“Building a research-driven, innovation-led economy.”
20 Jul 2026
From Manchester, so far - how our powerful partnerships are having an impact on our city and beyond, including reaching the new Prime Minister.
“The University of Manchester is absolutely bedded in with us building a research-driven, innovation-led economy.”
Andy Burnham could not have showcased the importance of our University’s partnerships more clearly as he discussed the Greater Manchester region’s ten-year plan for growth in his keynote speech at a Policy@Manchester event, co-hosted with the Centre for Cities, earlier this year.
Burnham was then Mayor of Greater Manchester. He’s now Prime Minister – with a plan for devolution that puts partnerships such as ours at the forefront of the country's success.
Our Vice-Chancellor and President, Duncan Ivison agrees – partnerships are essential to our strategy, From Manchester for the world for a reason.
“These partnerships are fundamental to Manchester 2035, enabling us to co-create solutions to local and global challenges while strengthening our role as a truly civic university,” he says in a film for the Manchester Evening News.
“They not only enhance research and innovation but also create valuable opportunities for students, helping them develop skills, gain experience and build lasting connections in Greater Manchester.”
Our long-term vision is to remain at the heart of the city’s future while sharing Manchester’s strengths globally. The message is simple but ambitious – taking what makes the University special and ensuring it is recognised around the world.
So, how are we doing?
Locally
Our University, working with partners across the Greater Manchester region and beyond, played a leading role in securing £50m investment from UK Research and Innovation’s Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) to drive innovation-led growth across Greater Manchester. LIPF is a flagship UK government programme, forming a central pillar of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy and Plan for Change. These projects will attract investment, create skilled jobs, support business growth and strengthen Greater Manchester as a globally competitive innovation region.
Our GM Policy Hub and academics have worked with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Manchester City Council to create 13 pilot areas of research interest (ARIs) for the city region. ARIs help local government think strategically about how to address policy problems and allow academics to start policy conversations that can lead to research impact. The 13 ARIs will seek evidence to inform policy over a four to 10-year horizon.
Our partnership with CRUK, the Paterson Institute and The Christie will create 100 new jobs, develop the next generation of clinician scientists and invest in cutting-edge research and computational technologies. CRUK’s annual investment into the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute will increase from £11m to more than £17m this year – putting the city at the heart of its mission to beat cancer.
The Hydrogen Research Corridor brings together our world‑class institutes with Manchester Metropolitan University to create the UK’s most ambitious clean‑energy innovation hub. While hydrogen is not the silver bullet it once was, it’s still essential in the UK Climate Change Committee’s Sixth Carbon Budget’s central scenario for decarbonising the economy – so, Challenge Accepted.
And our partnership with local colleges will deliver an innovative teaching programme with civic impact, placing PhD researchers directly into Further Education (FE) classrooms across the region. Developed through the Greater Manchester Civic University Agreement, the initiative sees postgraduate researchers providing specialist expertise in priority subjects such as engineering, STEM and digital skills – helping colleges tackle critical local and regional skills gaps – while gaining valuable, paid teaching experience.
Nationally
This year we held inaugural board meetings for our Cambridge x Manchester Partnership and appointed Faye Holland as its Director. Our groundbreaking collaboration with The University of Cambridge, the first cross-UK innovation partnership, received £4.8 million Research England funding for use in three key areas: ecosystem activation and integration; growing investment; and testing and learning to allow other cities, the HE sector, and local and national governments in the UK and internationally to learn from our experience.
We are working with our Russell Group peers, the NHS, national and local government, industry and the local community to build a healthier future for the UK by training more than 181,000 students in subjects critical to health and care by 2030 – an increase of more than 15%. This landmark commitment will also support the growth of life sciences companies, to bring new treatments, technologies and high-skilled jobs to communities across the country, and help more students from disadvantaged backgrounds access medical and health careers.
Partnerships are Policy@Manchester’s BAU (business as usual) as the team bring together our academics and policymakers to ensure real world impact. Their report commissioned from CBI Economics, the CBI’s economic consultancy division, shows how better alignment between business, universities and policy could boost UK growth. This was perfectly illustrated by a Policy@Manchester event, which brought together metro mayors and business leaders to supercharge regional growth, where delegates identified three critical pillars for accelerated implementation of the Industrial Strategy.
The power of partnerships was further underlined when we co-hosted a flagship event, Made in Greater Manchester with Manchester Metropolitan University, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), The Growth Company, and University of Salford. It too demonstrated how coordinated regional action is accelerating delivery of the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy.
Globally
Our partnership with global financial services company, BNY combines BNY’s demonstrable experience deploying AI at scale with our world-leading research, with deep strengths in applied AI, data science and inclusive innovation. Enabled by Unit M, the Future of Work Alliance is a five-year, £5 million initiative focusing on five connected areas, including structured, student-led academic projects, Postgraduate Internships, scholarships and a BNY-endowed Chair.
International Centre for Advanced Materials (ICAM), our partnership with bp, the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has expanded its scope to focus on technologies that support bp’s ambition to deliver energy to the world, today and tomorrow.
A brilliant example of our global partnerships’ impact featured in our Research impact, shaped together campaign. Our Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) worked with Ethiopian civil society and human rights organisations to improve women’s safety online. The partnership came from long-term relationships and collaboration with local language experts making sure cultural nuance and context were not lost. The result? Quantitative evidence people could use, so policymakers and digital platforms could act on shared insights across borders.
And right here, for you
Arguably our most important partnership is the one created for our 65,000 colleagues and students, giving Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training to each and every one. A sector first, this collaboration makes Manchester the world’s first university to deploy equitable access across its entire community.
Help us celebrate your partnerships
Our inaugural Partnership Excellence Awards have been launched this year to celebrate this essential work. To nominate a colleague, or your own team, visit Celebrating your partnerships by Wednesday, 12 August 2026.
From Manchester, so far - a snapshot of the progress we're making as we deliver From Manchester for the World. Every colleague, student and partner has a role to play. Share your story and help show how we're working together to become a great civic university for the 21st century. Your contributions to Manchester 2035