Welcome to Your Impact Online
2024 marks The University of Manchester's 200th anniversary. And in this special bicentenary edition of Your Impact Online, we are celebrating the part that your support has played in Manchester's legacy of learning and discovery.
To explore this year's magazine online, as well as additional video content, please scroll down on this page or explore using the navigation bar above.
Thank you for supporting The University of Manchester. Your generosity will make a difference across our communities and the wider world, both now and in the future.
Student access and success
Across the UK, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to continue on to university. When they do, they often struggle to make the most of the opportunities available to them.
However with your support, talented young people are arriving – and thriving – here at Manchester.
Increasing access to education
The UK’s poorest young people are five times less likely to go to a top university than the richest. Your support is playing a vital role in creating equal opportunities for students at the very start of their journey into higher education.
Ensuring future success
A world-class Manchester education sets you up for the rest of your life. You’re ensuring students from disadvantaged backgrounds can make the most of their time here. So they can graduate with the skills, qualifications, and connections they need to set them up for future success.
Arriving and thriving
This year over 900 undergraduates like Jack received a scholarship. Your support provides financial stability for students throughout their degree, ensuring they can overcome any challenges and make the most of their university experience.
Jack, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
"Growing up my family always struggled with money. My parents never really encouraged me to progress academically – it was my grandfather who inspired me to pursue education and make something of myself.
The path to university was a rocky one for me. But now I’m here, it’s been a great experience. I have experienced first-hand what a lack of money can do, and my scholarship has been a huge help during my time at university. I want to tell you just how grateful I am for your generosity that supports students like me.”
Funding the future
Here at The University of Manchester we are so grateful to the many kind people who have chosen to remember the University with a gift in their will.
One such person was alumna Aline Egan (1931 - 2021), who made a gift “for the support of students unable to adequately finance their studies”.
Today, Aline’s gift is helping to break down barriers to postgraduate study for students from low-income backgrounds. Over the next four years, Aline’s generosity will change the lives of up to 200 postgraduate students, with the first cohort of Aline Egan Scholars starting in September 2023.
One such recipient Deyzi, MSc Microbiology, says: “Thanks to the support of the Aline Egan Scholarship, I’ve stayed dedicated to my medical microbiology studies, and I am set to be the first person in my family to earn a master’s degree. My aim is to contribute positively to the fight against antimicrobial resistance.”
To learn more about including a gift in your will or how to join our 1824 society, visit manchester.ac.uk/willgift
Solving the puzzle of drug resistance
Manchester researchers are leading the way in the fight against cancer. And with your help, we can answer the most puzzling questions surrounding this terrible disease.
Thanks to generous donors like you, we’re now preparing to expand our current research team and give the search for a solution to drug resistance the vital boost it needs. After a competitive application process, Jonathan has now been recruited to join our community of talented cancer scientists here at Manchester.
His role as a postgraduate researcher will focus on the mechanisms that drive drug resistance, helping to find answers that will improve treatment options for thousands of patients every year.
Jonathan Graham, future PhD in Cancer Science
“I’m very passionate about carrying out research that benefits patients directly – so I’m incredibly grateful to the generous donors that helped give me this opportunity.
Thanks to them, I’ll be able to look into what makes lung cancer resistant to chemotherapy. And what I find could make a real difference for patients with small cell lung cancer.
It’s an exciting opportunity to learn new skills from world-leading scientists. And most importantly, contribute to the lifechanging research already taking place at Manchester. Thank you so much!”
Breakthroughs of the future
From climate change to cancer, poverty to food insecurity – Manchester researchers are looking for breakthrough solutions to the challenges facing our world.
Donors like you are making them happen faster, by giving more of the brightest minds the chance to tackle the world’s biggest problems.
Scroll down to read how our researchers are changing lives and watch how we are paving the way for the next life-changing discovery.
Tackling climate change, Dr Jaise Kuriakose
Climate change is already having a stark impact on communities and ecosystems around the world. Your support is helping passionate researchers like Jaise, develop the food, water and energy systems that will keep our planet healthy. Like finding sustainable ways to heat our homes that stay affordable for all.
Achieving good health for all, Professor Caroline Dive
You’re helping to scale up the number of talented people in our world-leading health research teams, just like Caroline’s. With more bright minds on board, you’re speeding up progress towards the next big breakthrough in critical areas like cancer.
Fighting global inequity, Professor Tanja Bastia
Not everyone has access to clean water, food, and shelter. But donations from people like you are ensuring that talented researchers like Tanja have all the tools they need to change this. Like making world-changing progress in areas such as using graphene to help more people access clean water.
Re-writing cancer at Manchester
Manchester’s long awaited new cancer research facility is now complete. Six years after the devastating fire which damaged the former building, the brand new Paterson Cancer Research Building opened its doors in the spring of 2023 – with help from thousands of generous supporters.
The new Paterson Building is now home to over 700 research, operational and clinical staff. There, they have access to state-of the-art laboratories and modern research facilities, specially designed to help speed up the fight against cancer. And with spaces designed to promote collaboration and cross-working across research groups, the new Paterson will bring the very best minds together to accelerate discovery and help change lives.
Donations to our Re-write Cancer appeal helped to bring this ground-breaking new cancer research facility to life. Thanks to supporters like you, this new building will help researchers to re-write this terrible disease, bringing hope to patients and their loved ones for generations to come.
Scroll down for a look inside the new Paterson Building and to watch a special message of thanks from Professor Rob Bristow, Director of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre.
A museum for the future
In February 2023, the new Manchester Museum reopened to a wave of praise – thanks to donors to our ‘hello future’ campaign. Since then, the Museum has welcomed more than 1 million visitors, with 50,000 people coming through the doors in its opening week.
The Museum’s mission extends beyond caring for the objects and collections in its galleries, to caring for beliefs, ideas, and relationships, in a space that brings people together. The Museum includes a brand new exhibition hall, as well as three new permanent galleries:
• The Belonging Gallery draws upon collections and multiple cultural perspectives to reflect on how we come to know what belonging means.
• The Lee Kai Hung Chinese Culture Gallery, created thanks to the generosity of Dr Lee Kai Hung, explores empathy and understanding between British and Chinese culture.
• The award-winning South Asia Gallery explores the stories, experiences and contributions of South Asian diaspora communities in the UK. We are proud that the gallery was curated in partnership with a collective of community and academic collaborators.
To find out more about supporting the work of Manchester Museum, please visit the website.
Innovation at Manchester
The University of Manchester has long been recognised as a powerhouse of innovation. And our well-developed ecosystem of support includes The University of Manchester Innovation Factory and Ideas with Impact programme.
Thanks to the generosity of our donor community, support is available for entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to life for the good of us all.
Supporting ethnic minority women to access healthcare
People belonging to ethnic minority groups often face barriers when accessing information and support. With help from our donors, Dr Omolade Allen is working to solve this problem with an innovative approach that brings together information and support services from a number of different providers. This is particularly important for people from Black, Asian, and global majority backgrounds, who have historically been less well- served by the response available in the UK.
Safeguarding food security
From extreme droughts to frequent floods, climate change continues to threaten the security of our food. Most crop varieties we farm today can suffer from up to 50% yield loss due to extreme weather, while a stronger variety normally requires 10 years to develop.
To address this problem,
Dr Anil Day and Dr Junwei
Ji have developed a new biotechnology that hopes to create climate-resilient crops within 1-2 years. If successful, this project will contribute significantly to global food security, safeguarding the harvest for farmers around the world.
Supporting people living with dementia
To help prevent falls in older adults, Dr Stanmore, along with Dr Emma Vardy and Dr Jaheeda Gangannagaripalli, have developed an app providing personalised exercise programs for its users, which has already proven to reduce falls by a third.
Thanks to donor support, the team are now developing a game to expand the app’s benefits to people with dementia – thereby widening its reach and ability to improve lives.
Addressing global inequalities
The University’s Global Development Institute (GDI) exists to address global inequalities and promote a socially just world for all.
A transformational gift from the Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Foundation – led by alumnus Rory Brooks (BSc (Hons) Management Science, 1975) and his wife, Elizabeth – is enabling the Institute to redefine its role for the 21st century.
The gift will create a new policy lab, aimed at translating academic research into policy change. It will also support new PhD studentships focused on climate change and poverty reduction, and help to create new equitable partnerships between The University of Manchester and universities in the Global South.
Mariana, a PhD researcher based at the GDI, is focused on understanding the relationship between environmental sustainability and human development, with a focus on the Global South:
“The GDI is a place where there’s people from everywhere – and when you have people from everywhere, then you have ideas from everywhere.
Over the years I have realised that in order to create real change, I need to work hand-in-hand with local people.
My aim is to balance social justice with sustainability, to support better decision-making. I am grateful for the difference this gift from the Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Foundation will make.”
200 years of philanthropy
Giving has long been an important part of the history of The University of Manchester, which can trace its roots back to 1824, when The Manchester Mechanics’ Institute was founded – and the later creation of Owens College in 1846.
These institutions were made possible thanks to early gifts from prominent philanthropists who believed in access to education, and knowledge for all. They later became UMIST and Victoria University Manchester, which combined in 2004 to become The University of Manchester as we know it today.
Throughout our history to present day, it is only thanks to the support of forward-thinking donors – like our founders and you – that we can continue make a difference to so many lives. As a valued supporter, you can be proud of your place in the story of giving at Manchester.
1824
The Manchester Mechanics’ Institute is founded to improve access to education for working men. Three donors each contributed £10 to the cause and encouraged others to donate, eventually raising £7,000 to buy the land.
1846
John Owens leaves a gift in his will to build a college that can be accessed by all regardless of their birthplace, rank or position in society.
Five years later, Owens College is established.
1900
The John Rylands Library opens in tribute to the cotton manufacturer and to benefit the local community – gifted by his widow Enriquetta Rylands.
1938
Samuel Alexander, Professor of Philosophy at Manchester for many years, bequeaths most of his estate to the University, having already donated to its work several times during his lifetime.
2010
Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov receive the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of graphene. Both have been holders of the Langworthy Chair in Experimental Physics - endowed by a legacy gift in 1874.
2019
The newly redeveloped Alliance Manchester Business School reopens to students. The impressive building was named in recognition of the longstanding support received by the University from the Alliance Family.
2023
Manchester Museum reopened after a £15million redevelopment as part of the ‘hello future’ project. It’s now home to a brand-new exhibition hall and three new galleries.
2023
Our brand-new Paterson Cancer Research Building also opened in South Manchester, helping to re-write cancer thanks to our generous supporters.
2024
The University of Manchester is at the forefront of learning and discovery worldwide. Thanks to you, as we look ahead, anything is possible!
Thank you
Thank you once again for your generous support of our work here at The University of Manchester. Your gifts are making a real difference and helping us to achieve a greater impact, together.
If you feel inspired by the stories in this year's Your Impact and wish to make a further gift you can do so below. Every pound you donate will make an impact for students and researchers across your University.
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