Podcasts about manchester met

"Peace is an ongoing journey; it never ends."What motivates somebody to tackle Manchester's biggest problems?Professor Erinma Bell MBE joins host Lisa Morton to share what drove her to create change at a time when the city region was being called ‘Gunchester' and the values that have kept her on that mission for the past 25 years.Erinma is a peace activist, community leader, and councillor for Manchester City Council.In the late 1990s, Erinma was part of a community group in Moss Side that was intent on making a change. But when her friend was shot in front of her, she knew that change needed to happen faster.From grassroots activism to national recognition, Erinma went on to help set up Carisma, a conflict resolution and community cohesion charity leading initiatives that courageously tackle the pressing issues of gun and gang crime. Erinma shares her personal reflections on the significance of family values, the strength of community support, and the essential need for young people to feel a genuine sense of belonging in their environments. Her story is one of resilience, compassion, and unwavering determination, reminding us all of the power of activism in the face of adversity.You'll hear Lisa delve into Erinma's commitment to creating a safer environment for the next generation, the ongoing pursuit of peace in Manchester's communities and the vital role you can play in creating a brighter future for the next generation.------Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre. From that point, the business, and its team members, have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.To celebrate the 28 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family' and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.Connect with Erinma Via her websiteVia LinkedInConnect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield: Via our websiteOn InstagramOn X FKA TwitterOn this episode, We Built This City has partnered with Manchester Metropolitan University. Wherever your business wants to be, Manchester Met is there to help you go further. Visit mmu.ac.uk/business or follow Business at Manchester Met on LinkedIn, to find out more.

"If you want something, you can't sit there and wait for someone to put it in your hand for you."In this episode, Lisa sat down with Victoria Braddock, the Managing Director of Marketing Manchester, Lisa heard how she and her team are putting Manchester's brand on the global stage. Victoria shares what it was like growing up in Manchester, offering ‘backies' into town on her brother's bike as a kid, her career journey from Wimpy burger as a teenager to joining ‘Marketing Manchester' over 20 years ago, find out what has made her ambitious to stay!From major international campaigns to the power of local stories, Victoria reveals what she's learnt from positioning Manchester as a must-visit destination for tourists, businesses, and investors alike. Whether you're a business owner, marketer, or a proud Mancunian, this episode will give you an insider's look at how strategic storytelling fuels the city's growth. ------Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre. From that point, the business, and its team members, have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.To celebrate the 28 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family' and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.Connect with Victoria:On LinkedInOn Marketing Manchester's LinkedInVia Marketing Mancheter's WebsiteConnect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield: Via our websiteOn InstagramOn X FKA TwitterOn this episode, We Built This City has partnered with Manchester Metropolitan University. Wherever your business wants to be, Manchester Met is there to help you go further. Visit mmu.ac.uk/business or follow Business at Manchester Met on LinkedIn, to find out more.

As part of our ongoing celebration of Manchester Met's 200th anniversary, in this edition of MetCast, we are exploring our final area of strength: Tackling Inequalities. We hear from psychology student, inclusivity model and coach, Kai Da'Costa. Kai's life took an unexpected turn after a motorbiking accident left him without the use of his left arm. But his journey didn't stop there. Thanks to the support of the University's Manchester Movement Unit and its cutting-edge physiotherapy clinic, Kai's story has become one of resilience and transformation. We also sit down with Professor Sara Ryan, a leading voice in social care. Sara shares her fight for justice for her son, Connor, whose life and legacy inspired the critically acclaimed play Laughing Boy. The production earned rave reviews during its recent West End run, and Sara will tell us more about the powerful message behind the story. Finally, we'll talk with Professor Rob Drummond about accent prejudice and the complex relationship we all have with language. With oracy education gaining national attention, Rob shares insights from a report recently launched in the House of Lords that calls for a focus on speaking, listening and communication skills. 

In case you hadn't heard, it's our 200-year anniversary here at Manchester Met, and we're celebrating two centuries of proudly driving progress. One of our key areas of strength is sustainability, and that's what we're talking about this month.We've been a top three sustainable university for over a decade, prioritising the environment in everything we do – whether that's geography, printing, or poetry.In this episode, we hear how a top poet from our Manchester Writing School responded to climate change when she visited Greenland with our climate scientists. Expect science, sediment, and stanzas. And we'll also explore how our biodiversity research is identifying key climate threats in the Amazon, and how's it's helping to shape protective new laws.

In this September episode of MetCast, we continue our 200-year anniversary celebrations here at Manchester Met and we're turning our attention to our next theme, sustainability. As a top three sustainable university, protecting the environment is key to everything we do.In this edition, we hear how a graduate's vital conservation work is helping to protect one of the natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef.We explore how our Manchester Fashion Institute is combatting fast fashion and instead leading the way to help reduce, reuse, and recycle. And we find out from our lecturers how Manchester's climate is changing due to global warming, as well as the impact of the humble domestic garden.

Welcome to our August edition of MetCast. As we gear up for the Paralympic Games later this month, we catch up with Manchester Met visiting professor and honorary graduate Dame Sarah Storey, who is part of the Paralympic cycling squad for Paris 2024. Dame Sarah has made history with 17 gold, eight silver, and three bronze medals. From her rise to stardom at just 14 in Barcelona 1992, to her unstoppable success as a para cyclist, Sarah's journey is nothing short of extraordinary.  With her sights set Paralympic glory once again, we had the privilege of catching up with Sarah at the Manchester Metropolitan Institute of Sport. We dive into her medal memories, her thoughts on the future of inclusive sports, and those all-important preparations for the Paris time trial and road race ahead of the games. 

In the June edition of MetCast, we continue to champion Creative Excellence and explore how Manchester Metropolitan innovates and shapes the film, media, fashion, literature, art and design industries. First up, we explore how we are making our mark at the box office. We meet creative writing lecturer, Andrew Hurley, and senior filmmaking lecturer, Loran Dunn. They share more about their involvement in writing and producing for film and discuss how it feels to see your work come to life on the big screen.  Then, we meet Manchester Metropolitan alumnus and Creative Director of Max Mara, Ian Griffiths. Ian talks about his life as a student in 1980s Manchester and how studying a creative subject at University helped shape his career.  And finally, we hear more about Passiontide, the new novel from Monique Roffey. Monique  won the Costa Book of the Year award for her last novel, The Mermaid of Black Conch.  She is also Professor of Contemporary Fiction at Manchester Met's Manchester Writing School. We learn more about her inspiration behind the novel's key themes of feminism, protest and politics. 

In the May edition of MetCast, we continue our 200-year celebrations focusing on how Manchester Met is harnessing imagination to drive innovation for creative excellence.In this edition, we hear how using design to develop a storytelling game has helped to boost the confidence and wellbeing of people with dementia.  We also explore how cutting-edge technology has played a key role in a captivatingtheatre performance. Finally, we find out how a researcher has taken their art in a different direction to break down the stigma of talking about mental health. 

In this month's episode we're looking at the ways Manchester Met drives economic growth. It's our 200-year anniversary and we're celebrating two centuries of supporting innovation and progress through excellent education and research.Key to that is boosting skills, increasing employability, and supporting wider prosperity by helping businesses get off the ground, and thrive.We discover how a Manchester Met graduate's fabulous new fashion business has been helped by our start-up incubator Innospace.And, we speak to experts from the University's Centre for Enterprise following a new report published this year showing how it has supported more than 2,000 businesses, boosting economic growth in the region, and creating jobs, new products and services.

From Grace Harris' broken bat and crazy strike rate to Manchester Met being thrashed in the North West BUCS league, we've got plenty to speak about! This week we're joined by Jen Barden who is the Cricket Development Manager at the Lancashire Cricket Foundation and has previous captained Lancashire Women and worked with Thunder. We will be back next week with another international cricketer but in the meantime, you can find us over on Instagram, TikTok & YouTube which is “Noughtie Child Podcast” and our Twitter is “00ChildPodcast” so feel free to give those a follow to stay up to date!

In this month's episode, we take a look at fast fashion and clothing waste, as we hear from researchers at Manchester Met on new ideas for the fashion industry to make their products more sustainable. We hear from our researchers at the Para Swimming World Championships, partnered by the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport, who are playing a vital role in the performance of the Great Britain Para swimming team and shaping the sport's classification system. Finally, we sat down with fine art graduate Stan Harland from our Manchester School of Art who proved - at the ripe old age of 80 - that it's never too late to achieve your dreams.

In this month's episode, we we celebrate 75 years of the National Health Service.   We explore the role Manchester Met plays in supporting the NHS: through placements, training and conducting vital research.  We also look at the changing face of the high street with the latest research from our School of Architecture and we catch up with our Institute of Place Management to discuss the major trends, issues and solutions facing our town centres.   Finally, we talk to Manchester Metropolitan fine art graduate and Met Magazine cover star, Paul Harfleet.   Paul introduces us to his project – ‘Birds Can Fly' - and discusses how the city and his experiences – both positive and negative - have influenced his work and life. 

In this month's episode, we discuss the role of unpaid carers in society as we look back at Carers Week - a week to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid children and adult carers face, and recognise their contribution to families and communities.     Also in this episode, we find out how the University's Manchester Poetry Library is working in collaboration with Words of Colour - an organisation opening up opportunities for people of colour in creative fields.   And finally, with the festival season upon us we take a look at Art School Live - a collaboration between Manchester Met's technical staff and students throughout the University that is developing the new generation of music professionals and giving them job-ready skills. 

This week on Drama School Dropout I am joined by the amazing Paul Bazely. We chat about filming in Belgrade, sending an audition up into smoke, our manifestations for 2023, growing up in South East London, being from a working class background, studying Drama at Manchester Met, being rebellious, not paying for Drama School, tutors wandering around in kilts, undermining the ensemble, auditioning for Benidorm, how subversive Benidorm was, the crazy nights out, doing the YMCA, the show coming back, doing a one night two hander, playing Ghandi, taking out adverts in programmes to break up with people in the show and working on Pirates of the Caribbean. Submit your story for Stage Right or Stage Shite: https://forms.gle/1p296t4Uu1F1XVvN9 Host: Ingram Noble Guest: Paul Bazely Producers: Heather Spiden & Ingram Noble Links: Ingram's Instagram & Twitter: @ingramnoble Paul's Instagram: @paulbazely Get This Is Where We Get Off Tickets: https://webstersglasgow.com/whats-on/event/this-is-where-we-get-off/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/dramaschooldropout

As businesses across the country face a range of challenges, Manchester Met's support continues to help organisations to adapt, innovate and grow. In this episode of MetCast we are joined by Ann Mulhaney from the University's Centre for Enterprise, along with Dawn Duggan from the GC Business Growth Hub and the owners of digital platform company Niftyz.io and fast-food chain Archies. We discover how support from the University has helped them navigate challenges and grow their organisations. 

This month, Mike & Will are talking to the designer and ethicist Cennydd BowlesHe is a principal technology adviser at the ICO, author of Future Ethics, and a visiting lecturer at the RCA and Manchester Met.Cennydd's views on the ethics of technology and design have been quoted by Forbes, WIRED, and The Wall Street Journal. He has spoken on responsible innovation at Facebook, Stanford University, and Google, and is currently studying practical ethics at the University of Oxford.Further Reading: https://cennydd.com/future-ethicshttp://tarotcardsoftech.artefactgroup.comhttps://ethicalexplorer.orghttps://www.ethicsfordesigners.comhttps://www.designethically.com

Digital society is a new Masters course at Manchester Metropolitan University, taught in two specialisms - politics and sociology. In this episode learn about the application of technology in everyday life, from political campaigns to requiring a smartphone to order drinks   Check out the MSc Digital Society course at Manchester Met.   You can email podcast@prospects.ac.uk with any feedback, questions or comments. Find a transcript of this episode at www.prospects.ac.uk/podcasts.

This week'e episode is focused on the industry's talent crisis and how IAB UK members in the North West in particular are feeling the effects, exacerbated by the global pandemic. In this discussion, James talks to Manchester Metropolitan Uni's Jo Bodley and Jeff McCarthy who both lecture in Digital Marketing, as well as Ellie England, Commercial Director at Microsoft Advertising who is also based in Manchester and part of the IAB's Northern group.In an industry where it might once have been considered "career-ending" to move out of London, they discuss how - in a post-COVID world - you can still work 'in London' with the weighted salary, the opportunities and other benefits, but not have to live within commuting distance of the office. They also cover Manchester Met's partnership with the IAB and how recruitment and retention policies have been rapidly improving. Read more about IAB UK's partnership with MMU on our site. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of MetCast, we chat about Carbon Literacy at Manchester Met – and how it's being used to help councils, schools and businesses. Led by Dr Rachel Dunk, Carbon Literacy is training and teaching people about the steps they and their organisations can take to live cleaner and greener lives. So far, thousands have been trained in Carbon Literacy around the world thanks to the University.

Dr Maurizio Valenti is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Law at Manchester Metropolitan University and member of the Faculty's Sports Policy Unit. He is the leader of the BSc (Hons) Sport Business and BSc (Hons) Sport Marketing undergraduate programmes that are offered at Manchester Met. His principal research interests reside around the development of women's football. He has received support from UEFA to conduct a project on the organisation and management of European women's football clubs and explore the integration between men's and women's football teams. He has also published on the approaches to maximise attendance at UEFA Women's Champions League matches, and on the policies relating to the international sporting success of the 55 UEFA member associations in the women's game. In this podcast, Maurizio provided an historical context of women's football, as well as discussing the current situation, before talking about the pros and cons associated with being an integrated versus an independent club. He talked about the ‘Big Five' and how this might affect women's football and particularly, competitive balance and uncertainty of outcome. Gaps in the research, such as targeting those involved in football who are not players or coaches, football in different countries and player welfare were highlighted. Maurizio also talked about his plans for research.

In this episode of MetCast, we chat to Jackie Newton, Manchester Met Exercise and Sports Science MA graduate.  Jackie was Director of Coaching and Athlete Development for Athletics Northern Ireland going into this summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games, helping to prepare athletes for the biggest competition of their lives. She is now starting a new role as Head of Coaching Development for British Athletics.  In this episode, recorded before the Olympics got underway, you'll hear everything from how Jackie's time at Manchester Met helped her to embrace a career in elite sport, to how she prepared for this summer and a competition like no other. 

In this episode of MetCast, we chat to Helen Scott, Manchester Met sport and exercise science student and Paralympic track cyclist. Helen is currently out in Tokyo ready to compete in the kilo and individual pursuit events with her stoker Aileen McGlynn. Helen and Aileen last competed together at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, where the pair walked away with a silver and bronze medal.  In this episode you'll hear about the challenges Helen has faced in the last 18 months, her hopes for the games and life while studying and training for the Paralympics.

In this episode of MetCast, we chat to Valencia Nathaly Sihera, Manchester Met sport science graduate and head coach for the Grenada Olympic swimming team. Valencia has been out in Tokyo supporting two young swimmers from the Caribbean island nation at their first games, Kimberley Ince who has since competed in the 100m backstroke and Delron Felix, who has since competed in the 100m freestyle. In this episode you'll hear everything from Valencia's time at Manchester Met to the challenges and hopes for the Grenada swimming team – and what life has been like out in Tokyo.

On Friday, June 18, England will meet Scotland at Wembley stadium in the UEFA European Football Championship. Fans of both teams will have their own predictions on the outcome of the game, but is there a proven way of being able to predict the score of a football match before it is played? A group of students at Manchester Met think there is. We speak to them and ask them to reveal their prediction and how they've used applied economics to design a model to predict accurate outcomes of any football game. Feedback is always welcome, as are reviews and ratings on iTunes, so please head there to let us know what you think. If you'd like to contact us – or feel you've got a story we should cover – please get in touch via content@mmu.ac.uk.

Today on WDYTAX we're joined by Dr. Lucy Burke. Lucy is an academic at Manchester Met specialising in literary and cultural disability studies and the medical humanities. Her study explores how dementia and learning disabilities are represented across a range of literary, filmic, televisual and auto/biographical texts, and how we might draw upon ways of working in arts and humanities develop creative ways of working with disabled people and older people living with dementia. Currently working with Access All Areas theatre company on an Arts Council England project Transforming Leadership and coming to the end of a major AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) project D4D exploring disabled people's experiences of community. Links mentioned in the episode: http://www.accessallareastheatre.org/transforming-leadership https://sickfestival.com/2019_events/graphic-encounters-event/ Music by Chris Tybjerg Cover art by www.irondragondesign.com

In episode 6 of 'Wind Yer Neck In' we welcome Professor Damian Hughes to the show. Damian is the man behind many of the best sports psychology books out there like ‘The Barcelona Way’, ‘The Winning Mindset’, ‘Liquid Thinking,' He also doubles up as a Consultant for many elite level sports teams including previously working with the Scottish Rugby Union Team in the build up to the World cup in 2015 and also in Education roles and within the corporate world. A Professor of ‘Organisational Psychology and change’ at Manchester Met he has dedicated his life to understanding and exploring environments and cultures for which people and teams can most be successful. Damian allows us to explore many of the frameworks he has written about. One fo the things Damian and I discuss is the different types of culture long with what makes a good leader in these cultures. Damian reflects on how his life has been in High Performance and the people he has learnt from along the way. As always, we hope you enjoy this chat with one of the sport's biggest characters. Let us know what you think on Twitter (@WindYerNeck_In) and Instagram (windyerneck.in)!

Another week, another audition. Manchester this time, the school that let's applicants watch each other perform their speeches, something that I'm particularly looking forward to. I've also received an email from UCAS...Music: Unfair To Me - Derek Clegg (I do not own this music, usage under Creative Commons license)https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Derek_Clegg/Good_Graces/Derek_Clegg_-_Good_Graces_-_13_Unfair_To_Me_1815License - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/legalcodeAdditional music from Bensound.comEdited with audacityteam.orgHosted by Buzzsprout.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/jonathanstirling)

Slinky the Dog hates a particular song so his owner Charlotte appeals to Greg for it to be banished from The Breakfast Show playlist. Also, some poor students stuck in lockdown at Manchester Met take the reins on the Ten Minute Take Over and we catch up with Emilia who has been looking after the Royal Pencil.

Another solo podcast today, talking about something I have always wanted to do a podcast on, my experience with going to University. Uni isn't for everyone, especially me! I went to Manchester Met in September 2018, and was home as a dropout by the end of November. I share my story, my insights and my lessons from the 8 or so weeks I spent living away from home and trying to fit in at uni FB: https://www.facebook.com/HarveyHoltPT IG: https://www.instagram.com/harveyholtp... Links: https://linktr.ee/HarveyHoltPT --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/harvey-holt/message

  In this latest episode of MetCast, we discuss mental health in young people, and how research in this field continues to be a vital part of the wider conversation. The show features a roundtable discussion with Dr Sarah Parry, academic lead on the Young Voices Study, James MacDonald, PhD student and researcher, and Simone Spray, CEO of youth mental health charity and University partner 42nd Street. It also features a chat with Elaine Craig, Mental Health Researcher at Manchester Met and music by the BeeVocal choir - a group set up in the wake of the arena attacks to help people experiencing mental health difficulties. Feedback is always welcome, as are reviews and ratings on iTunes, so please head there to let us know what you think. If you’d like to contact us – or feel you’ve got a story we should cover – please get in touch via content@mmu.ac.uk.

In the first of our alumni stories episodes, we catch up with Simcha Weinstein, a man who’s been described as ‘New York’s Hippest Rabbi’ to talk Manchester, football, faith, movies, superheroes and much more.  Having begun his studies at Manchester Met some 20 years ago, Simcha now resides in Brooklyn, where he's campus rabbi at one of New York City’s top arts colleges, and continues to be in demand as a media commentator on culture and spirituality. Feedback is always welcome, as are reviews and ratings on iTunes, so please head there to let us know what you think. If you’d like to contact us – or feel you’ve got a story we should cover – please get in touch via content@mmu.ac.uk.

In this episode of Forever Manchester Meets we chat with Hacienda Manager Angela Matthews. Angela was born and raised in Rhyl, North Wales and found herself obsessed with music from a very early age.This led to forays to 'Eric's' in Liverpool and then onto Manchester to follow New Order, The Buzzcocks, Magazine and all her favourite bands while taking a degree at Manchester Met.The first person Angela spoke to upon arriving in Manchester was Johnny Marr and the eventual realisation of not wanting to take on a 'proper' job as such. Angela went to see Elliot Rashman, who, at the time, was 'Entertainments Officer' at the Met and also manager of an unknown Manchester band called Simply Red. From here Angela went onto gain invaluable experience in running every aspect of a nightclub and putting on gigs before going on to work at Manchester’s legendary Boardwalk and then onto being the manageress of the world famous Hacienda nightclub! 

Special guests Dr Ernest Edifor, Simone Wilkes and Graham Jackson from Manchester Metropolitan University talk about how the Education Sector takes a lot of blame in conversations about the Digital Skills Gap, what their point of view is on the issue and how it is being addressed.

www.bulletproofagencynetwork.com @BulletproAgency   Bulletproof Agency proudly presents this podcast   In this episode, we are back at #BeeAuthentic for The Steve Kuncewicz panel to discuss brand authenticity in the era of fake news. Steve (Slater & Gordon) is joined by Mel Powell and David Edmundson-Bird (Manchester Metropolitan University Business School), and Anna Varley Jones (Weber Shandwick).   Topics covered in this episode: What is fake news?. Millennials: are they better equipped to identify and avoid fake news? Anna Varley Jones Talks about how Weber Shandwick tackles the problem. The level of responsibility mainstream news media bears. How many brands are actually authentic? The legal and social responsibility of platforms like Facebook or Google for hosting fake news. Can influencers be a trusted source of information amidst fake news? Self-regulation could be the way forward. Can you regain public trust once you’ve lost it and Does a brand’s bad taste really affect their bottom line?   Presenter Bio A journalist and broadcaster for nearly 30 years, Andy runs his own media consultancy in Manchester working with clients like Weber Shandwick, the NFU, and the Institute of Directors. Andy started in print before 17 years as a BBC presenter & reporter, appearing on BBC Breakfast, Five Live & the Today programme. For five years Andy presented the award-winning BBC1 current affairs programme Inside Out, travelling across Europe making documentaries on terrorism, the smuggling of illegal guns into the UK and the Manchester IRA bomb. He also made films with Sir Bobby Charlton, Yoko Ono, Lord Heseltine and Johnny Marr.   Panel Bios Steve is a principal lawyer in the business advisory team at Slater and Gordon Lawyers in Manchester.He specialises in intellectual property, media and social media law with a particular emphasis on the creative, digital and technology sector. Steve is listed as a “recommended lawyer” in tier 2 of the Legal 500s 2014, 2015, and 2016 North West Technology, Media & Telecoms section.   He is a regular media spokesperson, and has given interviews to the local and national press through BBC Breakfast, Sky News, ITV, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live and LBC London. Steve’s first book, “Legal Issues of Web 2.0 and Social Media”, was published in June 2011 and his second book “Legal Issues of Corporate Communication in the Online World” was published in June 2012.”   Twitter: @SteveKuncewicz   Website: http://www.blmlaw.com   Mel Powell Mel Powell is a Senior Lecturer in Public Relations and Associate Head for Student Employability at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. After 10 years as a local authority PR practitioner and then as a theatre marketer, she started to teach PR at university level in 1996 at Leeds Beckett University before moving to Manchester in 2002.   Mel is a member of the PRCA and is CIPR Accredited Practitioner of the CIPR, serving as a co-opted member of the CIPR North West Regional Group since 2011. As well as public relations, she specialises in personal professional development, including personal branding, values and ethics, as well as communications and media theory, which has led to a developing specialist interest in the area of ‘fake news’.   Website: http://www2.mmu.ac.uk/   Twitter: @MMUPRMel   David Edmundson-Bird David is Principal Lecturer in Digital Marketing & Enterprise at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he runs a number of digital communications programmes, and is Course Leader for Manchester Met’s new full-time MSc Digital Marketing Communications.   David founded Manchester Met’s Agency Life programme 5 years ago to enable students experience live work skills in the workplace very early in their course. He also set up their first part-time MSc in Digital Marketing in 2007, a programme that has now graduated nearly 300 high-profile professionals into the profession.   He has enjoyed several spells in academia as well as senior management roles in the digital sector, and even helped to set up Manchester’s second web design agency back in 1995   Website: http://www2.mmu.ac.uk/   Twitter: @groovegenerator   Anna Varley Jones Anna Varley Jones is Weber Shandwick Manchester’s consumer marketing director and leads an integrated team of marketing experts working on national and global clients in the travel, retail, FMCG and technology sectors.   Specialising in delivering smart campaigns that have real impact for a business, Anna has significant experience as a trusted advisor big brands from strategy development through to campaign delivery. Anna is passionate about insight-driven creativity and develops campaigns built on robust insights, trends and data to create compelling stories that resonate with consumers. Anna leads integrated project teams ensuring that clients have access to the planning, creative, technology and content specialists that they need to drive impactful and disruptive work.   She has a Masters Distinction in Public Relations.   Website: http://webershandwick.co.uk/   Twitter: @annavarleyjones Next up we have Robert Craven helping you build the best business yet!

We interview Michael Taylor, External Affairs Advisor at Manchester Met university about how the University is changing, the future for Oxford Road and his 'other' life as blogger MarpleLeaf.

“Hidden in plain view” Visiting Research Fellow in Tourism at University of West of England (Formerly Principal Lecturer, Bristol Business School, UWE); Academic Adviser to European Walled Towns (EWT) formerly the Walled Towns Friendship Circle: researching – their history, tourism and sustainable development as well as the archives of the EWT itself . David also research’s 19th Century Tourism history associated with Baedeker, Murray and other Guide books. David has also worked on and led bids and projects funded by the European Commission and British Council. He has lectured in tourism at Bristol Polytechnic, now University of West of England, Bristol 1983 -2008, leading field study trips in England, Wales and across Europe. I have been external examiner for tourism at Staffordshire, Manchester Met, (Masters degrees) and Swansea Met (UG) Universities.Before 1983, David was a Marketing Manager and Transport Planner with National Bus Company in Chester, Oxford and London. Studying History, Economics and Town Planning at St Andrews (MA) and Edinburgh (MPhil) Universities (thesis on ‘Pedestrian Priority Shopping Streets’ 1975) professionally qualified in Town Planning (MRTPI to 2012), Transport (MCILT) and Tourism (MTS).