Foundation Day 2023 honours visionaries in healthcare, history, and aerospace | CPT PPP Coverage

This year’s lecture explored the ways HIV changed over past decades, with a focus on the factors contributing to the virtuous circle of HIV prevention that meant England has the potential to end new HIV transmissions by 2030. The discussion also addressed barriers, including stigma, inequality, disinvestment in public health, and the fragmentation of the public health system, which undermine the health economics logic for investing in prevention.

2023’s Honorary Graduates:

Deborah Gold is CEO of the National AIDS Trust (NAT) an organisation that works to improve both clinical treatment and national policy as it relates to HIV and AIDS. In 2016, Debbie challenged the NHS through the courts, ultimately going to the Court of Appeal for a judicial review, to have Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) made available to at risk groups outside of London, with Manchester being a primary beneficiary.

Professor Catherine Hall FBA is a world-leading authority on the history of empire, slavery, gender and class, with particular reference to 19th-century Britain. She is also the leading force behind the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership project, which with its associated searchable database has gained international attention and resulted in a prize-winning documentary. 

A distinguished UMIST graduate, Sir Kevin Leeson’s career delivered an outstanding contribution to the prestige and capability of UK aerospace, driving strategy and growth. For over 30 years, he has been active in charitable endeavours. He led an RAF Charity for 7 years (https://airtattoo.com) which became a leader in youth STEM programmes, stimulating many thousands of young people’s interest in aerospace and providing educational funding for the disadvantaged.