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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.
searching subjects: Public engagement
Our Manchester Museum welcomed a delegation from the Aboriginal Anindilyakwa community of Groote Eylandt for the formal return of 174 items of cultural heritage. Over a three-year period, the Museum worked with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and the Anindilyakwa Land Council to return items to their rightful home and inspire future generations.
The University has partnered with the Kenyan government predominantly focusing on bringing communities of clinicians, researchers and trainees together in Kenya and the UK to co-develop strategies and healthcare practices.
This ongoing collaboration now includes the Gender Equality Partnerships grant which aims to boost gender equity in leadership roles in both countries. Bringing together ten Kenyan and ten Manchester senior women from across academia and professional services for a 12-month programme, the strategy will pilot co-hosted events, diverse and inclusive leadership training, and cross-institutional mentoring and coaching. Its aim is to create and deliver an executive education programme for senior women in higher education and research that can be adapted to a global context.
We’re driving healthcare reform in India and helping to implement standardised treatment plans for cancers, including acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children. Starting with the Tata Medical Centre (TMC) in Kolkata, we are helping to increase the provision and capacity of cancer care in the region, along with enhancing the skills of the clinical workforce. Survival rates subsequently rose from 65% in 2014 to 80% in 2019. This approach was a catalyst for change in India, which now boasts a national network of cancer centres linked by modern practices and standardised treatment.
In 2024, Manchester was named a UNESCO City of Lifelong Learning. Our University is a key partner in making lifelong learning a reality for all, and supports the city as it becomes part of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) – made up of 64 cities from 35 countries.
Our Creative Manchester research platform partners with Manchester Camerata on Music in Mind, a programme that uses music and improvisation to help people living with dementia to express themselves and communicate with others. It also trains and supports care workers to deliver the music workshops independently, so the programme can continue benefitting local communities. Music in Mind has since been awarded a grant to evaluate the impact of an online version of the programme and how it could be integrated into the fundamentals of the care practice in the future. The programme has also been taken abroad, to benefit partners in Sweden, Taiwan and Japan.
The Klezmorim of Manchester is a community klezmer musicking group organised by the co-directors of The University of Manchester Klezmer Ensemble. The project aims to bring accessible, modally diverse, and wide-reaching intercultural musicking encounters to Greater Manchester by collaborating regularly with local community groups.
Manchester Museum has introduced a Decolonise! Trail as part of its ongoing commitment to confronting the legacies of Empire and prioritising anti-racism, equity, and justice. The trail provides a more thorough, transparent, and inclusive account of the Museum’s collections, acknowledging the realities of empire and ensuring the Museum remains a space for critical reflection and open dialogue.
The Roundview, developed by University of Manchester academics through research and co-production with a range of partners, is a toolkit for sustainability thinking and learning. The toolkit offers a unique, holistic approach to counteract potential barriers to action; shifting away from overwhelm and anxiety towards hope and inspiration. Learning toolkits have been provided to libraries across Greater Manchester to engage schools and community groups.
Once a Month, created at the University of Manchester, is a student-led volunteer initiative tackling period poverty. They host monthly packing sessions to supply charities with period products and publish a monthly newsletter on topics such as menstrual health and the gender pain gap. The project’s success has led to its expansion across UK universities.
In IT Services we have a strong commitment to reducing our impact on the environment. In a move to support local youth and promote digital equality, IT Services at the University in partnership with IT Provider, Stone Group, has donated laptops to the RAFAC 1263 (Rochdale) Squadron.
The African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) is a collaborative research programme, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), designed to address the complex urban development challenges in Africa’s rapidly changing cities.
Led by the Global Development Institute at The University of Manchester, ACRC aims to generate robust insights and evidence that will improve living conditions and urban services for all city residents, especially disadvantaged communities.
In Nairobi, Kenya, ACRC is utilising research processes to bring together key stakeholders from local communities and government to navigate contentious urban issues. The initiative aims to establish new approaches across the city and beyond. Nurturing coalitions of urban reform champions is also a key focus at the city level. This work is being led by teams from cities, Slum Dwellers International (SDI), the University of Nairobi, Strathmore University, LVCT Health, and others, with support from the Global Development Institute.
Findings from ACRC research highlight a range of urban development challenges in Nairobi and provide several recommendations for advancing urban reform in the city.
The aim of the Dentists in Primary Schools project is to implement engaging oral health sessions in primary schools across Greater Manchester, especially those in socially deprived.
A group of undergraduate students have taken the local Dentists in Primary Schools (DiPS) programme halfway across the world. Through International DiPS, students from the Manchester Pediatric Dentistry Student Society have introduced healthy oral hygiene habits to hundreds of young children in Kisumu, Kenya.
Many of our students volunteer either here in Manchester, or elsewhere nationally or internationally. Through our annual Volunteer of the Year Awards, we want to take time every year to thank these volunteers for the skills, commitment and tens of thousands of volunteers hours given.
Manchester Museum is dedicated to fostering understanding and connection between cultures through its diverse year-round calendar of events, including celebrations such as Diwali, Iftar, and Vaisakhi Festival. These events invite people of all ages and backgrounds to immerse themselves in the traditions, stories, and spirit of each festival, creating meaningful opportunities for cultural exchange and shared experiences.
We have partnered with Friends of Medlock Valley, a local community group, to promote biodiversity in inner city Manchester. Home to thousands of trees and open grasslands, the Medlock Valley is one of the city’s wildest and most ignored spaces, with few signs of the state or local authorities such as bins, benches or signage. This project aims to bring the University’s expertise and resources to scale up the group’s initiatives, with a series of workshops on historical memory through soil and trees, an appraisal of its ecological assets by staff in Earth Sciences at the University, and a durable set of information boards, wayfinders and artistic installations to embed the partnership within the community for years to come.
Bee Circular UoM is a student-led initiative focused on reducing food waste and fostering sustainability within the University of Manchester and its surrounding community through strategic partnerships and volunteer engagement.
The University has launched a capability, Unit M, to rethink how it supports the region’s innovation economy. With a mandate to drive the University’s new approach to innovation, Unit M will connect and catalyse the innovation ecosystem in Manchester and the wider region to accelerate inclusive growth.
The Chrysalis Family Centre has served as the setting for a fruitful collaboration between the University and local refugees and asylum seekers, fostering both language skills and community building. The initiative, spearheaded by our politics department, began as an English-language conversation project. Every week, students meet with refugees and asylum seekers at the Chrysalis Centre, offering them a chance to practice English and engage with the broader community. As the Chrysalis Family Centre continues to thrive, the collaboration between Manchester students and local refugees remains a powerful testament to the positive impact of community engagement.
The University has partnered with Hazaar to provide our students with an eco-friendly, zero-waste platform for buying and selling pre-loved items online and at on-campus market events. The Hazaar app connects students within a Manchester-specific marketplace, eliminating the need for postage and offering a more affordable and sustainable way to shop while supporting student entrepreneurs.
Our Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences is working with farmers in Malawi, some of the poorest in the world, to help share knowledge about plant and soil management through delivering free workshops and building a laboratory that will be the first of its kind in the country. Malawi is ranked within the five poorest nations of the world and one of the least developed. Its agricultural sector accounts for a third of its GDP and approximately 80% of its overall exports. Agriculture clearly holds great potential for enhancing the social and economic development of communities in Malawi.
The Manchester Christmas Dinner project started in 2013 with a vision: “No care leaver will be alone on Christmas day.” The initiative aims to provide young care-experienced people, usually around 50, with a memorable Christmas Day experience. It offers a warm and welcoming venue, delicious food, engaging activities facilitated by friendly hosts, and, of course, presents. The initiative received a Making a Difference Award for its outstanding professional services in social responsibility.
University of Manchester Physics Outreach (UMPO) is a student-led project that aims to increase the diversity of student participation in STEM-based subjects (primarily physics) through engaging outreach activities. These include workshops for both primary and secondary schools, and science demonstrations at markets in the form of ‘science busking’. The project received a Making a Difference Award for its outstanding contribution to widening participation.
Manchester Museum has been named as a runner-up in Art Fund Museum of the Year 2024. The Museum received a prize of £15,000 as one of four runners-up, alongside Craven Museum, Dundee Contemporary Arts, National Portrait Gallery and Young V&A.
Manchester Museum has been praised for the work it has done to collaborate with communities and foster a unique sense of belonging. The award-winning South Asia Gallery is co-curated with 30 people from the South Asian diaspora, and the Museum’s Top Floor has become a social and environmental justice hub, opening opportunities for educational and environmental charities to benefit from its collections, resources and research.
NAYS Social Projects are a community empowerment program that seek to provide a platform and forum for Indonesia’s youth to apply and share their knowledge in addressing various issues in remote areas of Indonesia, where there is still significant inequality in access to essential sectors like education, economics, health, and the environment. The initiative received a Making a Difference Award for its outstanding contribution to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Each year we throw open our doors for our local friends and neighbours to discover the variety of work we do here at the University. This free day is jam-packed with fun activities for all the family, including interactive demonstrations, musical and drama performances, and behind the scenes tours.
Our Universally Manchester Festival offers an inviting, informal space for visitors to meet our staff and students and community partners, and for us to take part in conversations that connect and inspire.
