The University of Cambridge and the University of Manchester have held the first advisory board meeting of a new innovation partnership.

Launched last year, the partnership intends to combine the research strengths of the two institutions, alongside their respective “innovation ecosystems,” which include local councils, combined authorities, and industry networks.

Research England has granted £4.8m for the project to the innovation arms of each University: Innovate Cambridge and Unit M.

On 4 February, representatives from Cambridge met with stakeholders at the University of Manchester for two days of events, beginning with a roundtable on the “creative economy” and its relationship to innovation.

The University of Manchester’s Professor of Poetry John McAuliffe hosted the session, which focused on how cultural industries could be treated as part of a broader economic strategy, rather than as a separate sector.

The visit also included a briefing by Transport for Greater Manchester on the region’s transport system, which the organisers presented as an opportunity for the two cities to exchange practical lessons.

The trip concluded at Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre with the partnership’s first advisory board meeting.

Both the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, were in attendance, alongside Cambridge vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice and Manchester’s president and vice-chancellor Duncan Ivison.

The meetings also brought together business representatives, local government leaders, and industry figures from both regions, including the UK chair of the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, Shaun Grady.

The organisers have described the project as an attempt to build a pipeline between two regions that occupy different positions in the UK’s innovation landscape.

Prentice commented on the partnership, saying that the developments thus far have already demonstrated how “connected ecosystems” can support “innovation, investment and inclusive growth”. Ivison said the meetings were a chance to review progress, and plan how the partnership will develop in its next phase.

The executive director of Innovate Cambridge, Kathryn Chapman, suggested that the institutions have complimentary strengths: Cambridge is a hub for early-stage company creation and investment, while Manchester is a centre for development and deployment.

The advisory board (announced at an Innovate Cambridge Summit in October 2025) is expected to determine the project’s priorities and try to align the collaboration with local growth plans and national industrial strategy goals.

The Manchester visit is the partnership’s first major step since its launch, bringing together university, civic, and industry leaders to decide the project’s direction.