In mid-July we welcomed visitors from across the world to the University to find out more about our commitment to social responsibility. 13 people from 9 different universities were on campus for two days to take part in a series of talks and visits helping to stimulate discussion and collaboration and to share practice.

The delegation were all members of the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN), a group of international institutions who seek to share and disseminate international best practice in social responsibility. This visit was the first of series of study visits by member institutions to learn from each other.

During the visit delegates enjoyed a wide-ranging programme, involving: a ‘multi-lingual buffet’ on the curry-mile with our researchers, a behind-the-scenes tour of Manchester Museum and the Whitworth, presentations from our Global Development, Ageing and Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institutes, a visit to The Works in Moss Side and meeting Manchester Access and Equity and Merit scholars.

Dr Julian Skyrme, Director of Social Responsibility and host for the visit said: “We were delighted to welcome visitors from around the world to learn about our work on social responsibility. As well as learning about innovations from other universities, delegates remarked that Manchester’s approach was leading the way in embedding social responsibility across the full range of university functions.”

Members of the network will next meet in Beijing in November to share practices with universities in mainland China and other parts of the world. The network will also publish the world’s first book on university social responsibility in 2017, with the University of Manchester being a key contributor.