Manchester Metropolitan University Podcast

In this September episode of MetCast, we continue our 200-year anniversary celebrations here at Manchester Met and we’re turning our attention to our next theme, sustainability. 

As a top three sustainable university, protecting the environment is key to everything we do.

In this edition, we hear how a graduate’s vital conservation work is helping to protect one of the natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef.

We explore how our Manchester Fashion Institute is combatting fast fashion and instead leading the way to help reduce, reuse, and recycle. 

And we find out from our lecturers how Manchester’s climate is changing due to global warming, as well as the impact of the humble domestic garden.

Welcome to our August edition of MetCast. As we gear up for the Paralympic Games later this month, we catch up with Manchester Met visiting professor and honorary graduate Dame Sarah Storey, who is part of the Paralympic cycling squad for Paris 2024. 

Dame Sarah has made history with 17 gold, eight silver, and three bronze medals. From her rise to stardom at just 14 in Barcelona 1992, to her unstoppable success as a para cyclist, Sarah's journey is nothing short of extraordinary.  

With her sights set Paralympic glory once again, we had the privilege of catching up with Sarah at the Manchester Metropolitan Institute of Sport. We dive into her medal memories, her thoughts on the future of inclusive sports, and those all-important preparations for the Paris time trial and road race ahead of the games. 

In the July edition of MetCast, we turn our focus to the excitement of the Olympic Games, which will begin at the end of this month in Paris.  

With Manchester Metropolitan’s world-class Institute of Sport offering state-of-the-art facilities and supporting elite athletes and top-class teams, it’s no surprise to hear that our impactful research is not only relevant, but provides vital insight to help Olympians prepare for the games.  

In this edition, we meet Irish track cyclist, Olympic hopeful and Manchester Met Alumna, Alice Sharpe. Alice discusses her preparations for the games and her fond memories of studying at our University.

We also look at the undeniable impact genes have on athletic performance and we revisit our environment chamber and discuss how athletes can prepare for Summer games and extreme temperatures.

In the June edition of MetCast, we continue to champion Creative Excellence and explore how Manchester Metropolitan innovates and shapes the film, media, fashion, literature, art and design industries. 

First up, we explore how we are making our mark at the box office. We meet creative writing lecturer, Andrew Hurley, and senior filmmaking lecturer, Loran Dunn. They share more about their involvement in writing and producing for film and discuss how it feels to see your work come to life on the big screen.  

Then, we meet Manchester Metropolitan alumnus and Creative Director of Max Mara, Ian Griffiths. Ian talks about his life as a student in 1980s Manchester and how studying a creative subject at University helped shape his career.  

And finally, we hear more about Passiontide, the new novel from Monique Roffey. Monique  won the Costa Book of the Year award for her last novel, The Mermaid of Black Conch.  She is also Professor of Contemporary Fiction at Manchester Met’s Manchester Writing School. We learn more about her inspiration behind the novel’s key themes of feminism, protest and politics. 

In this special UEFA Euro 2024 episode of Metcast, we spoke to top English referee Anthony Taylor, ahead of the tournament in Germany, about his preparations at the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport.

In the weeks before the tournament where he is one of 19 referees officiating - and part of a cohort of eight English officials in Germany - he made use of the Institute's  world-class facilities and expertise to complete acclimation training to help ensure he is in peak physical condition.

This was a return to the Institute of Sport for Anthony, who previously used the facilities to prepare for the World Cup in Qatar.

We also spoke to Senior Lecturer in Sports Performance at the Institute, Dr Dale Read, who has been leading the team working with Anthony. He explained the work they have done with him and how it benefits his performance. 

In the May edition of MetCast, we continue our 200-year celebrations focusing on how Manchester Met is harnessing imagination to drive innovation for creative excellence.

In this edition, we hear how using design to develop a storytelling game has helped to boost the confidence and wellbeing of people with dementia.  

We also explore how cutting-edge technology has played a key role in a captivating
theatre performance. 

Finally, we find out how a researcher has taken their art in a different direction to break down the stigma of talking about mental health. 

In the March edition of MetCast, we continued our 200 year celebrations and focused on how we are transforming health, helping people to live longer, healthier and happier lives.  

In this edition, we continue that theme and start with how we are closing the gender health gap, through a pioneering collaboration that aims to help people with endometriosis communicate their pain more confidently and effectively.

We also meet Olivia, who graduated last year from the Manchester Fashion Institute at Manchester Metropolitan. Olivia has worked with the NHS to develop a sustainable, functional, and cost-effective hospital gown and recovery wear range to help patients feel more comfortable. 

On this month’s episode, we focus on how we transform health: helping people to live happier, healthier and longer lives. 

We look at how we are leading the way for new life, through IVF. We meet Alexandra and Luke, to learn about their IVF journey and find out more about our exclusive NHS partnership to train reproductive scientists. 

Continuing our health theme, we investigate the ground-breaking research that helps us understand more about Parkinson’s disease. 

We speak to experts from Manchester Metropolitan and in clinical practice to hear more about how new technology is improving symptoms and making life-changing advancements for people living with the condition. 

Finally, with the NHS under continuous pressure, we look to the future and developing a pipeline of talented healthcare professionals.  

In this month’s episode we’re looking at the ways Manchester Met drives economic growth. It’s our 200-year anniversary and we’re celebrating two centuries of supporting innovation and progress through excellent education and research.

Key to that is boosting skills, increasing employability, and supporting wider prosperity by helping businesses get off the ground, and thrive.

We discover how a Manchester Met graduate’s fabulous new fashion business has been helped by our start-up incubator Innospace.

And, we speak to experts from the University’s Centre for Enterprise following a new report published this year showing how it has supported more than 2,000 businesses, boosting economic growth in the region, and creating jobs, new products and services.

On this month’s episode, we look at a very special celebration – 200 Years of Manchester Metropolitan University. With roots dating back to 1824 at the Manchester Mechanics Institution, our bicentenary gives us the opportunity to reflect on two centuries of proudly driving progress and transforming lives. We recently kicked off the celebrations with a fantastic light display across the city. 

We’ll also be looking to the future and how the University is Driving Economic Growth: starting with a spotlight on our research supporting UK high streets, and, with National Apprenticeship Week round the corner, we also look at how degree apprenticeships are transforming lives and lifting employers.