Taking Wales to the world: How the Global Wales programme is strengthening Wales’ position on the world stage
Dr Ben Calvert, Chair of Global Wales, explains how international education is helping to position Wales as a thriving example of a dynamic global nation.
30 January 2024
In recent years we have experienced significant global turbulence. With Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ongoing conflict in the middle east, and the Covid-19 pandemic, we have faced a set of challenges unlike any seen in many decades.
Against this backdrop, maintaining an international outlook is more important than ever. Global Wales plays a vital role in harnessing the combined strengths of our universities and colleges to reinforce Wales’ global relationships and reputation.
The work undertaken by Global Wales is by its very nature long-term, focused on building relationships and understanding between us and our international partners. With the programme now in its third phase with the Global Wales III project, we begin to see the benefits and returns that the past eight years of activity have delivered.
But we understand that partnerships of this type are maintained only through careful and continued engagement with our friends and colleagues in the countries that we work with. We cannot be complacent.
As we look ahead to the next three years and the delivery of Global Wales III, we will build on what came before, continuing to improve and innovate to secure yet further returns for Wales.
Benefiting our communities
That is, of course, the reason why we do this. The work of universities and colleges internationally is ultimately about the benefits we offer our communities and Wales as a whole.
We know that our institutions’ international activities make a significant contribution to the Welsh economy. International partnerships and students generate an additional £1.43 billion to the Welsh economy, with one job generated for every two international students at Welsh universities. And these benefits are seen across the whole of Wales, demonstrating the role of universities as economic anchors in their local communities.
However, it is not just about the economic advantages, but also the social and cultural benefits.
Perhaps there is no better example of this than the funding that Global Wales made available, supported by HEFCW, for Welsh universities to form and maintain partnerships with institutions in Ukraine. This work has seen staff and students from Ukraine participate in a wide range of activities including summer schools, the provision of resources including laptops, delivery of online courses, and programmes for visiting academics from Ukraine.
We must also acknowledge the important role that international students play in diversifying and internationalising our campuses and communities. It is vital that we value their contribution to Welsh society and continue to provide a warm and inclusive welcome for all those choosing to study at Welsh universities.
Opening new opportunities
An important change for Global Wales in the Global Wales III project is the inclusion of further education. With the new Commission for Tertiary Education and Research due to launch in Wales later this year, a joined-up approach to tertiary education will become ever more important.
By presenting post-16 education in Wales as a cohesive whole internationally we can open new opportunities, secure a broader range of benefits and strengthen relationships between sectors within Wales.
For further education colleges, we have already facilitated opportunities to promote Wales at international events, supported work to educate and empower female entrepreneurs in India, and supported learners in Wales and India to develop skills in green technology.
Meanwhile, learners in Wales have been able to expand their learning experience, with opportunities to travel abroad and visits from international students and educators. A link between Cardiff and Vale College and Saskatchewan Polytechnic enabled a group of Saskatchewan students of predominantly indigenous heritage to visit Wales and spend time with and learn from their counterparts in the College.
We will continue to work collaboratively with our colleagues in further education to develop new opportunities and build on the success of this new partnership.
Strengthening Wales’s place on the world stage
At the heart of Global Wales is our ambition to strengthen Wales’ place on the world stage and ensure the world knows all that our people, places and institutions have to offer.
We demonstrated this through the work we delivered in partnership with Hockey Wales when the senior men’s team qualified for their first men’s FIH World Cup hosted in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, India. The partnership saw the Study in Wales logo appear on the front of the players’ shirts during the tournament, promoting Wales to a new generation of potential students, whilst supporting the Welsh senior men’s team to compete at the World Cup.
Whilst in Bhubaneshwar, Global Wales organised a school event with Hockey Wales, the Welsh Government, and the British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, where over 7,000 students heard about the benefits of studying in Wales.
It is right to celebrate what we have achieved but we also look ahead with an unwavering desire to continue to deliver. Through this period of global instability, our ability to forge new and lasting partnerships will become only more important, not just for our institutions but also the role they play economically and socially across our country.
