University of Manchester - A new cutting-edge innovation district for the North West

The University of Manchester is developing a new £1.5 billion innovation district that will provide specialist infrastructure to support the development of the knowledge economy and transform the ability of researchers and spin outs to commercialise R&D innovation in the North West. 

ID Manchester will be a high-density mixed-use neighbourhood focused on accelerating the University of Manchester's R&D base into jobs and growth in leading edge sectors such as advanced materials, health innovation, and industrial biotechnology.  

The opportunity for ID Manchester follows the completion of the new £400 million Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) which will be the largest home for engineering in any UK university. This new facility will provide world-class sustainable teaching and research facilities for 8,000 students, researchers, academics and professional services staff who will relocate from facilities on the University’s former North Campus that will be transformed into ID Manchester. 

ID Manchester will capitalise on existing R&D assets such as the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre that are located nearby and create around 2.5m square feet of work and collaboration spaces to incubate new firms. The new district will be a major pull factor for the Manchester City Region, bringing new and established businesses to the North West and driving regional economic growth.  

Economic forecasts project ID Manchester will support up to 10,000 new high-quality jobs on site in a wide range of technology-rich growth sectors and add £800m to the regional economy annually. 

Related case studies

University of Liverpool - Driving digital innovation

A programme led by the University of Liverpool's Virtual Engineering Centre provided local small and medium enterprises with advice on how to accelerate the use of new technologies - helping to boost productivity and job creation. 

Read more >

University of Leeds – driving cost transparency in pension funds to boost investment outcomes

Research at University of Leeds has helped standardise data around pension investments, improving simplicity and transparency for the costs and fees in the industry. By making it easier to collect data, new templates designed by Leeds academics alongside the FCA and enhanced transparency are saving pension funds trillions of pounds.

Read more >