Active projects

Reshaping innovation delivery

• Unit M, launched in 2024, is our new gateway for innovation. It brings together expertise from across the University to work with start-ups, industry, community and government. By offering a single entry point, it makes it easier for partners to collaborate with us and for new ideas to grow. 
• Unit M is already helping entrepreneurs and civic leaders tackle challenges in productivity, innovation and growth. Its focus on inclusive growth means Manchester can deliver new ventures and collaborations that benefit more people, faster. 

Accessing education locally and globally

• Manchester Online is our platform for teaching beyond campus. It will give students locally and around the world access to our education through short courses, stackable degrees, Continuous Professional Development and employer-led programmes.
• Over the next three years, we’ll use it as a testbed – trying out new models of learning, listening to what people want, and creating an online offer that flexes around students’ needs and interests. 

Making research and teaching accessible

• Our cultural institutions – The Whitworth, Manchester Museum, The John Rylands Library and Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre – are vital bridges between the University and the public. They make our teaching and research accessible in new ways and bring our civic mission to life. 
• They are also spaces to experiment. From immersive teaching and hands-on learning to exhibitions and public dialogue on science, art and identity, they are helping us imagine what a 21st-century civic university can be. 

Supporting the next generation

• We’re launching Manchester’s first major fundraising and volunteering campaign. Its aim is simple: to turn our strategy into action by backing the next generation of students and researchers.
• Major gifts are already funding high-impact research and scholarships, while more alumni are giving their time as mentors and volunteers. This campaign marks a significant step forward in how philanthropy drives discovery, opportunity and social good. 

Drawing on industry and academic expertise

• We’ve created a skunkworks* team to explore how AI can improve research, teaching and operations – while also surfacing the risks. Working outside normal structures, it has freedom to move fast, test ideas and learn quickly. 
• This cross-functional group draws on industry and academic expertise to run pilot projects and explore ethical challenges. Its role is to find out what works (and what doesn’t), so we can use AI responsibly and with impact.

*A skunkworks is a small, autonomous team within a larger organisation that operates outside standard procedures to rapidly develop innovative ideas or products. These teams are often given freedom, minimal oversight and a focused mission – ideal for tackling high-risk, high-reward projects.

Shifting to student-led responses

• We’re starting to build the student experience of the future – more flexible, personal and connected. Along with new learning opportunities, together with the Students’ Union, we’re opening a Student Basic Needs Centre – known as Essentials – providing coordinated support to help students meet their essential needs: food security, wellbeing support, financial advice, cross-cultural events, part-time job opportunities and most importantly will be a communal space for students to interact, connect and build community.
• We’re also creating new forums for honest conversation through Oxford Road Chats and Ask Me Anything sessions, while investing in new, modern accommodation in Fallowfield. Our goal is simple: to build a community where every student feels they belong and can thrive.