What is Rise and why get involved?
Welcome to Rise! Rise is Manchester Metropolitan’s co-curricular offer, giving every student the opportunity to engage in experiential learning and enhance their degree.
You will boost your profile by deepening your knowledge, complement your studies or broaden your learning in completely new areas. Everything adds value to your degree and is recognised so you can share it with your future employers.
Rise has something for every type of student. If you have a full schedule, you can work at your own pace with no cut-off date between academic years. If you want to expand your horizons, you can try things that sit outside of your degree in a fail-safe space. It also gives you opportunities to meet others from across the campus and get involved in the wider community, all while building your confidence and skillset.
Rise can look like:
Earning certifications
Taking part in projects and placements
Joining workshops and guest talks
Volunteering
Picking up new skills with our self-study packs
What is Experiential Learning and why?
All Rise experiences offer you a way to learn through being participants, leaders, organisers, explorers, and learners. This is Experiential Learning.
As you learn through an experience, you are encouraged to reflect on what you have done, what you have learned, and your understanding of your own self as a learner and participant. By connecting your existing knowledge and ideas with new experiences, you can develop deeper insights and create new ways of thinking which you can carry on to future opportunities.
Experiential Learning is a researched and defined theory in education, and this theory underpins the work that the whole Rise team design and deliver.
Rise Points
For every activity you take part in through Rise, you will earn Rise Points.
Rise points help you:
Keep track of your growing portfolio
Gain recognition for your activities
Earn Rise badges.
You can also Claim Rise Points for independent activities outside of university that contribute to your development. These might include things like volunteering, clubs and societies, or even part-time work.
Rise Badges
Rise Badges bring together activities within our six core themes: Self-Effectiveness, Digital, Sustainability, Internationalisation, Community, and Enterprise.
If you complete multiple activities in one area, you can earn a Rise badge that showcases your commitment and skills in that theme. This makes it easy to share your achievements on platforms like LinkedIn as it is a great way to showcase your new skills to potential employers!
Want to know how to earn a bronze, silver, or gold badge? Check here for more information on Badges.
Rise Portfolio
Keep track of all your experiences with your Rise Portfolio - a personalised record of everything you have done alongside your degree. It is also where all your badges will appear.
It is a great way to keep track of all your achievements and show employers how you have developed beyond your degree. You can share individual achievements from your portfolio on LinkedIn, or print it in its entirety to complement your CV.
Rise Credit
New from 2026-2027, Rise credit can be attained by every student and can appear of your official university transcript as practice credit.
Reflection is a transformational part of experiential learning. When you reach 300 points, you will be invited to complete a reflective process of interactive workshops and an in-person dialogue with our Experiential Learning Specialists. This will draw together your Rise experiences and frame them in terms of your values, your development and your future. Successful completion will award you an extra unit on your final degree transcript that recognises the additional efforts you have put into experiential learning.
The Rise Team
Rise is delivered by our team of Experiential Learning Specialists. Each member of the team has an area of thematic expertise, and they collaborate with huge number of contributors to Rise so activities and opportunities are also led by fellow students, staff, community partners, employers, and experts in their fields.
f you can't find the information you're looking for on this website, or you're interested in working with us, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch at rise@mmu.ac.uk.