The University of Manchester responds to student outcry over moving lectures online
This follows the university's recent announcement that the upcoming academic year will consist of 'blended learning', rather than a full return to campus for students.
On Wednesday 7th July, representatives from The Mancunion, the University of Manchester’s student newspaper, spoke with the university’s Senior Leadership Team on their upcoming plans for online learning.
The meeting, which was broadcast live on Facebook, was organised in response to the university’s recent announcement which caused outrage amongst students wishing to fully return to campus in September following the easing of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions.
In Wednesday’s Q&A session, Dan George (the Associate Vice-President for Blended Learning) expressed how “we are so sorry for all of the stress that this misrepresentation has caused.”
Nancy Rothwell / The Mancunion
“It is not and has never been our intention to move lectures or teaching permanently online,” George stated, instead expressing their eagerness for students to return to campus in any capacity possible.
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When asked what blended learning will consist of, George stated that it “combines the best of online and digital content with outstanding in-person, on-campus interactions”.
“Anything we’re going to do in the digital space is about enhancing, not replacing, the learning experience”, she added to address students’ concerns that lower-quality teaching and impersonal videos will entirely replace their classes.
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Students also expressed their worries about teaching time, with the petition addressing how blended learning may result in lower contact hours for the many degree programs that consist largely of non-interactive lectures.
However, Dan George dispelled this by stating that “there’s absolutely no driver to reduce contact hours by blended learning”, and instead the university will strive to utilise these hours in better and more interactive ways.
The University of Manchester
Action has also been taken to ensure that students can play an active part in creating the new blended learning model after the uproar it initially created.
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April McMahon, the Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, stated that the announcement was not intended to be a fixed decision of online content going ahead.
Instead, she stated that “this is your chance to get involved […] help us shape blended learning for after the pandemic, the way that it’s going to give the best value for students.”
The University of Manchester recognises that it has previously made these large decisions with no student input, so open meetings will be held throughout the summer to allow them to have their say.
While other universities may potentially make a similar announcement before the next academic year, the University of Manchester is the first to make a formal announcement.
Featured Image – The University of Manchester
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Manchester band Westside Cowboy release ‘thrilling’ debut album that critics are calling one of the year’s best
Emily Sergeant
One of the UK’s best rising bands have released their debut album today to glowing reviews from critics and fans alike.
Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson O’Connell, and Paddy Murphy – better known together as Westside Cowboy – formed back in 2023 when they were students at the Royal Northern College of Music, so while they may not all be from Manchester, they definitely have the spirit of our city at the heart of everything they do.
After playing in different bands across the city throughout their student years, the four-piece joined forces to create Westside Cowboy – an indie rock collective credited with self-coining the genre of ‘Britainicana’.
Put simply, Britainicana is a cultural concept that mixes the hazy, mythic feel of American country and folk, with the sound of raw British punk, indie rock, and small-town life.
Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On / Credit: Clementine Schniedermann (Press Shots – Supplied)
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll be pleased to know that Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On, to the world today (21 August).
And the reception from critics, arguably, couldn’t be better.
Prior to the release of their debut album, the band had released two EPs, including So Much Country ‘Till We Get There in January earlier this year, and had started to make a name for themselves with their popular debut single ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’ in 2024.
They went onto make even further waves when they supported equally-rising American rock band Geese on their UK and Irish tour back in March – with many fans calling it one of the best support and main act combinations in some time.
Three singles from their debut album were shared with the world ahead of its release – ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ came first, followed by ‘Pin Up Boys’ and ‘Dobro’.
So, it’s fair to say the anticipation for album was high… and if the reviews are anything to go by (which we think they are), it looks like the band has very much delivered what they set out to achieve.
Westside Cowboy’s debut album It Goes On is now available to stream, or you can purchase a physical copy in a range of formats from their website here.
Take a listen👇
Featured Image – Press Shot (Supplied)
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UK set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn
Emily Sergeant
The UK is being told to brace for a series of storms this autumn when the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño weather event arrives.
It’s already been a summer of extremes for the country, with multiple heatwaves over the past couple of months, but now it appears that autumn and winter are set to have some extremes of their own, as the Met Office is warning that this upcoming El Niño could be one of the most significant in recent memory.
El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average, which therefore impacts global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
The natural warming of sea temperatures is forecast to reach more than 3°C in the coming months, according to the Met Office, making this year’s weather event have the potential to be ‘the largest since the 19th century’.
The UK is set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn / Credit: Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
El Niño will create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa, and north eastern Australia, but over in north western Europe – including the UK – it means we are likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions.
The UK, and of course Greater Manchester, is absolutely no stranger to a storm around this time of year, but forecasters say this could be an entirely different beast.
“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” warned Professor Adam Scaife, who is the Head of Long Range Forecasting at the Met Office.
“I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”
Professor Scaife concluded: “A typical El Nino leads to an equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature rise of between one to 2°C, with 2°C being a really big event. This implies that, if the forecast is accurate, and other forecast systems show similar extreme values, then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences.’
Forecasters and officials, however, have warned that it could take months of sustained rainfall before rivers, reservoirs, and groundwaters are ‘completely replenished’ – which is when a drought can officially be declared as over.
It also warned drought conditions could persist into the new year as, despite El Niño, as current forecasts do not suggest this autumn will have the amount of rainfall needed to drive recovery.
Daisy Bradbury -
9th July 2021 
