Mobilising Urban Living Labs to create sustainable infrastructure

Our research on Urban Living Labs has transformed sustainable infrastructure provision locally, and enhanced capacity in East Africa, South America and the Philippines.

Locally we’ve shaped £26m of infrastructure investment by Manchester City Council as well as replacing 20,000km of delivery van trips with e-cargo bikes. Globally, we’ve delivered walkability action plans and improved road safety for 5.8m citizens across East Africa, South America and the Philippines.

Equality marks

Equality charter marks are an important way for universities to demonstrate and measure their commitment to creating a fair, inclusive and supportive environment for everyone. They provide external recognition of the progress being made to promote equality across areas such as gender, race, sexual orientation, and background, while also helping to identify where further improvement is needed. By engaging with these frameworks, the University show accountability, shares good practice, and ensures that equity and inclusion are embedded in our culture, policies and everyday activities. 

• Stonewall Top 50 employer for LGBTQ+ equality
• Bronze Award for Race Equality (use logo)
• 15 Athena SWAN Chartermarks for Gender Equality
• Care Leaver Covenant signed to support care leavers to live independently.
• University of Sanctuary status in support of our work with refugee and asylum seeker students
• National Network for the Education of Care Leavers Quality Mark which signifies we demonstrate support for the inclusion and success of students with care experience or who are estranged.

Diversity monitoring

Our latest Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) annual report shows that:

• 3% of employees disclosed that they are disabled
• 9% of staff declare they are Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic
• 5% of our staff are female
• 8% of staff classify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or other
• 22% of students are the first in their immediate family to gain a degree
• 1.1% of students (407) are from low or lower-middle income countries as defined by the World Bank.

Zero tolerance

Our Speak Up! Stand Up! campaign and reporting procedures through our Dignity at Work and Study Policy make it clear that we take a zero tolerance approach to bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination or victimisation by any members of our community.

Equity and Merit Programme

Our Equity and Merit Programme supports the brightest minds from some of the least developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe – to develop skills for sustainable development in their home countries.

Thanks to funding by the University and the generosity of our donors, more than 300 international students have completed master’s programmes with us.

Reducing inequalities through our cultural institutions

Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, our gallery’s Whitworth Young Contemporaries was motivated to create an Other Utopia zine which connected art, ideas and communities to challenge white narrative of its collections.

Our Museum’s Our Shared Cultural Heritage youth project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, utilises a range of engaging activities and events to explore and celebrate the shared histories and cultures of the UK and South Asia.

Manchester Urban Villages

We used participatory methods to test a US-style ‘village model’ of neighbourhood-based interventions to support people to age well within their communities.

Cultures of Anti-Racism in Latin America

Our three-year project, Cultures of Anti-Racism in Latin America (CARLA), is funded by AHRC.

It explores how artists in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia address racial diversity in their work, and how they use their art to challenge racism.

Talking Migration

Academics from our Department of Politics have created Talking Migration, a free, publicly accessible podcast filled with discussions, debates and interviews on all aspects of the politics of migration.

Race Archives and Community Engagement

Our University Library hosts the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre – an open access library and outreach facility, based in the city of Manchester’s Central Library.

The Centre specialises in the study of race, migration and diversity, empowering communities with the information and knowledge they need to challenge racism.

Student Action for Refugees

Our students are involved in volunteering and campaigning with the Manchester branch of Student Action for Refugees (STAR) to support those in need of refuge in the UK.

EDI interdisciplinary course unit

Our new interdisciplinary unit, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI): Your Role in Shaping a Fairer World, is open to all undergraduate students and empowers them to take responsibility for promoting inclusive approaches to study and work.

Social Justice Challenge

All second-year students can take part in our Social Justice Challenge, an online programme exploring key issues relating to migration, homelessness, education, mental health, energy and trade.

Addressing inequalities through study programmes

Students address inequalities in a wide range of course units.

These range from undergraduate Sociology students examining social inequalities in contemporary Britain right through to master’s programmes in International Development.

Independent Inequalities Commission

An Independent Inequalities Commission involved two experts from the University set out a range of measures for tackling inequality and transforming public policy across Greater Manchester.

The Commission outlined specific, ambitious recommendations for the future of our city-region, covering economic growth, health, wellbeing, jobs, housing, transport, skills and training, which will be embedded within public service delivery at all levels and informs the elected Mayor’s next Greater Manchester Strategy.

Work and Equalities Institute

Our Work and Equalities Institute identifies and promotes the conditions for more inclusive and fair work and employment arrangements.

The research explores challenges for equality, fairness and sustainability in the workplace, and considers how employers are responding to the challenge of an increasingly diverse workforce and what new institutions are needed to enforce fair rights and responsibilities at work.

Global inequalities

Global inequalities is one of our five research beacons.

We support dedicated Institutes, Centres and Networks to foster world-leading interdisciplinary research into making our city, our region, our nation, and our world a fairer and more equal place to live.

Manchester Innovation Factory

Our Manchester Innovation Factory helps protect and commercialise our innovations and intellectual property by creating 15-20 new spin-out companies each year based on our novel ideas.

Innovation GM

We’re working with leading innovators from business, science, academia and local government in developing Innovation GM.

This is a new partnership to form the basis of a collaboration deal with government to create as many as 100,000 new jobs and boost the economy by £7 billion.

Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD)

Our recently constructed Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) is creating an environment for the brightest engineers to innovate.

Manchester Innovation Labs

Our Manchester Innovation Labs provide a robust, effective means of co-developing research projects with companies to address a business need.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

We have been placed top in the UK for our knowledge transfer partnerships.

Through our structure and funding support, we place graduates to support businesses in addressing key innovation challenges.

Manchester Enterprise Challenge

Our students are able to undertake an Enterprise Challenge, which combines enterprise units with a community-based enterprise project with not-for-profit organisations.

Masood Entrepreneurship Centre

Our Masood Entrepreneurship Centre is a focal point for enterprise and entrepreneurship in our Alliance Manchester Business School, developing entrepreneurial skills in students, staff and graduates.

Fostering innovation through study programmes

We deliver undergraduate programmes in Innovation, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, master’s programmes in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship.

We also integrate industrial experience into a wide range of science, engineering, health and social science programmes.