It was an honour to co-host the cities@manchester 2015 Summer Institute in Urban Studies from 28 June to 2 July. Roger Keil (York University), Pauline Lipman (University of Illinois-Chicago), Jennifer Robinson (UCL), and Simon Marvin (Durham University) contributed to four days of intensive debate and discussion about all things urban with 25 early career researchers. Looking forward to another summer institute in 2016!