Author: James Crawley | Academic Lead – Centre for Digital Innovation | Manchester Metropolitan University

Festival of Innovation

The end of a long day… the kind where your feet hurt a bit, your voice is scratchy from talking, and your head’s still full of conversations you didn’t want to end.

This month we brought the curtain down on Phase 1 of the CDI project – a collaboration that, if I’m honest, started as a bonkers diagram and a hunch that it would all be ok. Eighteen months on, it’s become something a bit more remarkable. 

We gathered at the Royal Northern College of Music – over 100 businesses from across Greater Manchester have been part of this journey with us. This event was an opportunity for us to reflect and for new businesses to discover  what AI, Cybersecurity, Immersive Tech and 3D Printing could mean for them. And on April 8th, it was lovely to see 125 of you show up to mark the end of this first chapter and start to think about what comes next. 

There were so many familiar faces in that room, it felt more like a reunion than an event. People were catching up like old friends – and in a way, they are. This project has forged new partnerships, reignited old ones, and helped people see their businesses through fresh eyes. 

Highlights

One of the highlights for me was hearing from Apadmi, who shared that their most technically challenging app isn’t for a bank or a health service… it’s for Dominos Pizza. Who knew getting a pepperoni passion to your door involved that much complexity? It was a reminder that innovation isn’t always flashy – sometimes, it’s buried in the things we take for granted. 

We also hosted a round table on the state of innovation in Greater Manchester. And it got honest, fast. We talked about how tricky it still is for companies to find early adopters – those brave first customers who’ll try something new. We talked about visibility, and how the support on offer can feel invisible unless you already know where to look. And yes, we talked about mentors. The good ones can change the game. The not-so-good… well, let’s just say the group had a few stories. We’ll use this roundtable to inform the delivery of phase two of the programme. 

Awards

And then there was the awards bit. I’ll admit, I leaned into it. I wore a frankly fabulous burnt orange velvet jacket – somewhere between game show host and jazz club regular. It got more attention than the ceremony so I clearly need to work on my material. We handed out 3D printed trophies, courtesy of Print City, to some of the standout businesses from this phase – small symbols of big achievements. Watching people walk up to collect them, you could see what it meant. These weren’t just awards for projects. They were for the risks taken, the time invested, the late nights and ‘what if we tried this instead?’ moments. It topped the day off brilliantly. 

What I didn’t quite expect was how emotional the day would be. You could feel how much work had gone into getting here. You could see it in the way people looked at each other, in the nods across the room, the unspoken “we did this” between colleagues and collaborators. 

For me, that’s what will stay with me most. The sense of something built together. The human side of innovation – messy, unpredictable, and full of heart. 

What’s next?

So, what comes next? Phase 2, of course. There’s more to do, more ground to cover, and more businesses to bring into the fold. But before we rush ahead, I wanted to pause and say thank you. For showing up. For sticking with it. For making this feel like more than just a programme. 

If you were there, I’d love to know what stood out for you. If you weren’t, maybe we’ll see you at the next one. And if you’re somewhere in between – curious but unsure – drop me a line. We’re always up for a conversation, and you never know where it might lead. 

Right. Time to take off the jacket and put the kettle on. 

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Thanks for being part of it.