Innovation and Media Labs, Networks and Groups

We support a number of research networks and groups, as well as hosting NOVARS, our Innovation and Media Lab

These hubs help our researchers to harness the potential of their research collaborations, developing new networks to explore common areas of interest, and fostering research relationships across the University, region and further afield. Each is led by one or more academics from the department.

Members are drawn from academic and postdoctoral staff within and beyond the University, our postgraduate research communities, and the thriving body of arts practitioners, managers and consultants working in Manchester's vibrant cultural and voluntary sectors.

NOVARS, our iconic Innovation and Media Lab started in 2007, hosts a wide range of collaborative research projects. These involve working with academic partners across the globe (especially in Europe, Latinamerica and Japan), researchers working in the sciences at the University, colleagues at the Alliance Manchester Business School, School of Architecture and Chemistry among others. NOVARS Innovation and Media Lab also fosters relationships with industry professionals in the sciences and gaming industry through Innovation Factory, promoting the spin out of software companies and social ventures emerging from staff and PhD research. 

Our research networks and groups have a more informal structure. They host real and virtual discussion fora, workshops and symposia designed to facilitate collaborative research on key issues and to ensure that our research reaches out beyond our discipline and department to have genuinely global impact.