The free magazine for The University of Manchester UniLife 21st February 2005 Volume 2 Issue 9 £11.4m awarded for EPS graduate training 2 UniLife NewsDigest A summary of the key news in this issue of UniLife: Contents The University has been awarded £11.4m 3 £11.4 million Awarded for EPS for postgraduate training under the Graduate Training EPSRC’s Collaborative Training Account (CTA). The award will fund science and 4 News 3 engineering programmes including Doctorates, Knowledge Transfer 8 Research Partnerships, RA Industrial Secondments and CASE awards. 10 Students 11 Staff Survey The £50m Michael Smith Building, to be part of one of the largest biomedical 15 People complexes in Europe, officially opens on 5 8 March. It will be home to 800 staff 16 In The Community drawn largely from the Faculty of Life Sciences. 18 What’s On 20 Seminars/Noticeboard The Field Archaeology Centre and Manchester City Council’s ‘Dig 22 Classified Ads Manchester’ project has received £500,000 from the Heritage Lottery 24 Just the Job 6 Fund to expand its work, which involves schools, businesses and community groups in local digs. Scientists from across the University took part in a ‘Speed Collaborating’ exercise on 9 Valentine’s Day, to find the research Front cover: Professor John Perkins and partner of their dreams. Professor Andrew Ball. Photo by Craig Strong The University recently held an exclusive event for its ‘Family of Companies’, organised by the Business, Careers & 16 Community Division (BCCD). Nearly 70 delegates came along to enjoy an evening of networking opportunities, presentations and lively business discussions. UniLife 3 £11.4m Awarded for EPS Graduate Training The University has secured its first major Research Council funding success as a combined institution, following an EPSRC award of £11.4m for postgraduate training from October 2005. The award was made under the EPSRC’s Professor John Perkins, Vice-President and timescale, the completion of the bid and Collaborative Training Account (CTA) Dean of the University’s Faculty of its successful outcome are testimony to scheme. It will provide the core funding Engineering and Physical Science and CTA the depth and breadth of co-operation for Manchester Engineering Doctorate Manager (EPS), said: "This award, which is which took place between academic staff programmes, which include a significant one of the largest of its kind in the UK, is and administrators at all levels.” element of business and management a tremendous tribute to the excellence of training, for the next four cohorts of the University's track record in Out of 44 business cases received in this, the Research Engineers. The award will also postgraduate education. We are second, call for bids, 28 awards were made - provide financial support over this period delighted to be afforded the flexibility in of which Manchester's was the highest. for innovative Masters-level programmes, support of future postgraduate education Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), and training that this award will give us." Dr Alan Thomas, CTA Implementation Research Associate Industrial Secondments Manager at EPSRC, said:“EPSRC In an intensive collaborative effort from (RAIS) and Industrial CASE awards. recognises that The University of July to September 2004, the business case Manchester has a very significant role in Although awarded by the EPSRC, the was successfully compiled and drafted by a the provision of high quality education funding is not restricted to programmes team of academic and administrative staff within the Faculty of Engineering and across UMIST and the Victoria University. It and training within the UK – as reflected Physical Sciences; being designed to involved setting out the (then future-) in the size of the award made. promote collaboration across disciplines University’s strategic intentions for Consequently, we will be working in to produce the highest-quality graduates. postgraduate education, in the context of partnership with the University to ensure The funding will be deployed by the providing training in transferable and life that the aim underpinning the University in a flexible fashion, in support skills and the high-quality academic implementation of Collaborative Training of programmes and initiatives which content required by UK industry. Accounts - to put collaborative align with the EPSRC’s strategic priorities, meet regional/industrial demand and Professor Andrew Ball, Associate Dean for postgraduate education and research on support the University’s own aspirations Graduate Education in EPS who led the a more strategic footing, reflecting both for the quality and skills of its bid preparation on behalf of the the EPSRC’s priorities and those of the postgraduate output. University, said:“Despite the tight University itself – is achieved”. www.epsrc.ac.uk/PostgraduateTraining/CollaborativeTrainingAccounts/default.htm 4 UniLife News Corrosion ‘Oscar’ Honour Dr Bob Cottis, Reader in Corrosion Science Dr Cottis will be honoured for the and Engineering at the Corrosion and contribution he has made to the field Protection Centre, will be presented with using the World Wide Web, having the prestigious T.J. Hull Award at The founded CORROS-L – the first National Association of Corrosion international electronic mailing list for Engineers’ (NACE) 2005 conference in corrosion academics. A senior academic from the School of Houston, Texas. “I am very pleased to be receiving this Materials is to receive an engineering The April conference is the largest award. CORROS-L seems a long time ago, corrosion event in the world, attracting but it is nice to be recognised for this ‘Oscar’ for his contribution to the more than 6,000 professionals work which has led us to many other field of Corrosion. internationally. Each year the T.J. Hull developments in this area,” he said. Award recognises outstanding Dr Cottis is now in the process of contributions to NACE, in terms of developing an online degree programme, publications or furthering the and also recently launched a web-based Association’s aims and objectives. multi-lingual corrosion dictionary. http://www.cp.umist.ac.uk/CPC/ Network North West Businesses from across the region came and an NWBA client said: "This event together recently at The Manchester really demonstrated how a world-class Museum to hear about what the new university is contributing to the University has to offer them. Organised community and business environment in by North West Business Access (NWBA), a Manchester and the North West." small business support agency managed by the Business, Careers & Community The event provided an opportunity for Anne Milligan, NWBA Manager, with Barbara Division (BCCD), the event provided an delegates to learn more about each other Hastings-Asatourian, MD of Contraceptive opportunity for staff from BCCD’s and explore collaborative opportunities, Education Ltd. Regional Business Team and the MBS highlighted by a presentation from Incubator to welcome businesses to the Contraception Education Ltd. and Capture new institution. One Digital Productions. In her key note address Jane Ratchford, The two companies met through a Director of the BCCD, explained the new previous NWBA networking event and University’s ambitions both to be a have partnered to produce an global academic powerhouse and stay interactive educational resource for strongly committed its roots in the city teenagers, promoting the message of and region. safer sex. There are now plans to Barbara Hastings-Asatourian, Managing translate the material for the Director of Contraceptive Education Ltd international market. www.businessaccess.ac.uk UniLife 5 News £50m Biomedical Research Centre Opens The first of three state-of-the-art facilities which will eventually form one of the largest biomedical complexes in Europe will officially open on 8 March. The £50m Michael Smith Building, named in honour of the late Nobel Laureate, will be home to 800 staff drawn largely from the Faculty of Life Sciences. “The complex is sited at a central location externally-funded centres such as The appointed Professor of Biochemistry by off Oxford Road, in the University’s Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix the University of British Columbia in biomedical corridor,” said Professor Martin Research, The North of England Structural 1966. He received the Nobel Prize for his Humphries, Associate Dean for Research Biology Centre and The UK Centre for work on site-directed mutagenesis in within Life Sciences. “A major benefit of Tissue Engineering. the design of the new building has been to 1993, and died in 2000 aged 68. Dr Michael Smith was an alumnus of The cluster core facilities and provide easily University of Manchester, graduating in Dr Smith’s son, Tom Smith, is flying in accessible resources for researchers.” Chemistry in 1953 before studying for his from Vancouver especially for the The facility will house more than 100 PhD in the same department. In 1956 he ceremony, where he will officially open the research groups, including a number of moved to Vancouver, Canada, and was new facility. http://www.ls.manchester.ac.uk/about/buildings/ New Network To Boost Radiotherapy Research in UK A new network to help modernise radiotherapy research across the UK has just been launched at the Christie Hospital. It is hoped that the network, which is The University of Manchester was chosen capitalise on the rapid technological called the Academic Clinical Oncology as the location for the network due to the advances that allow more accurate and Radiobiology Research Network - or high concentration of expertise in radiotherapy delivery. ACORRN for short, will bring great academic radiotherapy and radiation Professor Pat Price, Chair of ACORRN said: benefits to cancer patients by biology - an area which has been “Over the last ten years radiotherapy has revitalising radiotherapy and earmarked for growth within the seen one of the most rapid advances in radiobiology research which has been in University.The close proximity of a major technology and computerisation in any decline over recent years.