Connecting Further Education with Health Innovation: the Greater Manchester FE Innovation Programme
For the past 18 months, Health Innovation Manchester has been part of an ambitious project to bring health innovation into Greater Manchester’s Further Education colleges. Stephanie Bateman, Specialist Nurse for Innovation at HInM’s Clinical Office, was seconded to the Greater Manchester Further Education Innovation Programme (GMFEIP) as Innovator in Residence for Health and Life Sciences – here she reflects on what the programme set out to do, and what it achieved.
The GMFEIP brought together GMColleges and a range of innovation partners to explore how Further Education can play a more active role within Greater Manchester’s innovation ecosystem. The aim was practical: strengthen connections between education, industry and innovation, and support colleges in preparing the future workforce.
Working across all nine Greater Manchester colleges, the health and life sciences strand of the programme focused on creating meaningful opportunities for educators to engage with the changes shaping health and care — from digital transformation and prevention through to population health and emerging clinical roles. Across the programme as a whole, almost 700 staff from all nine colleges took part in 65 CPD experiences.
Bringing health innovation into the classroom
A key priority from the start was making health innovation feel relevant and accessible, particularly for staff who hadn’t previously engaged with these topics. Through workshops, site visits and collaborative sessions, college staff explored what the future of health and care might look like — and what that means for the people they’re training.
One of the most effective approaches was a series of in-college “roadshow” sessions, which created a low-barrier entry point into health innovation. Rather than presenting innovation as something remote or specialist, the sessions opened up conversations about how these developments connect directly to teaching, curriculum and the students heading into health and social care careers.
Visits to innovation environments and partners across Greater Manchester added another dimension — giving educators direct exposure to how research, technology and service transformation are being applied in practice, and the kinds of roles their students might one day be working in.
What changed
The numbers tell part of the story, but the programme’s impact went further than CPD delivery alone.
Feedback from participants showed increased confidence among educators in discussing innovation, digital health and future workforce skills, alongside a broader understanding of how these developments are reshaping health and care. In some cases, this sparked early conversations around curriculum development, new approaches to teaching and student-facing activity.
The programme also helped to build new relationships between colleges, universities, research centres and industry partners — many of which are continuing beyond the programme itself. A smaller group of educators moved from initial participation into deeper involvement, becoming informal champions for innovation within their institutions.
Looking ahead
Reflecting on the experience, Stephanie said:
“What struck me most was the appetite that was already there. When educators were given access to the right expertise, environments and networks, they engaged seriously and enthusiastically. Health innovation can feel like a world away from the classroom, but the connections are very real — and the people training the next generation of nurses, allied health professionals and care workers deserve to understand the landscape their students are stepping into.
The relationships and momentum built through this programme are what I’m most proud of. The formal programme has ended, but the conversations it started haven’t.”
The Innovator in Residence model has demonstrated real value in connecting Further Education more closely with the health innovation ecosystem. There is now a strong foundation to build on — particularly in strengthening links between FE, the NHS, academia and industry, and in supporting the development of a workforce equipped for the challenges ahead.
Ben Diette, Academic Partnerships Manager, Health Innovation Manchester spoke of the partnership and said: “It’s been a pleasure to be involved in such an impactful partnership. The appetite from colleges to engage with health innovation has been clear, and as Steph sets out, this feels very much like the start of the conversation – with lasting relationships and momentum to build on across FE, the NHS, academia and industry.”
