Su Issue twelvce spring 201c 3 www.mmessu.ac.uk The University for World-Class Professionals Thomas Heatherwick Creator of the Olympic cauldron on ‘making’ k c i Opinion Transformation Research & Innovation Meet Our Alumni w r e h t Professor Ruth Ashford Major changes are Cutting edge dental Heineken manager, a e H on doing business afoot at the technology research Naheed Younis, a n e l the ‘right’ way University talks beer E : o t o h P Contents Foreword Photo: Heatherwick Studio P1 Professor John Brooks, Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University News P2 Round-up of news from across the University Opinion P5 Dianne Thompson, Camelot CEO and University Chancellor P6 Professor Ruth Ashford on responsible capitalism Transformation P8 MMU’s commitment to environmental sustainability P10 Old school, new school at the Thomas Heatherwick’s Olympic cauldron, P12 Manchester School of Art Thomas Heatherwick Professor Ruth Naheed Younis, P26 Ashford, P6 P12 His work, his ideas, his inspirations . Transformation P16 Modernist historians in residence at the Toastrack P18 High-tech learning for students Research and Innovation P20 Pollution research, adoption pilot, and gangs study P21 Recognition for Surface Wildlife research, P20 Lucy’s KTP, P23 Engineering PhD student P22 Ensuring standards in custom- made dental devices Working with Business P23 Award-winning Knowledge Transfer Partnership Postgraduate Study P24 Alumni talk about the benefits of postgraduate study Meet Our Alumni Su cc ess Editor - Rachel Charnock P26 Heineken Area Export Manager, Issue twelve spring 2013 Writers - Kat Dibbits, Naheed Younis Success is published by Manchester Gareth Hollyman, P27 Filmmaker Henna Saeed and Metropolitan University Angela Kirk, Laura Styles alumni in the news Design - Steve Kelly Vice-Chancellor Events Photography - Ade Hunter Professor John Brooks P28 What’s on at the University’s Contact us - [email protected] venues No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission from Manchester Metropolitan University Foreword “The Manchester Metropolitan University remains confident about its future, despite the tumultuous changes created by the free market” Transformation is key to success t was inevitable that the transition offering from others. Our investment prepare our submission to the national I to a free market for higher broadly takes two forms: we invest in Research Excellence Framework. education, with full fees being the quality of our facilities to support paid by employed graduates through world-class learning and in our staff to The Manchester Metropolitan University personal taxation, would create some deliver high quality teaching. remains confident about its future, instability in the system. The headline despite the tumultuous changes of unfilled university places is one The most visible transformation has created by the free market. The most consequence of the transition, but the been in the physical estate as we difficult challenge is responding to more profound change is the complete our rationalisation strategy – unexpected changes in Government behaviour of applicants and the and within these new and refurbished policy. However, we take a long-term response of institutions. buildings there are leading-edge view about the future success of our technologies for teaching and research. University and continue to make Students are taking more care with their We continue to invest in and develop significant strategic investments, which selection and are using all available Moodle, our online learning platform we believe will benefit future sources of information to determine their and we have increased broadband generations of staff, students and final application. The University is clear access and provide WiFi in most of our graduates – and which you can read about its position in the marketplace, buildings and student residences. about in this issue of Success . offering high quality, high value vocational education for the professions Our investment in staffing has and positioning itself as the ‘University responded to the growing demand for for World-Class Professionals’. our vocational programmes, and we have invested in interns and learning However, in an increasingly competitive support positions. Also, we continue to Professor John Brooks marketplace for students, we must invest in the research capacity of our Vice-Chancellor continue to invest to differentiate our academic staff and are starting to Manchester Metropolitan University 1 News Schools Direct is new opportunity Birley Fields will be the new home of the Education Faculty from September 2014 chools are queuing up to work others. Manchester Metropolitan is moving quickly to maximise its S with experts at the University’s University is rated ‘outstanding’ at both involvement in the new way forward. Faculty of Education at the start Primary and Secondary – and has been “Schools have chosen us and we are of a major shake-up of teacher training handed 140 places for 2013 on top of delighted about that,” says Helen. “We in England and Wales. its 1800+ quota of BA (Hons) and have done a huge amount of work with PGCE places. our regional schools over many years The Government’s Schools Direct and we have a reputation as an scheme encourages schools to take a “In theory, we should go chasing these excellent partner. greater role in preparing teachers for places, but the schools are coming to the classroom and gives heads the us – 18 of them and 200 applications in “This is an opportunity to strengthen power to choose which universities to the first two weeks,” says Helen Scott, those ties, increase collaborations in work with in awarding qualifications. Head of Partnerships. things like curriculum design and so on, and it may be that the quality of The controversial policy has created an While most educationalists have such collaborations will determine ‘open marketplace’ for trainee teachers misgivings about any ‘dislocation’ of how successful Schools Direct proves with some universities faring better than teacher training from universities, MMU to be.” Paul Hamlyn Portico Prize Nurse of the Year Foundation Jean Sprackland, Reader in Creative A specialist nurse and honorary Senior Writing, won the £10,000 Portico Prize Lecturer in Emergency Care has been Professor Pavel Büchler became the for non-fiction. named the best in the country for her only artist outside London to be chosen long devotion to helping burns victims. for the prestigious £50,000 Paul Hamlyn Jean said she was “amazed and Foundation Award. delighted” to win the prize for her book, Jacky Edwards, who received the Strands : A Year of Discoveries on the prestigious Nurse of the Year title at Professor Büchler will receive the Beach , a series of meditations from the 2012 Nursing Times Awards, financial backing over three years to wild beaches between Blackpool was nominated by colleagues after develop creative ideas and grow both and Liverpool. creating a unique patient support group personally and professionally. and adult ‘burn camp’ that helps The prize was established in 1985 by rehabilitate victims. Professor Büchler said: “I felt honoured the Portico Library in Manchester and enough when I heard that I had been Jean is the fourth member of staff from Jackie runs the post-professional Burns nominated for a Paul Hamlyn MMU to win the Portico Prize after John Care programme in collaboration with Foundation Award and I can still hardly Parkinson-Bailey, Terry Wyke and Professor Janet Marsden in the Faculty believe that I have been offered this Andrew Biswell. of Health, Psychology and Social Care. prestigious gift.” 2 Manchester past and present Spreading he Visual Resources Centre at collections and to demonstrate their a little T Manchester Metropolitan value to a range of different audiences. happiness University has unveiled a new site that allows people to compare “As a historian, I’m particularly past and present views from around interested in the power of photographs Manchester and the University. to evidence change in the urban environment and that’s exactly what the The site is hosted by Historypin, which Historypin site is good at. uses Google Street View technology to overlay old photographs onto their “The map-based approach to modern-day geographic sites. A fader organising content and the integration control allows users to adjust the opacity with Google Street View make it of the superimposed images, and they possible to compare photos of the can interact by saving and sharing their same location taken at different favourites and adding notes. periods, graphically illustrating how our everyday surroundings are in a Images of Oxford Road in 1929, the state of flux.” Royal Northern College of Music in 1976 World-renowned marketer, and Cavendish Street Chapel and The Visual Resources Centre, within the Dr Jonathan Mildenhall, returned to the School in 1972 are among the Centre’s Manchester School of Art, has been University to deliver the inaugural Alan most popular. facilitating the use of visual images for Pulford Memorial Lecture. learning, teaching and research in art John Davis, the Visual Resources and design for over 40 years. The Jonathan, who graduated from the Curator, says that the site offers a rare Centre also has a Flickr site which has Business School in 1990, is Vice and dramatic opportunity to see how our attracted nearly 450,000 views. President of Global Advertising Strategy surroundings have changed over time. and Creative Excellence at the Coca- He said: “I’m always on the lookout for Cola Company. new ways to showcase the Visual www.historypin.com/channels/ Resources Centre’s remarkable image view/id/9230020 He took the packed lecture theatre through ten ‘chapters’ of Coca-Cola strategy, each illustrated with examples Oxford Road, Manchester, 1929 from the brand’s global marketing campaigns, and all with the theme of spreading happiness across the globe. The lecture was closed by Alan's son, Richard Pulford. After the lecture, audience members took to Twitter to praise Jonathan’s lecture, describing it as “fantastic”, “inspiring” and “incredible”.