Higher education plays a vital role in the development of a country on a macro-level and of a city on a micro-level. Manchester, as it skyrockets into a booming economy of Northern England, is currently undergoing a £ 1 billion transformation at the campus of the city’s University of Manchester. The renovation and expansion plan started in as early as 2012, but individual projects are now finalizing their planning stages.

Education provides a foundation and platform for economic development. It is, with today’s leading technology-based lifestyle, to train professionals in all sectors and industries in becoming doctors, teachers, engineers and business leaders, just to name a few. As a research from Elsevier suggests, an individual’s investment in education can provide an increased income, where it allows people and businesses to obtain and provide jobs. The cycle results in developments. As education advances, new technology develops, economy specializes and professions and a highly-skilled work force are further needed.

A country’s development goals in education defines its future success.

The £ 1 billion expansion of University of Manchester is likely to be close to completion in 2023. It will deliver new educational buildings and campus residences. Its aim, is to transform the institution into ‘one of the world’s best campuses.’

The expansion projects include the development of a series of residences in the Fallowfield Campus to deliver high quality units for over 3,000 students. As it completes, it will build a university-based property portfolio and a community for students from across the globe.

Another key project in the expansion is the £ 350 million MECD project. The core of the project is to provide new technology-based research labs for the complementing engineering developments of Manchester. It will be one of the largest projects within the expansion plan. The space will transform the former system of education style in engineering at the university and provide a space for world class research to encourage collaborations and innovative thinking in the field.

One of the next largest projects is the building of the University Library with an estimated cost of £ 36 million. The public space is to provide an improved world class facility offered to its visitors and students. The library will signify the city’s heart of learning, knowledge and research.

Outside the main campus, the Manchester Museum, also owned by the university, is seeking approval for its large-scale multi-million expansion. The proposed expansion hopes to attract a larger crowd and artists worldwide to exhibit their work and broaden its reach to the public by hosting world-class exhibitions.

The University of Manchester has had a long history of over 100 years, granting a dignified education system in the United Kingdom since the late 1800s. It remains to be one of the top post-secondary institutions around the world, ranking 34^th in 2018 and has the highest employer reputation in the annual Quacquarelli Symonds publication. Its expansion resembles the growing population of professionals in the near future in the city.

Source: Built Environment, Elsevier, Blooloop, Top Universities, University of Manchester