Colleagues and students from across the University joined us for two open sessions on bringing social responsibility to life through our commitment to public and civic engagement. The sessions highlighted how the Manchester 2035 strategy will help to shape this work and showcased examples of partnerships for engagement in action.

Both sessions opened with an outline of how social responsibility sits as one of the five foundations of Manchester 2035 embedded across research, teaching, practice and operations.

Public engagement session

Stephanie Snow, Academic Lead for Public Engagement, highlighted how engagement is embedded in everyday activity and shaped by a strong sense of place. She invited attendees to reflect on what it means to be an engaged university, how community partnerships form, and how engagement connects with their own practice. She also noted its importance within frameworks including the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) and Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, and the University’s Platinum Engage Watermark recognising outstanding strategic support and commitment to public engagement. Lindsay Pressdee and Lena Bartoszewicz shared their project Game Changers, which repurposes unwanted football shirts to start conversations about sustainability. Using the universal appeal of football, the project addresses polyester textile waste while teaching practical upcycling skills. The project highlighted working in partnership with the Manchester United Foundation to engage local school students and with charity shops, community groups, international organisations to embed partnerships into the undergraduate curriculum.

Ellen Dowell Creative Producer from Imperial College London and Jacklyn Smith presented Let’s Talk About Cough, a creative, participatory project that reframes an often-misunderstood condition. Bringing together researchers, clinicians, and people with chronic cough enabled a space for shared storytelling. Further collaborations with creative artists created an immersive audio piece ‘One in 10’ and practical pocketbook. Lessons from the collaborative project have been captured in an evaluation report reflecting on the process and its engagement.

John Keady’s reflections on the Music in Mind project offered a powerful reminder of how deep, trusting partnerships can transform both research and practice. What began as an office conversation has grown into a 14-year collaboration with Manchester Camerata, rooted in shared values of respect, openness, and being fully present with people living with dementia. The project’s focus on improvisation responding to the smallest sounds, gestures, or movements creates moments of genuine connection that transcend memory and become meaningful in themselves. The project has evolved into a programme that has reached thousands across the Northwest, supported by research, training, and the establishment of the first National Centre for Excellence for Music and Dementia.

• A recording of the public engagement session can be viewed here.

Civic engagement session

Julian Skyrme, Executive Director for Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement, highlighted how our commitment to civic engagement is reflected in all aspects of our Manchester 2035 strategy. From innovation to research impact, partnerships to flexible and digital learning – civic engagement is infused in the ambitious outcomes the University is purposefully setting out to achieve now and in the future. He spoke about the importance of our role a civic anchor, not only with benefits to our regional economy and society but recognised as a place where you matter. And he reminded us that the partnership work we do locally and regionally has impact beyond these geographical boundaries.

John Holden, Vice President for Civic Engagement and Innovation provided an overview of our strategic approach to innovation and shared how civic is an inherent part of that; how the structures and partnerships we have in place enable us to deliver our strategic ambition; and how exciting projects in SISTER and our involvement in Atom Valley exemplify how we drive civic engagement through innovation. He highlighted how Unit M is working alongside existing structures to unlock the University’s full potential for inclusive innovation and showcased how some of our defining partnerships – GM Civic University Agreement, Innovation GM and the Cambridge x Manchester Innovation Partnership are scaling up R&D, catalysing jobs in the region, driving growth and connecting Manchester to the rest of the and the world.

John McAuliffe, Associate Vice President (Culture) reminded us whilst the Manchester 2035 strategy provides an even stronger focus and energy for civic partnerships, actually that mission for being civically minded is also a very old story, one where from its beginnings the University would respond to the city around it and to the changing future of what the city could be. He then shared the significant role our cultural institutions play within the region and beyond as places of culture, connection and inclusion.

Sophie Morbey, Greater Manchester Citizens rounded off the stories of shared practice by giving us the perspective from an external partner of the University. She first highlighted the diversity of the 23 member organisations made up of community groups, faith groups, schools and charities and the University, then set out the principles of community organising to develop leaders, build collective power to win change and build trust across differences. Sophie reminded us of the influence an institution like the University of Manchester can role model good practice, citing our commitment to be a Real Living Wage employer and using our convening power for authentic civic engagement.

• A recording of the civic engagement session can be viewed here.