Innovation Festival 2026 events | The University of Manchester

Core events

Green textured banner for Innovation Festival 26 promoting the launch event, “Building Impact through Innovation—from Manchester for the World.”

Launch Event: Building Impact through Innovation from Manchester for the World

Monday, 5 October 2026, 10.30am–2.30pm

The University of Manchester Innovation Festival launch event, exploring Manchester’s renewed role in UK innovation and policymaking – and the challenges and priorities in making the University the most innovative in Europe by 2035.

Colleagues, Students, Policymakers, Partners

Innovation Festival 26 Ideas(Unlocked) banner with layered green and teal shapes on a dark purple background and a small black-and-white photo of people collaborating around a table.

MEC Ideas Unlocked

Tuesday, 6 October 2026, 10am–4pm

Join the MEC Ideas Unlocked event to explore entrepreneurship and innovation, work with others, share your ideas, and gain an insight into what it means to think and act like an entrepreneur.

*Current University of Manchester students only

Current students

AI Innovation Cafe title on an AI robot and digital background.

AI Innovation Café

Wednesday, 7 and Friday, 9 October 2026

Explore the art of the possible with AI in the new AI Innovation Lab. Drop in to experience emerging AI technologies first-hand, see AI Pathfinder projects in action and discuss ideas and opportunities relevant to your work.

Academics, Colleagues, Students

Manchester to Market

Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 9.30am–1pm

Showcasing The University of Manchester Innovation Factory’s exciting IP commercialisation opportunities, this lively expo-style event brings founders, researchers, PhD students and commercialisation experts together to celebrate innovation.

*Walk-ins welcome

Students, Colleagues, Researchers, Investors, Founders

Powerhouse of Innovation Showcase

Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 11am–4pm

An interactive day of networking, discovery and collaboration, bringing together innovation-focused teams, departments, programmes, support services and strategic partners from across the University.

*Walk-ins welcome

Students, Colleagues, Academics, Researchers, Partners

Partnership Excellence Awards 2026

Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 6.30pm–11pm

The inaugural Partnership Excellence Awards celebrate outstanding collaborations, partnerships and knowledge exchange activity delivering impact across our university and beyond.

*Invite only.

Academics, Researchers, Partners, Colleagues

Innovation Festival 26 banner for the Cambridge × Manchester Partnership Innovation Summit, featuring a city street lined with bicycles against an abstract green and teal background.

The Cambridge x Manchester Partnership Innovation Summit

Thursday, 8 October 2026, 9am–12pm

Bringing together founders, researchers, investors, corporates and policymakers to explore how collaboration can accelerate innovation-led growth and translate discovery into real-world impact, showcasing the partnerships, ideas and innovation strengths emerging across Manchester and beyond.

Academics, Investors, Startups, Policymakers, Founders

Innovation Festival 26 banner for the Cambridge × Manchester Partnership Investor Summit, featuring a dark city street with bicycles and a striped circular graphic.

The Cambridge x Manchester Partnership Investor Summit

Thursday, 8 October 2026, 1pm–4.30pm

Convening investors, institutional ventures and innovation leaders for live debates exploring growth capital, scaling innovation and regional competitiveness, alongside a curated showcase of high-potential ventures from across the innovation ecosystem.

*Invite only.

Investors, Policymakers, Leaders

Promotional banner for Manchester Venture Builder’s Demo Day 26, featuring white text over a dark background with translucent green, teal, and purple geometric shapes.

Manchester Venture Builder Demo Day 2026

Thursday, 8 October 2026, 5pm–8.30pm

Hear live pitches, discover emerging ventures and meet the next generation of Manchester founders. Connecting investors, mentors, partners, alumni and Manchester’s wider innovation community to explore opportunities.

Investors, Senior leaders, Partners, Alumni, Industry

The Founders Playbook

Thursday, 8 October 2026, 5pm–7pm

A live interview series putting entrepreneurial students and anyone interested in building a business in the room with successful founders – exploring how they turned ideas, research and innovation into real, impactful companies.

Students, Colleagues, Researchers, Investors, Founders

Coller AI Competition

Friday, 9 October 2026, 11am–3pm

In the final of the Coller AI Competition – championing responsible AI solutions to real-world challenges – University of Manchester AI startups pitch live to secure a £100,000 equity investment from The Jeremy Coller Foundation.

Students, Colleagues, Alumni, Donors, Founders, Investors

Fringe events

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Beyond Preservation: Innovation in Special Collections

Monday, 5 October 2026, 2.30pm–4.30pm

Special Collections and AI and Ideas Adoption teams show how advanced heritage imaging is revolutionising how researchers engage with rare objects, transforming collections into resources for research, learning and engagement.

Academics, Students, Colleagues

Black-and-white close-up of stacked entrepreneurship and business books.

Conception X: Scientist to Founder

Monday, 5 October 2026, 5pm–7.30pm

Join Conception X and Turing Innovation Catalyst at Sister to meet and learn from academic founders who have successfully translated their research into companies creating real-world impact.

Founders, Academics, Investors, Students, Policymakers

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From Discovery to Impact: How Graphene is Transforming Innovation

Tuesday, 6 October 2026, 9am–12.30pm

Explore how the University has built its graphene innovation ecosystem, from research at the National Graphene Institute to technology development, scale-up and industrial adoption at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre.

Students, Academics, Industry, Investors, Policymakers

Black-and-white image of a man in glasses working on a laptop.

Founder Momentum Day: A Sister Event

Tuesday, 6 October 2026, 9.30am–3.30pm

A hands-on day of specialist expertise and interactive sessions to help founders move their business forward. From finance and investment to product development and marketing strategy, join facilitators and peers to tackle the topics that matter most to early-stage business leaders.

Alumni, SMEs, Start-ups, Spinouts

Black-and-white aerial view of Manchester.

Building Companies That Are Rooted in the North but Global in Mindset

Tuesday, 6 October 2026, 10.30am–12pm

Building companies rooted in the north but global in mindset needs more than capital and deep pockets. It needs 'oversize' talent – those who have built and exited companies and want to use their experience to build and scale early-stage companies.

Academics, Policymakers, Start-ups, Spinouts

The word “CHANGE” in bold black letters, angled across a blurred monochrome background.

From Compliance to Culture Change: Reimagining Equality Impact Assessment at Manchester

Tuesday, 6 October 2026, 2pm–4pm

Explore how the University has transformed its Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) process into an innovative digitally enabled, user-centred service that embeds inclusion into decision-making from the outset.

Colleagues, Project managers, Digital teams, Equality practitioners

Black-and-white image of an open lock on a keyboard.

Biotech Unlock: Sourcing Breakthrough Tech and Talent

Tuesday, 6 October 2026, 6pm–9pm

Join Nucleate UK and NWBI to explore Manchester biotech ecosystem’s resources, talent and opportunities, turning breakthrough research into ventures. Considering spinning out, or seeking an innovative venture? Curious about biotech entrepreneurship? This event could be for you.

Academics, Students, Start-ups, Spinouts

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Embedding Industry Partnerships into Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education

Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 10am–3.30pm

Workshop exploring how partner-enabled learning can be embedded in entrepreneurship and enterprise education to create structured, sustainable and innovation-led engagement with industry, startups and community organisations.

Academics, Colleagues, Industry, Educators

Black-and-white image of hands holding a lightbulb.

Growing Change: Social Innovation from the Ground Up

Thursday, 8 October 2026, 10am–12pm

Reflecting the wider purpose of Manchester Museum’s Top Floor, a space dedicated to widening understanding of where innovation happens and who gets to be an innovator. Practical ideas, stories and an exploration of what happens when innovation is rooted in place, people and possibility.

Academics, Colleagues, Students

Black-and-white image of four hands connecting a jigsaw puzzle.

Social Enterprise Innovation in Public Services

Thursday, 8 October 2026, 1pm–3.30pm

An interactive discovery session between The University of Manchester and national initiative E3M on mutual collaboration to support social enterprise innovation in public services.

*Invite only. Complete short form to express interest.

Academics, Policymakers, Social enterprises

Black-and-white image of a hand holding a leaf.

Inclusive Innovation for People and Planet

Thursday, 8 October 2026, 1.30pm–3pm

Research, innovation and community collaboration for a more sustainable future? This event brings together recipients of Sustainable Futures’ Innovation Labs, Early Career Researcher Ideas Catalyst and Community Impact Fund to show how research can be translated into practical action.

Academics, Partners, Policymakers

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Beyond the Hearing Loop: How Auracast is Transforming Accessibility at Manchester

Thursday, 8 October 2026, 2pm–4pm

A panel discussion exploring the University’s rollout of innovative audio technology Auracast – and how it could benefit deaf, hard-of-hearing and neurodivergent communities.

Colleagues, Students, Digital teams, Educators

Exploring campus

While visiting The University of Manchester you may wish to also explore our campus, including historic buildings and some of our renowned cultural institutions.

Find out more about our campus.

Events