The free magazine for The Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST UniLife 10th May 2004 Volume 1 Issue 5 Research responds to flood warning 2 UniLife NewsDigest A summary of the key news in this issue of UniLife: Contents 3 Flood Warning Researchers in Manchester are taking 4 News part in a £5.5 million programme to 3 provide solutions to the flooding problem in the UK which may become worse 7 Research because of climate and land use change. 10 People 11 Students The Higher Education Funding Council of 12 Media Conference England (HEFCE) have formally approved £20m for the merger of the two 13 Project Unity 4 universities. The funding was officially ratified by HEFCE’s board at their recent 14 What’s On meeting in Manchester. 16 Seminars & Lectures 17 Looking Back/Noticeboard A European Space Agency mission has 18 Classified Ads carried a UMIST experiment into outer 5 space to monitor astronauts’ exposure 20 Just the Job to radiation. More than 40 staff from House Services (VUM) have passed their NVQ Level 1 11 course, fitting in the training alongside Front cover photo by Kippa Matthews their work. A major interdisciplinary conference in June will focus on the highly topical 12 issue of how research is portrayed in the media. UniLife 3 Anyone who has ever had their Flood home flooded will know what a devastating effect it can have - as Warning property, possessions and livelihoods are literally swept away. The fear that the UK may be subject to increasing large scale flooding because of climate and land use change, has led to the creation of a new research programme involving VUM and UMIST- based researchers to predict and manage the risk of flooding. As widely reported in the media, the £5.5million programme - called the Flood- Risk Management Research Consortium (FRMRC) - will bring engineers, scientists, planners, government agencies and private companies together for the first time to provide solutions for this potentially devastating problem. And £250,000 of this funding has come to Dr Joe Howe, who is a Lecturer in Environmental Management in the School of Landscape and Planning at The Victoria University of Manchester. Said Dr Howe: "This is the first time such a wide diversity of organisations have come together to look at the very real Photo by Kippa Matthews problem of flooding - it's a 'joined up' way of thinking about the issue." According to Dr Howe, this new approach through their roots. We need to work ‘Stakeholders and Policy’ and will be co- is urgently needed, as the frequency and with the environment, not against it." ordinating work among several other severity of flooding is set to increase. It universities in the UK. He hopes that by But flooding is not just an urban has been estimated that around two the end of the four year project there will problem. Rural areas are increasing million homes are already at risk from be a more consistent and integrated suffering floods, mainly due to the river, coastal or sewer flooding in the UK. approach to flood policy. And the problem is set to be exacerbated increased pressure farmers are put under by the increasing pressure to build more to produce crops. Fields are now "At the moment there are a lot of homes. In the next 10 years, more than commonly ploughed and planted during contradictions between different two million new homes will need to be the winter months whereas in the past organizations and even between them. built in the UK, so increasingly homes are they would have been left fallow. This We also need to take into account local being built on flood plains and alongside 'winter cropping' means that it is more variations – you can’t just produce a canals and rivers. likely that flood water and snowmelt will national plan for flooding and hope that run off ploughed fields straight into it applies to the whole country because it Said Dr Howe: "Waterside living like that rivers, causing flooding. won’t. This means it’s vital that local which has sprung up in Manchester agencies work alongside national along the River Medlock is fine, but such Given the dilemma between the need for organizations." developments don’t allow for rainwater housing and threat from floods, Dr Howe to escape or to be absorbed, so it runs is determined to elevate the importance Dr Howe’s bid to lead part of the FRMRC’s straight down drains into rivers and of landuse planning in the flooding work was the result of much work and increases the risk of flooding. debate. In the past, flood prevention has planning by the School and the been the preserve of engineers, so the University’s Research and Graduate "We need to think about how we get rid fact that Dr Howe has such a high profile Support Unit, led by Neil Ferguson. In of this surface water. For example, green role to play in the FRMRC shows that addition, Daniel Spagni from ARP spaces with trees and grass in city centre there is a step change going on. Consultants based at UMIST has been development would greatly help – trees employed as a management consultant are nature’s defence against flood – they Dr Howe is leading one of the main to the FRMRC. intercept rainfall and absorb water groups of the FRMRC – called 4 UniLife News Cyprus Fair Both universities attended the recent education exhibition in Nicosia, Cyprus during a momentous year as the EU expands with the addition of ten new countries as member states. One of the effects of EU enlargement will British Council, Peter Skelton (pictured be that students from the new member with Pam Smith of the Faculty of Social states will be eligible for home fee status, Sciences and Law and Liz Wilson, rather than paying the overseas tuition fees. International Office, VUM). As a result, this year’s exhibition was Liz, International Officer for Europe, VUM, busier than ever, attracting interest from said:"Manchester is one of the most both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Both universities’ stands were popular destinations for Cypriot students. visited by Cyprus’ Minister of Education We can only expect that following EU and Culture, Pefkios Georgiades who enlargement, the applications will opened the exhibition and Director of the continue to increase." Celebrating Science The campus was buzzing during National Science Week (15-19 March) when more than 650 young people aged between 13 and 18 – and around 70 teachers and visitors - enjoyed a range of sessions, run by UMIST and VUM staff designed to enthuse and inspire. Dr John Salthouse A total of 23 schools and colleges across Widening Participation Officer for the Greater Manchester were able to fly their Faculty, Barbara Grundy said:"We are own paper aeroplanes (‘Science of Flight’), very grateful to the academic staff who discover how lasers are used in healthcare delivered these sessions and to the (‘Blood, Guts and Lasers’) and gasp at the staff and students who volunteered to demonstrations and video clips in ‘Good help out in organising and meeting Vibrations….or not so good’. groups throughout the week. Initial feedback has been extremely positive The ever-popular ‘Son et Lumière’ experience and we hope that the event will lead to certainly generated the ‘WOW!’ factor even more worthwhile science, amongst the 250 students who attended, engineering and mathematics links with an exciting finale when all the students with our local schools and colleges in lit up the darkened lecture theatre with Greater Manchester." differently coloured light sticks (pictured). UniLife 5 Almost 300 administrative staff Administrators’ from VUM and UMIST attended the annual "Administration Conference" 27 April, hosted at Conference Hulme Hall and St Gabriel’s Hall This was the first year the Conference partnerships and Branding, with a range together, network and share ideas and I was open to all central administration of more ‘special interest’ sessions on, for know it has contributed to a clearer staff, and it was an excellent opportunity example, Equality and Diversity and understanding of the Unity agenda and to discuss topics around Project Unity. Training and Development. its impact on the administration. I was delighted that so many speakers, with The opening and closing sessions were Speakers, drawn from both institutions, hefty workloads and key Unity delivered by Registrar and Secretary, included senior academics, responsibilities, were so willing to find Dugald Mackie and President-designate, representatives of the two Student time to support the Conference. Professor Alan Gilbert respectively, with Unions (sharing perceptions and issues on the student “experience”) and lead the main part of the day offering a wide “The event has grown and developed since managers from the administration. range of topics including forward-looking we started in 2002 and we will of course be sessions on External Relations, Doug Minhall, who organises the event, contacting delegates to get their feedback Business/Industry relationships, Research said: "There is a real buzz when so many and suggestions for improvement that can Management, Academic/Administrative colleagues have the opportunity to meet inform the planning of any future event." HEFCE Approves £20m for Manchester Merger The Board of HEFCE formally agreed to grant £10m towards the development of the new merged university, plus a further £10m in the form of a repayable grant. The funding package was officially HEFCE have provided this financial ratified at HEFCE’s Board which met at support to help realise the vision of a the Manchester Conference Centre. truly world class research university here in Manchester. This significant funding The grants form part of an additional will help us to achieve our goal." £65m of public funding to dissolve the Victoria University of Manchester HEFCE Chief Executive Professor Sir and UMIST in order to create the new Howard Newby said: "We warmly single university in October 2004.