Some 46 organisations have been successful in their applications to the first pathway of the Welsh student mobility program Taith, the government announced this week.
Speaking in Welsh parliament on October 18, education and welsh language minister Jeremy Miles described the response to the program as “fantastic”, and said the successful projects would create opportunities for over 5,000 staff and learners who “are going to have life-changing learning experiences across the world”.
🌍 @TaithWales is our innovative international educational exchange programme.
I’m pleased that 46 organisations were successful in applying to bring life-changing learning experiences to over 5000 staff and learners in Wales.
— Jeremy Miles (@Addysg_Cymraeg) October 18, 2022
Taith, which means ‘journey’ in Welsh, was launched in response to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU’s Erasmus+ program. The Welsh scheme will commit £65 million towards inward and outward student mobility opportunities between now and 2026, with a particular focus on widening participation.
“Demand for Taith from youth and adult education has outstripped even the demand for Erasmus”
“Learning from other cultures can benefit us all, but for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds or from under-represented groups, these experiences can have profound impacts,” Miles said.
Speaking at an IC Global Café webinar, Susana Galván, Taith executive director, said: “the reality is that not everybody can afford – even if they get a grant – to be away from home for a whole year… or even for a whole semester. So allowing people to have that hybrid model or short-term mobility is quite important.”
Pathway one focuses on “traditional” mobility opportunities, while pathway two – which opened for applications earlier this month – will fund partnerships and strategic collaborations.
“I’m pleased to say that, so far, by building a program in partnership with the sectors in Wales, the demand for Taith from youth and adult education has outstripped even the demand for Erasmus, and that is a success we intend to build on in future,” Miles said in parliament.
Galván said that a “key measure of success” would be “the stories behind those numbers”.
“The ethos of the Taith programme very much aligns with the Welsh Government’s international strategy,” said Galván.
“Wales is open to the world, Wales is a welcoming nation… that is globally responsible,” she added.
