Julia Rouse

With 43,000 students, 5,100 employees and a global alumni community of 350,000 across more than 170 countries, Manchester Metropolitan is one of the UK’s largest and most diverse universities. Founded in 1824, today it is home to four facilities which deliver courses from Engineering to Art and Design, to business disciplines, to education and healthcare professions. Its international Business School is recognised by the major UK, US and European accreditation bodies. Manchester Metropolitan University received an overall gold status in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). Staying true to its core purpose of transforming lives through the power of education and research, in 2022 it embarked on a new strategy, setting a long-term ambition of achieving dual intensity for Research and Education. In academic year 2022-23, it was the UK’s top University for home undergraduate applications. Social mobility and widening access are at the heart of its educational mission. In 2020-21, just over 50% of undergraduate entrants were the first in their family to go to university and 33% of undergraduates identified as BAME. Its sector-leading degree apprenticeship programme, recently rated Ofsted excellent, provides a route into higher education for those wanting to earn while they learn from many educational and career backgrounds. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF21), 90% of Manchester Metropolitan’s research was rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent.’ It applies a broad spectrum of its research to address contemporary global challenges from health to social inequality. A top five provider of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, it also leads the Government’s High Streets Taskforce and has leveraged £45million of funding to support SMEs. It has been a top three university for sustainability in the People and Planet League for the past ten years and principles of sustainability underpin its ambitious investment in campus development.