UniLife Vol 11: Issue 1 (7 October 2013)

7 October 2013 Issue 1 Volume 11

unilife The free magazine for The University of Manchester

Fresh start for The Manchester Welcome

Message from the President

As the new academic year begins, and there appears to be room for some optimism about the wider economic climate, it is timely to consider our current and longer term financial position.

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ver the past few years we have faced a number of financial challenges including uncertainty about the recruitment of home and overseas students; dealing with reduced levels of research funding; major cuts to our capital funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) such that we now have to generate capital funds ourselves; and potential cuts to the core grants to universities from HEFCE.

It would be irresponsible to assume that all is now plain sailing, but undergraduate student recruitment looks, at this relatively early stage, to be positive for the current academic year. The government’s spending review in July delivered a somewhat better

than expected result for universities, with ‘flat cash’ funding for research (though of course this means a decline in real terms) and what looks to be relatively modest cuts to our core budgets.

The financial performance of our University continues to be strong. We will not have the final numbers for the last financial year for some time, until our accounts have been audited, but it looks as though we will have delivered a result exceeding our budget.

This reflects a great deal of hard work which has taken place across the University to maintain tight controls on spending and to increase income.

Particularly pleasing is the increase in research income

Visiting HR Services

to £200 million after several years of level or reduced income. This is paralleled by a remarkable 37% increase in new research awards over the past year.

Some argue that universities are, or should act as, commercial businesses. But we are not a ‘business’ in any conventional sense. We are an independent charity that is regulated by HEFCE and accountable to the Charities Commission.

Our goals are to discover (and where appropriate apply) and disseminate new knowledge, to provide higher education and to deliver wider social benefit. We must continue to generate financial surpluses, but specifically so that we can invest these in our core activities, not to make profits in any business sense.

Achieving our goals requires significant financial investment. For example, we have planned major investment in the University campus over the next decade, to be funded in part from a public bond which we raised in the early summer of £300 million on favourable terms, in part from our existing cash and partly from future cash generation.

Our surpluses in future years will be somewhat reduced as we must pay interest on the bond, but it allows us to proceed with new developments very

Speaking at the offical opening of the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons

Contact us News and story ideas Mikaela Sitford tel 0161 275 2112 email uninews@manchester.ac.uk www.manchester.ac.uk/staffnet/news Deadline 16 October 2013 Events and listings information Philippa Adshead tel 0161 275 2922 email unievents@manchester.ac.uk Deadline 16 October 2013 Ads Ruth Middleton tel 0161 275 2922 email uniads@manchester.ac.uk Deadline 16 October 2013 Next issue 4 November 2013

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News Chips are UP for the new green revolution

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News Whitworth’s amazing ‘au revoir’

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On a tour of Hong Kong and China

soon rather than waiting until we have ‘saved up’ enough to complete new buildings.

Our ‘Campus Masterplan’ builds on our investment of £750 million since 2004 and will deliver £700 million of further new buildings and refurbishments over the next five to six years and a further £300 million over the following five years.

A core part of the Masterplan is to co-locate all of our staff and students on a single campus with world class teaching and research buildings adjacent to key facilities such as the Library, the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons, the Students’ Union and many of our public venues.

It will allow us to significantly reduce the ‘footprint’ of our engineering Schools in particular, thus reducing running costs and carbon use. This campus redevelopment is also essential to update ageing buildings such as the Manchester Business School and increase and improve the green spaces around campus.

Buildings and infrastructure are important for any organisation, but people are by far our most important asset. Hence over the last two years we have recruited over 150 new academic staff at senior and early career levels, as well as spending University funds on ‘Investing in Success’ - a project

which enabled all staff to put forward innovative new projects for funding. We have also invested significant sums on improving the facilities and support for our students, undergraduate bursaries and widening access, on ‘President’s PhD scholarships’, funds for interdisciplinary research and on matched funding for bids for major equipment.

We now have to make the difficult choices about how we invest further University funds. We will relaunch what was called ‘Project Diamond’ (known externally as ‘World Leading Minds’) to recruit further new academic staff. The numbers, areas of recruitment and level of appointment are being considered now and will be announced just after we complete our submission to the Research Excellence Framework.

Funds will always be limited, so deciding on immediate priorities will be a significant task.

Having invested a great deal in our students, it is a real pleasure to see a further increase in student satisfaction in the National Student Survey of 2% (to 85%), but we are still some way off our goal of 90% satisfaction and need to build on areas such as student employability.

Other areas of investment to enhance our research outputs and international profile might include, funds

to bridge between external research grants, support for interdisciplinary research, for travel to international conferences or study visits, more President’s PhD scholars or infrastructure and equipment. Our commitment to social responsibility means that we already spend more than any other University in the Russell Group on widening access, but we need to consider other investments in this area.

We continually review the level and effectiveness of our Professional Support Services, where there may be scope for further savings, but there is likely to be a strong case for greater investment in some areas.

In order to make any of these investments we will need continued attention to both our costs and income, including seeking new sources of income as well as building on existing funding.

Discussion over priorities for investment – or indeed ideas for savings and additional income generation – will and should be an ongoing topic of discussion across the University because such discussion must drive our next priorities.

Professor Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor

Contents 2 4 12 15 18 22 24

Feature Ten years of arts for all

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Research Soundtrack to torture

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Message from the President News Teaching, Learning and Students Features Research What’s On Making a Difference

Front cover: Miriam Cadney helps student Emma Waterhouse.

Photo by Jill Jennings

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News Ready for your NINE minutes of fame?

University academics are being invited to take part in an open mic night for science show-offs as part of the Manchester Science Festival (MSF) this month (25 October).

Science Showoff gives scientists, science communicators, teachers, historians, philosophers of science, students and anyone else with something to show off about science the chance to perform, in any style they like, about any kind of science they want.

They can tell jokes, sing songs, play excerpts from radio work, read poems, do science demos – literally anything.

But it has to fit on a stage. And take nine minutes or less.

The Museum of Science and Industry is hosting the MSF event on 25 October – to sign up visit www.mosi.org.uk/whats-on/manchesterscience-festival.aspx

James Winterburn with Luwen Gong and Thomas Szpitter

Chips are UP for green fuel revolution!

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niversity scientists are cooking up a green fuel revolution – by investigating how to use our waste cooking oil to produce Biodiesel suitable for use in campus vehicles.

James Winterburn, Lecturer in the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, is heading up the project, which aims to produce a 50-litre batch of high quality biodiesel for use in one vehicle.

Biodiesel, a biodegradable, combustible fuel, made from vegetable oils and/or animal fats, is recognised as a cleaner, greener alternative to more traditional fuels such as regular diesel and petrol.

Dr Winterburn described the project, to be worked on by an MSc student, as a “proof of concept.”

He said: “The idea isn’t to immediately roll this out to the entire University fleet. Initially we are going to use a single University vehicle, which is still to be

Prestigious Fellowship for Geologist National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) Research Fellow Dr Nick Smith (pictured) has been awarded a prestigious four-year Industry Fellowship by the Royal Society.

These Fellowships are awarded to scientists for work on a collaborative project with an academic organisation. Dr Smith’s Fellowship is hosted by the University and will fund 50% of his research time, focussing on remote 2D and 3D, laser-based characterisation techniques in the nuclear industry.

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selected, and we are aiming to produce a 50 litre batch of high quality biodiesel, just to demonstrate that this sort of thing can actually be done.

“We want to raise awareness of green issues by highlighting ways of reducing our dependence on crude oil and, more specifically, what can be done with an otherwise useless waste stream.“ He added: “There should be no noticeable difference in the performance of the vehicle once the biodiesel is being used, and a minimum cost of 20p per litre is achievable.”

“In principle it all sounds very simple but it’s actually getting hold of the cooking oil which is proving to be the hardest part. Used cooking oil from the various food outlets around the campus is currently removed by an outside company so we are asking some of the head chefs to keep some of it back for us!”

Funding for major materials facility

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he University has received £18million from the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) to set up a state-of-the-art Multidisciplinary Characterisation Facility.

This will be supported by an additional inward ten-year investment of more than £100 million from founding partners BP plc; Rolls-Royce; AMEC; Sellafield; NNL; FEI Company; Xradia; Rapiscan Systems; AREVA; Westinghouse; EDF; and TISIC.

Advanced materials research and development underpins all manufacturing sectors and is essential to UK economic growth with UK businesses depending on the production and processing of materials representing 15% of the UK’s GDP, a turnover of £170 billion and £50 billion of exports.

The new facility, which will be operational by 2014, will focus on the UK’s strategic development in advanced materials and manufacturing and will provide the necessary expertise to accelerate innovation from the laboratory to market.

The Distinguished Achievement Award winners and Professor Nancy Rothwell

Distinguished Achievement Awards 2013

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he Distinguished Achievement Awards have been held to recognise achievements from across the University.

The President and Vice-Chancellor presided, and Professor Clive Agnew, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, Professor Luke Georghiou, Vice-President for Research and Innovation, and Will Spinks, the Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, presented the winners, chosen for their outstanding performances and significant contributions to the University.

They were:

Small Team Winner • Knowledge Transfer Team, Research and Business Engagement Support Services

Large Team Winner • The John Rylands Library for work which led to the award of the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year for 2012

Individual Award Winners • Alison George-Davidson, Administrator, Institute of Population Health • Andy Land, Digital Systems Manager, Library • Katie Muscat, Undergraduate Recruitment and Widening Participation Officer

Researchers of the Year 2013: • Professor Fred Wu, Institute of Human Development, Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences • Professor James Nazroo, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities • Professor Nancy Papalopulu, Faculty of Life Sciences

• Professor Philip Withers, School of Materials, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Postgraduate Students of the Year 2013 • Dr Leonard Ebah, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences • Erica Buurman, School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Humanities • Dr Nicholas Love, Faculty of Life Sciences • Dr Matthew Horridge, School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Undergraduate Students of the Year 2013 • Zoe Phillips, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences • Eleni Papadopoulos, School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Humanities • Mezida Bedru Saeed, Faculty of Life Sciences • Katie-Anne Lee, School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Teachers of the Year 2013 • Dr Andrew McBain, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences • Dr Richard Fay, School of Education, Faculty of Humanities • Dr Richard Prince, Faculty of Life Sciences • Dr Sarah Heath, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Celebrating our people’s history The University’s newly appointed Professor in Public History, Michael Wood, gave his first public lecture since taking up his appointment and was joined "in conversation" by MP and fellow historian Tristram Hunt (pictured).

The evening attracted a diverse audience from both inside and outside the University to hear the pair discuss Engels, Victorian cities and the making of TV history programmes.

Michael – born in Moss Side and educated at Manchester Grammar School – has been a historian and broadcaster for more than 30 years, producing several books and more than 100 documentaries. His recent series, Story of England, was praised by the Independent as ‘the most innovative TV history series ever’.

Tristram –the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central since May 2010 – is a history broadcaster for the BBC and Channel 4, writes for The Guardian and The Observer and is the author of several books, including the award-winning biography, The Frock-coated Communist: The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels.

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News

Our float on Deansgate

We are the champions – again!

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he University has won ‘Best Themed Entry' in this year's Manchester Pride parade.

Thousands of onlookers watched as our entry of more than 120 students, staff, friends and family members handed out balloons, stickers and certificate scrolls.

As the parade wound its way around Manchester, they also collected money for our new community partners LGBT

Youth North West, based on Sidney Street, near the Sugden Centre.

Paul Marks-Jones, from the Equality and Diversity Office, said: "This is a marvellous achievement which was only possible thanks to the efforts of many people.

From financial supporters and helpful colleagues to suppliers, advertisers and communicators, they all contributed towards our success."

Professor Brian Cox back on our screens Professor Brian Cox has returned to our television screens in a new BBC2 series called Science Britannica.

Professor Cox (pictured), part of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, explores why, when science has done so much for humanity, it sometimes gets such a bad press.

A shortlisted image from last year

Meeting Professor Tipi Aziz, whose pioneering work has helped thousands of Parkinson’s disease sufferers, he reveals that – because the treatment was developed through experimentation on monkeys – it is wholly unacceptable to some.

Professor Cox, who has popularised science through his BBC TV programmes Wonders of the Solar System and Wonders of the Universe, said: “Scientific progress sometimes comes at a cost that scientists and the society they serve struggle with. However, although Aldini’s work appalled his 19th-century audience, we are well served by the electronic defibrillators that routinely save lives today.”

• Science Britannica is broadcast on Wednesdays 9-10pm on BBC TWO.

Take your ‘pic’

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oting opens today for this year’s Images of Research competition (Monday 7 October).

The competition asks academics if they can creatively communicate their research to the general public with just one photographic image, a snappy title and an accompanying short description. It aims to get people thinking about research in a different way.

This year’s theme is “The Big Picture,” challenging researchers to pull back from the intimate and intricate details of their research and share the wonder, beauty and curiosity of what they do, why they do it, and how it matters to others.

To vote go to www.manchesterimagesofresearch.co.uk/

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© Photo by REX/Cultura

University attracts major graphene manufacturer to Manchester

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ne of the world’s largest graphene manufacturers has agreed a £5 million collaborative research partnership to open its European base at the University.

The decision by Bluestone Global Tech to locate their European production plant at the home of graphene could attract a significant number of jobs to the city.

Bluestone, who currently have laboratories in New York and Taiwan, are leading the emerging graphene market, providing mass production of high-quality 2D materials to enable the commercialisation of many graphene-enhanced applications.

They join Graphene Industries and 2D-Tech, the University spin-out

companies supplying graphene and other 2D materials around the world.

Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Professor Colin Bailey said: “We are delighted that Bluestone have chosen to base themselves at The University of Manchester.

“It’s clear that their decision is based on the wealth of knowledge we have at the University, with more than 100 scientists and engineers working on graphene and 2D materials.”

The University has also appointed Business Development and Strategy Director Nathan Hill (pictured) at the National Graphene Institute. Nathan, who originally trained as a physicist

before moving into sales and business management, has set up three companies, one of which, Qi3, has worked extensively with CERN, the European Space Agency, the Technology Strategy Board and UK Research Councils.

The secret world of sleep The role of sleep in processing our waking life and making sense of difficult emotions and experiences has been little understood and disputed amongst scientists for many years.

But in a new book, ‘The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest’, Dr Penny Lewis explores the very latest research into the night-time brain to understand the real benefits of sleep.

Neuroscientist Dr Lewis, who runs the Sleep and Memory Lab in the School of Psychological Sciences, looks at how the old adage ‘sleep on a problem’ could have some truth. While our body rests, the brain practices tasks it learned during the day and replays traumatic events to mollify them.

Expand your horizons More than 200 academic and professional support staff from across the University attended the launch event for the next round of EU research funding opportunities, Horizon 2020.

Horizon 2020 – officially launching in January 2014 – is the European Commission’s main funding programme for research and innovation. It offers funding opportunities for individuals and groups of researchers working with partners in academia and industry across Europe and the world.

Professor Luke Georghiou, Vice President for Research and Innovation, who opened the event, said: “It was gratifying to see such a strong turnout at this early stage.

“We need to keep focussed on the major opportunities for research support and engagement in European programmes. We have done quite well in the past but we can and should do still better.

“All researchers should familiarise themselves with the opportunities available and make sure that they understand the processes involved. Horizon 2020 has a bigger budget and should be less bureaucratic than its predecessors.”

• Further events are scheduled for October 22 and November 12.

Sobia Aslan of UK Research Office and Professor Luke Georghiou

• For more information contact the University’s EU Funding and Development Managers liz.fay@manchester.ac.uk or claire.faichnie@manchester.ac.uk

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News

University hosts first Motor Neurone Disease DNA bank

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he UK’s first Motor Neurone Disease (MND) DNA bank, housed here at the University, will open its doors to the research community this month.

The collection – managed by the Centre for Integrated Genomic Medical Research (CIGMR) – contains more than 3,000 samples from people with MND, their families and healthy controls.

Motor Neurone Disease is a rapidly progressive, fatal disease that can affect any adult at any time. Around 5,000 people in this country are currently living. Life expectancy for most people with MND is just two to five years, and around half will die within 14 months of diagnosis. The cause of MND is unknown and there is no known cure.

Sweet success for science champions

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niversity scientists were well represented at this year’s Royal Society Summer Exhibition – the UK’s annual science and engineering research showcase – with stands about ‘sweet’ science and an elusive sub-atomic particle on display.

Professor Stefan Soldner-Rembold and his School of Physics and Astronomy team were on hand in London to recount last year’s hunt for the Higgs boson at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider on the Franco-Swiss border and the Fermilab Tevatron in Chicago. Manchester researchers have been heavily involved in the experiments that led to the discovery of this vital particle, described by Stefan as science “on an epic scale.”

Manchester chemists displayed their latest research about sugars and how a relatively new discipline, ‘glycomics’ – the study of sugars – could provide answers to a range of previously unsolved problems from disease to clean energy.

The creation of the UK MND DNA bank – a flagship project for the Motor Neurone Disease Association – will support greater understanding of the genetic contribution to the cause of MND. Detailed clinical information about the participants is available in addition to the DNA samples stored and managed by BioBanking Solutions.

• For more information visit www.populationhealth.manchester.ac.uk/ epidemiology/CIGMR

The Dalton Cumbrian Facility

Cutting-edge nuclear research facility opens

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he University’s Dalton Nuclear Institute has officially opened its Cumbrian research facility.

The Dalton Cumbrian Facility (DCF) is a new research base established with an initial £20 million joint investment by the University and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

Now a core component of the new National Nuclear User Facility, announced as part of the Government’s Nuclear Industrial Strategy, the DCF is designed to complement and significantly expand the nuclear research and education capability of the UK’s nuclear R&D sector. The overall aims of the Facility are the delivery of world-leading nuclear research and the transfer of knowledge to industry.

Its research will focus primarily on the areas of radiation science and nuclear engineering decommissioning.

The UK MND DNA Bank

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The Rt Hon The Lord Hutton of Furness, who officially opened the Facility, said: “I commend The University of Manchester and the NDA for the foresight, vision and commitment they have shown in creating this new Dalton Cumbrian Facility — a world-leading facility for nuclear research, for nuclear skills development and a major driver for socio-economic growth in West Cumbria.”

Fireworks display on the roof

Fireworks herald renovation of Whitworth

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he latest chapter in the Whitworth Art Gallery’s 124-year history was brought to a close with Whitworth Weekending, an extraordinary weekend of free art, music and performance in Whitworth Park.

Highlights of the weekend included Jeremy Deller’s Acid Brass performing on the roof of the Whitworth on Friday night and an amazing fire and light show brought a climax to Saturday’s festivities, which had featured a music line-up from Band on the Wall.

Workshops and guerilla art ran across all three days and the weekend was brought to a close with Six White Horses, a moving and mournful art installation in the park.

Having seen more than 15,000 people over the weekend – the busiest three days in the Whitworth’s history – the gallery finally closed its doors at midnight.

Whitworth Art Gallery will now undergo exciting renovations as part of its £15 million project to create a 21st century gallery in the park and will reopen in late summer 2014.

Six White Horses art installation

Whitworth Park is transformed

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News

Britain’s first university historian at Manchester

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he University has appointed the UK’s first University Historian and Heritage Officer.

Dr James Hopkins takes up the position following his previous role as a researcher in history and becomes an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures.

James studied History and Politics at Nottingham and Newcastle universities before working in communications. He completed his PhD on the history of academic institutions and their impact on policy.

James said: “I am delighted to be taking on such a significant role at the University – my role exists at some universities overseas, especially in the US, but as far as we know mine is the only such current full-time role in the UK.” James’s role builds on the University’s considerable progress on heritage work to date, and highlights the University’s long-standing reputation for ground-breaking research and scholarship.

James Hopkins in the Whitworth Hall

Academy honours two Manchester engineers

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wo University scientists have been elected Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Professor Adisa Azapagic, from the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, and Lin Li, Professor of Laser Engineering in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, both received the prestigious honour.

Professor Azapagic is the UK’s first Professor of Sustainable Chemical Engineering and leads the Sustainable Industrial Systems research group at

Professor Adisa Azapagic

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Professor Lin Li

the University. She is world-renowned for her work on lifecycle analysis of products and industrial processes.

Professor Lin Li, who founded the Laser Processing Research Centre and is a world-renowned expert on laser-based advanced manufacturing processes, has also received one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest accolades – the Sir Frank Whittle medal – for his outstanding and sustained research achievements for engineering innovations in manufacturing that have directly benefitted the UK economy.

Our new University Challenge team and presenter Jeremy Paxman

New faces take up University Challenge

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eet the new University of Manchester team bidding to achieve an unprecedented third successive University Challenge title.

Manchester has been champions four times in the last eight years, in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2013.

This year's team is captained by Elizabeth Mitchell from Birmingham (studying Politics,

Philosophy and Economics), and includes Jonathan Collings from Manchester (studying Geography), Joe Day from Bideford in Devon (studying Physics with Astrophysics) and Edward Woudhuysen from London (studying History).

Manchester’s winning teams have been brilliantly mentored by long-serving coach Stephen Pearson, who has enjoyed

considerable success with University Challenge having captained the team himself in 1996.

The media has already dubbed Stephen the ‘Alex Ferguson’ of the quiz world, but the modest librarian said: "I don't know about that – but as long as I keep finding it fun, I hope to carry on until retirement, which is not for another 20 years or so."

Patients help devise dementia care training Academics and healthcare professionals from across Greater Manchester as well as people with a diagnosis of dementia and family carers have teamed up to devise a new training programme for general hospital staff.

The University and Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust worked with three other NHS Trusts in Bolton, Salford, and Central Manchester to develop the new “Getting to Know Me” programme.

Over 800,000 people in the UK are living with dementia, but hospital staff do not always feel confident and skilled in the provision of care to this group.

The training programme, which can be downloaded free of charge from www.gmhiec.org.uk, aims to increase staff knowledge, confidence and skills.

Heart of gold

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anchester has become the first university to receive a Gold CardiacSmart award for its dedication to raising awareness of heart health, basic life support and defibrillators Janet Makin, the University’s First Aid Co-ordinator, received the award at a ceremony, together with Rachel Valentine from the Staff Training and Development Unit (STDU) and Christopher Worden from Security (pictured).

With 20 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) already on and around campus, eight more on order, and many members of staff aware of their location and/or able to administer basic life support, the University is making a real contribution to increasing the survival chances of anyone who suffers cardiac arrest on campus - and this award provides welcome recognition of that achievement.

For a list of AED locations, visit: • www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/services/ occupational-health/first-aid/defibs/

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Teaching, Learning and Students

War child’s journey to Manchester

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n inspirational teenage refugee, who at 12 travelled through eight countries to escape wartorn Afghanistan, has started a degree here at Manchester.

Gulwali Passarlay, 18, fled for his life and endured a year of solitary hardship on the road. He is now taking a BA in Politics and Philosophy, supported by the Manchester Access Programme.

Many members of Gulwali’s family, including his father, were killed during the conflict and in 2006, his mother urged her 12-year-old son to make his way to England.

His journey meant months of hunger, illness, loneliness, a frightening 50-hour sea crossing crammed below deck without food or drink with 100 other refugees, in a space designed for 20, and a terrifying motorway journey clinging to a hot engine inside a lorry.

Gulwali Passarlay

When he arrived in 2007, his troubles were not over: penniless and speaking no

English, he endured months of racism, loneliness and poverty.

Despite the setbacks, he has gone on to achieve remarkable success in and out of school.

Gulwali was chosen to join a Department for Education panel which scrutinizes how policy affects young people, he was the first Afghan ever to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay and is on speaking terms with Government ministers, politicians and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband.

He said: “University is the most important thing in my life right now: it will enable me to achieve my ultimate goal of going back to Afghanistan to help change my country for the better.”

Director of Social Responsibility Julian Skyrme said: “Congratulations to Gulwali who has conquered so much to make it here. His story should make us all feel rather humble.”

Showcasing our fair access work

P Jeanette Winterson

Winterson’s students publish anthology

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rofessor Les Ebdon, Director of the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), visited the campus recently to get a flavour of the University’s Widening Participation work, to encourage talented students from a variety of backgrounds to study here.

The University was able to showcase three main areas of Widening Participation work – School Governors, Manchester Access Programme (MAP) and ‘Access All Areas’, the Students’ Union widening participation programme.

Professor Ebdon visited the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons to meet with some of our MAP students.

He also met with President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nancy Rothwell, Vice-President for Teaching Learning and Students, Professor Clive Agnew, Director for the Student Experience, Tim Westlake and the Director for Social Responsibility, Julian Skyrme.

new anthology featuring the first University students to study under the Professorship of award-winning author Jeanette Winterson, has been published by the Centre for New Writing.,

Introduced with a foreword by the ‘Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit’ author, The Manchester Anthology features novel extracts, short stories and poetry.

The MA class includes teachers, freelance journalists, a musician, an environmentalist and two semi-professional poker players.

Jeanette Winterson, Professor of Creative Writing, said: “This anthology is one group of people committed to writing as a form of being alive. Wherever you find a writing course you find people taking time and money and converting it into something real to them.”

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Professor Les Ebdon meets some of our students

The all new Manchester Welcome

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espite some rather wet and windy conditions, a very warm welcome awaited our new students starting their studies with us this year.

The aim was to celebrate students’ choice of coming to Manchester, equip them for success while with us and showcase the rich diversity of our campus.

Managed across a number of teams in the Directorate for the Student Experience, a seamless programme of welcome activities was provided to all students by further integrating the International Orientation and working in partnership with the Students’ Union.

With this programme published well in advance, Faculties and Schools were then able to plan their induction activities around the Manchester Welcome and concentrate on their own students’ needs. This

was supported by staff across the campus donning their “ask me” badges and making themselves available to help new students.

The Start of Year Fair was a great opportunity for a wide range of services to set out their stalls and talk to new students about how they could make the most of Manchester. With nearly 6,000 visitors over two days, University staff were there handing out advice and sweets in equal measure!

This year also saw the introduction of University-managed evening events giving students more opportunity to experience the rich diversity of the campus.

These included the Distinguished Lecture series, the Harmony Gospel Choir, theatre performances and A Night in the Museum.

All this was captured live and integrated into our social media channels with student ambassadors and staff posting and tweeting, filming and editing and uploading videos. You can see some of their work at www.youtube.com/user/MyManchesterNews/ Paul Govey, Head of Student Marketing and Communications at the Division of Student Experience, said: “The ultimate measure of success of the Manchester Welcome will be how quickly our new students settle into their new life and are proud to call themselves a student of our University.

“University staff have fully embraced the whole concept of the welcome and this year the quotes on the banners dotted around campus have struck a very positive chord with many!”

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Teaching, Learning and Students

A new generation in white coats…

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ur undergraduate medics and dentists championed the next generation when they organised a medical simulation day that even included suturing – or stitching – oranges!

Fifty youngsters from schools around the city got a real insight into studying for a career in health when they took part in the day, organised for the Manchester Access Programme (MAP), which targets and supports talented students who are from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in higher education.

Geology rocks!

Omer Ali, Hira Nazir and their team of fellow undergraduates – many of whom completed MAP themselves – organised the day of learning.

Would-be medics stitch an orange!

The many activities included students learning how to intubate – open a patient’s airway – with Manchester Children’s Hospital anaesthetist Dr Rebecca Sutton; and learning about infection control with the Infection Control Team from North Manchester Hospital.

The Year 12 delegates were impressed, as one put it: “I feel as though I gained some knowledge from every task. It was also very enjoyable to do some hands on activities!”

Imagine taking a field trip with your very own personal guide, able to point out rocks containing fossils and other geological treasures that you may have otherwise missed.

On a sunny, if windy day in August, a willing group of volunteers piled onto a coach and set off to Castleton in the beautiful Peak District to launch what has been described as “The Geologist in your Pocket” – a geology field trip app developed by MIMAS, the School of Earth Sciences, the Manchester Museum and EPS eLearning in an alumni-funded collaboration.

Using the Augmented Reality technology downloaded onto their smartphones and tablets, the volunteers enthusiastically undertook a four-hour hike up Mam Tor being guided each step of the way by the app.

Peter Lythgoe, eLearning Specialist at Manchester Business School, blogged after the trip: “It really did feel that I was walking with a companion who had something interesting to say and who knew the best places to discover different things.”

Although originally devised as a tool for MSc distance learners, plans are now afoot to expand the content of the app and make it available to other learning institutions and the general public.

Ian Hutt, Distance Learning Lead in the EPS eLearning Team said: “We’re really trying to push the envelope, add something new and involve people outside the University to share the excellence that we have.”

• For more information see the SCARLET blog http://teamscarlet.wordpress.com/ • Or the MIMAS website http://mimas.ac.uk/

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Student Apphia Crooks with the AGLC artwork she designed

Celebrating a “simply awesome” tribute

T

he Alan Gilbert Learning Commons – the University’s £24 million state-of-the-art learning space described by students as “simply awesome” – has been officially opened and named at a day of celebrations.

University Librarian and Director of The John Rylands Library Jan Wilkinson welcomed the guests to: “a triumph of partnership” that included our students at every stage of the process and a fitting tribute to a man who “passionately cared about the student experience.”

The building – in use since October 2012 – is named in honour of inaugural President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Gilbert, who conceived of the Learning Commons to enhance the student experience and provide a world-class learning environment. The square in front of the Learning Commons was also named ‘Gilbert Square’, again as a tribute to Alan, who led on the largest ever capital investment programme in UK higher education.

Engagement

Computing gets creative!

The University’s researchers have a variety of ways of showcasing their work to the public – informing and inspiring, even thrilling and enchanting them. Here UniLife looks at how our academics escape their ivory towers…

Pigs flying a rocket to the sun and a dog who explains the precipitation cycle to the tune of Gangnam Style are just two of the winning entries for this year’s annual schools animation competition.

For Toby Howard, project leader of Animation 14, it’s a source of obvious glee that the contest, now in its seventh year, inspires children’s imaginations and puts computing at the heart of creativity.

“We’re always surprised and delighted by the types of animations that come in and we can tell how much fun kids have had,” says Toby, Director of Undergraduate Studies at the School of Computer Science.

“When we launched in 2008 school computer lessons were all about IT. It was deadly dull office stuff like powerpoints and spreadsheets being taught to classrooms full of bored children – it had nothing to do with computer science.”

That first competition, which attracted 230 entries, was set up as part of the University’s 60th anniversary celebrations of the development of The Baby, the world’s first computer.

“There was a lot of looking back on achievements, but we thought that it

was also important to look forward and encourage the young innovators of tomorrow,” explains Toby.

Using free software like Scratch or inexpensive Adobe, more than 1,500 students aged seven to 19 from 155 schools UK-wide submitted oneminute animations to this year’s Animation 13, which were reduced to a shortlist by Toby’s team and animation industry specialists.

The 41 winners were presented with their prizes, ranging from ipads to Amazon vouchers, at a glitzy ceremony before 400 other students and teachers at the Martin Harris Centre in early July.

“We sold out of tickets in two days and it was great to see kids enjoying the afternoon activities using 3D graphics and robots, and experimenting with programming on Raspberry Pi computers,” Toby recalls.

“The competition’s a great model and we’ve had enquiries from all over the world to replicate it, but the greatest buzz is seeing the entries as they come in each year and marvelling at what they come up with next.”

Animation 14 launched last month and for more information visit http://animation13.cs.manchester. ac.uk

Toby Howard and his team

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Feature

A fanfare performed by University music undergraduates and written and conducted

by Professor John Casken, October 2003

The Martin Harris Centre

University drama students

Over the past decade, the Martin Harris Centre has evolved as a vibrant and diverse venue providing access to the arts for all, and its growth and success is thanks to its dedicated staff, students and donors. As it celebrates its tenth anniversary this month, UniLife looks beyond the footlights…

John Hegley Schools Poetry Day, Feb 2012

Ten years of arts for all S

ince its official opening in 2003, the Martin Harris Centre has hosted many famous names and even staged world firsts. It was named after Sir Martin Harris CBE, who was ViceChancellor of the Victoria University of Manchester from 1992 to 2004. A keen follower of the arts, Sir Martin Harris was a key figure in securing funding for the Centre to be developed.

Professor Viv Gardner, former Head of Drama, recalls the initial discussions around bringing the music and drama departments together, both of which had very strong identities. She says: “We knew that Drama needed to secure somewhere central which would serve not only as a rehearsal space, but also a public performance venue, which we’d never had, that could accommodate the new audiences we wanted to bring into the University.”

Former Head of the School of Music and Drama Professor John Casken identified the need for up-to-date facilities and was heavily involved with formulating ideas and pushing through the vision for the building’s design. He said: “We were very keen to maintain Manchester’s reputation nationally – the Music department had scored 5* twice in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in

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1996 and 2000 – and the best way forward was to develop exceptional facilities fit for the needs of our excellent students and internationallyrecognised staff, particularly as student numbers increased dramatically.”

Professor Gardner adds: “Coming together with Music was ideal; it generated an energy between the two subjects. There was a ‘creative buzz’ about the new building amongst students, staff and visitors.”

The Centre could not have been established without the generous support of Mr Cosmo Rodewald and The John Thaw Foundation, as well as the support of over 90 individuals and trusts that contributed through the Martin Harris Centre Supporters Group.

Inspiring One of the aims was to provide a performance space that would reach out to all audiences: from schoolchildren visiting for the first time to regular arts devotees. And for students, the experience of studying and performing in a bespoke venue has had a huge impact – and something they can draw inspiration from later in their careers.

Music alumnus Gavin Osborn says the contemporary music ensemble Trio Atem was “born and nurtured” at the Martin Harris Centre.

Now a professional ensemble collaborating with and commissioning composers of international standing, Gavin says: “The Martin Harris Centre for us is our spiritual home, where we regularly give premieres of new work and collaborate with the Music Department to help foster the next generation of composers and performers.”

And Drama alumnus Alistair McDowell went on to win the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2011. In an interview earlier this year, he acknowledged the city’s importance to his career and said his playwriting skills were honed during his student days and the Martin Harris Centre had been where his plays were first tried out.

And it’s not just students who find the venue inspiring – local school children have taken part in events and workshops such as the animation13 Computing Awards, John Hegley Poetry Days and Vaganza Music Composition Days. Toby Howard, organiser of the annual UK Schools Computer Animation Competition Awards, said: “Both teachers and pupils alike have thoroughly enjoyed

Celebratory Events Wednesday 25 Sept- 20 November 1.05pm, Learn to Ballroom Dance Tickets: £4 per class

Sir Martin Harris CBE pictured with Professor John Casken during the grand opening of the MHC, October 2003

Saturday 28 September 2013 7.30pm, Music Society Welcome Concert Tickets: £10 / £6 / £3

© Mike Fudge

Friday 4 October 2013 1.30pm, National Poetry Day Schools event with Ian McMillan Tickets: £4

Music Society Symphony Orchestra

Sunday 13 October 2013 7.30pm, Jeanette Winterson “in Conversation” with: Audrey Niffenegger Tickets: £12 / £10 Thursday 17 October 2013 1.10pm, Marcus Farnsworth (Baritone) with James Baillieu (Piano) Tickets: FREE 14-18 October 2013 Arts Access Exhibition Friday 18 October 2013 1.10pm, Sing Out and Stand Tall (community choir) Tickets: FREE Friday 18 October 2013 5.30pm, Storytelling and Spoken Word Performance Tickets: FREE

Jeanette Winterson “in Conversation with” Jackie Kay, Val McDermid and Simon Armitage, Dec 2012

the events at the Martin Harris Centre. The team there is great to work with and willingly go out of their way to accommodate our needs.”

Ambitious Centre Manager Mark Woolstencroft says: “We have built strong cultural relationships with partners such as Manchester Science Festival, Psappha, the BBC, the Halle, Manchester International Festival, Manchester Pride and Manchester Literature Festival. This offers students and colleagues opportunities to work and 'rub shoulders' with a wide range of professionals. My ambition is to bring more of our local community into the Centre to perform, watch and listen to what we do."

In October 2012 the Centre hosted a world first when music aficionados got to hear the first known performance of a ‘lost’ hymn by Beethoven, discovered by Professor of Music Barry Cooper and performed by Manchester music students. Staff, students and visitors alike were able to experience Professor Cooper’s reconstructed movement of the string quartet – and a live broadcast on BBC Radio 4 ensured it reached a national audience.

celebration event on 17 October, in conversation with BBC Radio 4 presenter and fellow alumna Sheila McClennon. (Please note this event is by invite only.)

Meera says: “I’m delighted to be returning to the University to mark this special occasion. I have fond memories of my time in the city and my experience at university helped shape my career.”

Other names lined up for other events throughout the autumn semester include Louis de Bernières, the acclaimed author of ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’, current Professor of Creative Writing Jeanette Winterson, and newly appointed Professor in Public History Michael Wood.

President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell said: “The Martin Harris Centre is indisputably a great asset to the University and we are very proud of it. It is a fantastic facility for students, staff and visitors to the University alike.”

Celebration

Head of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Professor Jeremy Gregory said: “The Martin Harris Centre has been home to our world-leading departments of Drama and Music for the last decade, providing an inspiring space in which to teach, learn, rehearse, practise and perform.”

As the anniversary approaches, there’s an exciting line-up of events to celebrate this milestone.

Manchester alumna Meera Syal MBE – best known for TV comedy show ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ and her novel ‘Anita and Me’ – is due to appear at the

From its roots in music and drama and improving arts access, the Martin Harris Centre has inspired many people for different reasons, and future generations will benefit from its place in the University and the city.

26-27 October 2013 MANTIS Fall Festival Tickets: £7.50 / £5 / £3 per concert Monday 28 October 2013 7.30pm, Vaganza and RNCM New Music Ensemble Tickets: £7.50 / £5 / £3 31 October – 1 November 2013 Platform Arts & Refugees Network Festival Tickets: various 6-8 November 2013 Drama Society Opening Performance Tickets: £5.50 / £4.50 / £4 Sunday 17 November 2013 7pm, Stockport Youth Orchestra Tickets: £8 / £6 / under 16s FREE Thursday 12 December 2013 1.10pm, Contemporary Ensemble in Residence: Psappha Tickets: FREE Friday 6 December 2013 7.30pm, Resident String Quartet: Quatuor Danel Tickets: £13.50 / £8 / £3 To book contact MHC box office (Mon-Fri 2-4pm) on 0161 275 8951 or email enquiries to boxoffice@manchester.ac.uk www.manchester.ac.uk/martinharriscentre

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Research Governments failed to help jobless ethnic minorities New figures from the 2011 Census show successive government policies have had little impact on the high levels of joblessness among some ethnic minority groups.

The grim picture is revealed by Professor James Nazroo and Dharmi Kapadia, at the University’s Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE).

According to their Joseph Rowntree Foundation funded analysis of people aged 25 to 49, White ethnic groups – with the exception of the Gypsy or Irish Traveller group – are significantly advantaged in the labour market when compared with other ethnic groups.

Pakistani men had unemployment rates that were one and a half times the figure for White British men and Black Caribbean men, an unemployment rate that was almost three times as high.

‘Ghostly star’

Mysterious alignment of ghostly stars discovered

U

niversity astronomers have found a surprising alignment between planetary nebulae – expanding glowing shells of gas ejected from old red giant stars late in their lives – in the central bulge of our galaxy.

New heart attack clue

The final stages of life for a star result in it puffing its outer layers out into the surrounding space, forming beautiful and striking shapes. One type creates ghostly butterfly shapes.

Scientists from the Faculty of Life Sciences have identified a gene variant that predisposes people to a special type of heart attack.

Dr Bryan Rees and Dr Albert Zijlstra, in the School of Physics and Astronomy, looked at 130 planetary nebulae in the Milky Way's central bulge. They identified three different types and studied their

The research, led by Dr Paolo Tammaro with research scientist Keith Smith, could lead to the development of new drugs to treat the problem.

Heart attacks happen when the blood supply to the heart is reduced by the narrowing or blocking of the coronary artery – often due to fatty deposits which narrow the vessel.

However, in some people with perfectly clean arteries, the vessel suddenly constricts shutting off the blood supply. Dr Tammaro said: “We have discovered that this process, known as vasospasm, can be associated with a rare variant of a particular gene.”

characteristics and appearance – and found many of them line up in the sky in the same way.

"This really is a surprising find and, if it holds true, a very important one," Dr Rees explains. "Many of these ghostly butterflies appear to have their long axes aligned along the plane of our galaxy. By using images from both NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESO's New Technology Telescope, we could get a really good view of these objects and study them in great detail."

Dr Zijlstra adds: "While any alignment at all is a surprise, to have it in the crowded central region of the galaxy is even more unexpected."

Professor finds new way of working from home

U

niversity professor and his wife have had their own DNA analysed for compatibility as part of the research for a new book.

Professor Daniel Davis and his wife Katie’s experience is

documented in ‘The Compatibility Gene’, which discusses how our crucial compatibility genes may influence finding a life partner as well as our health and individuality.

Professor Davis, Director of Research at the University of Manchester's Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research (MCCIR), said the test had been a surprisingly nerve-wracking experience.

The couple had their saliva sent to the Anthony Nolan Trust – a UK charity that helps match transplantation donors and recipients. Professor Davis discovered his compatibility genes were quite rare, while his wife’s were more common.

Daniel and Katie Davis

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He said: “After being pleased that my genes were quite rare which would mean lots of women would like my scent - I then realised this might not be so useful if I ever needed a transplant. In fact the advice they gave me was: Just don’t get ill!”

Jurassic Park a ‘no go’ An aerial photograph of the site

UK first as 6,000-year-old ‘halls of the dead’ unearthed

T

he remains of two large 6,000-year-old halls, each buried within a prehistoric burial mound, have been discovered by archaeologists from the University and Herefordshire Council.

The sensational finds, which are a UK first, on Dorstone Hill near Peterchurch in Herefordshire, were thought to be constructed between 4000 and 3600 BC.

Professor of Archaeology Julian Thomas and Dr Keith Ray, Herefordshire Council’s County Archaeologist, co-directed the excavation, which found some of the burnt wood showing the character of the building’s structure above ground level.

The buildings, probably used by entire communities, are of unknown size, but may have been of similar length to the Neolithic long barrows beneath which they were found – 70 and 30 metres long.

They were, say the team, deliberately burnt down after they were constructed and their remains incorporated into the two burial mounds.

Scientists from the Faculty of Life Sciences have shown that recreating dinosaurs by extracting DNA from fossils in amber, popularised in the 1993 film Jurassic Park, will remain fiction.

DNA expert Professor Terry Brown and amber specialist Dr David Penney were unable to detect ancient DNA in relatively young subfossilized insects in copal, despite using a highly specialised technique known as next generation sequencing.

They conclude the existence of DNA in amber fossils significantly older than this dating back to the time of dinosaurs is therefore also highly unlikely.

Top award win for young researcher A young researcher who launched his academic career at the University has bagged one of the word’s top awards in his field.

James Allan, a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences (SEAES) and a member of the National Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, has been awarded the 2013 Smoluchowski Prize by the German Aerosol Society GAeF at the European Aerosol Conference in Prague.

Artist’s impression of the hall

The award, named after the physicist Marian Smoluchowski (1872-1917), recognizes significant research contribution to aerosol science and is given to a young researcher, under 40 years of age, who has made the greatest impact on their chosen research field.

Professor Julian Thomas

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Research

Soundtrack to torture

U

niversity researcher has revealed harrowing details of how Pinochet’s torturers used music to torment their victims.

Dr Katia Chornik is the first to investigate music in Pinochet's notorious torture houses, concentration camps and prisons.

According to former prisoners she spoke to, George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord, the soundtrack to Kubrick’s film ‘A Clockwork Orange’, and songs by Julio Iglesias were among the LPs played during torture sessions at high volumes, sometimes for days at a time.

But the prisoners also used music to cope – some remember listening to Harry Nilsson and Cat Stevens on a pocket radio; many prisoners sang, sometimes secretively, and in the less violent camps, were able to play musical instruments and put on shows.

Prisoner Francisco Aedo’s watercolour painted in Chacabuco prison camp

A meeting with…

Colin Talbot, Professor of Government, School of Social Sciences Hardest part of your job? And how you deal with it.

I guess the hardest part for me is examining and marking – you are making judgements that will affect people’s life-chances and that’s emotionally draining sometimes. Although it can also be a joy when you get to mark or examine a really good piece of work.

Colin started at the University as Professor of Public Policy and Management, in Manchester Business School (MBS), in 2005, but was also an undergraduate here in the 1970s.

What do you like about working at the University?

I’ve been fascinated by science and social science since I was a teenager, and now I get to do a job that involves playing with ideas all the time. What makes the Universe tick? What makes people and societies and governments tick? And Manchester is one of the biggest and best ideas playgrounds in the world.

Best part of your job?

I have two jobs: a quarter of my time is developing the new Policy@Manchester network, the rest as a normal professor in my School. I like both, but the P@M job gives me the chance to explore (and promote) what lots of other people are doing across the University – and there’s plenty to explore.

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How did you get to the role you have now?

I decided to move over from MBS to social sciences (politics) because my interests and work steadily shifted more into ‘government’ over the years. My role in Policy@Manchester came about because the President recognised we were ‘punching below our weight’ with public policy engagement, and recognition for it, and it needed to be addressed.

Your future plans/hopes at work?

I would like to play my part in being a catalyst in transforming the way the University is seen, and sees itself, in terms of engagement in national and international policy-making on the big issues affecting the future of our country and our world.

I think we owe it to ourselves and our society to really make a difference. Personally, I’d also like to see a re-engagement of social sciences with the idea of ‘human nature’ and our scientific colleagues who are studying how we evolved.

First childhood memory?

Meeting two swimmers who were the first Indians to swim the English Channel – in 1958, Mihir Sen, the first man, and 1959, Aarti Gupti, the first woman. My dad worked on the escort boats and they visited our house in Dover and gave me and my sister presents. I was six or seven at the time.

What would you say to your 16-year-old self now?

Stay at school. I left school and home at 16 and went to work for ICI in Alderley Edge as a lab technician. I’ve been incredibly lucky to end up as a Professor in a top university teaching and researching in a field I love, without going the conventional route. But I didn’t have much choice at the time, and it’s all worked out.

Favourite book, film and/or TV programme?

Or do you have an interesting hobby?

I’m a life-long science fiction fan – the best sci-fi has always been what I would call ‘social science fiction’ that asks ‘what if’ questions about society in the future. Books: Dune by Frank Herbert and Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny. Film: Blade Runner. TV: Firefly and the modern Dr Who, which I watch with my eight year old son.

What law would you repeal or bring in?

I can think of lots of minor things I’d like governments to do, or stop doing, but thinking really big: I would mandate support for manned space flight and exploration. We’ve gone backward in space exploration in my life-time (I remember the Moon landings, fewer and fewer do) and I think that’s a big mistake for the human species.

Tell us a joke.

My son keeps asking me that, and as soon as he does my mind goes blank – like it has now. Most of my jokes are spontaneous (and awful, usually based on puns). It’s enough my family and students have to suffer them, without spreading the pain any further.

• To get involved in the network visit: www.policy.manchester.ac.uk

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Listings Whitworth Art Gallery Whitworth Art Gallery has started a new and exciting chapter in its history. A major building project is now taking place to transform and extend the 120-year-old gallery, doubling its public areas whilst reducing its carbon footprint and improving facilities for visitors.

This new development by architects MUMA will re-connect the 19th century building with Whitworth Park through an elegant contemporary extension. The new Whitworth will bring you more art, more activities, more events and more space. It will be all things our many visitors have always loved about the Whitworth.

We look forward to welcoming you back in summer 2014.

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

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

International Society

What’s On

Lemur Leaf Frog, Agalychnis lemur.

Manchester Museum Warriors of the Plains: 200 Years of Native North American Honour and Ritual until 3 Nov 90 Degree Citizen until 17 Nov Fragmentary Ancestors: Figurines from Koma Land from 25 Oct – 5 May 2014 TOURS Sat 26 Oct, 1-1.45pm Exhibition Tour of Fragmentary Ancestors: Figurines from Koma Land FAMILY ACTIVITIES Most activities are free and drop-in, some activities may need to be booked and may cost up to £1.50, all ages Every other Tuesday, 15 Oct 10.30-11.15am, 12.30-1.15pm and 1.30-2.15pm, Free Baby Explorers: Sensory Play for Babies Fri 25 Oct, 10.30-11.30am and 11.3012.30pm, Free Magic Carpet for under five’s and their carers

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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 12 to Sun 13 Oct Overnight Trip to Edinburgh Sat 12 Oct North Wales visiting Anglesey (with a full day guided tour) Sun 13 Oct South Lake District visiting Coniston, Ambleside and Grasmere Sat 19 Oct York Sat 19 to Sun 20 Oct Overnight Trip to Bath with a visit to Stonehenge

Weds 30 Oct, 6.30-8.30pm (drop-in) What Can Art Bring To Our Understanding of Climate Change?

Sun 20 Oct North Wales Castles visiting Conwy and Penrhyn Castles

Sun 3 Nov, 2-4pm (Adults only) Film Screening of Thunderheart

Sat 26 Oct Alton Towers – Halloween Scarefest!

Mon 28 Oct to Fri 1 Nov, Half-Term Create Colourful Creatures Inspired by Nature’s Library

TALKS

Sun 27 Oct North Wales visiting Chirk Castle and Erddig

MUSEUM MEETS Every Weds and Thurs, 1pm Taster Tours

Mon, 28 Oct, 5-7pm Fragmentary Ancestors? Figurines and Archaeology from Koma Land, Ghana

Tues 8 Oct, 1-2.30pm (drop-in) English Corner

Weds 30 Oct, 1-2pm The Confucius Institute: China Talks

Sat 12 Oct, 10am-12pm Poetry and Medicine Workshop

Opening times Open: Tues-Sat 10am-5pm Sun-Mon (and Bank Holidays) 11am-4pm FREE admission The Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, Manchester 0161 275 2648 www.manchester.ac.uk/museum Follow us on Twitter @McrMuseum www.facebook.com/ ManchesterMuseum

Sun 13 Oct, 2-3pm, £4 The Little Red Hen Sat 26 Oct, 11am-4pm Big Saturday: World of Frogs SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

Tues 15 Oct, 7.30pm, £6, £4 Shackleton’s Man Goes South Weds 16 Oct, 7.30pm, £6, £4 The Palace of Curiosities Fri 18 Oct, 12-1pm (drop-in) Dig It Tues 22 Oct, 5.30-6.30pm (drop-in) Manchester Museum Book Club Thurs 24 Oct, 2-3pm (drop-in) Rock Drop

1st Weds of the month, 1-2pm Collection Bites

Sat 2 Nov Overnight Trip to Bath with a visit to Stonehenge Sat 2 Nov North Lake District visiting Keswick and Grasmere Sun 3 Nov Blackpool and the famous Blackpool Illuminations Opening times Mon-Fri 9.30am – 7pm (during term time) Mon-Fri 9.30am – 5pm (during vacation) Small World Café opening times Mon-Fri 11am – 3pm 327 Oxford Road (next to Krobar) 0161 275 4959 email int.soc@manchester.ac.uk www.internationalsociety.org.uk

The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama

The John Rylands Library (Deansgate)

CENTRE FOR NEW WRITING

Locating Boccaccio until 20 Dec Picturing Stories: British and French Romantic Illustrations until Jan 2014 Polari Mission: Bona Eek until 2 Feb 2014 Morbid Miscellany 14 Oct until 31 Jan 2014 Living Archive until Jan 2014 EVENTS Sat 12 Oct, 10am-1pm and 2-5pm (booking essential) Revoluntionary Screenprinting Sat 12 Oct, 12-1pm Here be Dragons!

Sat 19 Oct, 1-2.30pm Timelines: Where History Comes to Life – Teenage Anthology Launch Sat 26 Oct, 1-4pm All About Bugs – Family Fun Day Thurs 31 Oct – 1.30-2.30pm (5-7 yrs), 2.30-3.30pm (8-10 yrs), 3.30-4.30pm (11 yrs) (booking essential) Captured by Pirates – Pop-Up Book workshops ADULT EVENTS Weds 9 Oct, 1-2pm (booking essential) Picturing Stories Curator Tour Sun 13 Oct, 1-3pm The Polari Mission Bibleathon Thurs 17 Oct, 12-1pm (booking essential) Tour and Treasures Fri 18 Oct 2.30-3.30pm Unusual Views: Library Tour for Photographers Fri 18 Oct, 1-2pm (booking essential) Locating Boccaccio Curator Tour Thurs 24 Oct, 12-2pm (booking essential) From Daguerre to Digital Mon 28 Oct, 12-1pm The Compatibility Gene Mon 28 Oct, 2-3pm (booking essential) Manuscript Menagerie Tues 29 Oct, 12-1pm (booking essential) The Body Stripped Bare Thurs 31 Oct, 12-1pm (booking essential) Blood and Guts Thurs 31 Oct, 1.30-2.30pm (booking essential) Skeletons in the Library’s Closet Thurs 31 Oct, 6-8pm It’s Alive! James Whale’s Frankenstein film showing Every third Thursday in the month, 12-1pm, free (booking essential) Tour and Treasures For further details of our events, please visit our website.

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

Sun 13 Oct, 7.30pm, £12/£10 Jeanette Winterson in conversation with Audrey Niffenegger LITERATURE LIVE Mon 7 Oct, 6.30pm, £6/£4 Moniza Alvi and Nadeem Aslam Sat 12 Oct, 6pm, £8/£6 Ali Smith Sun 13 Oct, 6pm, £8/£6 I Am, I Am, I Am: Reflections on Sylvia Plath with Ali Smith and Jackie Kay EVENING CONCERTS Fri 11 Oct, 7.30pm, £13.50/£8/£3 Quatuor Danel Sat 19 Oct, 7.30pm, £10/£6/£3 MUMS Symphony Orchestra FREE LUNCHTIME CONCERTS Fri 11 Oct, 1.10pm Solo and Chamber Works Thurs 10 Oct, 1.10pm Quatuor Danel Thurs 17 Oct, 1.10pm Marcus Farnsworth with James Baillieu Thurs 24 Oct, 1.10pm Featured Artist: Richard Casey (Piano) ‘Beethoven and….. Iannis Xenakis’ NEW MUSIC Sat 26 Oct – Sat 2 Nov New Music North West Festival Sat 26 Oct 6pm and 8pm, Sun 27 Oct, 2pm, £7.50/£5/£3 MANTIS Fall Festival 2013 Mon 28 Oct, 5.15pm, Free The Rosenhan Experiment Mon 28 Oct, 7.30pm, £7.50/£5/£3 Vaganza and RNCM New Ensemble Tues 29 Oct, 1.15pm, Free Vaganza and Musicians from RNCM Tues 29 Oct, 2.30pm, Free Open Forum with Edwin Roxburgh Weds 30 Oct, 1.15pm, Free Lunchtime Concert: Trio Aporia Sat 2 Nov, 5.15pm, Free Distractfold Sat 2 Nov, 7.30pm, £10/£5/£3 Psappha: Contemporary Ensemble in Residence WE WELCOME Weds 9 Oct, 7.30pm, £8/£5 Poetry in Performance: Being Human Tues 15 Oct, 7.30pm, £10/£6 Chetham’s Sinfonia and Ensembles Concert Thurs 31 Oct-Fri 1 Nov, various prices Platforma Festival The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama Bridgeford Street, Manchester, M13 9PL 0161 275 8951 email boxoffice@manchester.ac.uk www.manchester.ac.uk/ martinharriscentre

Gig Guide

Chaplaincies

Manchester Academy 1, 2 and 3

St Peter’s House Chaplaincy Sunday, 11am Holy Communion 12.45pm Lunch (1st Sun) Sunday, 6.30pm Evening Worship (term-time only) FOYER 10am – 5pm, weekdays 12.15pm Wednesdays Eucharist An area where students and staff can relax and meet friends. A tea/coffee machine is available.

RC Chaplaincy Avila House Mass Times (term-time only) Sun, 7pm, Holy Name Church Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri, 5.30pm Chaplaincy Chapel Weds, 1.05pm, Chaplaincy Chapel The Jewish Student Centre and Synagogue 07817 250 557 Email Rabbi Mati Kos: rabbikos@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’ email: assia_shah61@yahoo.co.uk

Thurs 10 Oct Kacey Musgraves - £13.50 The Last Carnival - £6 Fri 11 Oct Johnny Marr - £23.50 Sat 12 Oct Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires - £17.50 The Orb Live - £15 Turisas + Special Guests Revoker + Astro Henge - £12 Bowling For Soup - £20 Sun 13 Oct The South - £20 Mon 14 Oct Children of Bodom + Naplam Death - £18.50 The Devil Wears Prada - £12 Tues 15 Oct Blue - SOLD OUT Deerhunter - £15 Sebadoh - £15.50 The Quireboys + Special Guests - £15 Weds 16 Oct Goo Goo Dolls + Flesh for Lulu - £24 Mikill Pane - £9 Ghostpoet - £12.50 Thurs 17 Oct Nina Nesbitt - SOLD OUT The Answer + Tracer + Cage The Gods - £14 Fri 18 Oct Volbeat + Iced Earth - £15 Sat 19 Oct Tom Odell - SOLD OUT UK Foo Fighters - £10 Toyah - £18 Kate Nash + Violet + Vulkano - £13.50 Orange - £7 Sun 20 Oct Mon 21 Oct AlunaGeorge - £13 Bastille - SOLD OUT Tues 22 Oct Roachford + Jon Rowe - £16 Baroness + Royal Thunder - £10 Weds 23 Oct The Feeling + Yellowire - £18.50 Thurs 24 Oct HIM + Caspian - £20 Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg - £17.50 Skid Row/Ugly Kid Joe - £18.50 Fri 25 Oct The Cult – Electric 13 + Bo Ningen - £29.50 The Pigeon Detectives - £14 Sham 69 - £12 John Power + Ivan Campo - £12.50 Sat 26 Oct The Blackout + Framing Hanley + Blitz Kids - £15 North Mississippi Allstars - £12 Sun 27 Oct Reconnected - £12.50 Lissie - £13.00 Tues 29 Oct Warpaint - £15 John Newman - SOLD OUT Weds 30 Oct Suede + Teleman - £26.50 Tyler Hilton – £16.50 Birdy - £15 Thurs 31 Oct Wiley and Dappy - £14 Fri 1 Nov The Boomtown Rats - £24 Francis Dunnery Electric Prog - £22.50 Sat 2 Nov IllumiNaughty – Halloween Central - £17 Deserts Xuan - £26 Tickets from Students' Union, Oxford Road Piccadilly Box Office @ easy Internet Café (c/c) 0871 2200260 Royal Court (Liverpool) 0151 709 4321 (c/c) Students’ Union Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL 0161 275 2930 www.manchesteracademy.net

Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre 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!

EVENTS Sat 19 Oct, 7pm, £12 Girls Night Out: Under the Stars Mon 21 Oct to Fri 1 Nov Snowballs in Space!

Sat 2 Nov, 5pm and 6pm, £15/£13 Kids Rocket Night Tickets: http://ow.ly/hQCFU Tickets include entry to the Discovery Centre Opening times 10am-5pm For more information and prices please visit our website Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 9DL 01477 571 766 www.jodrellbank.net

23

Feature

Green shoots of recovery 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.

Here UniLife looks at how the University is ‘making a difference’…

Andrew Amara, a MSc student from Uganda has a simple but massive aim: “Changing the world” as he puts it.

Andrew is studying Global Urban Development and Urban Planning, and came to the University from Uganda on an Alan Gilbert Memorial Scholarship, set up in Professor

Gilbert’s memory to fund at least one African student every year.

“I hope to be part of implementing that plan.

As he prepares to return to Kampala, his ambitions include helping to combat slums, deal with climate change and tackle the everyday challenges of life in his home capital.

“Being at a world-class university like Manchester has given me an international perspective – a new lens with which to interpret the challenges ahead.

“Now is the perfect time for growth in Uganda,” he says

“I’ve been immersed in a city where much of what I am studying is already in action. Learning has been taken outside the classroom.

“The existing infrastructure is old, poorly maintained and just can’t support the population.

“The government has developed a master-plan to tackle the main problems of housing, sanitation and traffic. It wants sustainable homes that don’t collapse, a drainage system that doesn’t flood constantly and roads that aren’t full of potholes.

“I’ve discovered how culture and local history can be catalysts for growth; how we need to tackle climate change by changing with the planet instead of trying to stop the planet from changing; how we can work alongside communities and find compromises on both sides.

“Back in Uganda I want to be a consultant for the town planning councils as they seek ways to combat slums. I also hope to begin two community projects for refugees displaced during rebel conflicts.

Within ten years I hope I’ll be spearheading regional development across the country.

“None of that would be possible without this scholarship – I could never have afforded to come here.

“On a personal level, it has been a fascinating 12 months. The changing seasons – the way people smile more when the sun shines, seeing snow for the first time and the bitterly cold winter, though I won’t miss that!”

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Next Issue 4 November 2013 M807 09.13 The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL Royal Charter Number RC000797

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