Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/433487
81 Like the great 'land-grant' universities in the USA, The University of Manchester has long had a core of academic research driven by the desire to solve real-world problems and the ability to seize the research opportunities which arise from them. Such institutions are critical to the ability to drive new innovation cycles and economic renewal. Time and again we heard of the 'openness' of the University and its willingness to act fast and selflessly in the cause of advancement. Our entrepreneurs frequently praised the approach and attitudes of the University's technology commercialisation company, UMI 3 Ltd, its ability to see the industry position and an ability to act at speed to deliver practical solutions. In so many ways our case studies illustrate exemplars of what the UK is searching for in its university-business knowledge exchange programmes. Second, the ' Mancunian Milieu' should be celebrated – not dismissed as fanciful sociology. Time and again we have heard from today's entrepreneurs that their business decisions have been made in recognition of the fact that talented people come to the city and want to stay or return if they are offered the opportunity. It is a combination of history, shared values, international and local networks, and entrepreneurialism with a convention of being unconventional and radical. The University plays its part but as Professor James Thompson says"... students feel that it is the whole city that influences their development." Third, Manchester has all the right conditions that Michael Porter and many other eminent academic commentators have enumerated in terms of the underlying ingredients that any location needs to support a 21st century innovation hub. Yes, there could be more finance; yes, there could be more facilities but lots of places have all these innovation ingredients yet they don't get the recipe right to create what the leading urbanist Peter Hall termed that "chain of continuing innovation over decades and even centuries that builds economic renewal." Manchester, with The University of Manchester at its heart, is a restless innovator – building on its past and its deeply held values but always believing that it can do more and be better. If you were seeking a postscript to sum this up, EON Reality, which moved to Manchester in 2012 to set up its European Headquarters, sums it up nicely! Dan Lejerskar, its co-founder and chairman, commented: "Manchester is the original technology city – they invented the computer and have been improving it ever since, designing, programming, creating content and sharing ideas. "With the increasing growth of 3D technology the time is right to build on Manchester's reputation for innovation and creativity, by bringing together creative people, developers, integrators, education and government to change the education and industrial learning space."