What’s on in November?
30 Oct 2026
Welcome to November’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.
Events
Festival of Social Science
Explore health and wellbeing, crime, equality, education and identity through engaging events led by researchers from universities across the UK.
- Find out more about Festival of Social Science events this November
PGR Festival 2026
Created by PGRs, for PGRs, the Festival is designed to help our postgraduate research community connect, discover new ideas, develop skills and celebrate the contribution PGRs make across the University.
- Book your place on the PGR Festival from Monday, 23 to Friday, 27 November
HSBC Finance Webinars
HSBC are offering live webinars for colleagues to help with budgeting, investing and financial wellbeing this November.
- Sign up for the ‘Budgeting’ webinar on Tuesday, 3 November 11am to 11.30am
- Sign up for the ‘Beginners Guide to Investing’ webinar on Tuesday, 11 November 12pm to 12.30pm
Colours in the Field: Cotton, Empire and alternative futures in India
Join us for an exhibition launch and panel discussion on the colonial legacies of India’s extractive cotton monocultures.
- Book your place for ‘Colours in the Field’ on Tuesday 3 November, 4.30pm to 6pm, Samuel Alexander Building
Confucius Institute events
Join the Confucious Institute’s next public talks in Manchester this month, covering bamboo as a model of sustainability and a reflection on David Lea’s photography of daily life.
- Sign up for ‘David Lea and the China connection’ on Thursday, 5 November, 4,30pm to 6pm at The Holden Gallery
- Sign up for ‘The Chinese story of bamboo’ on Thursday, 19 November, 6pm to 7pm at Manchester Central Library
Cultural institutions
Manchester Museum
Tuesday, 3 November (12pm to 1pm): Shared Reading
Wednesday, 4 November (1.15pm to 1.45pm): Collection Bites: Sperm whales - science, history and deep sea stories
Wednesday, 4 November (4pm to 9pm): Manchester Museum Celebrates Diwali
Thursday, 5 November (1.30pm to 3.30pm): Talk English Circle
Wednesday, 11 November (5.30pm to 8.30pm): Made in South Asia Games Night
Thursday, 12 November (1.30pm to 3.30pm): Talk English Circle
Friday, 13 November (10.30am to 3pm): Finds ID
Wednesday, 18 November (6pm to 8pm): People's Emergency Briefing, hosted by Better Business Network
Wednesday, 25 November (4pm to 6pm): Celebrating older people’s lives and communities in North Manchester
Whitworth Art Gallery
Every Thursday (10am to 2pm): Everyday Art School – Venture Arts Artist in Residence
Thursday, 5 November (5.30pm to 6.30pm): REFLECTIONS — SANGAT AND THE SELF: Exhibition Walkthrough
Thursday, 19 November (6pm to 8pm): The Whitworth After Hours: Autumn preview
Thursday, 26 November (6pm to 7pm): Hyundai Translocal Series: Entangled and Woven Curator Tour
The John Rylands Library
Thursday, 5 November (12pm to 2.30pm): Collecting Nature: Histories, Legacies and Living Worlds
From Wednesday. 11 November: Church and State: Emperor Charlemagne's legacy
Thursday, 12 November (12pm to 2.30pm): Research Café: Muslim creativity, resistance and community wellbeing
Thursday, 26 November (6pm to 8pm): The Rylands Lecture 2026 with Dr Christopher de Hamel
Our community
Religious celebrations and traditions
All Saints Day (Christianity) Sunday, 1 November
Diwali (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jain, Sikh) Thursday, 5 to Wednesday, 11 November
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurpurab (Sikh) Monday, 23 November
Bandi Chhor Divas (Sikh) Monday, 23 November
Rohini Vrat (Jain) Wednesday, 25 November
Advent begins (Christianity) Sunday, 29 November
Awareness days
Disability History Month Starts (Monday, 16 November)
International Men’s Day (Thursday, 19 November)
Transgender Day of Remembrance (Friday, 20 November)
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (Wednesday, 25 November)
St Andrew’s Day (Monday, 30 November)
Want to feature your event next month?
If your event is free and open to all colleagues at the University, you can advertise it here next month!
Submit your suggestion via the Internal Communications request form by 25 of each month to feature in the following month. Please send us a short description (max 30 words) and any relevant links you may have too.
Please note that we unfortunately cannot guarantee your submission will feature, but we will do our best to feature as many as we can.
The deadline to feature in December‘s What’s on?’ is 25 November. Any questions, just drop us a message!