Momentum is building behind The University of Manchester\u2019s groundbreaking partnership with The University of Cambridge, the first cross-UK innovation partnership,\u00a0with\u00a0its\u00a0inaugural\u00a0board meetings\u00a0hosted\u00a0across\u00a0Manchester\u00a0this\u00a0week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The agenda included a\u00a0stakeholder\u00a0meeting\u00a0at Christie\u2019s Bistro on\u00a0The University of\u00a0Manchester\u2019s\u00a0campus on Wednesday\u00a04 February, and a creative roundtable in\u00a0MediaCity\u00a0on Thursday\u00a05 February, hosted by Professor\u00a0of Poetry,\u00a0John McAuliffe,\u00a0on the role of the creative economy in innovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Transport for Greater Manchester\u00a0(TfGM)\u00a0also hosted\u00a0a meeting\u00a0to\u00a0showcase\u00a0Manchester\u2019s transport network,\u00a0providing\u00a0the chance to\u00a0share\u00a0learnings between the two cities, before the first partnership advisory board meeting was held at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The events were attended\u00a0by\u00a0both the\u00a0mayors of\u00a0Greater\u00a0Manchester and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough\u00a0respectively,\u00a0Andy Burnham and\u00a0Paul Bristow,\u00a0and the Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of Manchester\u00a0and Cambridge,\u00a0Professor Duncan\u00a0Ivison\u00a0and Professor Deborah Prentice.\u00a0Attendees also included the leaders of both city councils, Shaun Grady, UK Chair of AstraZeneca,\u00a0and industry leaders from both\u00a0regions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The visit to Manchester follows on\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0launch of the partnership<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0initial\u00a0stakeholder visit to Cambridge\u00a0last year,\u00a0after \u00a34.8 million in funding was awarded by Research England for the pioneering city-to-city\u00a0collaboration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In October, the partnership announced its advisory board during the 2025 Innovate Cambridge Summit\u00a0which brings together leaders from academia,\u00a0industry\u00a0and policy to guide the collaboration between the two cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n The partnership is led by the universities of Cambridge and Manchester and their innovation ecosystem organisations\u00a0Unit M<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Innovate Cambridge<\/a>. The\u00a0ambitious\u00a0collaboration\u00a0was launched\u00a0to boost UK\u00a0economic\u00a0growth and advance inclusive innovation, while supporting the delivery of industrial strategy and local growth plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n The partnership is\u00a0connected at every level: University to University, innovation ecosystem to ecosystem, council to council, Combined Authority to Combined Authority and business to business. This multi-layered connectivity allows ideas, talent, investment and opportunity to flow between places and organisations.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n