Winter Term | 27 Jan 2017
The latest news for Services teams
Insight
Director of Services, Paul Kingsmore, joined colleagues for the walk this week.
Take a Break From Your Desk
Why not try out MMU
Sport’s staff lunch walks?
The walks will have you
sitting less and moving
more.
to other members. Along the
walk, your leader will even
point out interesting sights
and facts about the buildings
and areas we pass.
Meeting each Wednesday
at 12:30 from the Business
School Reception, come
rain or shine, you will be
welcomed to the group by
a friendly walk leader, who
will tell you everything you
need to know ahead of the
walk and also introduce you
Brisk walking with the group
will increase your heart rate
and, walking just one mile
in 20 minutes, can burn as
much as 100 calories! With
nearly 80% of adults failing
to meet the targets set by
UK Government for taking
part in moderate exercise,
MMU Sport want to help you
get active.
Counting your steps,
wearing a pedometer or
fitness tracker can help
inspire you to be more active
and achieve fitness goals,
and after each walk you will
find out how far you went
and how many calories you
burnt.
MMU Sport is also offering
staff the chance to take part
Services
at the heart of excellence
in the Manchester 10k at
a reduced cost. If you are
not sure you would be able
to run it, walkers are also
welcome for the race! Some
members of the walking
group are going to walk
it together. Staff enter the
event for a discounted price
of only £20, so join them and
power walk your way to the
finish line and a medal as
part of the Manchester Met
team www.mmu.ac.uk/10k.
Information Systems and Digital Services
ISDS All Staff Meeting
Enhancing engagement, delivering projects and improving incident
management
Staff from ISDS attended
an all staff meeting last
week led by Director Kurt
Weideling.
The afternoon began with
Kurt welcoming new staff
and awarding those that
have been recognised
by their teams for their
outstanding work over the
last few months.
Kurt then updated staff on
the building works taking
place in the Old Student
Union which will allow the
ISDS Management Team,
Service Desk and Project
Management Team to come
together with Infrastructure
colleagues on the second
floor in the Spring. Kurt
ended by summarising
the outcomes of the
recent ISDS Staff Survey
in which a number of new
engagement channels have
been developed including
Lunch & Learn sessions and
an Informal Staff Mentoring
Scheme.
Following on from this,
Keith Hilton, Projects &
Programmes Manager, gave
an update on key ISDS
programmes planned for the
coming months including
Student Journey, Lecture
Capture and Enhancing
Student Recruitment &
Admissions. Keith also
briefed staff on the new
process and reporting
functions for Programmes
and Projects across Services
and what this means for
ISDS staff.
IT Service Desk Manager
Martina Holubcova later
briefed staff on the work
being done to improve
and enhance IT Incident
Management & Prioritisation,
including new response and
resolution targets which will
be trialled over the coming
months in order to improve
customer service. Martina
also provided an update on
the feedback from the ITIL
workshops that were carried
out at the end of 2016 as
well as next steps for the
proposed improvements to
be implemented across the
Department.
Kurt ended the jam-packed
afternoon with an update
on the progress of the IS
Strategy and Roadmap and
what this means for ISDS
staff.
Learning and Resource Technology
A Wealth of New Features for MyMMU
Our LRT colleagues have
been busy! To start with,
all students can now log
their attendance through
MyMMU on their devices
through the MyMMU
app as well as through
MyMMU Desktop.
For those 977 PGR students…
their vital access to
SkillsForge to track research
progress is now quick and
simple thanks to a new
SkillsForge tile that has
been added to their student
accounts.
And finally…for now at
least anyway…new this
week are extra fields for the
2 | Insight
Exam timetable tile that all
students can access if it’s
applicable to them. These
include Standard Exam
Duration, Extra Writing
Minutes and Rest Break
Minutes.
Student Living
Learning About Teamwork
Residential Advisors not
only have a week-long
intensive training course
before the start of the
year, but have ongoing
training opportunities
during term time.
asked to perform certain
tasks, answer questions or
make a video. This included
recreating a historical event,
creating an optical illusion
and playing a prank on
another RA team!
The RAs were out and about
on the streets of Manchester
last week to take part in a
training day which aimed
to develop their teamwork
skills.
The RAs from Birley won
after being scored by the
event organisers and then
they were presented with
medals.
Each team was given an iPad
with a map which took them
on a tour of Manchester. At
particular locations they were
Library
Take the Library’s Reading Challenge
Challenge yourself to read differently this year.
Read one book from the
Library for each of the 12
categories and tick it off once
you’re done. That’s it! There’s
a variety of challenges to
mix up your choices, and you
might even find your new
favourite book along the way.
3 | Insight
Need some more inspiration
for your To Read list? Visit
libguides.mmu.ac.uk/
lovetoread for monthly
recommendations from
Library staff, try an Insight
Recommended Read, browse
our Love To Read collection
on the ground floor of
All Saints Library, or find
something you’ve always
wanted to read on Library
Search at library.mmu.ac.uk.
Pick up a copy of the
Reading Challenge in All
Saints or Crewe Library.
You can follow along with
our progress or let us know
how you’re getting on with
#MMUReadingChallenge at
@MMULibrary on Twitter
and Instagram. Make 2017 the
year you read differently!
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The Library teams in All
Saints and Crewe will be
taking part, and Crewe
Library even has a display
to help you read something
different – including
the team’s personal
recommendations. Assistant
Librarian Sarah Webb said,
“The display is a wonderful
collaborative effort of reading
we hope to do in 2017 and
we’ve some great choices on
display!”
Re
The MMU Library 2017
Reading Challenge is here
to help staff and students
at Manchester Met read
differently this year.
I Hate The Internet by Jarett
Kobek.
A funny, post-modern novel that
breezes through gentrification,
race and ethnicity, gender
relations and technology in a
very engaging way. Chosen by
Gopal from the Library.
Find It: Reading Corner (behind
Reservations), Ground Floor, All
Saints Library
MMU Sport
Gym Membership Offer for Staff
The Sugden Centre is
offering discounted
memberships to all staff
to encourage them to get
active in 2017. There is
a seven day trial so that
you can experience the
range of facilities before
committing.
Sugden is offering off-peak
memberships (MondayFriday 7.00-16.00, Weekends
9.00-19.30) from just £10.75
a month. It’s one of the most
competitive prices in the
area and just across the road
from All Saints.
Membership includes full
access to the multiplex gym
and classes. Additionally, the
Sugden is also offering use
of their brand new Boditrax
machine which can provide
you with information ranging
from the basics, right up to
the most complex biological
data such as bone density or
body fat percentage.
So join the Sugden for an
experience that can’t be
matched. For information
about payroll options contact
[email protected].
Business Support and Improvement
Don't Miss Out on IT Training Courses
Whether it is a refresher
Excel course or an
introduction to Photoshop,
the team has a wide
range of courses on offer.
Since January 2016, the
Business Support IT Training
team has provided training
and support to over 1100
people – a quarter of our
staff at Manchester Met!
To find out more about what
the Training Team can offer,
please email them at its.
[email protected] or
visit mmu.ac.uk/
myitskills to receive
tailored session
recommendation
based on your IT
requirements.
Community Engagement
Giving Back with Business in the Community
Two members of the
Business Support &
Improvement Team,
Laura Haworth and
Carmen Shallcross,
took up a volunteer
opportunity this month
through Business in
the Community to
support members of the
public with a homeless
background get back into
work.
Business in the Community
is a national charity which,
for more than 30 years, has
worked with thousands of
businesses to help to tackle
some of the key issues
facing society today.
Carmen and Laura spent
their time supporting the
4 | Insight
Ready for Work programme
which provides interview
and CV writing support
prior to a two-week work
placement in order to
gain the vital experience
needed to get on the career
ladder. Other organisations
that provided the muchneeded support, guidance
and encouragement on
the pre-placement day
included Barclays, DWF and
Bruntwood.
Laura said, “Volunteering
my time to support these
wonderful, appreciative
people was very rewarding.
Knowing that I have played
a part in supporting them
and providing them with
the confidence they need
to go out and succeed
in a career has been
hugely worthwhile! I
would encourage anyone
to take up this volunteer
opportunity.”
"We sometimes forget how
easy it is to help people!
It was so refreshing to
chat to people about their
aspirations and see how
thankful they were of any
advice and tips. We spent
a long time helping one
person out with her CV
and I really hope she gets
the job she wants!", adds
Carmen.
Business in the Community
offers a range of volunteer
opportunities that staff
across Services can get
involved in including pre-
placement support, advice
and guidance at their
weekly Ready for Work club
or even becoming a longterm Job Coach.
If you would like to find
out more including how to
volunteer, please contact
Rachel Treece.
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Top
Printing
Do you need any
personal printing (more
than the odd page!)?
price – what more could
you ask for. Contact the
team today.
If you’d like to print your
holiday photos or a book
you’re written then head
down to Print Services
instead! You’ll get brilliant
service at a very reasonable
People news
Welcome to
ISDS would like to welcome new starters Paul Graham who
joins the Department as a Senior Web Specialist and Chris
Leech who joins as a Senior Database Specialist.
Great feedback also for the Catering team and their delicious
lunch options!
The Student Living team would like to wish a warm
welcome to Tina Gambe and Joshua Edgar, who have
recently started working as Administrators in the Student
Living Accommodation office.
Well done!
ISDS got great feedback via Twitter from students!
Editor - Carmen Shallcross | [email protected]
Back issues available at www.mmu.ac.uk/facilities/news
Services