Wales has a proud history of internationalism. It has long been a strong global citizen, building bonds with communities and nations. Our tertiary education sector has a notable heritage of raising Wales’s voice on the global stage and welcoming the world to Wales.
Building on this, Universities Wales has published a report calling for a comprehensive strategy for international education and research for Wales. The proposals set out will help ensure that Wales continues to be open and welcoming, positioned to deliver world-leading educational experiences to every international student joining the country’s education community.
The establishment of Medr, Wales’s new Commission for Tertiary Education and Research, provides an exciting opportunity to set out a new strategic vision for Wales’s post-16 international education into the future. The recommendations featured in the Wales Beyond Borders report will support Medr in delivering this vision, while furthering the Welsh government’s aims to raise the profile of Wales across the globe and grow Wales’s economy.
Alongside extensive consultation, the recommendations are built upon the advice of an expert panel that I had the privilege of chairing. The panel constituted of a group of experts in a wide range of aspects of international education, and their knowledge, constructive challenge and enthusiasm provided a wide range of insights that significantly informed the report. This is a report made for Wales, but based on ideas from around the world.
The report builds on strong foundations. Welsh education already has an exciting international story to tell. In response to Brexit, the Welsh government led the way by establishing the Taith mobility programme. This positioned Wales as an open and outward looking nation, generating significant interest on the global stage.
Taith provides two-way mobility therefore compensating to some extent for the loss of reciprocity enjoyed under Erasmus+. It also provides opportunities throughout the tertiary sector in a very broad range of areas, and it is something we are immensely proud of in Wales. Universities Wales’ Wales Beyond Borders calls for the programme to be extended.
The Welsh government recently announced further funding for Wales’ innovative Global Wales programme, to support transition to a new approach under Medr. Global Wales plays a prominent role in enabling further education colleges and universities to access broader international partnerships and funding opportunities. It also helps Wales remain a highly rated destination for international students through our ‘Study in Wales’ brand, which reaches audiences across the world. We are clear that destination marketing and international partnerships support must remain key enablers in any future international education strategy.
As a welcoming nation, student experience must be at the heart of all we do in international education in Wales
As a welcoming nation, student experience must be at the heart of all we do in international education in Wales. For this reason, the report examines in detail how best to support institutions to prioritise the interests of students and communities. It sets out clear actions that will further promote ethical practices and sustainable international engagement. Time and time again we see strong evidence that Wales offers a world-class experience to international students across the tertiary sector, and this is something we must remain committed to and continue to develop.
Above all else, I think it is clear to see from the report that, even in times of constrained public funding, there is opportunity, energy, commitment and innovation across the tertiary sector where internationalisation is concerned. In Wales, we have a strong sense of community, and international students play such a vital role in our communities.
As a vice-chancellor, I know first-hand that international students bring knowledge, insight, and cultural enrichment to communities on and off campus, while also inspiring the next generation of global students to venture out to expand their own horizons through studying abroad in Wales. International study and promoting an international, intercultural outlook are integral to the bright educational future of people of all generations in Wales, in the UK and globally.
About the author: Professor Rachael Langford is president and vice-chancellor of Cardiff Metropolitan University, having previously held senior positions at Oxford Brookes University and Cardiff University. As a modern linguist by academic training, Rachael is committed to ensuring that as many learners as possible are able to benefit from international and intercultural experiences in their own studies. A native-level speaker of French and fluent Welsh speaker, Rachael is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the British Academy Strategic Committee for Languages in Higher Education and was chair of Universities’ Wales expert panel on international education and research in Wales.
