From Manchester, for the world: what the International Delivery Plan means for Humanities
18 Sep 2026
Our Associate Dean (International), Panos Sousounis, outlines the University’s newly launched International Delivery Plan and our Faculty’s role in making it a reality.
As many colleagues will have seen, the University has now published the first phase of the Manchester 2035 International Delivery Plan. The plan sets out the priorities for the first three years of our 10-year international strategy and provides a shared framework for how we strengthen our international engagement across research, teaching and learning, innovation and partnerships.
For Humanities, this is an important opportunity to build on what we already do exceptionally well. International engagement is not something new for our Faculty. Our Schools and colleagues have long-standing relationships with universities, researchers, students and organisations around the world, and much of our research and teaching is international in its outlook and reach. The delivery plan gives us a framework through which we can strengthen those existing connections, develop new ones and make better connections across our Schools and with partners across the University.
The plan has five priorities: global initiatives; international research collaboration; teaching and learning partnerships; international innovation; and the systems and ways of working that support international activity. Together, these are intended to help Manchester develop deeper and more purposeful partnerships, support international recruitment and mobility, strengthen collaborative research and impact, and extend the reach of our teaching and expertise. They are underpinned by three drivers: recruitment, research and reputation.
There is already a strong Humanities contribution to this agenda. The Global Humanities Alliance (GHA) is a particularly good example. Manchester is a founding member of the Alliance, which brings together universities to develop collaboration across research, teaching and staff mobility, with a focus on areas including public humanities, sustainability and climate change, decolonising knowledge and digital transformation. The International Delivery Plan specifically identifies the GHA as an important route through which the existing Manchester-Melbourne-Toronto Alliance (MMT) will expand international research, innovation and teaching collaboration.
We also have an important platform through the UK-China Humanities Alliance, for which Manchester now holds the leadership of the UK coordinating team. The Alliance brings together universities across the UK and China to promote cross-cultural dialogue and collaborative research, alongside opportunities for teaching and student engagement. These are exactly the kinds of established relationships and networks that we should be looking to develop further through the new University framework.
The delivery plan will also create new opportunities for colleagues. The new University of Manchester Global Fund, for example, will provide a more agile route to developing international research collaborations, with funding matched by participating global partners. The aim is to support collaborations that can lead to high-quality publications, external funding and longer-term partnerships. Separate to this, the International team will work closely with the Teaching and Learning team to continue to develop opportunities for exchanges, summer schools, global classrooms, flexible learning and transnational education. International engagement also intersects with the work of the Innovation team and we will be working together to identify important ways in which business engagement can support research, student internships and alumni networking.
From a Humanities perspective, therefore, I see the delivery plan not as a new layer of activity, but as a framework for connecting and developing much of the international work already taking place across our Faculty. We should build on our strengths, while also identifying emerging areas and new forms of international collaboration where we can make a distinctive contribution.
As Associate Dean (International), my role is to help make those connections, support colleagues and Schools in developing opportunities, and ensure that Humanities plays our part in realising the Manchester 2035 international ambitions. I would very much welcome conversations with colleagues who have ideas, existing partnerships they would like to develop further, or opportunities where international collaboration could help take their work in a new direction.
For more information, I would encourage colleagues to read Professor Duncan Ivison's recent message, alongside the blog by Professor Angelia Wilson, Associate Vice-Dean for International, and Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research and the University Executive lead for International, From Manchester, For the World: turning our international ambition into action. Together, they provide a useful overview of the University's wider ambitions and the thinking behind the new International Delivery Plan.
Internationalisation is a shared endeavour. Its success will ultimately be reflected in the opportunities we create for our students and colleagues, the strength and reach of our research, and the partnerships we build with communities and institutions around the world. I look forward to working with colleagues across Humanities as we take this forward together.
Dr Panos Sousounis
Associate Dean (International), Faculty of Humanities