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4 Welcome INTRODUCTION Universities perform more than a quarter of the UK's R&D. This places a responsibility upon us to make a commensurate contribution to the economy and society. There is an increasingly close association between the reputation of a university and the reputation of the knowledge-driven regional economy in which it sits. One only has to think of Silicon Valley or the Cambridge phenomenon to see this merging of identities. The University of Manchester is committed to playing a central role in driving the economy of our city region and hence helping to rebalance the UK economy as a whole by firing up the 'Northern Powerhouse'. At the same time, through our worldwide research networks and the UK's largest global alumni community, we seek to contribute to the solution of societal challenges in domains such as energy, health, sustainability and fighting poverty. The knowledge we generate and the people we train find multiple pathways to achieving these goals. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of UMI 3 we should start with the imperative to commercialise the intellectual property arising from our discoveries. Income generation is not primarily the driver for the University – surpluses are immediately ploughed back into further research and development – but there is a need to ensure that it is taken forward to the point where market forces can drive its application. Collaboration with business has doubled in the decade, through strategic partnerships with large firms and by working with small firms, often through placing with them students or early career researchers to work on innovation opportunities. The movement of trained people into the world of business is of course fundamental to a university. We cannot educate our graduates to be entrepreneurial unless they are coming from an entrepreneurial university. The 10th anniversary comes on the cusp of a step-change, with Manchester awarded the title of European City of Science and transformative new developments emerging in the domains of advanced materials and the life sciences to name but two. This volume provides an insight into the dynamism which is driving these changes and the variety of ways in which impacts are achieved. Each story highlights the inspiration, hard work and unrelenting commitment of many people within and outside the University and UMI 3 . My grateful thanks go to all of them. Luke Georghiou Vice-President for Research and Innovation