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.
Innovation GM
We’re working with leading innovators from business, science, academia and local government to develop Innovation GM – 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.
Capacity-building for NGOs, businesses and government
We deliver free activities and resources for the public, private and third sector including vocational training, executive education and continued professional development.
We’ve helped create a pioneering NGO Explorer to build networks, increase transparency and provide potential for commissioning of work with NGOs through a searchable database.
Our annual Prometheus programme offers learning and development opportunities for third-sector leaders to make their organisations grow and be economically sustainable.
Good employment
Our Alliance Manchester Business School has partnered with regional organisations and authorities to create the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, which aims to advance decent work and employment standards across our city region.
We have also joined campaigns with Citizens UK to highlight our role as a living wage organisation.
The Productivity Institute
Our Alliance Manchester Business School hosts The Productivity Institute – a new UK-wide £32 million research organisation exploring what productivity means for business, for workers and for communities, how it is measured and how it contributes to increased living standards and wellbeing.
It will help pinpoint the causes of stagnation in UK productivity and lay foundations for sustained and inclusive productivity growth by directly informing government policies and business strategies to improve productivity.
University investments
We have a University policy (PDF) on divesting from carbon- intensive energy industries.
Our entire investment portfolio is going through a staged disinvestment based on carbon intensity as well as fossil fuel reserves and extraction.
Energy research beacon
Energy is one of our five research beacons and we have more than 600 academics addressing sustainable energy challenges.
Our On Energy publication is a collection of thought-leadership pieces from a selection of our staff, bringing together expert commentary, analysis and policy recommendations on issues such as climate change, fuel poverty, energy storage, and the economic viability of nuclear power and multi-energy systems.
Creating a fairer and greener energy supply
Our Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Tyndall Manchester have been collaborating with Electricity North West to help better manage its network, improving sustainability and saving money for the company and customers alike.
Our research with them addressed three key areas that impact electricity supply: smart distribution networks for managing supply with demand; managing power flow fluctuations; and assessing the carbon footprint of different network investment options.
Our work led to changes in their network investment, enhancing renewable energy sources and reducing energy bills for customers. This work could fundamentally change electricity supply in the UK, with approval being agreed for national rollout.
Sustainable urban drainage
We utilise sustainable water extraction technologies on associated university grounds off campus.
This includes using sustainable urban drainage techniques to minimise surface water run-off and flood risks in an environmentally friendly way by mimicking natural water systems such as ponds, wetlands, swales and basins.
#LetsTalkLynch campaign
We partnered with gynaecological cancer charity The Eve Appeal to raise awareness of our research into Lynch syndrome and what it means for cancer screening practices.
We created a series of short videos outlining this research, what it means, and the real stories of women and families who have been affected by Lynch syndrome and Lynch-related cancer.
Women in STEM
We have a range of initiatives that empower women and girls to enter predominantly male fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Our academics have set up ScienceGrrl – a grassroots network to address the under-representation of women in science and engineering.
A Women in Environmental Science group has been established to create space for environmental discussion among women from diverse backgrounds.
We also host Girls Night Out – a twice-yearly event at our Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre to celebrate and encourage females to pursue careers in STEM.
In partnership with the Manchester United Foundation, our Girls in STEM Day programme invites 12- and 13-year-old girls to campus to celebrate National Engineering Day.
Students’ and women’s rights
Our students started a Misogyny Is Hate campaign, leading to the government directing police to record crimes motivated by a person’s sex or gender for the first time.
Our Students’ Union also runs Reclaim the Night, resulting in around 2,000 women marching in the streets each year to raise awareness of sexual harassment and gender-based violence.
On Gender
We produced On Gender to identify what we know – and what we need to know – about gender inequality in tackling the big policy agendas devolved to Greater Manchester and other areas, with devolution deals in areas such as ageing, labour markets, education, parenting and sexual violence.
Library and open access
Our University Library is one of only five National Research Libraries in the UK.
It offers reference facilities to north-west sixth-form and mature students and their teachers to help with A-level, vocational and Access course work.
ProjectInc
Our Manchester Museum hosts and partners with ProjectInc, a Specialist College for Creative Education, to make our cultural institutions more inclusive, engaging and creative for neurodiverse young people.
Imagine Me Stories
Our Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health partners with Manchester Metropolitan University and Keele University on Imagine Me Stories.
This is a school library diversity initiative designed to tackle under-representation in UK school libraries by curating diverse resources and promoting better representation in literature for all students.
Great Science Share for Schools
Our Science and Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub undertakes a range of public engagement campaigns.
These include the Great Science Share for Schools and the Greater Manchester Engineering Challenge, which enhances the University’s work in broadening the pipeline of young people with an interest in STEM subjects.
IntoUniversity Manchester North
We partner with the IntoUniversity Manchester North educational charity to support and engage some of the most disadvantaged young people in Manchester.
IntoUniversity helps young people to attain a university place or another chosen aspiration. 71% of its students progress to university, compared with 43% of students from similar backgrounds nationally.
Educating the region’s school children during lockdown to minimise disadvantage
During the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns of 2020, our partnership with the Tutor Trust charity provided online sessions to ensure disadvantaged students didn’t suffer the risk of falling behind in their education without regular teaching in the classroom.
Students from The University of Manchester make up more than half of those who work as Tutor Trust tutors in Manchester.
Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and professional programmes
We offer expert-led, free MOOCs and paid continued professional development courses in a wide range of subject areas, including civil engineering, business and management, healthcare ethics and law.
This includes a free Prometheus programme to support executive-level learning and development for UK third-sector professionals.
#BeeWell
#BeeWell is an initiative established in Greater Manchester in 2019 by our University, Anna Freud, The Gregson Family Foundation, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority. The programme aims to explore young people’s opinions on wellbeing and the ways in which it can be improved. The findings inform activity across Greater Manchester, with schools, voluntary sector organisations and children’s services working closely with young people to interpret and act on the results.
Green spaces, health and wellbeing
Our Natural and Cultural Health Service is a programme of outdoor activities run by the Whitworth to promote good physical and mental wellbeing.
Staff, students and the public are also encouraged to use our FIRS botanical gardens to bring gardening, wellbeing and botany to more people.
Sports participation
Our Sporticipate programme serves to provide free and low-cost entry-level sport sessions for the University and wider community.
Sports staff also facilitate volunteering by colleagues and students for the good of local organisations.
Health Innovation Manchester
Health Innovation Manchester works to develop and deploy new solutions that improve the health and wellbeing of Greater Manchester’s 2.8 million citizens.
We work in partnership with other regional institutions, authorities and health experts to respond to healthcare challenges across Greater Manchester, and drive national and global innovation agendas in frontline care.
Humanising Healthcare
Our Humanising Healthcare initiative embeds community service and engagement within dentistry, pharmacy and optometry programmes.
It supports students to deliver essential healthcare and education to communities as part of the curriculum.
It also encourages global volunteering and the development of civic values and skills in the future health workforce.