News archive – February 2026
National Student Survey (NSS) 2026 opens: Five ways you can support student participation
02 Feb 2026
The 2026 National Student Survey (NSS) opens on Monday 2 February. Final-year students will be invited to share their views on their experience of teaching, learning and student life at Manchester.
Deadline for Rewarding Exceptional Performance closes soon
02 Feb 2026
The nomination deadline for our annual Rewarding Exceptional Performance (REP) Scheme closes on Friday, 13 February 2026.
Race Equality Week 2026
02 Feb 2026
#ChangeNeedsAllOfUs
University-wide network disruption on 11, 12, 17 and 19 February
03 Feb 2026
IT Services need to perform maintenance work on Wednesday 11, Thursday 12, Tuesday 17 and Thursday 19 February 2026, resulting in a short disruption to network connectivity at some point between 6pm and 9pm on 11 and 12 February, and again between 5pm and midnight on 17 and 19 February.
Purple Pennies: Vote for meaningful causes that matter to you
03 Feb 2026
Voting now open
University partners with Manchester colleges to launch innovative teaching programme
03 Feb 2026
We've joined forces with Wigan & Leigh College and the wider Greater Manchester Colleges network to deliver an ambitious new programme that places PhD researchers directly into Further Education (FE) classrooms across the region.
Make a difference this month with Purple Place
04 Feb 2026
Vote for a cause that matters to you, and more!
Welcome to our new academic leads for EDI
04 Feb 2026
Professor Toni Haastrup and Dr Hamied Haroon take up their roles
Time to Talk Day
05 Feb 2026
Your Voice Matters – Reflecting on the importance of mental health and regular wellbeing conversations
National Apprenticeship Week 2026
06 Feb 2026
Get involved!
Get protected: MMR and additional vaccinations available on campus
06 Feb 2026
Measles cases are rising nationally, and universities are among the places where infections can spread quickly. To help protect our community, the NHS will again be offering walk-in vaccination clinics on campus this February and March.
Call for Papers: Falklands/Malvinas Conflict Conference
06 Feb 2026
Presenting the conflict from both sides – submit your abstracts by Friday, 27 February for the conference on Thursday, 16 and Friday, 17 April.
Support Student Volunteering Week — and be inspired to volunteer yourself
09 Feb 2026
Student Volunteering Week 2026 takes places this week, and is a chance for the University of Manchester community to come together, give back, and celebrate the impact of student volunteering across the city region.
Senate election nominations – deadline reminder
09 Feb 2026
Academic and research colleagues are encouraged to seek nomination by noon on Monday, 16 February.
Amplify your research with PURE and more
10 Feb 2026
Update your profile to enhance your visibility, showcase research and foster interdisciplinarity – plus there’s support and our new Research Visibility Checklist.
Delivering Manchester 2035 – our Research Committee announces investment
10 Feb 2026
New fund to support you in preparing applications for Horizon Europe – contributing to our University’s ambition to be the best partner for impactful collaborative research.
University tops UK rankings for graduate employer interest
10 Feb 2026
We have regained the top spot as the most targeted university by top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2026 report.
WATCH: “So everyone can RISE at Manchester.”
11 Feb 2026
Sayema Rahman Khan tells Duncan Ivison about the University’s first career and professional development programme for global majority researchers, funded by our Enhancing Research Culture project.
Take part in the 2026 Universally Manchester Festival – a community day for all
11 Feb 2026
Science Busking Opportunity!
11 Feb 2026
Join our public engagement team for training with all the props you need plus an opportunity for street testing - register now!
New Health Hero App and service briefing sessions
11 Feb 2026
To help support mental health and wellbeing, colleagues have access to our Employee Assistance Programme ‘Health Hero’. Health Hero is a free confidential and independent counselling and information service.
Research Integrity training and new refresher course
12 Feb 2026
“Responsible Research forms the very DNA of our institution,” says Associate Vice-President Mahesh Nirmalan – register now.
Delivering our strategy – new leadership appointments
12 Feb 2026
We are pleased to announce new appointments across our leadership community that will help us progress towards becoming a great civic university for the 21st century, creating knowledge for the public good, locally and globally.
Catch up: latest discussions on our collaboration with Microsoft 365 Copilot
12 Feb 2026
The recent townhall gave colleagues an opportunity to discuss the roll out of Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training to 65,000 colleagues and students
Make your nomination for the 2026 Volunteer of the Year and Peer Support Awards
13 Feb 2026
Celebrating the very best of Volunteering and Peer Support, the awards are open to any undergraduate or postgraduate currently studying at our University and give us the opportunity to recognise those who epitomise what it means to make a difference.
Year of the Horse 2026
13 Feb 2026
Celebrating The Year of the Horse at Manchester
Manchester Gold: open for applicants now!
16 Feb 2026
Join our colleague mentoring scheme
Volunteer at FunLab and inspire young minds
16 Feb 2026
Join a fun, hands-on public engagement event at the Trafford Centre.
Ramadan 2026
16 Feb 2026
Ramadan Mubarak to our colleagues, students and community!
Open session: Public engagement – partnerships in practice
16 Feb 2026
Find out more about our public engagement practice across the University.
Welcoming our staff visitors – your new step-by-step guide
17 Feb 2026
Our Research Security Hub has a new flowchart to guide anyone who is welcoming staff visitors to our University, along with further information, guidance and tools to keep research secure.
Our Library’s year of innovation, partnership and global leadership
17 Feb 2026
Annual Report showcases exceptional achievement, strategic progress and a deepening of commitment to our University’s Manchester 2035 ambitions.
Manchester Prioritisation Model 2026 launched
18 Feb 2026
The latest iteration of the Manchester Prioritisation Model (MPM) is now available, providing data to support the targeting of widening participation activity at Manchester.
A collective commitment to building positive, fair, connected research communities
19 Feb 2026
Our researchers met with their peers from Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University to discuss research culture at this year’s Research Staff Conference - get the takeaways and other resources.
Do you still need to upgrade to Windows 11, or dispose of any University IT equipment?
19 Feb 2026
If so, join IT Services for a chat and share your thoughts, concerns and questions with our friendly team of IT Services experts
Join the Purplewave 2026 — Challenge Accepted
19 Feb 2026
Take on a challenge to make a difference on Sunday 31 May
Attend the Virtual Association of Higher Education Professionals Conference 2026
20 Feb 2026
All Professional Services colleagues are invited to apply for a fully funded place at the Association of Higher Education Professionals Virtual Conference 2026
FunLab is coming to the Trafford Centre – free family science fun!
20 Feb 2026
We’re excited to share that the Faculty of Science and Engineering will be taking over the Trafford Centre on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 March, marking the launch of British Science Week.
International Women’s Day 2026
20 Feb 2026
Give to Gain – and Stand for Rights, Justice and Action for ALL Women and Girls
A home for new ideas – works begin on campus innovation hub
20 Feb 2026
Works have commenced on William Kay House on Oxford Road, putting innovation at the heart of campus for staff and students.
Viewpoint: Delivering our strategy - Our People
23 Feb 2026
Ele Morrissey, Executive Director of People, shares how our people are central to delivering our strategy.
Senate election – vote now!
24 Feb 2026
All academic colleagues are eligible to vote for Senate members – they will receive an email from MiVoice with details of how to vote today (Tuesday, 24 February). Ballots will close at noon on Tuesday, 10 March.
Nominations open for the Teaching Excellence Awards 2026
25 Feb 2026
Teaching Excellence Awards are made in recognition of significant and sustained commitment to excellence in the delivery and/or support of teaching and learning - make your nonimation now.
LEAD MCR returns: supporting student voice and leadership
25 Feb 2026
LEAD MCR, the Students’ Union’s annual leadership election, is now open. This is a key moment in the year when students choose the eight SU Executive Officers who will represent them across 2026/27.
Supporting LGBT+ colleagues at work
25 Feb 2026
As part of LGBT+ History Month, access ongoing support and resources
NHS: Local blood typing events
25 Feb 2026
Drop in to find out your blood type and register as a blood donor
Support following incident at Central Manchester Mosque
25 Feb 2026
Support for colleagues
Your career matters – we’re taking action to help you grow
26 Feb 2026
Your Voice Matters – reporting on progress from the 2025 colleague engagement survey
Early career researcher dedicates awards honour to colleagues.
26 Feb 2026
Professor Radha Boya named finalist in Blavatnik Awards, which celebrate outstanding early career research achievements.
What’s on in March?
27 Feb 2026
Welcome to March’s edition of ‘What’s on?’. Here you will find everything you can get involved in for free each month, ranging from cultural, extracurricular and celebratory events and activities.
As voted by you: Your chosen causes for Purple Pennies
27 Feb 2026
Find out which two meaningful causes will receive the pennies from your payslip
The Psychology of persuasion: How one programme boosted its NSS response
27 Feb 2026
Three weeks into NSS, our Psychology programme is already leading the way with one of the strongest early uptakes in the University. See how their refreshed, student‑centred launch sparked such impressive momentum.
We’re highest in Manchester, 83rd in the UK in Best Employers list
27 Feb 2026
We’re ranked highest in the city of Manchester and number 83 in the UK in Best Employers 2026, a survey carried out by the Financial Times.
Watch: A year of big wins - strengthening our IT foundations
27 Feb 2026
Watch a showcase reel on how the work of our Evolve Programme over the past year has strengthened the digital foundations we all rely on, every day.