Manchester 2035: Phase 1 complete – what comes next?
Thank you to everyone who contributed to Phase 1 of our Manchester 2035 strategy. Your insights, ideas, and questions have been key in shaping the future of our University.
Over 5,500 colleagues, students, alumni, and community members took part, with more than 1,500 bookings across 22 workshops and 2,869 online contributions.
From big ideas on AI, sustainability, and innovation to reflections on culture, wellbeing, and equality, your input is helping us define what matters most as we look ahead.
Watch Professor Duncan Ivison’s message on the end of Phase 1 and what’s next for Manchester 2035
What we heard
One key takeaway from Phase 1 is that our collective vision for the future needs to be built on strong foundations:
- Excellent teaching and world-class research
- Streamlined processes that “just work”
- An outstanding experience for both students and staff
- A university that is both deeply rooted in Manchester and globally significant
- A deep commitment to social responsibility and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Your feedback will guide Phase 2, where we’ll be testing ourselves to identify and develop bold cross-cutting proposals that will help Manchester stand out over the next decade.
Feedback inventory
We are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to the valuable contributions made throughout Phase 1. You can now review the inventory of feedback submitted, including staff and student workshop discussions and online contributions:
- Website responses
- Feedback from all staff in-person workshops
- Feedback from all staff online workshops
- Feedback received in the student workshops
Your questions answered
Many of you have asked what happens now, how proposals are being developed, and how you can stay involved. Here’s where we are:
- We are still in an open and iterative process. No finalised proposals exist yet. Starting now, our University Executive, leadership teams, and the Students’ Union Executive are forming sprint groups to shape the most impactful ideas based on what we’ve heard and the kind of university we need to be by 2035 to truly stand out. We’ll then test those with the university community.
- Your questions will be answered. We know many of you submitted thoughtful and important questions at town halls and meetings that we weren’t able to answer on the day. In February, we’ll release a special podcast episode with Professor Duncan Ivison, where he’ll respond to key themes and concerns raised in Phase 1.
What Phase 2 will look like
We will move from broad discussions to testing and prioritising specific proposals. Starting in April, we’ll:
- Host new in-person forums and invite further online feedback
- Engage with the whole University community to refine ideas
How we’ve involved our students
Our Students’ Union Executive has played a key role in shaping this process. In this blog post, they share their reflections on how students have influenced Manchester 2035 so far—and what this means for the future.
Staying engaged
Look out for updates, forums, and opportunities to get involved in Phase 2 starting in April.
We welcome your feedback at any stage of this process. If you have further questions, ideas, or comments, please get in touch at manchester2035@manchester.ac.uk.
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