Search these pages to explore a selection of our directory of activities. You can use the keyword search and filter buttons to discover how we are addressing each of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and the five priorities in our Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement Plan. You can also filter activities by location and function.
We host an annual Sustainability Challenge photography competition, asking students to submit a picture that raises awareness of a sustainability issue that they are passionate about. Alongside this, the challenge encourages students to express their opinions and critically engage with issues relating to climate change.
Sustainable Futures aims to bring together the unique depth and breadth of internationally leading research at our University, as well as interdisciplinary working to produce sustainable solutions for urgent environmental challenges. The organisation also aims to develop complete understandings of the environmental systems on which we depend and how humans interact with them, spurring scientific innovation and facilitating societal change at a scale and pace to address environmental crises.
Each year our University marks LGBT+ History Month with a variety of events, awareness raising activities and calls to action to mark the contribution and importance the LGBT+ community has had on the University. Events include exploring aspects of LGBT+ inclusion and a screening of a documentary focusing on intersectionality, followed by a discussion. Members of our alumni are also invited to join a panel where they discuss the theme allocated to LGBT+ History Month for that year.
Each year our University organises the Student Volunteering Week which aims to encourage students to take part in various volunteering opportunities to help society and the environment. For example, in 2025, in partnership with Ardwick Climate Action, students took part in sprucing up areas around Kale Street and the Mancunian Way, improving the biodiversity of the area and making it cleaner and greener for the residents.
Our University College for interdisciplinary Learning (UCIL) offers units that aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to explore and address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the challenges that may occur from creating a sustainable world. The module also features contributions from policymakers, academics and the public, which gives students the unique opportunity to explore the UN’s SDGs in depth.
Based at our University, the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity in collaboration with RACE.ED has developed the Early Career Race Network. The organisation aids early-career scholars specialising in ethnicity and race through regular online and in person workshops that provide support in navigating a career in academia.
Each year the University’s Manchester China institute alongside Creative Manchester organise the UK-China International Photography competition to demonstrate how creative expression can form the bridge between building mutual understanding and empathy across different cultures. The competition encourages both local and international communities in Manchester to engage through the medium of art, and in the process, celebrate unique cultures whilst highlighting our shared commonalities.
A researcher at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the Sustainable Consumption Institute has co-published a report entitled ‘Being Brave: Innovative Solutions to Public Food Procurement.’ The report highlights how to improve food systems and the resilience of food procurement while also reducing its impact on the climate. The report also finds that there is a pressing need to improve school food provision and that adopting a more sustainable approach to school meals could facilitate substantial benefits in children’s nutrition and health, as well as reduced carbon emissions.
Each year we celebrate International Women’s Day with various events and activities for students and staff to partake in to increase awareness about discrimination, recognise women’s achievements and take action to drive gender equity.
Our Whitworth Art Gallery partners with the Afrocats to hold a series of creative events and workshops to drive social change. Afrocats is a female-led charity that works closely with communities to address and dismantle inequality by identifying and breaking down barriers. Their vision is to create a robust and more inclusive social environment for vulnerable asylum-seekers and refugees.
Dr. Sherilyn MacGregor, Reader in Environmental Politics at our University, is the lead author of a major report ‘Caring in a Changing Climate‘ commissioned by Oxfam America that investigates the impacts of climate breakdown, climate mitigation and adaptations on care work. The report calls for greater actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions and a more significant focus on the nexus of climate and care work within policy and research. It points to the need for climate initiatives to pursue gender-transformative approaches via the adoption of care sensitive interventions.
Each year our University’s Creative Manchester hosts the Schools Poetry Competition, where students across Greater Manchester are encouraged to express themselves through writing poems relating to a particular theme. Winning entries from the competition are featured on Manchester City of Literature’s inaugural Schools Writing Trail, a city-wide exhibition of the ‘best of the best’ student writing displayed, in conjunction with the Festival of Libraries.
Being Human is the UK’s National Festival of the humanities, which celebrates how the discipline enriches everyday living and helps us understand a changing world. Each year, our researchers collaborate with local community and cultural partners to create exciting and engaging events and projects for all to enjoy.
The ESRC festival of Social Science is an annual celebration of the research conducted in social sciences and its profound impact on society. It offers a fascinating insight into some of the country’s leading research and how it influences our social, economic, and political lives – both now and in the future. The festival is open to everyone and is a unique opportunity to engage directly with researchers about the projects they work on.
At the University of Manchester we are proud to be part of the City of Manchester team who worked together to achieve the Living Wage City Status. The University is a pioneer and advocate for the Real Living Wage in the City and has been a Real Wage employer since 2019.
Professor Perdita Barran is working on a way to improve Parkinson’s diagnosis in collaboration with Joy Milne, who has a rare condition called hyperosmia that gives her an extremely sensitive sense of smell and the ability to smell out different diseases such as Parkinson’s. Perdita and Joy have worked closely identify the particular molecules that give Parkinson’s its scent. This has led to the development of a non-invasive swab test that can, in conjunction with the onset of early Parkinson’s symptoms, identify Parkinson’s disease with around a 95% accuracy.
Our University plays a key role in providing expertise on how we can reach the University’s goal of Zero Carbon by 2038, which is pivotal to influencing stakeholders to take greater action in addressing climate change. The Green Summit brings together residents, businesses, policy makers and community groups that share a determination for the city-region to be carbon neutral by 2038.
University of Manchester researchers are collaborating with staff at Black Beetle Health to exchange expertise to better understand the support services available to LGBTQ+ people of colour and build capacity among community organisations for research activities. Black Beetle Health is a Manchester-based digital public health charity which supports the health and wellbeing of Black LGBTQ+ people.
Our Manchester University Press (MUP) are focused on sustainable publishing practices and enabling readers to be responsible consumers when it comes to books. MUP regularly works with audiobook producer ‘Sound Understanding’ on many titles to make the daily lives of readers more sustainable. MUP’s audiobook programme focuses on releasing books aimed at a general readership interested in society and the world around us.
Manchester Day of Action (MDoA) is our annual flagship volunteer programme where alumni from across the world are invited to choose a local project that needs volunteer assistance. Each project relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and a team of alumni work together to support the project during the ‘Day of Action,’ which takes place during the summer.
Each year our Manchester China Institute teams up with the Manchester China Forum (MCF) and The University’s International Office to integrate new Chinese students into campus life, while simultaneously enriching the campus experience for local students. The Manchester-China Friendship Programme (MCFP) further seeks to develop mutual understanding and friendships between British and Chinese students which is particularly important at a time when anti-Asian prejudice, discrimination, and aggression has increased in the UK and around the world.
‘Never OK’ is a joint campaign by The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Salford, that promotes an environment and culture where sexual harassment or violence is never tolerated. The campaign encourages everyone in our University community to be active bystanders and challenge unacceptable behaviour should they witness it. We also want to empower survivors of sexual harassment or violence within our community to seek support and feel confident about reporting incidents.
Our annual ScienceX festival is a flagship off-campus event run by our Faculty of Science and Engineering. The festival strives to inspire the upcoming generations of scientists and engineers through an array of fun and captivating workshops and activities that offer a genuine insight into science and engineering. Previous years have included science tricks to dancing robots, meteorites, building towers and making graphene.
Our work in hydrology and hydrochemistry to understand metals, carbon and gases in water systems has led to the development of a highly successful spin-out company, Salamander, which has brought to market two cutting-edge pieces of water monitoring software – chloroclam and hydroclam – which are being used in industry to improve water and marine system monitoring. We have also undertaken work to understand hypoxia – dead fish zones – which has directly informed marine industry practice on aquatic ecosystems.
We are involved in co-operative planning for climate change disasters at both local and regional levels, working closely with government. Locally, our Grow Green Project supports local government, partners and stakeholders to design and deliver a detailed green infrastructure masterplan for climate action resilience in West Gorton, Manchester. Regionally, our RESIN Eco-cities project involves leading a consortium of researchers at the forefront of urban climate adaptation research.
Sustainability Challenge photography competition
Sustainable Futures
LGBT+ History Month
Student Volunteering Week
Engaging students with the SDGs
Early Career Race Network
UK-China International Photography competition
Innovative solutions to GM public food procurement
International Women’s Day
Afrocats takeover at The Whitworth
Caring in a Changing Climate
Schools Poetry Competition
Being Human Festival
ESRC Festival of Social Science
Living Wage City
Improving Parkinson’s diagnoses
Greater Manchester Green Summit
Improving the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people of colour
Sustainability at Manchester University Press
Manchester Day of Action
Manchester-China Friendship Programme
Never OK
ScienceX
Preventing aquatic ecosystem damage
Cooperative planning for climate change disasters
