue for many of us is isolation so having a staff network where you can all get together and talk about shared issues is hugely supportive to people.”

Since he took charge in 2007 the main changes have been the increase in public awareness –

Not that anybody is sitting on their laurels – and there is still a way to go.

Signing the Time to Change pledge

The Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion team

The University supporting its Pride entry

While 44% of university lecturers are women, only 22% of them are professors; while 14% of staff are Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), just 6-8% are in senior positions.

Postgraduate programmes manager Georgina Lewis, who is part of the BME network, remembers applying to the Manchester Gold mentoring system and being asked if she wanted to be paired with a staff member of the same gender and ethnicity.

“I said: ‘It would be nice to think there were enough senior female BME staff, but there’s probably about three!’

“They weren’t able to match me with anyone because there were such small numbers and it really struck a chord with me.

“Things are really improving though. In the five and a half years I’ve been here I’ve seen positive change and we are taking steps in the right direction.”

The city has already paved the way for disability rights and equal benefits. The Trades Union movement started here and it was also at the epicentre of the Pankhursts and Votes for Women.

Paul Marks-Jones co-ordinates several networks and is chair of the LGBT group “All Out”which has just won an award for the best in the North West.

In 1948 the University also appointed the first black professor in the UK, Nobel Prize winner Sir Arthur Lewis.

He believes it’s about creating awareness of the needs and struggles of different communities.

The building named after him – on a linkway to a local school – sports a giant information board detailing his achievements.

“We always say you may not be LGBT but you might work with a lesbian or transsexual person or manage someone who is.

“People need to feel open – if you’re talking about your husband or wife, a LGBT person should feel equally at ease talking about their partner and being involved in the conversations. It’s about mutual support and acceptance.”

There are challenges, however.

The Athena SWAN team

He and his team see Manchester as a perfect backdrop for their ambitions.

Patrick agrees some attitudes are changing but says the University’s global reach means some staff and students hail from countries where equality and diversity are completely unheard of. And there will always be issues that need tackling.

“It’s about encouraging the local community to see there are people like them who have gone on and done great things,” says Patrick. “Role models are important.”

But the real power, he acknowledges, comes from many voices – and he’s keen for all staff and students to get involved in activities.

As Hamied puts it: “Individual voices are low and quieter – when you bring them together they are much stronger and they have to be listened to.

“Together they can help make change and the changes we make are for the benefit of everyone.”

13

What’s On

What’s On

Manchester Museum The monumental stone statues of Rapa Nui – named Easter Island by European explorers – in the Pacific are some of the most widely recognised and fascinating archaeological objects in the world.

More than a thousand of these impressive statues – known as moai – are known, about half of which still remain in the quarry where they were carved at Rano Raraku in various stages of completion.

Many were made out of a volcanic rock called volcanic tuff.

at how the statues and their top-knots (known as pukao) were made, the role they played in the lives of the islanders, how they were quarried and transported across the island, and what they might have meant to the people of the island who call themselves Rapanui. It will also deconstruct some of the myths about the island, and discuss current theories about the decline of this astonishing culture.

As part of the exhibition, Manchester Museum will show one of the statues, Moai Hava, which was collected on Rapa Nui in 1868, and is on loan from the British Museum.

Following recent fieldwork on the island, Colin Richards, Professor of Archaeology at the University, has contributed to this new exhibition, which will take a fresh look at the moai.

The exhibition runs until 6 September.

‘Making Monuments on Rapa Nui: The Statues of Easter Island’ will look

To see this and other events, visit: museum.manchester.ac.uk

Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre Throughout the Easter holidays, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre is marvelling at the Moon with a series of lunar themed activities following the recent partial solar eclipse.

Alongside our science shows, you can try your hand at making your own flick book to understand the phases of the moon, or have a go at firing you own rocket to the Moon!

For events and exhibitions at other venues, visit: Martin Harris Centre – martinharriscentre.manchester.ac.uk International Society – internationalsociety.org.uk Gig Guide – manchesteracademy.net

The John Rylands Library ‘Merchants of Print: From Venice to Manchester’ celebrates the legacy of publisher and humanist scholar Aldus Manutius, and puts on show some of The John Rylands Library’s world-leading collection of his editions.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the death of the Italian Aldus Manutius (1449-1515), who brought the Greek and Roman classics to the masses through the new technology of printing, introduced the world to italic type, and pioneered the pocket format book we now take for granted.

This exhibition – which runs until Sunday, 21 June 2015 – examines how such a rich collection was amassed in a city more famous for its

textiles than its texts, more associated with mills than libraries.

In the process, a story of cultural translation emerges in which the parallels between mercantile Renaissance Venice and industrial Manchester were not only displayed in the neo-Gothic architecture of Manchester’s cotton palaces, but also in the literary and educational cultures of both cities.

Visitors will enjoy learning about the journeys undertaken by books printed

by Aldus 500 years ago, their individual owners and readers through the ages, and how they found their final home in Manchester.

To see this and other events, visit: manchester.ac.uk/library/rylands

You can also find out what are resident astronomers are up to at one of our daily ‘Meet an Expert’ sessions.

Complete your visit with a chance to relax and reflect in our lovely Café and our beautiful Gardens.

Our Easter events will take place in our Wolfson Auditorium in the recently opened Star Pavilion facilities.

These new facilities will extend the capacity of our schools programme, and provide a smart and sophisticated space for holding events.

We celebrated the formal opening of the Star Pavilion on 25 March, with the launch of our new Garner Lecture series, a programme that will explore the ways that science interacts with culture. The inaugural Lecture was given by Alan Garner, the writer who has lent his name to the series.

To see this and other events, visit: jodrellbank.net

The Whitworth No longer do you have to take time out from your working day or come back during the busy weekends to visit the University’s recently revamped art gallery.

Having re-opened on Valentine’s Day, the gallery is now open late every Thursday with Thursday Lates – eclectic late-night openings until 9pm with music, performances, talks and screenings.

The Thursday Lates programme invites you to start the weekend early with this series of sociable, after work and late night openings that are the perfect place to meet up with friends, explore the gallery and enjoy a specially curated selection of talks,

performances, film screenings, live music and artist interventions.

Upcoming highlights include the Thursday Late on 23 April, which will include a talk by artist Cornelia Parker at 6pm. For the next three years Cornelia Parker will be an Honorary Professor within The University of Manchester. To mark this and also her role as Visiting Pilkington Professor within Art History and Visual Studies, the artist will speak, among other things, about her acclaimed exhibition at the Whitworth, forthcoming projects and how she collaborates with scientists, pyrotechnicians and others to make art.

To see this and other events, visit: whitworth.manchester.ac.uk

15

Feature

Alice Kelly in Nicaragua

The road best travelled…

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…

A

lice Kelly’s experience as part of the University’s Manchester Leadership Programme and Peer Mentoring Scheme, and as a volunteer at the Manchester Children’s Hospital, was so rewarding she wanted to take it further.

In fact, 7,000 miles further!

After graduating with a Management and Marketing degree in July 2013, Alice wanted to travel and experience other cultures – not as a tourist but as a volunteer within communities where she could make a positive contribution.

She worked as an Up Close Bolivia volunteer for two months, helping a children’s centre run by local women for local children aged six months to four years, many from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Alice helped with after school clubs and put her artistic skills to the test when she helped paint one of the many Up Close murals around the village.

She recalls: “One of the loveliest things about Bolivian culture is the friendliness of everyone, even towards strangers, and I met so many inspiring people that I didn’t want the experience to end.”

As she returned to the UK, she immediately applied to the International Citizen Service and was accepted for placement with the charity Progressio. She joined eleven other volunteers for a placement in the small indigenous community of Monimbó, in Nicaragua.

no fridges, washing machines or showers; intense heat and humidity day and night; various creatures and insects of every description.

“We lived with a host family and it was the most rewarding and life changing aspect of the whole experience. Our family welcomed us with such warmth and friendship that we quickly became the ‘bebitas’, big sisters to our new brothers and sisters and it was a privilege to be part of their family.

“This is definitely the best way to be completely immersed in another culture and it taught me the importance of understanding and respecting local customs and beliefs to make the most positive contribution.”

Alice and the team ran workshops on recycling, anti-bullying, women’s health and English classes, carried out surveys to assess the need for sanitation and water systems, and built a classroom for a local school.

Back home again, Alice is now volunteering at Manchester Children’s Hospital for Radio Lollipop, a charity that is always looking for enthusiastic volunteers to visit and play with children on the wards.

She says: “There are many opportunities for us to make a difference, in our local communities as well as overseas, and it is worth remembering that even the smallest things can make a difference.”

She says: “The three months were challenging in so many ways: earthquakes during our first week;

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