Beyer suggested a public appeal to create a new college on a different site that would allow the Owens College to expand. The Owens Extension College Movement began in 1867 with appeals directed particularly at rich mill-owners and the textile trade. The wealthy and charismatic mill-owner, Thomas Ashton, a fine public speaker, was chosen to lead the campaign, with support from chemist and Owens College Professor Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe. Both Ashton and Roscoe had trained at Heidelberg University (Roscoe had been taught by Professor Robert Bunsen). Manchester wanted to follow the German university model, with an emphasis on research rather than the dogmatic teachings of ancient universities (e.g.: Oxford and Cambridge). Study tours were organised to mainly German Universities including Heidelberg and Berlin, and also to new polytechnics like the Dresden Academy, where Beyer had trained.