The Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation (iSEI) is a research institute founded at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

in 2007 with a mission to examine the role and moral responsibilities of science, technology and innovation in the contemporary world. Chaired by the Nobel Laureate,

John Sulston Sir John Edward Sulston (27 March 1942 – 6 March 2018) was a British biologist and academic who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the cell lineage and genome of the worm ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' in 2002 with ...

(formerly the founding Director of the

Sanger Institute The Wellcome Sanger Institute, previously known as The Sanger Centre and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, is a non-profit organisation, non-profit British genomics and genetics research institute, primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust. It is l ...

) and directed by the bioethicist, John Harris, iSEI performs multi-disciplinary research across four broad areas: What is Science For? Who Owns Science? How Should Science be Used? and the Ethics of Emerging Technologies. Funded by a

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...

Biomedical Ethics Strategic Award, iSEI has embarked on a 5-year research programme on ‘The Human Body: Its Scope, Limits and Future’, starting in 2009. This work will follow five strands within iSEI’s existing research portfolio: • Human Biomaterials • Genethics • Reproduction • Enhancement • Methods in Bioethics

Publications

The Manchester Manifesto

In 2009, the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation published the

Manchester Manifesto Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, the signatories of which include Nobel laureates

Joseph Stiglitz Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (; born February 9, 1943) is an American New Keynesian economist, a public policy analyst, and a full professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the Joh ...

(also director of

Brooks World Poverty Institute The Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPIis a research centre at the University of Manchester dedicated to multidisciplinary research on poverty, inequality and growth. It was established in 2005 following the donation of £1.3 million to the un ...

. The manifesto raised questions about the ownership of science and the rationale for strict intellectual property rights and was widely reported in the British media, with articles in the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

accompanied by interviews of the Nobel duo in the BBC's

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

programme. The

Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) is the British professional body of patent attorneys. History The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) was founded in 1882 as the ''Chartered Institute of Patent Agents'' and incorpor ...

welcomed aspects of the manifesto, but criticised the authors views as being "ill-informed and misleading", leading the authors to respond "it was not the purpose of the Manchester Manifesto to abolish intellectual property, nor yet its governance by laws; but to bring these far more into line with the public interest."

References

External links

Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation

University of Manchester
{{DEFAULTSORT:Institute For Science, Ethics And Innovation Departments of the University of Manchester Ethics organizations