Students at Manchester Metropolitan University have been left shocked after being offered £100 a week to live in accommodation in cities up to 30 miles away.
With September now upon us, it won’t be long before a whole raft of students from across the UK are to enter into higher education and start out lives in new towns and cities – but for those attending the Manchester’s largest university, it appears they may not get to spend as much time in the capital of the North as they had originally though.
Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) offers more than 600 courses across its five faculties, and is generally home to more than 34,000 students at any one time, but it’s now being said that the institution is going through a bit of an “accommodation crisis”, the Manchester Evening News reports.
According to reports, due to “significantly more offer-holders than anticipated”, the university has had to offer some students “temporary options” for accommodation in nearby cities and towns like Liverpool and Huddersfield.
Students waiting for accommodation to be allocated received a message on the university’s portal yesterday explaining the demand for housing in Manchester, and so were offered residence at halls that MMU said was just “a short distance away”.
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MMU assured students that the temporary halls offered to them are around a “15 minute walk” from a train station where they can then get a 40-minute train to Manchester.
Man Met students shocked after being offered £100 a week to live in halls 30 miles away / Credit: MMU
Those that have been offered accommodation in locations such as Liverpool and Huddersfield – which are both over 30 miles away from Manchester – will receive £100 a week from the university to cover additional living and travelling expenses.
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One student due to start at Manchester Metropolitan University but offered accommodation in a city away from where they’ll be studying told the MEN that “no one really knows what’s going on” and “the communication has been awful”.
“We only found this out yesterday because we’ve been told to wait for days, but obviously we weren’t them expecting to come out with a whole new city and offer us that, so it was a surprise,” the student explained.
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Addressing the reports and the accommodation crisis, a spokesperson for Manchester Metropolitan University said: “Manchester is an incredibly popular student city and there is significant demand for accommodation.
“We have offered places to our target student numbers this year and planned our accommodation based on long-term experience of how many of those offers are likely to be accepted, while also building in a considerable cushion – however, significantly more offer-holders than anticipated have been accepting and meeting the conditions of our offer.”
The city’s largest university is reportedly going through a bit of an “accommodation crisis” / Credit: MMU
The university confirmed that the issue around accommodation availability affects around 2% of undergraduate students planning to start in September.
“While we continue to work hard to secure accommodation for them in the city region, we are now providing temporary options with our private hall partners in Liverpool and Huddersfield,” the spokesperson continued.
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“We will cover travel costs to Manchester for any students who take up this offer.
“We know that this will be disappointing for them, and we are doing everything we can to find them to rooms in Manchester as soon as we can.”
Featured Image – MMU
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NHS launches new AI and robot cancer detection pilot offering ‘glimpse into future’
Emily Sergeant
The NHS has launched a ‘trailblazing’ new AI and robot pilot to help spot cancers sooner.
Patients who are facing suspected lung cancer could get answers sooner under the new pilot that makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technology to help doctors reach hard-to-detect cancers earlier, and all without with fewer tests too.
At the moment, patients are faced with weeks of repeat scans and procedures to come to a diagnosis.
But this could soon be replaced with a single, half-hour cancer biopsy – reducing prolonged uncertainty, and avoiding more invasive surgery.
According to the NHS, the new approach uses AI software to rapidly analyse lung scans and flag small lumps that are most likely to be cancerous, before a robotic camera is then used to guide biopsy tools through the airways with much greater precision than standard techniques.
A new NHS pilot using AI and robotic technology will help doctors reach hard-to-detect lung cancers earlier.
Weeks of scans and procedures could be replaced with a single biopsy, reducing uncertainty and avoiding more invasive surgery.
The robot can reach nodules as small as 6mm – which is around the size of a grain of rice – that are hidden deep in the lung and are often deemed too risky or difficult to access using existing methods, and once AI has highlighted higher-risk areas, doctors can then take a precise tissue sample, which is sent to specialist laboratories and reviewed by expert cancer teams to confirm or rule out cancer.
The NHS’s top cancer doctor hailed the pilot – which is currently being carried out at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – as ‘a glimpse of the future of cancer detection’.
“Waiting to find out if you might have cancer is incredibly stressful for patients and their families,” admitted Professor Peter Johnson, who is NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer.
The NHS has launched a new AI and robot cancer detection pilot that’s offering a ‘glimpse into future’ / Credit: rawpixel
“Our lung cancer screening programme means that we are picking up more cancers at an early stage than ever, and by bringing AI and robotics together in this trailblazing NHS pilot, we’re bringing in the very latest technology to give clinicians a clearer look inside the lungs and support faster, more accurate biopsies.
“This is a glimpse of the future of cancer detection.
“Innovation like this is exactly how we can help diagnose more cancers faster, so treatment can be most effective, and why the NHS continues to lead the way in bringing new technology safely into frontline care.”
If successful, the pilot will help the NHS to generate evidence to develop a national commissioning policy for robotic bronchoscopy.
It will also support more consistent access to the technology across the NHS in future.
Featured Image – Tima Miroshnichenko (via Pexels)
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Chester Zoo announces new spring date for its popular running event to help UK wildlife
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has announced that its popular Run For Nature is back again this year, and this time, there’s a new spring edition.
The UK’s biggest charity zoo seen success with this event in the past few years, with thousands of runners signing up for one of the North West’s most unique athletic experiences and all funds raised going towards efforts to protect highly-endangered giraffes in Africa.
This year though, the much-loved event’s focus brings conservation ‘a little closer to home’ and will protect some of the UK’s most threatened species instead – with all funds helping to safeguard hedgehogs, kingfishers, otters, harvest mice, and more.
It comes as the UK is currently considered one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth.
Participants will first get to wind through the zoo and enjoy glimpses of elephants, lemurs, and other incredible species along the way, before heading out into the picturesque Cheshire countryside.
Adults can choose from a 10K or 5K route, while younger runners are invited to take part in a one-mile ‘Zoom’ race, open to children aged four-15, which takes place entirely within the zoo’s incredible 130-acre grounds.
All runners will receive free entry to the zoo for the rest of the day as part of their registration, along with a 25% discount for friends and family who come along to show support.
Chester Zoo’s popular 10K charity run is returns with a new spring date / Credit: Chester Zoo
Lorraine Jubb, who is the Fundraising Lead at Chester Zoo, called the Run For Nature a ‘really special event’.
“In previous years, runners have already supported conservation efforts for Asian elephants, Eastern black rhinos and Northern giraffe,” she explained. This springtime though, we’re turning our attention much closer to home in the UK, and to the wildlife we share our gardens, parks and countryside with.
“With one in six species now at risk of extinction in the UK, every runner will be playing a vital role in helping us protect animals and supporting our growing nature recovery work across right across Cheshire.
Emily Sergeant -
1st September 2022 
