University Launches 'Challenge Accepted'

On Wednesday 12 November, the University of Manchester launched ‘Challenge Accepted’, its first global fundraising and volunteering campaign.

With a target of raising £400 million, the campaign will mobilise the University’s alumni to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Challenge Accepted has four main priorities:

Student inclusion and successResearch with purposeInnovation and enterpriseCulture and community

The first priority aims to remove barriers to access by promoting scholarships, mentorship and wellbeing support.

The second will support researchers in tackling urgent issues, including cancer and climate change.

Innovation and enterprise will connect research to civic networks and entrepreneurial hubs, driving growth in crucial sectors such as green energy and digital inclusion.

Finally, the goal of culture and community is to utilise the University’s cultural institutions, including the John Rylands Library, the Manchester Museum and the Whitworth Art Gallery to promote inclusion and creativity.

The University of Manchester will use its cultural institutions, such as the Whitworth (pictured), to promote inclusion and creativity. Rept0n1x @ Wikimedia Commons.

Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University, commented that “through this campaign, we're mobilising our entire community to deliver real-world change."

The University says that donators and supporters can engage directly with academic leadership through Challenge Accepted, allowing them to assist causes for which they are passionate.

It has launched an online platform for donations to one of the following causes:

Give Manchester students a helping handHelp tackle brain cancer head-onMake Christmas magical for a care-experienced young personTurn bold ideas into real-world impactGive where it’s needed most

Challenge Accepted forms part of the wider Manchester 2035 strategy, which aims to create “knowledge for the public good, locally and globally."

The Manchester 2035 strategy, shaped after consultation with more than 12,000 colleagues, students, alumni, civic, industrial and community partners, aims to make the University of Manchester “the partner of choice for those committed to excellence."