WATCH: Townhall with Professor Duncan Ivison on our fundraising and volunteering campaign

24 Nov 2025

The recent Townhall gave colleagues the opportunity to find out more about the campaign and how they can play their part.

Challenge Accepted red text against a purple background

At our recent Town Hall we talked about our first fundraising and volunteering campaign, Challenge Accepted.

Almost everything we need to do over the next 10 years will involve us becoming a great philanthropic organisation and it will be critical in helping us reach our North star, becoming a great civic university of the 21st Century.

Ready to accept a challenge? Get involved by:

Using your three volunteering days to support a cause that matters to you — and share your story;
Supporting a challenge you care about through the Purple Pennies and Purple Pounds payroll giving schemes, or through fundraising for the University;
Advocating for the campaign, by celebrating the impact of philanthropy and volunteering in your area and how it supports our vision for 2035.

Find out more

President’s vlog, where Duncan discusses the campaign’s ambitions and how it connects to our new university strategy.
Explore our webpages.
Catch-up on the launch event.

Watch the Townhall in full, or click the links below to jump straight to a particular section.

00:03 Duncan's introduction
06:20 Challenge Accepted campaign film
09:00 Kate Cambden, Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations (DDAR)
14:10 Panel discussion
27:30 Q&A

Download the slides from the Townhall

Discussion panel: President and Vice Chancellor, Professor Duncan Ivison with Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations (DDAR) Kate Cambden and special guests, Nikki Banks, Professor of Global Development, Ben Hobbs, Graduate and former scholarship recipient and Esme Ward, Director of Manchester Museum. 