Manchester 2035 is subject to approval by our Board of Governors in early October. The Townhall was a preview of the emerging foundations and leaps. If approved, we will publish the strategy on 15 October 2025, followed by a practical delivery playbook, with implementation consultations and planning kicking off soon after.

You will be able to sign-up to attend the launch event or watch online – details will be on StaffNet soon. Once published, you will be able to explore the strategy on a dedicated webpage or download the full document.

The strategy sets the what – our ambition for 2035 and the overall strategic direction for the University over the next 10 years. The delivery playbook will set the how – clear commitments for how we reach our goals, designed for day-to-day use. Detailed implementation plans will then be developed – with you – to determine how we’ll deliver on the commitments we are making.  UE is beginning this month to plan how we’ll set out our priorities and engage teams in the delivery process. 

From October to December, we encourage you to discuss with colleagues and reflect on what you and your team might do differently to reach our ambitions and we’ll publish deep dives on key strategy topics. There is no expectation to update local plans immediately – this is a ten-year roadmap and we will sequence new initiatives carefully. I want us to be as thoughtful and purposeful in our delivery of the strategy, as you have been in our development of it. 

Delivery starts in the new year with support to translate the strategy into local objectives. We will also back small, smart ideas that improve how things work and share them across our community – more on this at launch.

We will reduce barriers and unnecessary complexity by working with those who know the processes best, create more consistent models of working, and use digital tools – including ethical use of AI – to connect people, disciplines and partners. Collaboration and shared accountability will be the norm, with fair access to development and clearer expectations for how we work together. As I mentioned in the Townhall, we need to start working in a much more integrated way, with common standards and expectations, but also learning as we go and adapting to the challenges and opportunities that emerge. 

Delivery will follow our playbook– enabling collaborative decision-making, testing early, learning quickly, scaling what works and stopping what does not.

EDI is an absolutely core foundation of Manchester 2035 – a place where you matter. We will embed inclusive leadership and shared accountability, so every person feels valued and make our culture a key reason people join and thrive here. Our community will reflect the diversity of our city, region and global reach.

In practice, students will see joined-up academic and pastoral support, inclusive curriculum and assessment, and targeted financial help. Colleagues will see fair access to development – and better development opportunities – clearer progression and recognition, and a working environment that reduces barriers. Our digital estate will be built for equity – inclusive design, accessible platforms, training for students and colleagues and ethical use of AI.

Every student will experience partner-enabled, credit-bearing real-world learning, alongside more personalised support and integrated academic and pastoral services. Assessment will shift toward applied, competency-based tasks, with stronger employability pathways.

Manchester Online will expand access to our education in our local communities and globally while we maintain our on-campus community and improve the in-person experience. Digital equity and accessible design are core principles. We’re not stepping away from our on campus delivery, rather, we’re improving our offer online to widen access, attract new cohorts of students to our university and improve every student’s experience.  

Fundamental and curiosity-driven research will remain a vital aspect of what we do, with clearer career pathways, protected research time and a commitment to making our knowledge open and accessible. AI and digital services will enable, not direct, academic work – with the aim to extend capability and cut admin, under transparent, academic-led governance.

But we also need to accelerate the point between discovery and impact and we’ll do this by organising our research through four interdisciplinary Platforms – Creative, Digital, Environment and Health – that connect people, ideas and infrastructure with partners. These platforms will be the primary way we form teams, set priorities and guide investment, creating clear routes from discovery to impact. 

Contributing to the wellbeing of our city region is at the heart of our strategy, alongside taking what we do here in Manchester and extending it nationally and globally – we are of Manchester and for the world. We need to draw on our history as an institution created to help address the challenges and opportunities of the industrial revolution, to help tackle the new challenges of our digital world. That’s why partnership is so important in our new strategy. What will make us distinctive is how we combine our strengths in teaching, research and innovation to create value for our local communities, as well as our global partners. Whether it’s the work our students will do through partner enabled learning, our development of Manchester Online, the companies and social enterprises we spin out of our innovation ecosystem, or our international centres – we’ll harness our resources, in new ways, for the public good.