Accelerate
Growing the regions innovation potential
John Holden Associate Vice-president for Major Special Projects
At the University of Manchester, we have a steadfast commitment to fostering regional growth. Over the past decade, we've strengthened our impact by developing new innovation capabilities, and are now proud to be the region's most significant innovation asset. A collaborative approach with our civic and business partners, including the Civic University Agreement and Innovation Greater Manchester (IGM) put us at the forefront of building a world-leading regional innovation ecosystem. This investment, along with the launch of Unit M, underscores our pivotal role in elevating Greater Manchester's innovation landscape. It's these local-national partnerships that can deliver economic benefit, job growth, boost education and skills, and reduce inequalities for our region.
Unit M
Unit M is an exciting new capability to support our institution to deliver more impact, more quickly. It works hand-in-hand with students and staff right across the University - as well as our public, private, and third-sector partners in the region - to connect with and catalyse the regional innovation ecosystem, maximising our impact for the benefit of the region's economy and society. Unit M is set up to work in an agile way and to evolve its activities over time in line with the needs and opportunities of the University and our region. Its current core areas of focus include:
- Catalysing the region's innovation-led start-up and scale-up community
- Developing regional innovation clusters
- Building strategic innovation partnerships
- Delivering place-based innovation ecosystem prototyping projects
- Coordinating the regional innovation agenda across the University
- Regional strategic engagement and partnership
- Raising the profile of Manchester's innovation story
Innovation Catalysts
These initiatives are accelerating knowledge exchange and skills development whilst fostering links between science, research, and innovation sectors to create real-world impact.
Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Catalyst (IBIC) A collaborative initiative between North West universities and industry partners which works across disciplinary and sector boundaries to foster a holistic ecosystem of biotechnology research. IBIC is a place to share ideas, to nurture partnerships and to accelerate innovation. It provides opportunities to network and connect, and offers access to cutting-edge R&D knowledge and facilities, accelerator programmes, skills development, business advice, and a talent pipeline which empowers the growth of biotechnology businesses, helping to create positive real-world impact. Discover more about the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Catalyst
Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester (TICM) Connecting the dots across Greater Manchester’s AI ecosystem, by accelerating the growth of existing and new start-ups within AI, deep digital tech and digital trust technologies. Through partnerships with a wide range of industry, academic and public sector partners, TIC Manchester delivers an ambitious programme of activities for start-ups, including venture building, accelerators and investment readiness programmes, skills and talent programmes, and collaborative R&D projects. Discover more about Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester
