Giant Strides for University Level Welsh Medium Education

The government’s investment in Welsh medium instruction at the University level is yielding dividends. Taken together, recent developments at Welsh Universities show acceleration in the status and reach of the Celtic tongue at institutions of Higher Learning in Wales.

Swansea University have added two faculty members in the areas of Biomedicine and Mechanical Engineering offering Welsh medium course work.  The University’s announcement of the appointments included this statement:  “Latest data shows an increase of 22% in the number of students at Swansea University who study at least 5 credits per year in Welsh since 2012/2013.”

Instrumental in the Swansea appointments is the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (Welsh National College), a body established in 2011 by Cardiff to foster university level Welsh Medium instruction.  The focus of efforts by the Coleg has been the development of Welsh language courses and resources for students across Wales. These efforts are meeting with success.  All universities in Wales now offer some Welsh medium instruction. The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, working in tandem with the Coleg, report a 30% increase between 2011 and 2015 in the number of students attending Celtic medium classes and an impressive jump of 34% in those taking all their classes in Welsh.

In June Aberystwyth University bowed to student protests over the proposed closure of student housing which operated as de facto Welsh language zone.  The University’s move triggered protests by the Aberystwyth Welsh Students’ Union (UMA) garnering considerable attention in the Welsh press. A working group, including representation of the Students Union, has been formed to design “Welsh Medium Accommodation and Social Space for Students”.

Cardiff University have announced the addition of five new lecturers offering Welsh medium course work in the disciplines of Pharmacy, Medicine and Healthcare Sciences. In connection with the Cardiff appointments, Dr Ioan Matthews, Chief Executive of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, stated: ‘‘We were glad to be able to support these appointments and look forward to seeing more students studying subjects through Welsh as a result of the Coleg’s investment. I would like to wish them all well as they create resources and recruit perspective students over the years to come.’’

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/140901-boost-for-welsh-language-provi...

https://www.hefcw.ac.uk/policy_areas/welsh_medium/welsh_medium.aspx

http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/i/51080/

http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media-centre/latest-news/significantboosttowels...