Creative Manchester Showcases Student 天美影视 and Celebrates University Collaboration at BEYOND Conference 2025
Creative Manchester were delighted to once again be a partner of this year鈥檚 BEYOND Conference, engaging with industry leaders, researchers and artists from across the creative sector.
were delighted to once again be a partner of this year鈥檚 , engaging with industry leaders, researchers and artists from across the creative sector. The conference provided an opportunity to explore applications of and research into CreaTech and build collaborative links across the UK.
One of the highlights was Professor John McAuliffe, Creative Manchester鈥檚 Platform Director, taking part in the panel discussion 鈥淐ivic, Creative and Cultural: University Collaboration鈥�. The session brought together members of the , including Professor Kirsty Fairclough (School of Digital Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University), Dr Sam Ingleson (University of Salford) and Professor Wiebke Thorm盲hlen (Royal Northern College of Music). Together, they demonstrated how universities are helping to create a more connected, creative and equitable city-region through strategic partnerships and cultural engagement.
Creative Manchester also invited three PhD students and their supervisors along to BEYOND for their CreaTech Student 天美影视 Showcase. The showcase, located among many other exciting product and research demos in the Immersive Futures Lab, featured the students鈥� PhD research and celebrated the University of Manchester鈥檚 vibrant postgraduate research community. These projects show how creative technology can tackle real-world challenges across diverse industries:
- PhD in Electroacoustic Music Composition
Stream of Strings explores embodied music cognition, blending cultural heritage with creative technology to create motion-responsive performances and visual works. The project reimagines the ancient Chinese Guqin as an interactive instrument for live performance and public engagement. She is supervised by .- PhD in Electroacoustic Music Composition
Data Sonification for Algorithm Behaviour uses sonification, the mapping of non-auditory data into sound, to better understand how optimisation algorithms work. This approach advances mathematical research while inspiring educational tools and musical compositions. He is also supervised by Professor Ricardo Climent.- - PhD in Computer Science
ReflectanceFusion is a neural text-to-texture model that generates editable, relightable materials from text prompts. It enables precise control of physical attributes, producing highly accurate textures for rendering and material design. He is supervised by .
The showcase sparked lively conversations among attendees, with many playing the Guqin virtually via a Leap Motion Controller and others listening to the beats generated by algorithms being solved in real time. Not only did the students get to practise their pitching skills, but they also found partners for onward collaboration and learning. It was great to see how the next generation of researchers and business partners can come together and seize opportunities for R&D.
More content from BEYOND 2025 will be shared soon, but to get an idea of the atmosphere at this special conference.