Imprinted Diagnostics

Imprinted Diagnostics, a University of Manchester spinout, has created a diagnostic device designed to redefine emergency cardiac care by delivering rapid, lab quality diagnostics at the point of need. The portable device delivers accurate troponin readings from a finger prick in under 30 minutes, dramatically reducing patient waiting times in emergency and critical care settings. By eliminating the need for external lab processing, frontline clinicians can make faster, life-saving decisions. After successful early tests on 50 patient samples, Imprinted Diagnostics is now preparing to scale up development, supported by a £75,000 UnitM innovation award from the University. 

Visit Imprinted Diagnostics to find out more. 

SEED Changemakers

SEED Change-makers is a student-led  initiative developed by the University’s School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED). It empowers undergraduate and postgraduate students to drive meaningful change. The programme provides a dynamic platform for students to transform their passions into impactful action through leading and collaborating on innovative social responsibility projects. For example, students launched the Give It, Don’t Bin It campaign to reduce waste left behind in student accommodation during move-out periods, and they have hosted thought-provoking lectures on active citizenship and rethinking sustainable community support.  

Beyond the Creative City network

Through shared research and a knowledge exchange agenda, Creative Manchester’s Beyond the Creative City network brings together international academics from across disciplines including economics, urban planning, geography, sociology, cultural policy and creative practice. Together, the network is identifying challenges, producing peer-reviewed research, policy engagement and creative digital outputs for places and communities that have been previously left behind by national policy and investment.

At the University’s Productivity Institute, world-leading experts work directly with policymakers and businesses to better understand, measure and enable improvements in productivity across the UK, including living standards and wellbeing.

Partnership with Electricity North West Limited

Our researchers partnered with Electricity North West Limited (ENWL) to help it better manage its network, improve sustainability and save money for the company and customers. Researchers developed a matrix that can be used to model the relationship between network voltage and demand. They were then able to demonstrate how reducing the amount of energy used at peak times, creating less of a strain on the National Grid, could result in cost reductions for everyone. This has enabled ENWL to increase its customer base and connect more renewable energy sources to the network to help meet the UK government’s 2050 carbon-reduction targets.

Smart Cities Initiative

Led by the Manchester Urban Institute and Sustainable Consumption Institute, the ‘smart cities’ initiative is looking at ways to optimise urban services, including energy, transport and water, as cities become increasingly pressured by drivers of change. Cities are constantly evolving and so require new technology and increasing engagement from industry, government and citizens to stay ahead. We’re working with companies like Siemens, as a global ambassador, to train the next generation of engineers equipped to advance the connectivity, efficiency and sustainability of smart cities. True smart cities must engage their citizens, so we are collaborating with other leading institutions and public sector organisations across Europe as part of SMARTiP – a project funded by the European Commission to empower citizens to become active and involved in their cities.

The University of Manchester and The University of Cambridge cross-UK innovation partnership

The University of Manchester and The University of Cambridge has been awarded £4.8 million by Research England to accelerate inclusive growth and innovation collaboration. As the first cross-UK innovation partnership, it pioneers innovative research in ecosystem activation and integration; growing investment; and testing and learning.  

Once a Month

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. 

Dating App Connections project

The Dating App Connections, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, is a project that is researching and providing free resources with the aim of supporting the healthy, safe, and fun use of dating apps. Based on research on heterosexual and LGBT+ dating app users in the UK, the resources explain some important considerations, how dating apps are shaping our worlds, and some do’s and don’ts for dating app users.

Partnership with The Access Project

The University’s Faculty of Humanities has partnered with The Access Project, an organisation that supports young people from under-resourced backgrounds to raise their aspirations, access top universities and achieve social mobility.

Tyndall Centre delivering lowest-carbon live music

A report from the University’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, ‘Roadmap to Super Low Carbon Live Music’, successfully supported Massive Attack in delivering the lowest-carbon live music event of its kind. Commissioned by the band, the roadmap set out clear, measurable targets for the live music industry to significantly reduce its carbon footprint and align with the Paris Agreement.

Greenhouse gas monitoring station at Jodrell Bank

We have established a atmospheric monitoring station at The University’s Jodrell Bank Observatory to improve the accuracy of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions estimates. The station, part of the UK’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measurement and Modelling Advancement (GEMMA) programme, will monitor and provide crucial data on key climate-relevant gases, including carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O). A new high-precision analyser for monitoring atmospheric hydrogen (H₂) is also being deployed at the site to monitor atmospheric hydrogen (H₂) generated through the growth of the UK’s hydrogen economy.

British Heart Foundation’s Centre of Research Excellence

The University of Manchester has launched the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Manchester Centre of Research Excellence to support world-class cardiovascular disease research from the leading charity. The University matched BHF’s funding, bringing the total investment in cardiovascular disease research at Manchester to £8 million.

Joined Up Sustainability Transformations (JUST) centre

Joined Up Sustainability Transformations (JUST) is a research centre focused on the pursuit of sustainability transformations that are people-centred, ‘joined-up’ and socially just. It represents a multimillion-pound investment by the ESRC to enable research to make ground-breaking contributions to such transformations. The JUST Centre seeks to accelerate understanding of a just transition through coordinating research into action at all levels of society. 

Mental Health Charter Award

The University has been awarded the University Mental Health Charter Award from Student Minds – the UK’s student mental health charity. The UMHC Award is a voluntary accreditation scheme that supports universities to understand their areas of strength and development to inform ongoing improvement in mental health and wellbeing, recognising good practice along the way. 

Museum of the year awards

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. 

PGCE Secondary Green Conference

The PGCE Secondary Green Conference initiative is an annual event for student teachers, where students from multiple secondary PGCE subjects convene to host a day during which they address climate justice issues. The aims of the day are to develop student teachers’ understanding and confidence in dealing with climate justice issues. 

One Bin To Rule Them All

One Bin to Rule Them All is a project funded by a UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Grant on Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging. Bringing together material scientists with social science and business models, the project uses an interdisciplinary approach to tackle the issue of plastic recycling. The project aims to improve plastic recycling by developing ‘One Bin’ to hold all plastic-like items. 

Partnership with Environmena

We have partnered with leading UK clean energy firm, Environmena, to purchase electricity generated from its solar farm based in Medebridge, Essex.  

The Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (cPPA) commits the University to purchase 80% of Medebridge’s total annual generation capacity for the next decade. This commitment significantly reduces our carbon emissions and helps us towards achieving our zero-carbon ambitions by 2038. 

Sustainability Champion

The University of Manchester was named the UK’s most sustainable University at the QS EduData Summit 2024. We were awarded the title of ‘Sustainability Champion’ in celebration of our standout achievements within the area of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

Great Science Share for Schools

The Great Science Share for Schools is a pioneering campaign dedicated to fostering scientific curiosity and education among young learners (5-14 years). The campaign is centred around an annual programme of activity culminating in a large-scale sharing event on the second week of June each year.  

The GSSfS has been granted the prestigious patronage of the United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO in 2024. This recognition underscores the event’s profound alignment with UNESCO’s values, solidifying its status as a beacon of excellence in science education. 

Microplastics in rivers and the sewage scandal

Landmark research by physical geographers at the University has established that urban river beds can be heavily contaminated with microplastics. This research began as a curiosity-driven piece of river catchment science across Greater Manchester that quickly gained visibility beyond the academy to become part of a national debate about the state of Britain’s rivers, the environmental impact of sewage-dumping water companies, and years of failure to monitor and regulate water company activities.  

Watch the microplastics in UK rivers short animation. 

Local matters programme

The University’s Institute of Education has developed Local Matters, an initiative that empowers staff in primary and secondary schools to engage in action-based research to develop an evidence based local response to local issues.  

We work alongside and empower the school and community through a range of research skills and principles to create a localised, evidence-based response to local issues. The approach recognises that poverty is different in different places; Southampton is not the same as Bradford, so requires localised knowledge and localised answers. Essentially, it supports school staff to become place-based social justice researchers. 

NCCPE Platinum Watermark

Our University has been awarded a Platinum Watermark by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) which is the highest honour that can be granted to an institution. The award recognises our exceptional contribution to public engagement which includes the way we work to engage society with activities in research, teaching and culture. We received praise for our efforts in making campus more welcoming and accessible for community use, involving partners and communities in shaping the research and teaching at the University, and our significant commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Find examples of our local, national and international public engagement work here. 

Reducing University air travel emissions

Our new travel policy, supports our ambition to be a leader in developing sustainable research and teaching practices. This is part of a wider project to reduce our total carbon footprint in line with our Environmental Sustainability Strategy. As part of this, there is guidance and funding in place to support staff with greener travel. In 2022/23 we nearly halved our air travel emissions, compared to pre-pandemic levels, as a result of the new policy.

Cycle September

Every September, our University takes part in a fun and friendly biking competition called Cycle September. The initiative encourages staff and students to ditch their cars and hop on their bicycles for their daily commute. In 2023, we placed 1^st in Greater Manchester and 3^rd overall in the UK, but there’s more to it than just the competition, choosing to cycle improves physical and mental wellbeing, reduces our carbon footprint and helps decrease traffic congestion around campus.