Professor Steve Smith: An academic and cultural goldmine
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Your support makes all the difference.Most of you will have been on holiday to Wales or the West Country. Or you may be one of the nearly eight million people who already live there. So if I wax lyrical about great beaches, moody moorland, magnificent mountains, and beautiful countryside, you'll know what I mean. You may even have visited cities such as Bristol, Exeter, Cardiff, and Bath – so you also know there is plenty of fine architecture, history, shopping, nightlife and so on.
But what common factor can there possibly be for so large and diverse an area? What does Aberystwyth have in common with Falmouth or Plymouth with Cardiff, aside from a certain Celtic solidarity?
There is a feel-good factor associated with living in such a great environment, for sure. But, more importantly, both Wales and the West Country are exciting and dynamic places to be. Both are seeing very large scale investment in business, education, leisure and transport, often financed by Europe.
Weighing in at more than £50m, Combined Universities in Cornwall is the latest big project to be made possible by European funding. This is a joint effort to expand higher education in Cornwall and involves a partnership of Exeter and Plymouth Universities, Falmouth College of Arts, the College of St Mark and St John, Cornwall's further education colleges and The Open University. An impressive campus, already occupied by the College of Arts, is being created at Falmouth and in October 2004 it will also be home to a range of University of Exeter degrees, including those from Camborne School of Mines which is moving from its current base in Redruth. Students will also have more higher education provision at Cornwall's further education colleges thus providing opportunities across the county.
Another example of regional co-operation is the Peninsula Medical School, which is a joint initiative between Exeter, Plymouth and the NHS. With high-tech new bases in the two cities, and at Truro in Cornwall, the first medical students begin their studies this September.
These new developments add to the already impressive range of study opportunities on offer at some very fine institutions. In addition to those I have already mentioned, Bristol has two universities, the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, Bristol. Just down the road there is the University of Bath and Bath Spa University College. Go east into Dorset to find Bournemouth University and the Arts Institute at Bournemouth. "Up north" is the new University of Gloucestershire and the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester. Head west along the M5, then along the A38 to Dartington College of Arts, near Totnes.
Branded "the Learning Country" by the National Assembly's government, Wales offers an impressive range of university experiences. The University of Wales, the second largest in the UK, comprises six constituent institutions: Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, Lampeter, Swansea and the College of Medicine, plus two university colleges in Cardiff and Newport.
Post-devolution, Cardiff has flourished. Many decades have passed since coal was king of the docks, and the black stuff has been replaced by the fare of fashionable Mediterranean and far eastern restaurants. The city boasts Cardiff University, the Welsh College of Medicine, the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, and the Welsh College of Music and Drama. Some 20 minutes north of Cardiff lies Pontypridd, home to Wales's dynamic new university, the University of Glamorgan. A few miles west of the Severn bridge, Newport is home to the University of Wales College Newport and its internationally renowned film school.
To the west lies Swansea, where the university is marking the millennium with a new Olympic swimming pool – no mean dip at £10m. Swansea is also home to the Swansea Institute of Higher Education. Twenty minutes away is Carmarthen, home of Trinity College.
Aberystwyth, for many the cultural capital of Wales, has a student population of some 7,000 students. By virtue of geographic location, they enjoy an intense residential student experience. An extension to Wales's premier arts venue, a new centre for theatre, film and television and a newly extended students union are the fruits of an £8m investment since 2000.
In north Wales, Bangor provides a focus for ocean science thanks to its coastal location and the UK's only university-owned sea-going research vessel, the new £4.8m Prince Madog. Wrexham is the home of the North-east Wales Institute, and Coleg Harlech, a liberal arts college.
The writer is a professor of international politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. On 1 October he will become vice-chancellor of Exeter University
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