£500k boost for international growth at Welsh unis
A cool half-million-pound cash injection is being given to the program for a “transition year” as the Welsh government strives to “continue to support the international recruitment and promotional activities of universities, which are so vital to their intellectual and financial health,” the minister for further and higher education, Vikki Howells, revealed.
In a written statement this week, she pledged that the additional funding would drive “discussion and planning on longer-term support for this important area of work”.
Global Wales is a program created in 2015 to help promote Wales as a global study destination and strengthen Welsh institutions’ partnerships with other universities around the world.
It comes as part of a £19 million funding package to support Welsh higher education, with the remaining £18.5m set to help universities meet costs associated with estate management, operating costs improving environmental sustainability and to help them deliver “world-leading research”.
Howells said she had invited all the country’s vice-chancellors to a roundtable designed to thrash out solutions to the “current challenges facing the sector” and how to “safeguard the future of higher education on Wales”.
[Funding will] continue to support the international recruitment and promotional activities of universities, which are so vital to their intellectual and financial health
Vikki Howells, minister for further and higher education
And she said she had met with Jacqui Smith, the UK’s minister for skills, to discuss how the Welsh government can contribute to its sweeping higher education reforms, including the upcoming UK international education strategy.
Universities Wales was positive about the additional support for Global Wales, with assistant director Tom Woodward saying that international education has “never been more important”.
“The additional funding announced this week will help ensure that the Study in Wales brand continues to promote awareness of Welsh institutions, supporting student recruitment and boosting the profile of Wales in key markets,” he said.
However, while Universities Wales welcomed the additional funding funding package, which it said would bring “helpful short-term support for the sector”, it questioned whether the overall higher education budget would be enough to sustain the country’s institutions in the future.
“The 2025-2026 budget published today does not appear to have changed and offers few solutions for the higher education sector into the next academic year. Given the recent announcements from our universities and the financial challenges we have been outlining for some time, it is difficult to see how this budget provides a sustainable position for Welsh universities going forward,” a spokesperson warned.
“If nothing were to change, Welsh government runs the risk of universities entering the next academic year without the required support in place.
It is difficult to see how this budget provides a sustainable position for Welsh universities going forward
Universities Wales
The representative body called on “all parties” to “reconsider” the budget to provide a more sustainable income stream to Welsh universities.
Meanwhile, London Higher – which represents higher education institutions in the UK capital – said that politicians should take note of the “strategic investment” from the Welsh government.
“We encourage decision-makers to consider the strategic benefits of supporting destination marketing initiatives like Study London, which play a crucial role in promoting London’s higher education offering globally,” it said.
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