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.
Sustainable Futures
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.
LGBT+ History Month
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.
Engaging students with the SDGs
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.
Early Career Race Network
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.
UK-China International Photography competition
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.
International Women’s Day
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.
Being Human Festival
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.
Sustainability at Manchester University Press
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-China Friendship Programme
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.
Renewable energy pledge
100% of our electricity consumption is backed with REGO (‘Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin’) certification. This means that for every megawatt (or 1,000kWh) of electricity the University consumes, the equivalent volume of electricity is generated from renewable sources.
We encourage our staff, students and our local community to make a similar move to renewable energy suppliers!
Social responsibility partnerships
Examples of our civic partnerships include:
We also prioritise global partnerships to advance our work towards the SDGs. These include:
Public engagement partnerships
We partner with a range of organisations to carry out meaningful public engagement with diverse audiences and share ideas and research as well as inspiring informed discussion, debate and creativity.
Examples include:
Q-Step data partnerships
We partner with small local charities in Manchester right through to major government departments through our Q-Step programme.
This places students on internships in organisations that require data skills and analysis and we’ve collaborated on projects with the Office for National Statistics on global, national and regional datasets used to measure progress on SDGs.
Student learning partnerships
We’re committed to empowering students with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to address all of the SDGs through partnerships with public, private and civil society organisations.
Our University Living Lab platform connects student projects with external organisations to address the SDGs.
Our Volunteer Hub acts to advance partnerships between hundreds of charities and our student volunteers.
And many academic programmes offer service-learning partnerships, where external organisations benefit from practical student interventions in areas such as dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, business and legal advice.
University governance
We have a duty to conduct our affairs in a responsible and transparent way.
The Board of Governors is our governing body, carrying ultimate responsibility for our overall strategic direction and for the management of our finances, property and affairs generally, including the employment arrangements for all staff. Its membership of 23 has a majority of persons who aren’t employed by the University, known as lay members and its Chair is appointed by the Board from within the lay category of the membership. Members of our Senate, support staff and student representatives are also elected to serve on the Board.
The General Assembly is a much larger body than the Board of Governors. In common with the Board, it has a majority of lay members. Lay members are drawn from a wide range of local, regional and national interests, and together they offer the University a wealth of experience and expertise from differing perspectives and backgrounds.
Justice Hub
Our Justice Hub allows students to explore and apply various arms of the law to make real change in our communities.
The Hub runs a free legal advice centre for economically disadvantaged people in areas such as family, housing and immigration law.
During the pandemic, our Justice Hub set up the Virtual Vacation Scheme, which aimed to simplify some very complicated areas of law impacted by the pandemic, and created an accessible and informative method of legal help for the community through workshops, videos, briefings and webinars.
Manchester Innocence Project
As part of our Justice Hub, The Manchester Innocence Project (MIP) is one of only 13 organisations outside of the US to join the Innocence Network.
Law students volunteering with MIP have the opportunity to take on live criminal appeals for those who maintain their innocence.
Biodiversity on campus
To help promote biodiversity on campus, we’ve developed:
- an online, interactive campus Tree Trail highlighting 50 of the 1,500 trees across Oxford Road Campus, North Campus and Whitworth Park.
- a tree plan requiring the planting of two trees for every one removed by our campus developments.
- UMAPIT (University of Manchester Animal Positions and Information Tracker) – a bespoke app to allows the public to record sightings of urban wildlife species.
We ensure our biodiversity hotspots are taken care of:
The Firs is located on the University’s Fallowfield campus and houses a suite of facilities for environmental research, monitoring and engagement.
Our UNESCO World Heritage site, Jodrell Bank, is another area rich in biodiversity.
We’ve also transformed a former road into Brunswick Park – a pocket park to enhance green space and wellbeing on campus.
Cultural venues and nature
The Whitworth created the UK’s first dedicated post of Cultural Park Keeper.
This has led to the creation of a Natural and Cultural Health Service programme of outdoor activities to raise awareness, educate and inspire our diverse visitors to connect with and protect life in our park.
At Jodrell Bank we work with community and voluntary groups, including the RSPB and the Cheshire Beekeepers Association, to protect and enhance our natural environment.
Making labs greener
Leading the way in achieving the University’s pledge to eliminate avoidable single-use plastic usage, staff in our School of Biological Sciences are reducing single-use plastics in the lab through adoption of a 6R approach.
This has included:
- refining protocol and optimising waste management;
- reducing single-use items;
- re-using materials, plastic containers and gloves;
- using recycled material;
- replacing plastics where possible with glass, paper or wood.
Watershed management
We’ve implemented watershed management strategies based on location-specific diversity of aquatic species.
These ensure flow rates of water run-off in our urban environment are decreased and water quality is improved, including reducing flow into our local River Medlock on campus.
At our rural Jodrell Bank site, we’ve also reduced flow into our local watercourses, protecting the great crested newt – a protected species that relies on aquatic life.
Ocean warming and shark survival
Our undergraduate students have assisted a study into the effects of warming ocean waters on the small-spotted catshark embryo’s freeze response: a technique whereby the embryo stops moving so that predators won’t detect them.
The research found that with a 5°C water temperature increase there was a seven-fold decrease in the length of time the embryos froze for in the presence of a predator stimuli, indicating that as oceans warm, many shark and ray species may reduce in number due to increased predation.
Divesting from fossil fuels
We’re ending investments in fossil fuel reserve and extraction companies by 2022, and ‘decarbonising’ all other investments by 2038.
This policy was developed in consultation with the University’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and our Students’ Union.