Celebrating our past, present and future

Manchester was the world’s first modern industrial city. The history of The University of Manchester, England’s first civic university, is entwined with the history of our city and region.

With origins tracing back to 1824, this year marks The University of Manchester’s bicentenary. For the entire year, we’ll celebrate our past and look forward to our future with a year-long programme of events filled with creativity and imagination, setting the tone for our third century to come.

Everyone’s invited

For two centuries we have collaborated, encouraged and inspired each other to make an impact on the world. Universally Manchester will bring this to life, sharing not only moments from our past but shining a spotlight on the people and research projects shaping the future.

Join us for insightful discussions on how our history has shaped our present with the likes of eminent historians David Olusoga and Michael Wood; debate topical issues such as widening access to justice with the University’s Chancellor, Nazir Afzal, and wrongly convicted postmaster Tom Hedges; and peer forward to what the future has in store (on this planet and beyond) with events featuring Manchester’s world leading experts, including physicist Brian Cox and immunologist Sheena Cruickshank.

After all, it’s our people who make us what we are.