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Talk 200 is a new lecture and podcast series from The University of Manchester, launching to mark our bicentenary: 200 years of making a difference.
This year we’re reflecting on our past, celebrating our present and looking to the future – and Talk 200 invites listeners to be part of the journey.
Our podcast host, Manchester aficionado, author, and University alumnus Andy Spinoza will be joined by a diverse line-up of guests from our community – pioneering academics and notable figures, inspiring staff, alumni and students – to discuss topics such as health, digital and AI, climate change, and equality and justice.
[Music] Hello and welcome to Talk 200 a lecture and podcast series to celebrate The University of Manchester's Bicentenary year Our the 200th anniversary is a time to celebrate years of learning Innovation and research; years of our incredible people and community; years of global influence. In this series you'll be hearing from some of the nation's foremost scientists thinkers and social Commentators plus many other voices from across our university community as we explore the big topics affecting us all. Good evening everyone. I'm Professor Colette Fagan. I'm Vice-president for Research at The University of Manchester. Welcome to this fourth and final life installment of Talk 200 the University's lecture and podcast series running throughout our bicentenary year. It has been my pleasure to host this wonderful series of lectures throughout our special year and I'd encourage you to visit our bicentenary webpages where you will find links to listen and watch all the lectures and podcasts. So if you're in the room take pick up one of these and if you're online you will find us on the website. I'm delighted you are able to join us in this beautiful historic setting of our Whitworth Hall including those of you who are watching Online. The University's th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on our past celebrate our present and look to the future. And the Talk series invites listeners to be part of this journey. The series has featured some of the nation’s foremost thinkers and commentators ranging from Health Physical and Social Science through Arts and History as well as many other voices from within and across our community. I among others am very proud of our University and to be part of our community of staff students alumni and friends. Our University is world class and our ambition is to do even better. And I want to give you just a flavor of some of the indicators of our international standing. We're among the top in the world for the quality and reach of our research; and higher still in some of our subject areas. We're second in the world for the impact and contribution towards the delivery of United Nations’s ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ through our teaching our research and how we run our campus operations. We're among the top most international universities in the world for our staff and student profile. And we're among the top five globally in the sustainability index which measures our University's ability to tackle the world's greatest environmental and social challenges. Now this evening we'll be discussing our University's commitment to dismantling barriers to university Education. It is a theme that runs throughout our history. Our University traces its roots to and the establishment of a Manchester Mechanics Institution which was founded as part of a national movement for the education of workingclass men. And our commitment from the outset was as a secular institution a right to education regardless of religion or Belief. Subsequently we were one of the first UK universities to admit women to university study and so our roots are as a radically progressive institution committed to advancing equal opportunities and Education. Now years later those values are as important as they ever were and we can point to some of the Progress much progress we have made including through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion action plans for our staff and Students. But our ambition is to do so much more. Today students from disadvantaged backgrounds are still less likely to go to university. Those that do often need extra support to thrive whether it is financial or mentoring and the other support you need to learn the ropes in an unfamiliar setting if none of your family or peers have the experience of university to pass on. As the first University in the UK to make social responsibility a core strategic goal we want to remove these barriers to Education through our commitment to Widening participation. One in four of our students come from low-income backgrounds. And these students need help not only to meet costs but to feel they have the security to take risks and try new things as an integral part of the Manchester student experience. Our ambition is to support all of our students in realizing their potential to become well-rounded resilient graduates and leaders able to make a positive impact on the World. So today we strive to continue to develop equitable affordable student experiences and to provide access to career experiences that are truly Transformative. So to discuss this and More I'm delighted to introduce Professor April McMahon our Vice-president for Teaching Learning and Students. April will lead a panel discussion between our President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Iverson our alumna Naa Acquah and our current undergraduate student William McArthur. And they will talk through our University's commitment to supporting students from all backgrounds and how this value has run through our history and into our future. Thank you. [Applause] Hello everybody. I was just going to hop up there and then I thought a bad thing could happen if I try and get up there. I'll just go around and pop up the steps. So thank you for being patient while we did that very thing. And you are the brave and the bold who have got in from the snowy Hinterlands of Oxford Road and have made your way here this evening. And well done congratulations! I hope we are going to deliver and you will not regret that you have stayed for the later train. A d I'm sure we can promise you a really good discussion. It is after all just about the most important topic there could possibly be. How can we spot talent wherever it is? And how can we bring people in and support them to achieve to their potential? So just remind you Initially that whether you're in the hall or whether you are watching from the even snowier Hinterlands and therefore not joining us in person you can ask questions on 'Slido’ and the details are up there on the screen. So if you want to ask a question later please pop it into 'Slido’ and we will address as many of those as we can. If we can't address your question today we'll try to get back to you after the event. Let me introduce my colleagues the first of whom needs no introduction. I think you've blogged and vlogged with everybody in Manchester at this point. Spoken to everybody on the Oxford Road omnibus and reports back on what they think to SLT regularly. Professor Duncan Iverson is President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester. This is what your fourth month? Is that about right? That's right yeah. Month number four. Very good very good. Duncan completed his BA Honors in Political Science and Philosophy at McGill University in Montreal in Canada. So I'm loving the weather by the way. This is like...this is my happy place. You know my body hums at about minus one. So he did his Masters and his PhD in London at the LSE. He’s held academic positions and leadership positions at the Australian National University the University of York the University of Toronto and he joins us from years plus at the University of Sydney. And I am not managing to compute the weather reference given you lasted years there. Duncan has taught and published extensively across political and moral philosophy and he has a particular commitment to public engagement and building partnerships between universities community organizations industry and government. So welcome Duncan. Naa Acquah is an alumna of The University of Manchester. She is a proud South Londoner of Ganan Heritage and she joined the University in to read Religion and Theology. She did a semester abroad at the Nation National University of Singapore in and came back to hold positions in a range of different societies she was president of the Manchester Model United Nations Society for instance which I think prepared you well for what I'll say more about at the moment... in a moment which is your current career. She was elected as the first black woman to be General Secretary of The University of Manchester Students’ Union and she held that position for two terms so she was reelected in to and she graduated in with a master’s in International Relations with us. Once she had left Manchester now worked for an education charity dedicated to providing opportunities to young people. She helped them to develop employability skills and build their confidence that's close to our hearts at Manchester too as you know. And in Naa then joined the Civil Service Fast Stream and she now works in the Department of Health and Social Care leading on crisis management and planning for national security risks. So I'm hoping that's your happy place is that? Yeah. Naa is a trustee and vice-chair of The Kids Network which is a London-based charity with a mission to create new...new and meaningful community connections through mentoring to increase the resilience and the well-being of children aged to . And the charity works across London and matches young professionals with children in the local area for a -month mentoring program. And last but not least is Will. William McArthur who is a current student. We have a commitment to have student voice in everything we do Committees groups...and it turns out Panels as well. So welcome Will. Will's a final year student. He hails from Bolton in Greater Manchester and he's currently studying Management. That's accountancy and Finance in Will's case. And he has support from the Peter Roberts Scholarship. And he says “over the time I've been at Manchester I've learned so much both inside and outside of my course while simultaneously making great friends and lifelong memories”. So get yourself warm and at the same time get us in the mood for answering questions by giving them a big warm Manchester round of applause. Right it's only going to get better when you've all had the chance to actually say a thing. There will be more applause later. Let me start with some questions and then we'll pick up the 'Slido’ questions in a bit. So keep typing them in. Duncan we've got a huge legacy as The University of Manchester in terms of Invention original thought inclusivity social responibility... And at the moment you're taking all of that history and tradition that the University has and you're using it to try to help us and support us to configure our new strategy for ‘Manchester ’. What do you think student success and student inclusion are going to look like in ? Yeah that's a great great question. I guess one way I've tried to think about this question and... and put it to the colleagues here is thinking about not only the sort of the University we you know we want to be right? Desire is one Thing but also you know what's the University we need to be right? The sort of an objective sort of claim. could put it that way and I think... And one way I'm trying to come at this is What will the great st century universities look like? What do they need to be? And when I think about Students of course great st century universities will have students at the heart of what they are and who they are and what they do. And so students need to be at the heart of... of... of our University by .... But what does that mean? I mean I think in terms of student inclusion I think great st century universities are going to kind of harness their resources to address the great challenges of the future right? Whether it's in Social Care whether it's in Business and Finance... we have to in a sense I think our social license to operate is going to be tied to our ability to do that. So how do we prepare our students to be the leaders of the future? How do we prepare students to go out into a world defined by artificial Intelligence by geopolitical disruption by challenges um that our world will be facing by the environment and deep social disadvantage but also characterized by incredible opportunities? So student success is going to be for me that we will produce the great sort of leaders of tomorrow. But not just any kind of leader I mean a leader that has not just the sort of... you know... Has...has learned something. I mean content is important but more Importantly what kind of skills do they need? And this is I guess this strategic discussion we're having now. What kind of skills do we think our students...what... What... What will define student success in terms of the skills they acquire the character they're able to develop? So for example we're living in a very turbulent time. So we're thinking a lot about “how do we help our students have those really difficult conversations about hard issues on our campus? How do they develop their skills to be you know Thoughtful critical but also empathetic human beings? And how do they take that out into the community?” So for me the student success part is really Important. It's probably one of the most important things we'll do as an Institution. That's also tied to the research environment we provide them. So we're thinking a lot about that...and for me it's tied to them as fut...to you as future leaders right? Given the privilege of of that we all have in being here and then quickly on the... On the...on the sort of student inclusion Side well...we just simply will not solve the problems the world faces unless we open ourselves up to greater parts of our community than we do now. We just simply will not be able to tackle those Problems. You know for me I mean diversity and inclusion is not just a sort of...it's a moral principle but it's also a really practical one which is we're just not taking advantage of the extraordinary talent and perspectives and insight that our community brings to bear in those problems. So I think great st century universities will also be deeply porous open welcoming institutions as well. And you know that's... that's going to be a big challenge for us because universities we’re kind of born in a quite...uh well not... yeah... exclusive kinds of institutions. So how do we kind of crack that open? Thank you. One more for you Duncan if I may and then I'm coming in Will's direction. We as a University we... we put a major financial contribution every every year into student support. So you know over million pounds a year into scholarships and bursaries but we can't make the impact that we would really like to all on our own. So we're talking at the moment aren't we with...with friends supporters prospective and... and...and actual donors about supporting us on that journey. And part of that is through what we're calling the ‘student access and success fund’. Can you help us to understand what kind of impact we want that fund and that involvement of donors to make? Yeah I mean so sticking with the theme of sort of ‘great st century universities' I mean I think great universities are also great philanthropic organizations and... and that's about connecting the people who care passionately about you know the things we do with the support they can provide us in achieving our mission. And look I think the dream is no student should be prevented from coming to The University of Manchester on the basis of financial need. So my dream is that's entirely removed as a barrier to our University. I would love us to become the first British university or the first university in the UK that offered genuinely what they call ‘needs blind Support' for our students where you know finance is absolutely removed from the equation. Now we're not there yet but one really important step along that way is to build on the programs we have now including the ‘access program’. And we’ve had you know unbelievable uh support from many of our donors and partners to do that. But I think we you know a big challenge for us now is to articulate the importance of partnership in... In delivering this because there's only so... so much support government will be able to provide as much as we'd like them to provide more. I think students frankly to be a bit controversial are probably providing about right... right? or they're probably providing almost too much. We can have a debate about that. So... and the University as you said I mean almost million pounds. But how do we... how do we actually create an environment in which financial need is removed from an equation as to whether a student decides to come study with us. It should be based on you know... “do you have the ambition desire and potential?” rather than “oh yeah and also can I afford it?”. And you know that that has to do with living cost that has to do with accommodation it has to do with tuition obviously as well. So that's the dream. And I think you know the programs we have are a great start but we need to go you know much much further. Thank you very much. I think that's a an ambition we can get behind isn't it? Thank you very much. Will how did you get here? what was your journey to University? How have you ended up sitting up here in the fabulous but slightly bonkers surroundings of the Whitworth Hall? And how did the scholarship funding that that you've had help you with that? Yeah so as...as you mentioned before I'm from Bolton great to Manchester so not too far away. But I think my whole family is from Manchester and I remember... I think I attribute a lot of that success to them and always pushing me to do well in education. I remember my grandma who grew up literally five minute walkway in Moss Side on Clemont Road always talking about you know the University and the students walking up and down Oxford Road with the scarves when she was growing up. And she talked about she wishes she had the opportunity to be able to go to higher education. And I think that kind of spurred me on and give the ambition and the drive. And I was able to work hard and get good A-levels to come to University and I was you know as we was talking about before the dilemma in terms of finances I decided to take that leap of faith and was awarded the scholarship which massively helped me you know with financially coming to university. And I think some of the main things that It's helped me with is my internships which I've done at University providing accommodation and travel for those which you know allowed me to see what I wanted to do in my future career and really give me valuable experience. And I've actually been awarded a grad job which I don't think I would have got if I wouldn't have done those internships with the funding from the University. And as well I've started a Paddle Society. I'm on the committee of the Paddle Society. And I needed to get you know a coaching course and equipment and pay the fees... so I was able to do that on my scholarship. And you know it's something that I really enjoy and it's a service that we offer to students teaching them how to play paddle; offering them a place you know to come with their friends. And we've had great engagement from a lot of Spanish Egyptian students where it's you know big the sport’s big in that country. You know it's only growing in the UK but you know from students all over the... all over the world as well. And hopefully you know it's a great thing for them as well to be able to come and enjoy and play a sport that they like. Thanks so much. And what would you say the... the most important and you can have more than one because it's hard choosing between two or three but what do you reckon are the most important kinds of support you know services... kinds of support that the University is offering to students now? So I'd say as we was touching on before with the financial aspects and before coming to University but also whilst at University as we've seen since I've been at University the cost of living is skyrocketed and just to give an example my rent...my for... my halls has gone up. In private accommodation renting houses has gone up pounds... from pounds a week to pounds a week in the last two years which is over pounds a year which as a student you know doesn't have much money you know it's hard to pluck pounds out of thin air. So I think the ‘cost of living support’ and the bursaries really enable students who are already here you know to help them with the increased cost of living. And I think the alternatives are you know working in bars... which you know working alongside studies is...it offers great experience but when it's hindering your studies you know there's a lot of bars stay open til late and a lot of students that is the only kind of job available. It can... it can hinder study. So I think that the... the ‘cost of living support’ offered and the bursaries really you know... improving inclusion as well. And I would say for me personally I think the alumni support network I mean as someone who come to University I didn't really know exactly what I wanted to do and to be fair it wasn't something that I perhaps thought of when I come to University and speaking to alumni and I think the opportunity to be able to you know go into such a prestigious university with such great alumni and being able to speak to them and you know going into a career in audit being able to speak to people who've worked years in audit is invaluable experience. And the career service that the University offers with practice with interviews etc. I think for me and my friends you know that I've spoken to it's really help them to get jobs and you know help them to push forward in their career after university. Thank you thank you very much. Big shout out for the Career Services there. We'll hang on to that one. Thank you. Now does that sound familiar? Are there touch points for you with what Will's describing from your own experience here? Yeah definitely. For me I think the opportunity to experience other things outside of just your degree was a big thing. So for me for example you mentioned I took a semester abroad to University of Singapore. That's one of the reasons I came to Manchester was the opportunity to go and experience something else. I couldn't afford to take a gap here. I was in the year of between and fees and when you have that choice you take your £ fees and go. And so the opportunity to go somewhere else experience a new culture meet incredible friends take a new lens of my degree... And it was Religion Theology or a South Southeast Asian Politics and Religion and it just opened my world up to all these opportunities. And with all those things I was given money to do so supported through the process and I think being able to do that really makes a difference to your...to your horizon. And I I kind of think about Singapore as a really great gateway to then coming back and experiencing the University. Because I would say in my first year I wasn't... I wasn't really doing that much. I was experiencing it but I wasn't necessarily tapping into all the opportunities that there were and then from second year that Singapore experience then was able to do so which probably led me down the path of doing Model United Nations and then going into the Union and then being like “ah I'll run for General Secretary”. And so actually all those sorts of steps the opportunity to be able to try something new in a safe environment with the support that if it doesn't work out you don't like it that's okay you can try something else I think is really really Important. So that sort of...the things that William has spoken about I think really do resonate. I do think finances will always be a thing for students. It’s expensive to live and actually cost of Living's only going up and up. And the way in which you can financially support someone to have the choices to think “actually I might not take this shift today because I can...I need to you know do some more revision I need to be actually be able to go to my Society event” is a really big thing that actually we don't necessarily see the value of in the moment. But looking back it really makes such a difference. So I definitely think those things from years apart really still resonate with me. So let me take you back those years. So you were the first to be General Secretary of the Students’ Union. That's... that's Union Affairs Officer in today's money if we've got any Student Union folks out there. But you did that for two terms. What were the big things you were campaigning for for students? And do you feel this is dangerous territory now? Do you feel we've looked after your legacy since then? I think so. So the first big thing I actually I was thinking about it and I went back and I actually read my manifesto and looked at the videos to be like “what... what were the... what were the key issues?” I think the first one was Bursaries and actually it was about master's bursaries. So at that time there was... It was a very... it was a very hard threshold to actually receive any funding as a master’s student. And of course it was...you had to pay for it but actually there was an element around just because someone wants to do a masters doesn't mean... and it's a choice but it doesn't mean that you should be excluded from doing so. And so getting some funding and sort of the first...sort of next wave of master's bursaries was one of the things that was really important. And so I I think through the ‘access fund’ that still happens which is great. So that is legacy keeping which I'm happy to see. But also I think it's about the opportunities on the campus. So I was in... General Secretary at the time of a lot of campus redevelopment. The Students’ Union was a completely different building to what it is now the new sort of Rothwell building which I've just seen which looks fantastic but all just I guess concepts at the time and being able to see how that space can be used to influence and support you...students to be able to put on their society events and do all those things I think is a really really important investment and it's really nice to see that that's continued and flourished. And the final thing for me that was really important at that time was actually about Accessible fair part-time work because you do want to be able to make extra money but also the skills that you get from part-time work. To be able to manage someone take your shifts... you know all the different things I learned how to be able to get up early like I’d start my Students’ Union shift at the cafe at am and like I would get myself up and go and know the night before that I need to come home at a certain time and that's... that's important. That's getting you ready for the world of work. I have to do it now. And I think being able to have a really good part-time job was really important at that time. I was really lucky. It was a Students’ Union. it was a living wage employer. But not every student was having that. So being able to have that shop that one place where you know these are good quality jobs was really important and I think that's continued as well. So I'm happy to see that. Thank you very much. Now you've mentioned quite a number of times the importance of societies. Yeah. And...And I wonder if you... you might just reflect briefly on how those have helped set you up for the things that you've... you're doing now. Because often we hear from students “so I should just concentrate on my degree” and we're always saying "no no do other things as well” For me societies was... being involved in societies transformed my career and the life that I sort oflive now. So I joined Model United Nations for those of you who may not know about the society we mock the model... we mock the UN. We all go as countries and... and sort of debate it and I joined it from being in Singapore because I'd never really known about it. It wasn't... I didn't do in school. I didn't have a clue what it was. And it's bigger in the States and in other countries. And...I just it was the most incredible experience. We would fund raise get money towards it and I went to Brussels to do mock United Nations. I went to the UN and New York. I went I went places I probably never would have. And so now I work in government and I look at international treaties and I think about the World Health Organization and what are we doing in those spaces. And I understand the lingo I understand the workings of it. We were able to make Relationships. So going out there and meeting people from around the world and delegating with them on this treaty and it’s... you know it's mock but the skills that we learned have carried on in all our lives. And I can say that not just for myself but all those who I did the society with um to carry on and do that. I guess the second part for me was without Model UN I would not have run for General Secretary. There's no two ways about it. I felt able to take up leadership roles because I’d been the president of the society and had to organize things and have your committee and bring people together. And without that experience I don't think I would have run for the role which then led me to understand a lot more about governance. You get really involved into the University governance and actually being a... being a governor of the University all those bits means that I've carried on being a trustee and doing all those sorts of roles throughout my life because I've had the taste of it. And so I think those are really key in thinking about how I've shaped my career going forward and the areas of work that I've got myself into. It's that I guess a little bit of confidence of “I think I understand how to navigate this a bit more” and without those experiences I'm not sure if I would have done it in the same way. So I was in the Model UN as well. Model UN is everywhere. I still remember I was... so I was...I was a delegation leader for Chad. Okay.....and Iran. That was quite interesting actually yeah. So the secretive successes is Model UN. Anyway there you go. It is. It is. So I'll ask you all this actually but I'll ask Will and Naa first. What do you think students need the University to do more of? What... what... what is it that we could do that we're not doing or not doing enough of now? Yeah I'll go first. So as we was touching I think the University offers great you know for... support to Students. But I think one thing that I've noticed this year with doing the Paddle Society and getting involved in the sports is that a lot of students Especially you know with the cost of living crisis is finding... finding it harder to pay for the sports memberships and we've had to change the pay system to ‘pay as you go’ into... in order to account for this. And so I think that you know sports offers great great things for students outside of the degree as we were speaking about you know for physical mental health to meet friends and break down barriers. I think it's very important that you know Manchester being a a great sporting city as well that the University kind of pushes this. I think that you know something that it can do is the campus leagues which are free and also you know you don't have to be... I mean you've got the top sports teams you have to be like a certain... you know you have to go through trials etc. but you can just turn up to the campus league and play with your friends. And I think that the organization and marketing of this the... the football they do it well in football. But I think in other sports and to you know really get that going and create a place where people can go and enjoy themselves with their friends and you know make new friends and enjoy sports. I think that's...yeah. Football in Manchester who knew! [Laughter] For me and I think it was... will always be something that's an issue is supporting students more of their Health mental health and wellbeing. So Will was mentioning about this sport physical side but I think in this country we do have a mental health crisis. The systems are not there. I work at the Department of Health and Social Care. I can say it openly our mental health system is not where it needs to be. And so as you're going through a very turbulent time in your life university all these things if the University can really support with mental health and wellbeing it will set students up for... as they go into the working... into work and into different... different aspects of their life. And because unfortunately the system isn't really there the more that can be put into them now I think we will pay dividends going forward. So if that was an area... I'm sure there's work happening on it but even more so. I think it should continue even more so. Thank you. Duncan. Yeah I mean I think it's my job to just listen to... to those tonight but I mean just building on Naa and Will's point I mean I do think I mean I'm quite interested in that challenge of mental wellbeing because we tend to think of mental health in the crisis phase which is completely appropriate but I'm quite interested in this idea of you know mental health as something we sort of think about in terms of how we construct our programs and our curricula and our life on campus. And you know I said earlier I think one of the big challenges of our time is “how do we get people speaking across difference?” there's just so much shouting in our culture. There's a lot of anger and hurt in our culture for all kinds of complicated and important reasons. But if universities can't be the places where students learn how to navigate those difficult issues then who... where else right? Where else can it happen? So I’m really interested in how does the University and I think there something we need...do need to do better how do we think about providing our students with the opportunities the skills the place to experiment and fail safely that you know sets them up for success in life but also sets... sets them up to be great leaders who can actually change the world for the better when they leave us. So that's I mean I really think that's something...I think that's a really exciting agenda and I I'd love Manchester to... to really lead in not just in the UK in the world because universities are struggling with this right now. And Naa you're right I think young people are struggling. And I think we've got to really work together to address that. So last question from me and then it's your turn and we will... we will come to you and see if you want to ask a question in the room or...or if you've already fed some questions in on 'Slido’. All of our Talk bicentenary lectures and podcasts have asked panels and participants the same question. So I'm not going to let down the side on the last event. And it is this what do you hope that our third century as a university will bring in this area of student success and opening ourselves up to students from all different backgrounds? Who wants to start? Free for all this time. I’ve been thinking a lot about this question and I think there's a few things. I think the first thing for me is the... for students we're in a different... It's a different time. I know everyone says that but for example AI wasn't as big it was there but it wasn't as big as it is now. And you think about how that's entering into the workplace. So really giving students the skills and this... that they need as they enter this next phase of our society. So digital skills they've changed when... when I was at University the sort of computer programming not... it's obviously very important but that was like the big thing and actually now there's a whole new shift in that sector. How can we give everyone the skills that they need to navigate that? and then really even broader experiences. The world is global this University is global. How can you push that even further so everyone truly has a globalized experience while they're in Manchester? I think is the next step I think for the third century. Thank you. Yeah I think...I think touching on what Duncan mentioned before about ensuring that you know we're trying to aim that The University of Manchester that students aren't held back through financial you know financial situations. I think that in kind of a time when people are worried about the increase in tuition fees etc. I think the universities you know offer a place where students can excel and you know really come on as people both inside the course and outside of their course. And I think that's a valuable asset to society and to you know people who need it. And I think that to ensure that that... that role is always there in society on behalf of universities and The University of Manchester is...is crucial. Thank you. Duncan. I mean everything they said and maybe one more thing. I mean I do think you know student success in the future will be defined in part by our students leaving here being committed to learning for the rest of their lives. It sounds slightly paradoxical right? You come to university to learn you know to learn something specific but I think the most powerful thing you can give another human being is the gift of wanting to continue to learn right? That... that...that is such a powerful thing. So how do we give our students that desire to keep learning? and keep them connected to the University so we can help them keep learning in a whole range of ways wherever they are in the world wherever they are in society. So among all the other wonderful things that Naa and Will have mentioned I think that that desire to keep learning and to be an advocate for learning and to be an advocate for a world in which understanding and listening and conversation are the sort of defining values that they take into their workplace or into their families or into their... into their relationships. I think that's what student success has to look like in part. Well if we are delivering all that we are winning I reckon especially by which is our new saliant date. But what would you like to ask our panel? We have a microphone I do believe. And here it comes. We're borrowing Will’s as well but Naa and Will are going to share in a very equitable manner. So who's first? Please. David Denning. I'm in Medicine and Biological Sciences. So focusing on the success part rather than the access part which I...they're...they're intertwined but the success bit... one of the things that we in the courses is that many students have to do projects as you know. They have to do a project and then they get a mark on their project. So one of the things I've really focused on is trying to take some of those projects and publish them make them into papers. And that has lots of benefits because it has a benefit for the student because they can put it on their CV. It has a learning process of actually going through that process of not just writing my words but taking my words and making them two and a half thousand words but delivering the same message. And it has the benefit for the world of having filling gaps of literature because we choose some things. So I would...and I think it's...so one of the students who did that one of the medical students is now academic track it's St George is in London. Another student has gone back and has got a job at the National Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Another one the one that I'm currently working on is a Nigerian medical background... medical student British who's...we've teamed her up with a Thai master student and two external people from Brazil so it'll be an international publication... so really trying to tie people in and make...make this thing happen. But it doesn't happen in the time frame of the project usually. It takes longer than that. So it's a commitment by me and the student to do that. And I think the University could support that by...in when you have to nominate you get these emails saying “choose your project you've got to choose titles for your project”. Fine. But they thinking “if I choose a project which could be publishable that would be great”. And so that could go on that message is...can... “are these projects going to be publishable?” and then in the performance evaluation “how many of your student projects got published?” which would be another piece of encouraging people to do that. And I realized that some subjects like Audit which Will is doing isn't suitable for that so I'm not... It doesn't apply to everything but it does apply to a lot of what we do I think. Thank you. Now you're in Duncan's happy place here because you're very interested in projects with a kind of practical application. Yeah I mean I'm interested in what Naa and Will think of this but I mean I think I'm really keen that we have a serious discussion about experiential learning. Although I learned an even more elegant way of putting it in a town hall I did yesterday ‘learning in service’ which I think is a lovely way of putting it actually. A colleague...colleague in your Faculty suggested that to me. So I'm a big fan of that and I think we can link our...our commitment to social responsibility to this concept of ‘learning through service’ including when... when students have a chance to do a project when students have a chance to do volunteering when they go on exchange when they go into the workplace as part of their program or as part of their activity how do we embed that in the curriculum right? Not just as something that they do extra something that is Available which is great right? the fact that it's available but how do we embed that in the curriculum? and then how... How do we help our students then in a sense translate that into something that they... they can then take with them after they've left us. Whether that's the experience of actually what it's like to publish a paper whether the experience of taking an abstract idea and standing up and explaining it to your fellow co-workers whether it's navigating your Way you know through an experience in the field...I think that.... but the crucial thing is we have to not only give them that experience and that opportunity but then give them the chance to reflect on it “what did I learn? how does this help me understand the concepts I'm acquiring in the course of my studies and that then I'll take into the workplace?”. So I think it's a great... great challenge for us. Thank you. Now I'm going to try and squish in some more questions. We've got your neighbor sir has got...has got a question. And then in front and then I've got one over here and then we'll see how we're doing. I'm getting the nod. Good. Off you go. Hi. So I think a lot of what you talked about sort of covered once you get into University how do we provide that support? but I think what's as equally as important is getting people here in the first place and I think there's a risk that sort of if you work hard you grew up on a Fring years of say tamide old and Rochdale and you managed to get here there's a risk that you sort of get here and then almost feel out of place in your own city. So I suppose my question would be do you think we're doing enough to get young talented people from Greater Manchester here? and if not how do we improve that? It's like University Challenge. It’s like nominate Will! Yeah I think... I think I'm probably best suited to this question. Yeah and I'd say... No it's a good...it's a good point and I think that you know perhaps sometimes you do feel a bit out of place but I think that you know it's obviously a diverse University with lots of different people and it's a large place as well. But I think that Perhaps you know with so many differences you know it's important to embrace them. And you know to work together and to you know make sure Everyone feels included. And I think the... with the Manchester Access Programme I believe which I'm...I'm not on personally but in you know that kind of directly to your point. That kind of embraces people from the local areas and is focused at getting people from Greater Manchester into the University. And you know I've met a lot of people from that programme. And it is... It is nice to see you know people from the same kind of background as you and quite homely but I think...yeah I mean the University as well needs to... you know work on including everyone and make sure everyone feels at home. So yeah. Brilliant thank you. Front row. Thank you April. I'm going to go to Naa. So you've had one each. I'm Jackie Carter. I'm the University's EDI Disability Academic Lead but I also... the other half of my job is about developing relationships between Academia and the workplace and giving students the opportunity to practice their skills in the workplace. And we find that by doing that it opens doors to the future for them. So now my question really relates to your point about mental health and poor mental health in the student population at the University and across the sector across the UK as a whole and I'm wondering to what extent thinking about the other... the other end of Education when people graduate and our alumni body who we are you know really proud of whether or not you have any thoughts about how we could more efficiently and...improve our collaboration with alumni so that we can tackle some of those issues pertaining to the mental health? and I say that because I have a bit of a bug bear about making students more resilient when actually they don't need to be more resilient they just need to recognize that what they have is skills that they can then use in the workplace and that can help them with mental health. So how can we better connect with our great alumni across all different subjects to really support our students while they're here? Thank you that's a really fantastic question. I think there's firstly there is a such a... such a great range of skills in the alumni community which are being tapped into I've still maintained very close to University even though it's been several years but I do think there's more that can be done and actually at the moment is focused on employability so come to my workplace we'll do an internship... which is really great but actually maybe there's that long-term mentoring that's sort of you're my buddy that we can go through and it doesn't matter if you're in the same industry as me that we're someone who is connected by our interest we both did Model United Nations or we're really interested in football that you can have someone that you can talk through some of those issues. That actually isn't that very close that aren't... that aren't necessarily related to you and I'll relate this to the charity that I'm a trustee of. It’s what we're doing with children who are to who are match with someone who is a mentor. They're not their family they're not a social worker they're not related to them in any way that they can just talk to you and work through things and build their... build their ability to just be open and actually we have got the ability to do that with the student population and alumni. So maybe that's something that could be utilized more and... and thought through because I do think you're completely right. It’s not necessarily about resilience but also mental health is a long lifelong thing. So when you enter the workplace that also is something that may... that will wear up with different stresses and if you have got someone who's in your corner in a different way that you can talk to I think that does make a really big difference. So I would say that’d would be a fantastic program and maybe something the University may want to invest in... in time because I know there'll be loads of alumni who would want to do so. Thank you that's really helpful. Thank you both. Now I've got someone over here who caught my eye but then can we squeeze in a 'Slido’ question? Just one. I'm...I'm checking with our illustrious organizer here because I'm conscious of our online audience as well but I also know that time is passing so... Your question please. Good evening panel. Thanks for the debate. Callum Mcau here. Graduated in . I work in Technology. I do some giving back as a trustee and I've just been elected to the General Assembly so looking forward to picking that up in January. My question is about funding. So there was an early discussion on the increasing the pot available to those who need it. What's the core strategy to drive that pot to an even bigger higher place? Philanthropy. That's our core strategy. So I think that's going to going to be a really critical part of our future really. You know Manchester was born of ex...of in... An extraordinary gift that the city really created the University out of and I think it's sort of deep in our DNA but the question is “what does it mean for the next century?”. And as I said earlier we need to become a great philanthropic organization. And you know we're having fantastic conversations with our... with our supporters and having new conversations with people who care about the same things we do. There is a lot of passion in the community and beyond not only amongst our alumni for... as I said earlier really cracking open higher education to new communities of students and of all ages not only young people but of all ages and I think we have an opportunity to respond to that and... and to connect with people who share our passion for doing that. so I think Philanthropy is one of the most important things we need to do over the next decade and... and really do it in a very purposeful and ambitious way. Thank you so much. Right. The power down the front here to choose the 'Slido’ question that we're going to... that we're going to answer. Off you go. Thank you everyone. We've had some great questions this evening. It was hard to pick. Could we ask all of the panel how can the University ensure that all students graduate with the same opportunities maximizing their time here enhancing their employability no matter what their background? Who wants to have the first go? I'll go for it. I think the first thing is the minute you enter the University creating a bit of a plan because for everyone that's going to be different. For some actually really hunkering down on their studies and being like you know “I'm going on the PhD's track that's what I want to do” may... will be really important and so actually maybe equipping students with the ability to explore the things but also having a plan for themselves that's personalized because then... then you know the opportunities at you that are available for you. So being able to think “well I have a kind of idea of I want to enter I don't know International Politics”. Here are all the different societies your course the different modules that you can do that... that are available to you and letting someone pick and go through them and... and be supported in mapping out their own journey. Because I do think there's an element of also picking it for yourself. If someone else does it for you it will never feel authentic. So the tools that the University can give to be able to create that journey for someone bespoke as they want it to be I think would be a fantastic way to create that equity. Yeah. I think that you know sometimes when you're at University deciding what you want to do after is quite daunting. But I think you know the University enabling people to do that as early as possible I think can really benefit people and creating you know systems in place to try and encourage people to get involved. Because I think that a lot of pe... you know I know people who you know I'm friends with at University kind of put it away because it is so daunting which I think if the University you know encourages people and makes it perhaps less daunting and eases them into you know looking at the future options I think that will really enable people to you know get... get a more equal opportunity after university and to experience things whilst studying here. That can enable them to go on to great things afterwards. Yeah again everything they said plus as I said earlier I do think this is where lifting our ambition around you know ‘learning through service’ or ‘service learning’ can be very powerful because not all students arrive with the same social capital. I mean some students arrive and have the connections already to get a job or in the summer break go off somewhere and learn something new. So how do we democratize those experiences for our... for our students? And I think the more we're able to offer that embedded experience in the curricula that every Student in a sense has a right to have access to in coming into the University the more likely they are to leave University ready for whether it's the Workforce for more study for... for caring whatever it is I think that’s... that's probably a better way to... to try and provide more opportunities for our students than we currently are. So everything they said and I would only add the best thing that students can do to help us to help them is to tell us. Is there something you need? So often we come across students who you would objectively say there's something that we could really help you with but they're not asking for that help. So if you or... or anyone that you are... are studying with is... is needing a bit of support whether it's careers's advice whether it's money whether it's getting out and about a bit more or whether you don't really know but you feel as if you could do better if you had a bit more Confidence or contact with others come and let us know. And that's the best way that we can help. And I don't think that's a bad last word. So...but more importantly thank you to our amazing panel. Thank you so much. [Applause] And I'll... I'll hand you back to our host. Thank you. So thank you so much for sharing your experiences your reflections your ideas and for the great questions. I know we've only had a sample of them about what we can do to continue to take our ambition forward. Very...very very inspiring and energizing. Let me say a little bit about the Access and Success Fund which the panel has touched on. Four and a half thousand students have benefited from this fund this year. That's double the number that we were able to support a year ago. And that’s roughly one in ten of our students. So I'd like to set an interim target that we need to get to one in four pretty quick. That's the first goal. The fund has enabled us to support students in a range of ways. It's provided scholarship support for undergraduates. It's emergency financial support for those who've needed it during their studies and we've heard about the inflation hike; a Digital Equity Fund to ensure all students are able to access online resources and the Global Graduates Program which has given some students a life-changing opportunity to network with alumini professionals worldwide. That's just a range of the things that we've been able to do but we've had suggestions for so much more we could do. All of this has only been possible through donations and support from our alumni our staff and our friends. So if you'd like to learn more about how to support you can find out on... online or you can find April Duncan myself members of our Alumni and Philanthropy team as you join us I hope for some drinks and canapes at the back of a hall. So thank you so much for joining us thank you those of you are online and we hope to see you on campus soon. [Applause] So don't be shy rush to the back of the hall. Thank you. To stay up to date with everything Talk 200 be sure to follow and subscribe to the series on the podcast casting platform of your choice. Head to manchester.ac.uk/ to find out more about this series and all the activity taking place across our bicentenary year including our free Festival ‘University Manchester’ from the th to the th of June. Use the hashtag #UoM to engage with Talk and our wider bicentenary celebrations on social media. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Talk 200 a University of Manchester series. Until next time. [Music]