The project will examine the key factors supporting the future success of Welsh institutions’ international activity – across both further and higher institutions – and will bring together a network of experts from Wales, the wider UK and beyond to produce a series of recommendations.
The project will be funded by HEFCW, and later Wales’ new Commission for Tertiary Education and Research – known as CTER – when it becomes fully operational later this year, with one of its strategic duties to promote a global outlook.
Set in the current “challenging landscape”, the new project is “particularly timely”, noted Gwen Williams, assistant director international at Universities Wales.
“The stakes are high, with direct implications for institutions’ financial sustainability,” Williams told The PIE.
“Institutions across the UK are worried about the status of their international recruitment. Even though the HESA data is still showing increases. There’s obviously a lag there and the reality felt across the sector is quite the reverse.”
It means that the promotion of a global outlook “has never been more important”, Williams added. With international student recruitment set in an extremely challenging and competitive external context, Wales and its institutions “need to become better equipped to compete globally”.
Williams told The PIE she hopes the project will offer a forum to explore how the international activities of institutions, as well as organisations supporting the wider agenda, can adapt and evolve in a shifting global landscape.
“Are our strategies fit for purpose? Are we diversifying enough?” posed Williams.
But while recruitment is high on the agenda, the project will take a more holistic approach to international education. It is also part of a broader policy agenda in Wales around being an outward-looking, globally responsible nation, added Williams.
“Wales’ universities and colleges have a significant network of international partners across mobility, learning and teaching and research and innovation – the ability to grow and develop those partnerships is also key”.
The year-long project has four key aims. The first is to examine the key factors supporting the future success of Welsh institutions’ international activity.
The second is to bring together a network of experts, leaders and practitioners from Wales, the wider UK and beyond.
“It’s something that we want to engage very much externally on and to learn from others,” said Williams.
The project, in its early stages, is currently looking for a wide range of voices from across the world to make up its expert panel and Universities Wales fully plans to engage with the wider sector through stakeholder consultation and workshops.
Universities Wales will also undertake significant market research to aid the evolution of its strategy.
Finally, Universities Wales will produce a report by March 2025, consisting of recommendations to CTER on its future approach to international tertiary education in Wales.
