Manchester Wins University Challenge Features Letter from the President
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The free magazine for The University of Manchester 5 June, 2006 UniLifeVolume 3 Issue 9 Manchester wins University Challenge Features Letter from the President News Manchester remains top of the popularity league page 5 Profile Professor Klaus Müller-Dethlefs page 12 Feature Hippest show A lot of hard work has been going on over recent Making such choices is difficult at the best in town weeks to produce a draft 2006-07 Budget for of times. But there is an enormous difference recommendation via the Planning and Resources between a budget that is growing and one that page 18 Committee to Finance Committee and the Board is not. When resources are diminishing it is of Governors. extraordinarily difficult to keep aspiration and creativity alive. Even the most ambitious, creative The good news about our 2006-07 budget is that people begin to focus on just keeping things revenue has grown significantly in real terms. going, so the fact that our budget is growing is While reducing our overall deficit as planned, we good news indeed. will have around £75 million more to spend than Contents we had in 2005-06, and more than half of this Yet the truth remains that our Manchester 2015 represents real growth. Research income and fee Agenda will not be realised without even greater revenue are both significantly higher. revenue growth year-in, year-out over the next decade. Without continuing emphasis on growing Budgeting is about managing scarcity. The number 3 News revenue and, (where possible without of initiatives worth pursuing always exceeds the compromising quality) reducing costs, the gap 7 Research resources available. Desirable initiatives have to be between our ambitions and our resources will stifle discarded in favour of highly desirable competing creativity and stultify morale. 11 Teaching and Learning proposals, and even the highly desirable sometimes 12 Profile has to give way to the absolutely imperative. That Scarcity is a relative concept. It varies with the makes planning important. A good plan provides a breadth and boldness of our ambitions. So creating 14 Reaching Out rational, carefully considered basis for choosing the circumstances in which revenue can grow in between competing demands, and introduces the years ahead is arguably the greatest single 16 What’s On serious strategic considerations into the hard challenge for leaders at all levels of the University choices that budgeting always imposes. committed to the high educational, research and 18 Feature scholarly aspirations of the 2015 Agenda. Disciplined, plan-driven budgeting means asking, 20 Looking Back of all the new things we would like to do, what are the most important and how many are affordable? More disconcertingly, it also involves the harder question, should we be willing to discontinue some of our existing activities in favour Front cover: of new initiatives that are clearly more important? From left: Gareth Aubrey, The right decision is sometimes to abandon successful existing programmes in order to fund Adrain Anslow, Joseph Meager, an emerging higher priority. Chris Holmes with coach Stephen Pearson (seated) Professor Alan Gilbert President and Vice-Chancellor. Photo courtesy of BBC2 2 News In brief ‘Scientific renaissance’ impresses Tory top brass David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader, arrived on campus last month as part of a flying visit to Manchester. Accompanied by Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, Mr Cameron arrived at the Michael Smith Building to be greeted by the President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Gilbert, the Registrar and Secretary, Albert McMenemy, Dean of Life Sciences, Professor Alan North, and Lord Keith Bradley, the University’s special adviser on Government relations. Following a short private meeting, Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne were taken to one Manchester wins University Challenge A TEAM from The University of Manchester has scooped the University Challenge title for 2006. The Manchester team beat Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in one of the most nail biting finals ever seen on the BBC, eventually triumphing by 160 points to 150. of the building’s state-of-the-art laboratories where they were introduced by Dame Their success was watched live by a group of more and Cambridge could submit teams. This meant Professor Nancy Rothwell and Professor than 60 senior academics and members of the Board that Oxford and Cambridge had a much higher Martin Humphries to four postgraduate of Governors, including President Professor Alan Gilbert presence on the programme than other students and post doctoral researchers from universities.” and Chancellor Anna Ford, at the Christie Bistro. the Faculty of Life Sciences. Manchester reached the semi-finals last year, but It’s the first time Manchester has ever won the Dr Catherine Lawrence, Tassi Halka, went one better this time round, despite some popular TV quiz since it first appeared on our Dr Anastasia Simi and Dr Neill Turner each tough questioning from host Jeremy Paxman. screens more than 40 years ago. Manchester beat took time to tell the MPs about their Trinity Hall, Cambridge, having overcome Imperial This year’s team was chosen after dozens of research in the fields of neuroscience and College School of Medicine in the quarter-finals and students applied and were put through their paces vascular biology. London Business School in the semi-finals. with a tricky quiz, consisting of 100 questions. They Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme on The winning team was coached by Stephen Pearson were also given a separate trial to test their speed the morning of the visit, Mr Osborne said: of the John Rylands University Library who said: on the buzzer, which coach Stephen Pearson “One of the things we’re doing in Manchester “We’ve lost three semi-finals during my time at believes was critical in this year’s success. today is visiting new biomedical research Manchester, so I’m glad to find this year that my Captain Joseph Meagher was quick to praise the laboratories at Manchester University, which association wasn't the kiss of death for our hopes in efforts of their coach:“We didn’t just meet over the we hope will become among the leading the last four!” university bar and decide to enter. There was quite a biomedical research centres in the world. This team consisted of captain Joseph Meagher rigorous process to get in the team. “That’s a brand new facility and one of (Politics), Gareth Aubrey (Astrophysics), Chris Holmes “Stephen was putting us through our paces with the reasons we’re going there is we want (Material Science) and Adrian Anslow (Mathematics). practice every week and then twice a week when to see how Manchester University is going to spearhead a scientific renaissance Team captain Joseph Meagher said: "The final was we were in the competition. We took it seriously; it in that city.” extremely tight - it was great television, and we was hard work but it paid off.” were delighted to come out on top." A total of 260 teams from around the country entered this year’s University Challenge heats, but Manchester has an unusual record in the only 28 were selected to compete in the televised competition - in the mid-1970s a team of stages. Manchester students, including broadcaster and columnist David Aaronovitch, protested against the It was a wonderful occasion in the Christie Bistro as 'elitist' nature of the programme by answering the Board of Governors and senior academics 'Trotsky' or 'Lenin' to every question. cheered the team into the room carrying the trophy aloft after the screening of the show. Stephen said:“As I understand it, they argued that the programme was elitist because, whereas other Anna Ford paid her own tribute to the team and universities had to submit one team from the whole said:“You were brilliant – you are a great asset to university, each of the sixty or so colleges at Oxford this University and we’re incredibly proud of you.” 3 News News in brief Literary scholar TV star Meera Syal remembered receives honorary The life and career of John Stachneiwski - a leading scholar of early modern English Literature and President of the UM AUT - was remembered in the annual Memorial Lecture degree which was held, this year, on Tuesday 2 May. The Stachniewski Memorial Lecture has attracted many of the most prestigious of John's peers. Professors John Carey and Gary Taylor are just two of many prominent literary scholars to have honoured his memory in addresses in his university. This year, the event's sponsors, English and American Studies and the UM AUT, were delighted to welcome Professor Willy Maley of the University of Glasgow, whose witty and engaging lecture on Milton's History of Britain was a fitting tribute to the political and scholarly interests of one of the most important of Manchester's literary scholars. Liquid Crystal Science award for Professor Gleeson Meera Syal and Michael Oglesby Writer and actress Meera Syal and here and graduated with a Double but remains steeped in family property tycoon Michael Oglesby First in English and Drama. She traditions. received honorary degrees from wrote the screenplays My Sister In presenting the award Professor The University last month. Wife and Bhaji on the Beach. Her At the 2006 Liquid Crystal Conference, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell said: first novel, Anita and Me, won a Helen Gleeson was awarded the inaugural In presenting the award Professor “In spite of these enormous Betty Trask Award. C Hilsum Medal by the British Liquid Crystal Viv Gardener said: achievements, it is for his Society.The medal was awarded for ‘overall “Meera Syal is one of only a handful She also wrote and acted in the outstanding contributions to the contributions to liquid crystal science and of women comedy writers and award-winning shows Goodness city and to the University that technology.’ Professor Hilsum attended in performers whose work has Gracious Me and The Kumars at Mike is today receiving an person to present the inaugural medal.