Research and Impact @ Manchester (February 2025)
25 Feb 2025
A message from Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to the first edition of Research and Impact @ Manchester of 2025 and the first edition of our new publication schedule: the final Wednesday of every second month. Having listened to feedback, we have made changes that will ensure these newsletters provide timely news and updates as well as celebrating the achievements of you, our research community.
This edition again focuses on our Research Culture and Environment Framework, looking at the four themes in depth and highlighting the latest offerings to ensure our incredible work to address global challenges has a positive impact on all those involved. There are some inspiring case studies too, showing how research colleagues have developed their skills, confidence and outputs through a variety of provisions.
In addition, I am pleased – and excited – to announce the open call to fund projects that develop and test potential solutions, or increase the scale of already proven practices, to known research culture challenges. Applications are invited for funding of £50,000-£80,000 for projects which align to one of the University’s four research culture themes – for more information, please visit: Open funding call for projects to enhance our research culture
Our Global Rankings
This month, we rose to 50th most powerful global university brand in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2025, making us one of eight UK institutions in the top 50. Built on a survey of 55,000 expert academic voices from around the world, the rankings are a powerful and robust indicator of global academic standing.
We are looking at our global rankings and how we can improve our citations-based performance. You can read a Viewpoint blog explaining this, written by me, our Head of Research Services and the Office for Open Research, Scott Taylor and Research Communications and Marketing Manager, Lynda McIntosh. This followed a Town Hall in which we explained to colleagues our work on the rankings and next steps.
A strong global ranking is important for our University – our reputation and success means we can recruit and retain the best global talent, build high quality international collaborations and partnerships, attract talented home and international students, and secure certain streams of funding.
We have a lot to be proud of. More than a dozen of our researchers have been ranked in the global top 1% of most influential academics, demonstrating remarkable and far-reaching influence in their field through rankings built on rigorous citation analysis. We have a strong position in the three major global rankings – the QS (34th) THE (53rd) and ARWU (52nd). However, our overall position is declining whilst competition increases. So, we have established a Global Ranking’s Taskforce (GRT), which will target actions that support our research community and improve our performance.
Please take time to read the blog and do feedback your comments.
More support – and celebrating your successes
Our University has produced AI guidelines explaining how colleagues can best use this technology in teaching and research. The guidelines cover use in general and in specific areas, including research – please make sure you read and use these very helpful guidelines.
And anyone who is presenting at a conference can use our new University-branded materials, including an excellent set of Research and Innovation slides – please take a look and download when you need them.
As usual, our research community has a host of achievements to celebrate, including:
- A new impact report that shows our University's far-reaching benefit to the region and to the UK. For every £1 invested in research activities, we generate £5.95 in productivity benefits to the UK economy, making us an economic and social powerhouse of the North.
- Our research platform, Sustainable Futures and Bupa, facilitated by the University’s dedicated innovation Unit M, have announced a new Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Prosperity Partnership to develop novel methods and strategies to reduce the healthcare sector’s environmental impact.
- The University has received a $1.3 million donation from alumna Judith Sear to accelerate our cancer research impact. Judith’s generous gift, through the North American Foundation for The University of Manchester (NAFUM), will create the Sear Family Cancer Research Fund – a dedicated fund within the Foundation’s endowment. Judith studied at Manchester with her late husband Tim in the 1960s and their family is one of the University’s longest serving and most generous donors in the USA. Their donations have also supported the Manchester Access Programme, the Whitworth Art Gallery and a PhD in African Midwifery.
- Economics Professor, Sonya Krutikova has been appointed to the newly established Science Advisory Council by the Department of Education, to provide education policy makers with advice on strategic and emerging issues.
- Professor Carly McLachlan was on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row (from 14m 25s) discussing her ongoing project with Massive Attack – Act 1.5 – which seeks to decarbonise the live music industry.
- Researchers at the Global Development Institute (GDI) have been awarded £1.3m to establish a research observatory studying the role land rights play in a just transition to a decarbonised future.
- See our Celebration section below for even more research community successes and achievements.
As you can see, we have a lot to be proud of – and a lot we can build upon, to make sure our research experience is the best it can be.
Colette