The money will be used to expand Manchester University’s volunteer training programme for the long-term unemployed.
The purpose of the volunteer programme is to “get people back into work”.

University spokesman, Tim Manley says the programme will help the ill, disabled and long-term unemployed develop their “people and communication skills” as part of the University’s 2015 vision commitment to community outreach.

Whilst many students do volunteer for the museum and galleries, the core of the Partnership’s 150 volunteers are members of the local community. Often, these people are disadvantaged through disability or a lack of job history.

Recruiting more volunteers will make galleries more accessible through tours and visitor interaction and forms part the Manchester 2015 vision of increasing University attractions visitor numbers to 1 million per year. Currently the Partnership receives 850,000 visitors a year.

Dame Nancy Rothwell has praised ACE’s Renaissance Major Partners scheme for recognizing the “regional and national excellence” of The Manchester Museums Partnership, recipients of the grant.

The money will be shared between The Manchester Museum, The Whitworth Gallery and Manchester City Galleries, which comprise the partnership. This investment is particularly significant against a backdrop of major cutbacks to arts and culture funding. Only 16 of the 29 organisations that applied won grants.

Yet Manley was keen to emphasise that “it’s not all new money”. Some of the grant comes from funds already promised to regional museums under the soon to be defunct Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

Any museums that missed out on this three-year stream will receive a single year of transitional funding before central government support is cut off for good.

This change forms part of the government’s quango cutback, and includes a reduction in the amount of money available, which now stands at £20 million. The biggest loser in this policy is Museums Sheffield, which has described as being “bitterly disappointed” at the news by its Chief Executive, Nick Dodds.

Manchester’s sum, yet to be finalised, has already been allocated to salaries for staff supporting access to more of the collections held by the partnership.

Besides the volunteer programme, two other accessibility and outreach programmes include a sensory programme to interest babies in art and arts lessons and tours for older people.

The coalition government’s decision to raise fees to £9,000 last year led to a series of violent clashes between police and students, while Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was called a “hypocrite” after he decided to support the policy.

Ucas figures published last week show that the number of UK applicants fell by just 3.6 percent, a drop of only 8,500 people. The total number of applicants, including EU national and foreign students, was down by 8.7 percent.

The news will be a welcome boost to the government, who last year were warned by organizations like the National Union of Students that the decision to triple fees would have a disastrous impact on social mobility.

“Our analysis shows that decreases in demand are slightly larger in more advantaged groups than in the disadvantaged groups,” said the chief executive of Ucas, Mary Curnock Cook.

“Widely expressed concerns about recent changes in HE [higher education] funding arrangements having a disproportionate effect on more disadvantaged groups are not borne out by these data.”

Wendy Piatt, the director general of the Russell Group, which represents the top research universities in the country, stated that the Ucas figures proved that demand for high education remained strong despite fee changes.

“Demand for higher education is not only strong – it’s actually rising over the long term. This year 540,073 prospective students have applied, which is 16% more than the 464,167 who applied just three years ago in 2009,” she told The Guardian.

“More than half a million potential students have rightly recognised the benefits of going to university. Prospective students know a good degree remains a smart investment.

“It’s not surprising the number of applications is lower than last year, but there are a number of reasons for that. Demographic changes mean there are fewer 18-year-olds in 2012 than in 2011 and we also know there was a peak in applications last year as fewer people chose to take gap years.”

But there were some individuals who chose to treat the figures with more trepidation. Nicola Dandridge, Universities UK’s chief executive, said that more research needed to be carried out to assess the true impact of fee changes.

“We will have to look now in more detail at whether students from certain backgrounds have been deterred more than others,” she said, adding.

“We will continue monitoring the impact of the new system on students and specific subjects.”

Liam Burns, President of the NUS was similarly skeptical.

“At a time when jobs are in short supply and youth unemployment has increased dramatically, the full impact of the Government’s changes to higher education funding cannot be fully understood until we know which groups of students have applied and been accepted to particular types of university,” he argued.

Burns also alluded to the fact the number of mature students applying for university decreased dramatically compared to last year. In total, the number of over-30s applying to universities was down by more than 3,000 compared to last year.

Gayle served as Local Party Support Co-ordinator for the Green Party from September 2010 to December 2011 and was involved with a variety of green campaigns in Manchester, including the Save Hasty Lane campaign opposing the expansion of Manchester Airport.

She was the co-founder of “Call to Real Action,” which aims to reduce Manchester’s carbon emissions and prepare for the changes climate change will bring and the co-ordinator of BRiM (Bike Recycle Initiative Manchester) which supports people in Manchester becoming confident cyclists and stops bikes going into landfills.

She played a key role in helping Salford Green Party set up independently.

Anne Power, Membership Secretary of Manchester Green Party described Gayle as: “clearly a dynamic person, attracting people and invigorating them.” Her presence at Green Party meetings and Climate Change events was always accompanied by “laughter and serious debate.”

Gayle’s campaign to be Manchester’s Green Party MP stated that she was concerned about Manchester’s “traffic congestion, the lack of quality green spaces and the low level crime currently blighting the community.”

She believed that Manchester needed: “more investment in neighborhood policing, far better provision for youth activities, and more social health resources.”

Power states: “The Green Party and environmental movement have lost a powerful activist and I personally have lost an amazing friend.”

The funeral took place on Wednesday in Gayle’s hometown of Limerick.

The National Union of Students (NUS) attacked the firm for its “predatory” attempts to attract students to its lending service.

The company, which offers small loans designed to be taken out over short periods of time, had suggested its loans may have advantages over official student loans.

For example, the site used to read, “When your mates tell you about finding a deal on plane tickets to the Canary Islands, you’ve got some options. Maybe you don’t have the money to pay for the whole thing now, but you will when you get your wages at the end of the week. Enter, Wonga!”

However, the page in question failed to mention that it charges an annual interest rate of 4,214%, while the current student loan rate is just 1.5%.

NUS vice-president, Pete Mercer, said, “It is highly irresponsible of any company to suggest to students that high-cost short-term loans be a part of their everyday financial planning.

“Students should think long and hard before choosing payday loans over any other form of borrowing, including government-backed student loans.

”If students are struggling to make ends meet there is often other support available, and anyone worried about their finances should talk to their students’ union or financial advisers at their university.”

The Wonga website now features an apology in place of the offer, which states that, “We took [the page] down because we do not actively target students as potential customers and we wanted to clear up any confusion about that.”

The company states that, “The main purpose of the content was search engine optimisation, or ‘SEO,’ which is a common practice for any internet business that wants to appear in searches for relevant subjects.”

Despite the negative publicity surrounding payday loan firms, the Office of Fair Trading has said that they should not have their interest charges restricted.

In a recent review of high-cost credit, they concluded that they provide a useful service for some people who would not otherwise be able to borrow legitimately and who might thus be forced to borrow from illegal loan sharks.
Wonga says that its loans are still available to students who have a source of regular income.

Turing is widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. He worked as one of the Bletchley Park cryptanalysts who cracked the Enigma code during World War Two, but was chemically castrated following charges of ‘gross indecency’ with another man.

He committed suicide two years later.

John Leech, MP for Manchester Withington, submitted the Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for Turing’s pardon. Speaking last week, Mr. Leech said that, “Alan Turing was a Manchester hero and a national hero. He helped shorten the war and then was persecuted by the state for his sexuality.”

However, questions remain over what the EDM will achieve. The motion will have no legislative effect and merely reflects the opinions of MPs. As one of parliament’s most prolific proposers, John Leech will know that most EDMs never make it to a debate.

Mr. Leech was unavailable to respond to questions regarding what practical effect his efforts would have or how else he intends to achieve a pardon for Turing.

The call for a pardon follows an apology issued in 2009 by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

No refunds will be offered for the £15 hoodies but CCS members are being given the opportunity to have them swapped for corrected replacements.

Chris Hyde, the chair of the society, admits that “neither the printing company nor the CCS can offer any form of guarantee on what quality the correction will be” and that “effectiveness… on different coloured hoodies may vary.”

Some members have reacted angrily. First year Civil Engineering student Ash Walker said: “I don’t feel its right that for their mistake, we’re being laden with a poor quality ‘make-do’ second best option.”

CCS maintain that this was a mistake beyond their control and blame the third party company involved with “image improvement”. Hyde insists that the spelling he passed on was the correct one, but that all legal avenues were exhausted in attempting to recoup the money lost.

Both the third party and the printing company claim they are not contractually obliged to reimburse the society’s members and are refusing to do so.

A total of 134 hoodies were sold, and Hyde says the corrected replacements are coming at “a considerable cost to the CCS.”

Societies receive funding from the Student Union, but Activities Officer Amaya Dent refused to disclose the amount of money lost, fearing the sum would reflect badly on the society.

Council planners rejected the application for the multi-million pound facility amid concerns over the size and location of a staff car park and building on Withington Green – a small grassy area used by people living nearby.

Around 150 campaigners turned out to greet members of the council’s planning committee when they visited the area before the meeting last month.

Locals claim that the structure would have clogged up the currently quiet residential roads with traffic.

Plans to replace the structure with a smaller, single story car park are now being considered.

Campaigners have presented hospital officials with an alternative car park design in the past, but the idea was deemed unacceptable.

A spokesman for the Christie Hospital said that representatives have met with the architect behind the alternative design three times, but that on the third meeting it was acknowledged that the proposal did not meet the requirements of the brief.

“The capacity for the car park has been calculated to re-provide the existing car parking and provide extra car parking required for future needs. We are taking a prolonged approach: provision of a realistic level of car parking allied with initiatives to reduce demand.”

However, Withington councilor Chris Paul argued that the current plans are excessive.

He said, “Residents don’t want a 750-place staff car parking among homes. The Wilmslow Road junction is often clogged anyway. There are two primary schools. Christie must get staff on bikes busses and trams, and living locally so they can walk. Cars are a health risk here.”

The Christie is the largest cancer treatment centre of its kind in Europe and an international leader in research and development. It registers 12,500 new patients and treats about 40,000 patients every year.

The hospital is attempting to expand further in order to become one of the largest clinical trials units in the world.

Director of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) Professor Nic Jones said that, “The Manchester Cancer Research Centre partners remain committed to working with the City Council and stakeholders to enable us to provide the vital facilities needed to continue our world-renowned cancer research.”

Having obtained a snapshot of the university’s investment portfolio following a Freedom of Information request, The Mancunion found that the University has a total of 738,166 shares in BP PLC; managed by the asset management firm BlackRock and Franklin Templeton Institutional, respectively.

BP were heavily implicated in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 in which 11 men died and around 4.9 million barrels of oil were leaked into the ocean. Greenpeace USA has described the spill as the “the worst environmental disaster in the history of our continent.”

The university also has a total of 230, 720 shares in the oil and gas company BG Group, 17,800 shares in state-owned Russian energy corporation Gazprom and, notably, 15,870 shares United States firm Halliburton; a company which BP accused of being partly to blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

Such investments contradict The University of Manchester’s own ‘Policy for Socially Responsible Investment’.

The policy “was agreed by the Finance Committee and the Board of Governors, which has Students’ Union representation”, and was described by a university spokesperson as “guiding our investment strategy”’.

It states that Manchester’s investment policy should be concerned with “issues of human rights, the remediation of poverty, freedom from economic and workplace exploitation and environmental sustainability”. The policy also commits the university to: “making investment decisions on the basis of specific social, ethical and environmental criteria.”

In 2010, Tyler Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, claimed that BP had the worst safety record of any oil company operating in the United States and had “paid $485 million in fines and settlements to the US government for environmental crimes, willful neglect of worker safety rules, and penalties for manipulating energy markets.”

Royal Dutch Shell, in which the university has 137,962 shares, has also courted controversy in recent times.

In November 2011 human rights groups including Amnesty International stated that following the companies failure to clean up after two oil spills in the region of Ogoniland, in south-east Nigeria, “Shell must commit to pay an initial $1 billion to begin the clean-up of pollution caused by oil spills in the Niger Delta.”

An independent estimate stated that as much as 4,000 barrels a day were leaked from the Trans-Niger pipeline for between four and ten weeks in 2008; causing widespread devastation in a region where, according to the Un Development Program “more than 60 percent of people depend on the natural environment for their livelihood”.

It also emerged that before Amnesty’s demand that they pay $1 billion to help clean-up the Ogoniland region, Shell offered the Bodo community, which had been severely affected by the spill, “just 50 bags of rice, beans, sugar and tomatoes as relief for the disaster.”

Speaking to The Mancunion, Amnesty International UK Economic Relations Programme Director, Peter Frankental urged Manchester University “to engage in dialogue with Shell on this issue and reiterate the call to clean up its act”.

Damian Cross of Manchester Friends of the Earth took the opportunity of talking to The Mancunion to sharply criticise Manchester’s investment policy.

“By investing in carbon-intensive oil and gas, Manchester University is leading us further along the path to dangerous, irreversible climate change,” he said.

David Mottram, Secretary of Manchester Green Party, said that it was clear from the university’s investment policy that the institution should not be investing in BP. Mr Mottram went on to say that the university should take a look at how its investment policy is decided.

“There needs to be a wider debate within the university, involving staff and students, regarding the university’s investment policy,” he said.

Tony Lloyd (Labour) MP, meanwhile, commented that all university’s had a “duty to invest wisely and invest ethically”. Mr Lloyd, who represents Manchester Central, also stated that it was important that shareholders use their role “to insist on the best possible ethical standards”.

The University of Manchester’s ‘Policy for Socially Responsible Investment’ states that: “The University, together with its Investment Managers, will use its influence in an effort to reduce and, ideally, eliminate, irresponsible corporate behaviour leading to … environmental degradation and Human rights violations”, amongst other things.

The policy claims that if there is evidence that any of the companies in the universities investment portfolio are found to cause environmental degradation or human rights violations, “as an investor, the University has three means of bringing pressure to bear on corporate behaviour: judicious acquisition, divestment, and engagement”.

When pressed for a comment on the university’s failure to meet its own ethical standards in its investment policy, a spokesman said that the institution’s investments were “regularly reviewed”.

The team, involving two undergraduates, Lloyd Henning and Peter Sutton, was led by Dr Gavin Brown of the faculty of Computer Sciences at the University.

The software REUNITE enables aid workers to record details of refugees and survivors of natural disasters, identifying missing people easily.

Interviews with survivors are transcribed and relayed to workers who are not at the scene of the incident who can add the information to an encrypted server. Information is then added to a server allowing details at and away from the scene to be relayed.

The research also included the development of a piece of software entitled ‘Where’s Safe?’ which tells people where safe areas are following a natural disaster or a terrorist attack. Survivors send a text message and information regarding their closest safe point is relayed to them.

Another element of the software was designed to calculate the malnutrition levels of infants at scenes of disasters by calculating their Body Mass Index (BMI), telling aid workers at the scene the amount of fluid or food administered.

The idea was first created when Henning and Sutton entered a competition run by Microsoft to use software designed to help in real world issues, such as disaster relief, poverty or the environment. The team was granted funding through the university’s Knowledge Transfter Account, an initiative to create more engagement in research funded by the Engineering Physical Sciences Research Council.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies education spending will decline by as much as 13 percent in real terms in the years 2010-11 to 2014-15; with universities, post-16 education and early-years schooling taking the biggest hit. Higher education spending, specifically, is set to be cut by 40 percent over the next four years.

The news comes two weeks after the Vice Chancellor of Oxford University, Professor Andrew Hamilton, warned that higher education spending cuts planned by the coalition government would see the UK falling behind its rivals.

In an address to leading academics in October, Professor Hamilton argued that graduate students would be put off studying in the UK due to cuts being made to research funding. He also pointed out that as the British government focused on introducing tough spending cuts on British universities, both China and the US had increased education spending. Meanwhile, the Chinese government have announced that they intend to create 100 new top class universities this century.

Following government cuts, the UK is currently spending 1.2 percent of GDP on higher education. The OECD average is 1.5 percent.

Ann Mroz, the editor of Times Higher Education (THE) magazine (who published a list last month that shows that the gap between top UK universities and the rest is increasing), stated that it was remarkable that British universities were able to maintain high standards despite funding constraints. “Given the disparity in funding levels [between the UK and the US] our performance is nothing short of staggering. Put simply, we spend much less on our universities than many of our competitors – less than the OECD average – and yet outperform almost all of them. These facts make the massive gamble that we are now taking, by all but abolishing public funding for university teaching and replacing it with tuition fees, all the more questionable.”

A spokesman for the Department of Education stated that cuts to education spending were part of broader austerity measures put in place to deal with the budget deficit. The government have also stated that despite the cuts, spending on primary and secondary school would be ring-fenced.

Files obtained by The Mancunion reveal PR staff at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) micro-managing their public image and censoring unwelcome footage of their officers from documentaries.

“In the opening credits there is a sequence which shows some guys in balaclavas and one of the officers says ‘run him over’ – I just wondered if this section could be put into context or taken out,” reads one email to the makers of ITV’s Car Wars.

It continues, “Is there any way you can remove the section where the officer is eating peanuts and throws them out of the window?”

Officers poking fun at Salford caused problems too. An email, also to the makers of Car Wars, reads: “PC Fletcher makes a comment saying something like ‘Salford: bless them’. We just had some major problems with some key figures in Salford not being happy when the last series went out, as Salford was repeatedly mentioned, so think this comment might upset them again.”

It is not clear whether the email refers to the Salford division of GMP or the city as a whole.

To secure access, filmmakers agreed to let the force preview footage of documentaries and make comments and suggestions before broadcast.

In other emails police ask for footage of officers swearing to be removed, or for the volume to be “dipped”. And there was hairsplitting over crime figures and the language used in voice over scripts, with one email requesting the term “red light district” be changed to “an area popular with sex workers”.

Press officers were unhappy with the force’s appearance in an early cut of ITV’s Send in the Dogs. They asked for shots of police dogs being transported in unsafe conditions “with the hatch open,” to be shortened.

In the same episode police restrain a man with a knife: “did cringe when the officers approaching did not even engage, from the safety of their vehicle, with any sort of communication.” And the restraining officer had to wait “a long period of time” for assistance. “Could this be edited? The incident shows the dog handler in a very good light but not the rest of GMP”.

Dogs weren’t the only animals to pose problems. Press officers apparently wanted to expunge a reference to fox hunting from a documentary about mounted police units: “the voice over states that [the horse] was bought because of his experience and temperament, which is fine, but not because of hunting – don’t want the association with this.”

The files also give an impression of how forces deal with criticism in the press over the handling of demonstrations. After protesters clashed with the far-right English Defence League (EDL) in March 2010, the force secured footage of anti-fascists “facing off against officers rather than putting their efforts into protesting against EDL,” which they released to the media.

Other incidents police tried to censor include an officer joking that the “vehicles are worth more than the houses” while on patrol in a deprived area and an officer putting a suspect in a headlock.

Greater Manchester Police, employing around 8,000 people, is familiar with public scrutiny, most recently over the handling of the murder of Anuj Bidve, when his family found out about his death on Facebook.

Some producers encouraged the force to allow them to film with the promise of good publicity: “The show will counteract negative stories in the printed press about the failures of the police by showing them in a more positive light, winning the war on crime,” one filming request reads.

The emails date from 2005 to the end of 2010, and were released under freedom of information laws.

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said “the television company holds the editorial control for the programme or documentary, not the police.

“However, the filming company is required to make changes to the programme in cases where there are factual errors or items that need to be treated confidentially.”

MBA graduates can expect a 116 percent salary increase after completing the programme, according to the paper. Professor Michael Luger, Dean of Manchester Business School said: “it’s gratifying to see The Financial Times recognises that such an intellectually stimulating programme is financially rewarding too.”

The news follows announcements from Bloomberg Business Week rating the MBA programme as second in the world for return on investment, making MBS a sound choice for any aspiring business person. The school’s doctorate programme has also been ranked by the Financial Times as the best in the world.

Yet while this means that the 18 month degree is the 11th best in Europe, it has fallen from last year’s high of 29.

The Business School had no comment on why the Financial Times felt it deserved to be demoted two places. Instead, the school has focused on how its MBA is seen as a worthwhile investment despite the tough economic climate.

This seems to be reflected in their practical, hands-on approach.

“We invest significantly in the amount of client contact our MBAs experience,” read a press release issued by the school.

MBS intends to take this success forward with a multi-million development scheme, changing the face of the Oxford Road campus. It remains to be seen whether this investment will help the school move itself back up the rankings, where it currently lags behind UK schools such as Oxbridge and Warwick.

Council planners rejected the application for the multi-million pound facility amid concerns over the size and location of a staff car park and building on Withington Green – a small grassy area used by people living near by.

Around 150 campaigners turned out to greet members of the council’s planning committee when they visited the area before the meeting last month.

Locals claim that the structure would have clogged up the currently quiet residential roads with traffic.

Plans to replace the structure with a smaller, single story car park are now being considered.

Campaigners have presented hospital officials with an alternative car park design in the past, but the idea was deemed unacceptable.

A spokesman for the Christie Hospital said that representatives have met with the architect behind the alternative design three times, but that on the third meeting it was acknowledged that the proposal did not meet the requirements of the brief.

“The capacity for the car park has been calculated to re-provide the existing car parking and provide extra car parking required for future needs. We are taking a prolonged approach: provision of a realistic level of car parking allied with initiatives to reduce demand.”

However, Withington councilor Chris Paul argued that the current plans are excessive.

He said, “Residents don’t want a 750-place staff car parking among homes. The Wilmslow Road junction is often clogged anyway. There are two primary schools. Christie must get staff on bikes busses and trams, and living local so they can walk. Cars are a health risk here.”

The Christie is the largest cancer treatment centre of its kind in Europe and an international leader in research and development. It registers 12,500 new patients and treats about 40,000 patients every year.

The hospital is attempting to expand further in order to become one of the largest clinical trials units in the world.

The coalition government’s decision to raise fees to £9,000 last year led to a series of violent clashes between police and students, while Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was called a “hypocrite” after he decided to support the policy.

Ucas figures published last week show that the number of UK applicants fell by just 3.6 percent, a drop of only 8,500 people.  The total number of applicants, including EU national and foreign students, was down by 8.7 percent.

The news will be a welcome boost to the government, who last year were warned by organizations like the National Union of Students that the decision to triple fees would have a disastrous impact on social mobility.

“Our analysis shows that decreases in demand are slightly larger in more advantaged groups than in the disadvantaged groups,” said the chief executive of Ucas, Mary Curnock Cook.

“Widely expressed concerns about recent changes in HE (Higher Education) funding arrangements having a disproportionate effect on more disadvantaged groups are not borne out by these data.”

Wendy Piatt, the director general of the Russell Group, which represents the top research universities in the country, stated that the Ucas figures proved that demand for high education remained strong despite fee changes.

“Demand for higher education is not only strong – it’s actually rising over the long term. This year 540,073 prospective students have applied, which is 16% more than the 464,167 who applied just three years ago in 2009,” she told The Guardian.

“More than half a million potential students have rightly recognised the benefits of going to university. Prospective students know a good degree remains a smart investment.

“It’s not surprising the number of applications is lower than last year, but there are a number of reasons for that. Demographic changes mean there are fewer 18-year-olds in 2012 than in 2011 and we also know there was a peak in applications last year as fewer people chose to take gap years.”

But there were some individuals who chose to treat the figures with more trepidation. Nicola Dandridge, Universities UK’s chief executive, said that more research needed to be carried out to assess the true impact of fee changes.

“We will have to look now in more detail at whether students from certain backgrounds have been deterred more than others,” she said, adding.

“We will continue monitoring the impact of the new system on students and specific subjects.”

Liam Burns, President of the NUS was similarly skeptical.

“At a time when jobs are in short supply and youth unemployment has increased dramatically, the full impact of the Government’s changes to higher education funding cannot be fully understood until we know which groups of students have applied and been accepted to particular types of university,” he argued.

Burns also alluded to the fact the number of mature students applying for university decreased dramatically compared to last year. In total, the number of over-30s applying to universities was down by more than 3,000 compared to last year.

The initiative aims to spark challenge among top applicants as they undertake a series of challenges with increasing difficulty between now and spring 2012.

The scholarship is worth the value of the winner’s undergraduate degree, currently £27,000 for a three-year course but also includes an MBA, a PHD and Continuing Professional Development courses, which increases its value to over £50,000.

The competition is open to any UK or EU student applying to study at Cardiff in 2012 who receives and accepts a firm offer.

The first challenge took place online, asking questions about the University’s research, history and professors. The final will involve the best competitors coming to Cardiff for a live head-to-head challenge.

The University sees the competition as the best way to choose: “The most exceptional student,” with “outstanding passion, commitment and intelligence.”

Louise Casella, Director of Strategic Development at Cardiff University says that the challenge will: “reinforce our position as one of the most sought after universities amongst some of the most talented students in the UK.”

All competition finalists will earn a scholarship towards their undergraduate tuition fees.

Speaking to The Mancunion, Gareth Hollyman from Manchester Metropolitan University said: “All universities, including MMU, are looking at what they can offer new applicants.”

He said that as well as their current bursaries, MMU were considering giving away freebies such as iPads in induction weeks to encourage more students to apply.

Hollyman believed that Cardiff were being very “clever” with this initiative as: “university is not just about an undergraduate degree.” The best students should be looking to further their education past undergraduate level.

He said if MMU were to offer such a large scholarship in the future, the process for gaining it “would need to be very challenging.”

When asked if they would consider a similar initiative in the future, The University of Manchester refused to comment.

The largest bursary Manchester provides is £3,000 in Year 1, followed by £2,500 in subsequent years, for students whose residual income is lower than £25,000.

They also offer fee discounts for years abroad or in industry.

The first challenge for the ‘Ultimate Scholarship’ has now closed but the questions can be viewed on the Cardiff University website.

The money will be used to expand Manchester University’s volunteer training programme for the long-term unemployed.

The purpose of the volunteer programme is to “get people back into work”.

University spokesman, Tim Manley says the programme will help the ill, disabled and long-term unemployed develop their “people and communication skills” as part of the University’s 2015 vision commitment to community outreach.

Whilst many students do volunteer for the museum and galleries, the core of the Partnership’s 150 volunteers are members of the local community. Often, these people are disadvantaged through disability or a lack of job history.

Recruiting more volunteers will make galleries more accessible through tours and visitor interaction and forms part the Manchester 2015 vision of increasing University attractions visitor numbers to 1 million per year. Currently the Partnership receives 850,000 visitors a year.

Dame Nancy Rothwell has praised ACE’s Renaissance Major Partners scheme for recognizing the “regional and national excellence” of The Manchester Museums Partnership, recipients of the grant. The money will be shared between The Manchester Museum, The Whitworth Gallery and Manchester City Galleries, which comprise the partnership. This investment is particularly significant against a backdrop of major cutbacks to arts and culture funding. Only 16 of the 29 organisations that applied won grants.

Yet Manley was keen to emphasise that “it’s not all new money”. Some of the grant comes from funds already promised to regional museums under the soon to be defunct Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

Any museums that missed out on this three-year stream will receive a single year of transitional funding before central government support is cut off for good.

This change forms part of the government’s quango cutback, and includes a reduction in the amount of money available, which now stands at £20 million. The biggest loser in this policy is Museums Sheffield, which has described as being “bitterly disappointed” at the news by its Chief Executive, Nick Dodds.

Manchester’s sum, yet to be finalised, has already been allocated to salaries for staff supporting access to more of the collections held by the partnership.

Besides the volunteer programme, two other accessibility and outreach programmes include a sensory programme to interest babies in art and arts lessons and tours for older people.

Gayle served as Local Party Support Co-ordinator for the Green Party from September 2010 to December 2011 and was involved with a variety of green campaigns in Manchester, including the Save Hasty Lane campaign opposing the expansion of Manchester Airport.

She was the co-founder of “Call to Real Action,” which aims to reduce Manchester’s carbon emissions and prepare for the changes climate change will bring and the co-ordinator of BRiM (Bike Recycle in Manchester) which supports people in Manchester becoming confident cyclists and stops bikes going into landfills.

She played a key role in helping Salford Green Party set up independently.

Anne Power, Membership Secretary of Manchester Green Party described Gayle as: “clearly a dynamic person, attracting people and invigorating them.” Her presence at Green Party meetings and Climate Change events was always accompanied by “laughter and serious debate.”

Gayle’s campaign to be Manchester’s Green Party MP stated that she was concerned about Manchester’s “traffic congestion, the lack of quality green spaces and the low level crime currently blighting the community.”

She believed that Manchester needed: “more investment in neighborhood policing, far better provision for youth activities, and more social health resources.”

Power states: “The Green Party and environmental movement have lost a powerful activist and I personally have lost an amazing friend.”

The funeral took place on Wednesday in Gayle’s hometown of Limerick.

The robbery, which took place on January 2, was the second time in four years that the cash machine had been targeted by a tunnel. After the robbery four years ago the tunnel was filled in.

The police believe that the criminals could have spent up to 6 months building the passageway that was approximately 100ft in length and 4ft tall.

The thieves dug the tunnel from a rail embankment at the rear of the store underneath the car park and foundations of the buildings. The tunnel ended directly beneath the cash machine where the gang then had to cut through more than 15 inches of concrete to get to the ATM.

The thieves only managed to steal a limited amount of cash as the machine had yet to be filled up following the busy Christmas period. Had the machine have been refilled up to £20,000 could have been stolen.

Police said that it was quite a sophisticated heist as lights and support beams had been fitted throughout the tunnel. They estimated it could have taken around six months to be built. Detective Sergeant Ian Shore said: “we doubt they would have been able to keep their plans secret for all that time, without telling others about their scheme. They must also have spent a lot of time in the area over the past few months, which people may have noticed. In all my years of service I have never seen something quite as elaborate as this.”

The police urge anyone living in the Fallowfield area noticed anything suspicious to get in touch.

“5 Days in August”, an interim report published by the independent Riots, Communities and Victims Panel, found that most people believed police inaction in Tottenham and other areas of London “encouraged people to test reactions in other areas”.

The report also blamed the blanket media coverage for fuelling the riots, and highlighted the role which social media played both in spreading panic and helping the rioters organise. “It seems clear that the spread of rioting was helped both by televised images of police watching people cause damage and looting at will, and by the ability of social media to bring together determined people to act together.”

However,  the report also stressed that shutting down such social networks was not the solution. Social media was also used to provide reassurance to communities and to dissuade family members from going out on the streets, and the report warned that “viral silence may have as many dangers as viral noise.”

The August riots began in Tottenham following the shooting of Mark Duggan by police officers from Operation Trident. Three days of riots in London, which peaked on August 8th, were followed by copycat riots in the midlands and the north. The panel estimates that 13,000-15,000 people took part. Of all the cities involved, Manchester saw the second highest rate of riot-related hearings, with 200 having taken place as of October 12th, compared to 1,386 in London.

The report suggested a number of factors which contributed to the riots: “We heard a range of motivations from the need for new trainers to a desire to attack society.” It highlighted the criminalisation of young black and Asian men through ‘stop and search’ tactics (and their resultant hatred of the police), the herd mentality which the riots inspired, and the “disturbing” belief prevalent among many young people that they simply had “no hope and nothing to lose.”

The report also stressed that unless the underlying causes of the riots are addressed, similar disturbances will take place in the future. Research showed that 70% of those tried for rioting were living in the 30% most deprived postcodes in the country, while 30 of the 66 areas that experienced riots were in the 25% most deprived areas in England.

Darra Singh, chair of the panel, said, “While deprivation is not an excuse for criminal behaviour we must seek to tackle the underlying causes of the riots, or they will happen again.”

This week we pay tribute to student Rob McCormick, beloved brother, son, friend and housemate who tragically passed away in the early hours of the morning of Sunday 4^th December after being struck by a taxi.

Rob was hit at the junction of Anson road and Dennison road at around 3.00am on Sunday on his way home from a party in the Fallowfield area. Originally from, Dousland, Devon, Rob was in his final year studying Accounting and Finance.

Since a young age he had always been extremely ambitious and successful. He was Headboy at Plymouth College, had already interned at both KPMG and Ernst & Young, travelled and volunteered in India and worked for a summer in New York. He was President of Manchester’s BA Econ Society and had a job lined up at Ernst & Young for when he graduated.

Rob’s housemates said, ‘He had already achieved so much and would have gone on to be so much more, he took every opportunity he could and motivated all of those who knew and loved him’.

Donna, Rob’s sister added, ‘one thing that must be mentioned about Rob was his modesty, he was such a high achiever without ever being bigheaded’.

Not only had Rob achieved so much in his academic life, but he also played hockey at University and had been acting since a young age. Rob had been an extra in Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’, appeared in the Theatre Royale’s pantomime of Peter Pan and had attended the Italia Conti performing Arts School.

Donna continued, ‘even at school he was Joseph in the Nativity play’.

His parents, Karen and Steve said, ‘in this time one of the best comfort has been the tributes and messages on Rob’s Facebook page’. So many comments talk of what an inspiration Rob was to all those around him and how he was never seen without a smile on his face.

Steve added, ‘Rob inspired people and was much loved by people that came into contact with him’.

Jordan, Rob’s housemate wrote, ‘You were a son, a brother and a friend. But above all these things you were simply an extraordinary human being’.

Another of Rob’s housemates, Andrea said, ‘I feel extremely lucky to have lived with you, we became more than a group of friends, we became a family and now we feel so lost without you’.

Rob was known by those close to him for his love of cheesy dance tunes and fancy dress, for reading the Financial Times, for always smiling and always whistling. He always made time for others and there has been nothing but kind words and happy memories left in his wake.

He loved life more than anyone I have ever known and it is such a loss to the world that he has gone. This article can only show a glimpse of the love for Rob and the achievements he made. There are truly not enough words to do justice to the extraordinary person he already was and the things he would have gone on to achieve.

Wednesday the 14^th of December would have been his 22^nd Birthday. His funeral will be held in Devon this week.