A keynote grounded in friendship and care

The day opened with a thoughtful and engaging keynote from Prof Sarah Marie Hall and Sally Bonnie, FRSA-Founder and Director of Inspiring Futures Partnership CIC, who shared their journey of working together over the past eight years. Their talk moved beyond traditional academic narratives, offering instead a story of care, friendship and collaboration.

Using the metaphor of weaving, they illustrated how relationships are not simply part of research practice, they are what holds it together. Threads of trust, care and shared experience ran throughout their reflections, setting a powerful tone for the rest of the day.

Getting hands-on with methods

Across the programme, participants had the chance to immerse themselves in a wide range of interactive and practice-based workshops, alongside lightning talks and poster presentations (including but not limited to sessions on drawing research, ethical practices in multiligual research, lived experience and co-production, more than human methods and Lego serious play). Attendees also had the opportunity to experience the University’s flagship Data Visualisation Observatory.

Interdisciplinary moments of exchange, their unplanned and conversational nature, and the way in which discussions extended well before the sessions themselves are a defining feature of the Methods Fair.

Bringing people together

One of the most distinctive aspects of the day was the bringing together of people who might not otherwise cross paths. This year’s event included community participants, creating a genuinely inclusive and collaborative environment.

Inspire Women Oldham’s collaboration on the zine-making workshop captured the spirit of the day: opening up research methods as a shared space for learning, creativity and connection.

As Professor Emma Banister, Director of Methods@91ɬ��, reflects:

Leaving inspired

Our hope is that the Methods Fair can create a space where people feel able to experiment, connect and think differently about research. An aim that was not lost on this attendee who reported feeling: “Inspired, refreshed and rejuvenated to try out new methods and build them into my research design."

recently delivered a joint lecture hosted by the and , sharing insights from more than 15 years of research behind his upcoming book on gender equality and economic growth. Focusing on developing economies, the book uses overlapping generations models to examine the relationship between economic forces, gender inequality and growth, and the role public policy plays in shaping those outcomes.

The event was chaired by Vice-President for Research , with Professor , Head of Alliance 91ɬ�� Business School, contributing to the Q&A moderation. In her introduction, Professor Fagan highlighted the breadth of the University’s work on gender equality through centres including the Global Development Institute and the Work and Equalities Institute. She also emphasised the wider relevance of Professor Agénor’s research, noting that it was particularly fitting for the lecture to bring together two flagship University series: the Arthur Lewis lecture series, which celebrates the economist’s pioneering work on development, and the Vital Topics lectures, which explore the major issues shaping the world today. The full lecture is available to watch in the embedded video below.

Professor Agénor began by placing the book in a broader context through frameworks such as the and . He showed how economic modelling can help identify the structural challenges that continue to shape gender inequality.

He highlighted two core analytical contributions from the book. First, he suggested that increasing penalties for firms that violate equal pay laws can, in some cases, worsen the gender pay gap. Rather than changing behaviour, companies may pass those costs on to female employees, challenging conventional approaches and prompting a reconsideration of enforcement strategies.

Second, he explored the misallocation of female talent in innovation-driven sectors, arguing that closing pay gaps alone is not enough to maximise economic growth. Instead, targeted policies are needed to ensure high-ability women can contribute in areas where their skills can drive innovation and progress.

The Q&A session brought practical policy issues to the forefront, including the role of childcare support in enabling women’s participation in the workforce and wider questions around women’s agency in advancing gender equality. The discussion also highlighted opportunities to explore connections between emerging and developed economies through global supply chains, pointing to potential directions for future research.

Professor Fagan closed the lecture by encouraging attendees to reflect on how they might advance gender equality in their own professional and personal lives. The event underlined the continuing importance of rigorous research and effective policymaking in addressing one of the defining economic and social challenges of our time.

Watch the full lecture in the embedded video:

Delivered from 18–22 May, the course brought together 18 participants from 9 countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America, reflecting its global reach and reputation in the field of science, technology and innovation (STI) policy.

Over five days, participants explored key approaches to evaluating science and innovation policies, combining conceptual insights with practical application. The programme covered areas including theory of change, evaluation design, quantitative and qualitative methods, and emerging topics such as artificial intelligence in science policy.

The course was led by Kate Barker, with teaching contributions from leading experts in the field, including Professor Erik Arnold, Dr Effie Amanatidou, Professor Jakob Edler, Professor Maria Nedeva, Professor Raquel Ortega-Argilés and Professor John Rigby.

Participants also benefitted from guest sessions delivered by guest speakers including James Phipps (Innovation Growth Lab), Cristina Rosemberg Montes and Diogo Machado (Technopolis), Mike Thelwall (University of Sheffield) and Richard Waggott (Greater 91ɬ�� Combined Authority), offering insights into how evaluation is used in real-world policy settings.

A core feature of the course was its focus on applied learning. Participants worked in groups throughout the week to develop and present evaluation approaches to real-world policy challenges, drawing on the tools and frameworks introduced during the programme.

The diverse cohort included representatives from universities, research funding organisations, government bodies and innovation agencies, fostering exchange across different policy contexts and national systems. Participating organisations included the Japan Science and Technology Agency, SGInnovate, the Research Council of Finland and several UK-based institutions.

The course forms part of MIOIR’s professional development activities, which aim to strengthen evaluation capacity and support evidence-informed policymaking internationally.

To find out more about MIoIR’s executive education and training opportunities, contact Deborah Cox, Institute Manager, or .

 is a British-German creative technologist with over 25 years at the intersection of music, technology, and art. As CTO of and founder of , he has spent his career building the infrastructure that connects creative practice to emerging technology, from pioneering work on one of the world's first artist websites with David Bowie in 1999 to encoding Massive Attack's Mezzanine into synthetic DNA with ETH Zürich. 

Andrew advises the UK government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s Working Groups on AI and copyright, representing coalitions of over 30,000 artists through the Music Managers Forum, Featured Artists Coalition, and AFEM. He is a leading voice on artist provenance, AI transparency, and the future of creative rights in the age of generative AI. 

At the heart of the visit was the major public lecture Proof of Human: AI, Copyright, and the Fight for Creative Authorship, which took place at the heart of the Innovation District at SISTER. 

In this special lecture and discussion, Andrew Melchior presented a compelling case for strengthening creative authorship in the era of generative AI. 

Drawing on his experience advising UK government technical working groups on AI and copyright, Melchior explored how large-scale AI systems trained on vast datasets of copyrighted material, often without consent or compensation are disrupting established frameworks for protecting creative work. He argued that the challenge facing artists today is not only legal but infrastructural: without reliable systems to verify authorship and trace creative lineage, existing rights regimes cannot be effectively enforced. 

Following the lecture, he was joined in conversation by John McGrath, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Factory International, and responded to audience questions. 

Earlier in the day, Melchior lead an interactive masterclass for undergraduate and postgraduate music and composition students. 

The session focussed on practical workflows for producing and releasing music while maintaining provenance and control of intellectual property in a rapidly evolving AI landscape. Students engaged directly with Melchior and explored the real-world implications of emerging technologies on their creative practice. 

The visit also included a roundtable discussion bringing together academic experts and policymakers. They examined the relationship between music, culture, technology, and 91ɬ��’s creative heritage; the impact of AI and other technologies on the creative industries and mechanisms to protect the rights and livelihoods of creative practitioners. 

This visit was part of Creative 91ɬ��’s ongoing commitment to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and critical debate at the intersection of culture, technology, and society.

The symposium celebrated the variety ways in which collaborative approaches allow developing new products, services and experiences while addressing social and technological challenges. The discussions highlighted the growing importance of participatory innovation in enabling more inclusive and responsive creative practice.

Creative industries are increasingly experimenting with the co-creation approaches, including emerging technological solutions such as immersive media and generative AI, as well as diverse stakeholders. The symposium provided a space to reflect on these developments, derive some common insights, and explore their implications for research and practice.

The event was chaired and moderated by Dr Marianna Rolbina and Dr Tonny Kukeera (University of 91ɬ��).

Programme highlights

The symposium featured lightning talks, a panel discussion and facilitated group sessions, bringing together academic and industry perspectives on co-creation in practice.

The participants explored current best practices, common barriers to implementation, and how co-creation can be scaled across different contexts. Discussions also highlighted the importance of trust, planning, shared ownership and effective collaboration between academia, industry and creative communities.

In the afternoon, participants took part in group discussions on the future of co-creation, focusing on how co-creation process can be improved to achieve new social, creative, and commercial outcomes.

Reflecting on the event, Dr Marianna Rolbina commented:

The symposium forms part of MIOIR’s ongoing research into innovation in creative industries and wider innovation systems. Insights from the event will inform future work on co-creation, collaboration and the evolving role of stakeholders in creative innovation.

Alvin is an alumnus of the University of 91ɬ��, graduating with an undergraduate degree in Economics and Econometrics. He has previously held the positions of Director of Bristol Institute for Learning and Teaching, and Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor and Academic Director for Teaching and Learning at the University of Bristol. Alvin has also been Director of the Economics Network since 2012.

Academics at the 91ɬ�� Institute of Education realised that, whilst many parents were rising to the challenge of providing quality education, home educators sometimes struggle to provide the kind of hands-on learning and sharing that would be experienced in school. This realisation led to the creation of Curiosity Catalyst.

This notable three-way partnership is centred on creative health and will help to foster a deeper academic and cultural exchange between Japan and the UK in this area of research. It will form the basis for future research collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Greater 91ɬ�� (GM) is recognised as a national and world reference for creative health. Building on a long history of arts and health work, GM launched its Creative Health Strategy in 2022, with ambitions for GM to become the world’s first Creative Health City Region. The GM Creative Health Place Partnership continues to support the development and delivery of creative health activity across Greater 91ɬ��.

As part of this MoU, the three partners (UoM, the ART-based Platform for Co-creation, and NCAR), will work collaboratively with the Greater 91ɬ�� Combined Authority (GMCA) GM Place Partnership, to strengthen international research collaborations.

The agreement will be formally signed in Tokyo on 23 May 2026, following the , at The National Art Center, Tokyo, where colleagues from The University of 91ɬ�� will present on creative health initiatives in Greater 91ɬ��.

Whilst in Tokyo, The University of 91ɬ�� and GMCA colleagues have been invited to speak at the , alongside academics from TUA and NCAR.

The University of 91ɬ�� is proud to work collaboratively with a number of renowned teaching institutions across the globe, with several partners located in Asia including 91ɬ��-Chinese University of Hong Kong, 91ɬ��-Ashoka University, 91ɬ�� O.P. Jindal Global University, 91ɬ��-IISC Bangalore and 91ɬ��-Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

The University collaborates with other institutions around the world at a faculty level through impactful MoUs, ensuring colleagues can collaborate with global peers in their field and access the resources they need to co-create cutting-edge research.

The Faculty of Humanities was a founding member of the Global Humanities Alliance, a partnership that includes the University of Melbourne, University of Toronto, University of Nairobi, Ashoka University, Mahidol University, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universitas Gadjah Mada and The University of 91ɬ��.

The University of 91ɬ�� is globally renowned for its pioneering research, outstanding teaching and learning, and commitment to social responsibility. We are a truly international university – ranking in the top 50 in a range of global rankings – with a diverse community of more than 44,300 students, 12,800 colleagues and 585,000 alumni. 

Their testimony draws on their which found that there have been clear and stark ethnic inequalities in infection and mortality rates, testing, monitoring, and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection, and health, health behaviours and healthcare.

People from ethnic minority groups also experienced detrimental impacts of the pandemic in other ways, such as on their finances, housing, social networks, experiences with the police, and education. These factors are important social determinants of health and wellbeing. The unequal impacts of the pandemic on these factors have led to ethnic inequalities being exacerbated as a result of the pandemic.

James and Laia’s expert report shows how ethnic inequalities result from historical and ongoing racism, which meant that before the pandemic hit, people from ethnic minority groups were more likely to be poorer; have poorly paid and insecure employment; live in overcrowded housing; and live in deprived neighbourhoods with high rates of concentrated poverty and increased pollution. All of these social and economic factors contributed to inequalities in Covid-19 infection and mortality.

The report also criticises the ‘colour blind’ approach taken by political and administrative decision-makers, which meant that they did not take into account the extra social and economic vulnerabilities experienced by ethnic minority groups. This resulted in unequal impacts experienced as a result of social distancing and lockdown measures introduced to control the spread of the pandemic. This included impacts on mental and physical health, in part as a result of limited access to necessary healthcare, in part as a consequence of poorer housing conditions, the greater likelihood of living in deprived areas with limited access to green space and exercise, and in part as a result of the disruption of social and community sources of support. The more vulnerable employment and financial situation of some groups of ethnic minority people prior to the pandemic also meant that they experienced greater negative financial impacts from lockdown measures. 

Established in 2017 and named after the University’s former Chancellor, , the bursary aims to address the disproportionately low numbers of Black and Black-mixed heritage individuals from socio-economically underrepresented backgrounds entering the legal and criminal justice professions.

At the time of the donation, Professor Carolyn Abbot, Interim Head of The University of 91ɬ�� Law School said:

To help close this gap, the University of 91ɬ��, in partnership with Discover Economics, The Bank of England and the Office for National Statistics, hosted an engagement event, The Economics of Football, on 31 March, bringing over 100 Year 10 pupils from widening‑participation schools across the region onto campus for a hands‑on introduction to economics. 

Using Football to Bring Economics to Life 

The one‑day event used the universal language of football to show how economics connects directly to everyday life. Pupils rotated through three interactive sessions linked to the 2026 Men’s World Cup: 

Pricing the World Cup: A dynamic workshop where pupils learned about supply, demand and price elasticity before setting real ticket and merchandise prices based on fan demand and stadium capacity. 

Football and the National Economy: Students explore how football contributes to the UK economy and debate economic concepts behind footballer wages, taxation, productivity and broader social value. 

The day concluded with a panel discussion featuring University of 91ɬ�� alumni, economists and current economics students. 

Creating Aspirations and Broadening Participation 

Economics is one of the fastest‑growing subjects in the UK, with A‑Level entries rising 60% between 2012 and 2023. Yet participation remains uneven. The recent Understanding Trends in the Study of Economics report highlights persistent inequalities by region, gender and socio‑economic background, with disadvantaged students and girls consistently underrepresented. 

As part of a new three‑year partnership, the University of 91ɬ�� and the Bank of England are working to tackle these gaps by co‑creating the Teach Economics initiative, which supports teachers in delivering high‑quality economics in more state schools, starting in the North West. 

Teach Economics is delivered by the University of 91ɬ�� and co-created by the University of 91ɬ��, and the Bank of England. 

Led by sociologist Professor Sophie Woodward, Air Spaces: Getting the Measure of Air will explore the social, scientific and environmental dimensions of air quality, focusing on communities in 91ɬ�� where pollution levels are significantly above WHO guidelines.

Air pollution does not affect everyone equally. Housing conditions, neighbourhood geography, transport infrastructure, and work environments all contribute to unequal exposure. Yet research and policy responses often rely on narrow or fragmented datasets. This project seeks to address that gap by combining:

• atmospheric sensor data
• qualitative research
• creative and heritage-based methods
• community knowledge and participation

By developing a new framework for understanding “air inequalities”, the team aims to inform more inclusive and effective approaches to air quality policy and public health intervention.

The research will work closely with community groups and local authorities and brings together UoM academics across multiple faculties: Dr Jenna Ashton, Dr Andrew Balmer, Dr Thomas Bannan, Dr Steve Hicks and Dr Vladimir Jankovic. The project was selected by UKRI as a featured award within its latest Cross Research Council Responsive Mode scheme which is a highly competitive call highlighting breakthrough interdisciplinary ideas. The project partners include Ardwick Climate Action, Love Old Trafford, 91ɬ�� City Council, Transport for Greater 91ɬ�� and Trafford Council.

Around 650,000 people in the region fall into the ‘justice gap’ because they cannot access legal aid or afford private representation.

The Justice Hub’s important work exposes lawyers of the future to the injustices faced by many and the importance of access to justice and helps to transform lives across Greater 91ɬ��. 

The Awards, now in their second year, celebrate the regions’ lawyers, law students and legal professionals who are transforming lives through free legal advice and representation. 

• .

Interested in presenting your work at The Digital Environment Conference 2026, hosted at SISTER on 1st April 2026? We are looking for individuals to present their research in 15 minute speakers slots, or present their work on a poster board at the event.

Please email Jade at digitalfutures@manchester.ac.uk with your presentation and/ or poster title, and topic or area of research. 

Please note that the open call for presentation or poster submissions deadline is Friday 27th February 2026.

Her talk highlighted the urgent need to protect hard-won rights, confront structural violence, and reimagine peacebuilding through a feminist lens. Rees’s reflections were rooted in decades of frontline advocacy, legal reform, and international diplomacy, “We insert ourselves into what we see and learn from existing structures. Male and female binary. History matters, but it’s biased; it’s mainly not women’s views. It’s not that women were written out of history but it’s that women were never written in.” 

The lecture examined the pushback against gender and its negative impact on accessing justice, understanding conflict, and addressing its consequences. Rees argued that binary approaches, especially regarding gender, hinder the structural changes needed to end exclusion, inequality, and violence. 

The lecture explored what interdisciplinary research is required to shift from a Hobbesian dystopia characterised by perpetual competitiveness and individualism, and to rebuild or establish a shared human connection. 

The event marked forty years since former Psychology lecturer formally launched the lecture series. Inspired by staff protests against nuclear weapons at Greenham Common, the series was founded to create space for public dialogue on peace and the future. 

, Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies and organiser of this year’s lecture, said:

The lecture was followed by a Q&A and networking reception, bringing together students, researchers, activists, and members of the public. 

The International Peace Lecture is hosted annually by the Department of Politics in the School of Social Sciences. It remains a vital space for critical reflection, civic engagement, and global dialogue. 

The event, organised by the EU Delegation to the UK in partnership with the University and the Greater 91ɬ�� Combined Authority, aimed to provide a platform for EU citizens to connect, learn and empower each other, while promoting a sense of belonging and unity.

Bev Craig, Leader of 91ɬ�� City Council, opened the event before welcoming EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael MacGrath to the stage for his keynote speech ‘People at the heart of the EU-UK relationship’.

The Vice President of the European Parliament, Katarina Barley, also delivered a keynote address, and President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Ivison thanked all delegates for their contributions.

Throughout the day, a range of breakout sessions, workshops and discussions took place which addressed key challenges for EU citizens and explored ways to strengthen civic engagement in the future. Sessions covered the importance of collaborating with stakeholders, the wellbeing of EU citizens post-Brexit, and how to foster EU networks in the UK, among other topics. 

There were also chances for networking throughout the day, encouraging guests to connect with fellow EU citizens, community leaders and representatives from a variety of institutions.

Organised in conjunction with the gathering was a public roundtable discussion on the European security landscape, hosted by the 91ɬ�� Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (MJMCE). The roundtable was chaired by MJMCE Director, Silke Trommer, and featured a panel of diplomats and academics, including EU Ambassador to the UK Pedro Serrano; Ambassador of Slovakia to the UK Peter Susko; Maltese High Commissioner to the UK Stephen Montefort; High Commissioner of Cyprus to the UK Kyriacόs Kouros; and Global Politics Professor Toni Haastrup.

After introductory remarks on the future of EU-UK security cooperation, Silke invited questions from the audience, which was made up of around 150 students, staff and external guests from local, national and international politics.

Through dialogue, recognition and collaboration, both events gave citizens a chance to spotlight key issues and understand the bigger picture of the EU-UK relationship, while sharing lived experiences, challenges and vulnerabilities with one another and building a supportive community of people.

Professor Dimitris Papadimitriou, the Faculty of Humanities’ Vice-Dean for Social Responsibility and Inclusion, reflected on the EU Citizens’ Gathering, saying:

At The University of 91ɬ��’s School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED), the answer is: they thrive as Change-makers.

The SEED Change-makers programme is a growing student-led initiative that’s empowering undergraduates and postgraduates to create meaningful change — within the University, in the community, and around the world. Launched two years ago, the programme gives students the tools, confidence and platform to turn passion into action while gaining recognition and real-world experience along the way. 

And it's just getting started. 

From inspiration to action 

The idea for SEED Change-makers came from Professor Nicola Banks, SEED’s Director of Social Responsibility, who saw how students in the Global Development Institute (GDI) were contributing to One World Together — a social enterprise born out of her research. Seeing their drive and commitment, she asked a powerful question: 

"What if we stopped thinking of students only as future changemakers — and started supporting them to be changemakers today?" 

The programme that followed invites students from across SEED’s five departments — Architecture, Geography, Global Development, Education, and Planning and Environmental Management — to lead, collaborate and innovate on social responsibility projects that matter to them. 

What do SEED Change-makers do? 

Over its first two years, the programme has engaged over 150 SEED students through Social Responsibility World Cafés and Change-maker working groups — spaces for collaborative discussion, reflection, and action on social and environmental issues.

These student-led events and conversations have reached over 600 attendees in person, with further impact through recorded content that continues to be shared across online platforms and teaching contexts, extending their influence beyond the University and across time zones. 

From inspiring peers to informing future students and being used as real-world teaching tools, the Change-maker programme is helping amplify student voices and embed social responsibility more deeply into the culture of SEED.

Recognised impact 

SEED Change-makers is formally accredited through the University’s , meaning students who take part have their contributions recognised on their Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR), an official transcript that adds value to graduate job and study applications. 

Student-led events 

Students have organised impactful lectures, workshops, and campaigns, including: 

• A conversation with , author of Citizens, on what it means to be an engaged, empowered citizen (November 2023) Watch:  
• A celebration of 30 years of Fairtrade, with panel guests from academia, co-operatives, and the UK Fairtrade movement.  Watch: ’ (October 2024)
• A talk by Anshu Gupta, founder of Indian social enterprise Goonj, on rethinking charity and sustainable community support (November 2024) Read:  

Working groups creating change 

Students have led dedicated groups tackling real-world challenges: 

• Sustainability at move-out: Addressing waste left behind in student accommodation by helping students donate, recycle and rethink their move-out habits as part of the campaign.  
• Supporting social enterprise: A team of GDI students co-organised a major fundraising event for , raising over £1,700 to support marginalised communities globally. 

Student voices, real impact 

Beyond the events and projects, the real story of SEED Change-makers is the personal growth it inspires. 

Students describe gaining leadership skills, confidence, new networks, and a deeper connection to their studies and their values. They’re discovering their ability to lead social change, not in the distant future, but right now. 

Here’s how Laura Acosta Varon, one of our student leaders, put it: 

“It makes me very proud to represent my home and country, Colombia. I’m so excited for the future of One World Together — and here’s to many more years of impact, trust, solidarity, and collaboration!” 

Looking ahead: building a bigger movement 

As the programme moves into its third year, SEED is investing in a more structured, sustainable model co-designed with students. 

Two undergraduates, Saniyyah Ali and Haojun Shuai, are spending the summer of 2025 researching what social responsibility means to their peers and helping to shape a new student handbook. From 2025/26, students will be supported through a semester-based journey of discovery, collaboration, and project delivery, with more ways to get involved at every stage of the student experience. 

Get Involved 

• Students: Interested in becoming a SEED Change-maker? You can find more information on your SEED Students Community Pages
• Staff: Want to support or collaborate with SEED Change-makers? Reach out to your departmental social responsibility representative to find out how you can get involved.
• Supporters: Want to help us grow the programme? We welcome partnerships, mentoring, and funding opportunities that enable student-led impact. Please contact sr.seed@manchester.ac.uk

Over two engrossing and thought-provoking days, dozens of staff and students from across The University of 91ɬ�� community, alongside practitioners, artists, and activists from across the UK, came together for transdisciplinary discussions on the fundamental transformations needed to challenge systemic drivers of unsustainability and chart more liveable pathways forward.

A key aim was to foreground perspectives and disciplines not typically centred in STEM-dominated sustainability discourses, namely the humanities, social sciences, and activist voices.

Key themes and topics included: the transformative role of hope and imaginaries; cultivating our ecological selves; working with and through climate anxiety; the relationship between war and ecological breakdown; collectively crafting new stories; generating value shifts and cultivating relations of ‘integrity over transaction’; opting for slow research and travel; how mosses might help us rethink the more-than-human ethical dimensions of sustainability; how to disrupt universities’ complicity in climate breakdown; and the need for a distributed ethics that cherishes individuals through collectives.

As speaker Susan Brown (MIE) asked, “What if education were to beat not to the neoliberal economic clock, but to the earth’s clock?” How can we develop an intersectional, ecological approach to sustainability, that recognises extreme inequality, political polarisation, misogyny, systemic racism, transphobia, pollution, and biodiversity collapse as deeply entangled and indivisible crises? And how might we better engage actors beyond our immediate circles, ensuring we don’t merely preach to the converted?

In service of keeping hope alive, these crucial conversations will continue in future events over the coming academic year.

The Making a Difference Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of our staff, students, alumni and external partners, and celebrate how they are making a difference.  

We are proud to have the School of Environment, Education and Development represented in the following categories. Congratulations go to all those involved. 

Outstanding contribution to social and environmental impact through entrepreneurship - Winner

(Global Development Institute) and One World Together  

Communities are on the front line against poverty. While community leadership makes responses agile, effective and sustainable, most financing systems don’t work for community organisations. They privilege professional organisations and place huge costs and barriers on community groups. One World Together is fixing this. The growing movement of global citizens has sent more than £11,000 of flexible funding to community partners, who say these are 5 times more powerful than project-based finance. The partners are deepening their impacts, responding to crisis and investing in new priorities. The initiative supports communities with long-term, predictable and unrestricted funds to help them cope with crisis and invest in their futures.  

Outstanding alumni contribution to social responsibility – Winner 

Charles Bakolo Mvula (Geography alumnus) 

The voluntary Malawi Creation Care Network (MCCN) is a movement aimed at addressing environmental issues such as plastic pollution and deforestation. Since its inception in 2019, MCCN has united churches, youth groups, NGOs, and academics, organising nationwide marches that contributed to Malawi’s landmark ban on plastic bags. Charles has continued to build a vibrant movement of young people across universities, colleges, secondary, and primary schools in Malawi, advocating for environmental sustainability through tree planting and growing. The network drives collective action towards a zero-carbon future and the preservation of Malawi’s rich biodiversity. One of the most impactful achievements has been MCCN’s instrumental role in securing the landmark ban on plastic bags in Malawi, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2019 after a prolonged legal battle. Through nationwide marches, advocacy, and collaboration with various stakeholders Charles mobilised widespread support for this critical policy change. 

Outstanding public engagement initiative - Highly commended 

and (91ɬ�� Institute of Education) and Dr Emma Pagnamenta, Prof. Vesna Stojanovik, Dr Rebecca Baxter (University of Reading)  

Parents and Children Together (PACT-DS) 

Children with Down syndrome require support for language development from an early age but overwhelming demand for speech and language therapy (SLT) and a lack of evidence-based interventions make it difficult to get support. The PACT-DS project works with families from the DS community to adapt and evaluate a parent-delivered early language teaching programme for young children with DS. The aim is to provide parents with knowledge, skills, resources, and confidence to support their child’s language learning. Outcomes include a tailored intervention programme and data indicating benefits. 

Outstanding public engagement initiative - Highly commended 

(Honorary Professor, Geography), Professor Melanie Giles and Professor John McAuliffe (School of Arts, Languages, and Modern Languages) and Professor Matthew Paterson (School of Social Sciences)

Learning from the past, looking to the future: peatland communities

This project helped local communities see peatlands ‘differently’, supporting civic engagement with nature and heritage: enhancing belonging and wellbeing. This project aimed to ‘make a difference’ by sharing interdisciplinary research with peat practitioners, working and learning alongside our community partner Transitions Wilmslow, local schools and adult education groups based at The Wilmslow Guild. They co-produced research activities and events; sharing cutting-edge wetland restoration ‘best practice’ with other academics, conservation bodies, heritage practitioners and charities, through a workshop, Peatlands: learning from the past, looking to the future; enhancing the sustainability of this network by curating an online Peat Café which continues today to widen its international membership. Through the conference and lecture series, they supported over 180 adult learners: creating a rich research culture in which knowledge flows both ways, entangling academic and civic research to mutual benefit.

Find out more about the Making a Difference awards on our   

When: Thursday 22 – Friday, 23 May 2025

Contact: Heather Alberro, Lecturer in sustainability, Global Development Institute, School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED), The University of 91ɬ��

Call for contributors: Please send a brief title and description of your intervention, a bio and contact details to heather.alberro@manchester.ac.uk by EOP Friday 14 February. 

Sustainability is a contested concept that can mean different things to different people, and in different contexts (Vos 2007). Moreover, ‘sustainability’ is not inherently desirable- i.e. if what one is sustaining is a system or process that is antithetical to mutual flourishing. If one recalls the etymological roots of the word, connotations include the ability of something- i.e. an activity, process, system- to be maintained without exhausting its own conditions of possibility. In the context of sustainable development, development is sustainable if it meets the needs of present generations without undermining the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, with only 17% of SDG targets on track and over one-third actually regressing (SDG Report 2024), six of the earth’s nine planetary boundaries breached (Richardson et al 2023), global biodiversity abundance in freefall (WWF 2024), the world on track to reach 3C of warming by 2100 (Carrington 2024), and mounting extreme socioeconomic inequality (Watts and Ambrose 2024), it’s clear that we are rushing headlong down radically unsustainable trajectories.

Averting the unravelling of the very fabric of life (Ripple et al 2024) will require profound structural, political, socioeconomic and cultural transformations. We need to start asking some difficult questions, such as whether global socioeconomic systems predicated on endless economic expansion and material extractivism can in fact be reconciled with biospheric integrity (Ward et al 2016; Hickel 2020). We urgently need to think outside the confines of ‘business as usual’, which is leading us towards socio-ecological catastrophe. All of us, no matter our discipline or sector, have a stake in this, because all earthlings need a habitable planet on which to subsist. In this two-day symposium, we seek contributions from diverse actors within and beyond the University of 91ɬ�� community on how we might ‘get serious’ about sustainability in our research, teaching, advocacy and daily lives. What might ‘transformative’ change look like? How can we build meaningful collaborations between diverse stakeholders for moving beyond ‘sustaining’ the status quo, and towards improving planetary conditions for more just and sustainable futures for all earthlings?

Contributions can be oral, visual or written, and can include, but need not be limited to, such topics as:

• Academic-activist collaborations for climate justice
• Transdisciplinary perspectives/approaches to sustainability
• Student-led sustainability initiatives
• Degrowth/post-growth
• Just energy transitions
• Multispecies justice
• Living cities/urban rewilding
• Fair food systems (i.e. agroecology)
• Sustainable, accessible and inclusive transport
• Eco-pedagogies and embedding sustainability into curricula
• Ecological values
• Creative visions for sustainable futures
• Decolonial & feminist approaches to sustainability

Symposium registration will open in due course. A plant-based lunch, teas/coffees and pastries will be provided on both days.