The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) was formed on 18 November 2010 through the merger of the University of Wales Lampeter and Trinity University College Carmarthen, under Lampeter’s Royal Charter of 1828. On 1 August 2013, Swansea Metropolitan University became part of UWTSD.
The University’s Royal Charter is the oldest in Wales and England after the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In 2011 HRH, the Prince of Wales, became its Royal Patron.
The UWTSD Group includes Coleg Sir Gâr and Coleg Ceredigion as part of a dual-sector group comprising further education colleges and the university. The UWTSD Group has over 25,000 learners across 17 campuses in rural and city locations. Together we deliver clear, tangible benefits for learners, employers, industry, and communities by offering a vocational approach from entry-level to post-doctoral research. The Group will be further strengthened by merging the University of Wales into UWTSD in due course.
The university’s main campuses are situated in and around Swansea’s city center and in the rural towns of Lampeter and Carmarthen in South West Wales. The Wales International Academy of Voice, under the Directorship of Dennis O’Neill with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as its patron, is located in Cardiff. Also, the university has a Business School in London for international students.
UWTSD has a clear and exciting strategic plan which emphasizes applied learning, strong academic disciplines, and a clear commitment to innovation, enterprise, and knowledge transfer. This connected university is driving through structural and strategic change, which is closely associated with the industry, business, and enterprise. The university has a clear national profile – delivering for Wales and celebrating its distinctiveness on the UK and international stage.
The learner experience is at the heart of our mission. We have placed sustainability at the core of our planning. Developed through our award-winning Institute of Sustainable Practice, Innovation, and Resource Effectiveness (INSPIRE), we have embedded sustainable development through our learning, teaching, curricula, campus, community, and culture. We aim to inspire individuals and develop reflective graduates and practitioners who can make a difference in society.
Through work-based learning, research of international excellence and knowledge transfer networks, we aim to play a pivotal role in the promotion of social justice, economic renewal, and the development of social and cultural capital.
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David has an ambitious mission. We aim to transform education in Wales and, by doing so, transform the lives of the individuals and communities who are connected to us.
The University’s Royal Charter is the oldest of any university in Wales and England after the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Our Lampeter campus was founded in 1822 and received its Royal Charter from King George IV in 1828. The Carmarthen campus was the first center for teacher training in Wales established in 1848, and we can also claim one of the first art schools in the UK, established in Swansea in 1853. I am delighted that His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, is our Royal Patron.
We take great pride in our history and our connection to it, mainly how it has provided us with the determination and confidence to shape our future.
Today, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David is a dynamic and ambitious institution with campuses across three counties in West Wales as well as in the Wales International Academy of Voice in Cardiff and campuses in London for our international students.
Our transformational journey continues with the inclusion of Coleg Sir Gâr and Coleg Ceredigion as constituent colleges within the UWTSD Group. We are creating a new system of education providing progression routes from entry-level to doctoral studies within the region. These opportunities are connected to the needs of employers and respond to the economic and social needs of Wales within a broader global context.
We are committed to placing our students at the center of our mission by providing a relevant and inspiring bilingual curriculum, providing a supportive learning environment, investing in our campuses and facilities, and ensuring that students, from all backgrounds, are allowed to achieve their potential. After all, universities are about students, their experiences, and the opportunities they have to challenge concepts, develop as individuals, and thrive.
We aim to develop reflective graduates and practitioners who can make a difference in society. We are committed to sustainable development and the environment as one of our underpinning values. It is a theme that is woven into the student experience enabling the UWTSD graduate to develop the right knowledge, skills, and attributes to take their place wherever they may be.
We believe that the University of Wales Trinity Saint David is the Connected University connected through a range of strategic partnerships that we have developed at regional, national, and international levels. These serve to inspire our learners, staff, and partners. Our connections extend to public, private, and voluntary sector employers. They are working with us to develop relevant programs and activities to maximize job growth and investment opportunities in the region.
Universities must also be powerhouses for economic change. This is why UWTSD focuses on enterprise and innovation, enabling our staff and students to transform ideas into real opportunities and solutions for business. I am proud of our track-record for applied research, and our international work in the areas of Applied Design and Engineering are critical areas of development for the university. The university has submitted a sample of 160 publications from 49 members of staff with internationally and globally leading research to the Research Excellence Framework 2014.
These are in the areas of Art and Design, Celtic Studies (joint submission with the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies at the University of Wales), Classics General Engineering Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology, and Theology and Religious Studies.
The role of universities to foster civic pride is significant as they provide and support cultural, social, and economic activity by their very existence. The University of Wales Trinity Saint David has an impressive pedigree as a community and civic institution. Our campuses in Carmarthen, Lampeter, and Swansea have enabled us to foster excellent links within the community so that the university, resources, and services are celebrated as regional assets. Our activities in Cardiff, based around the Wales International Academy of Voice and our campus in London, continue these great traditions. We aim to create social and cultural hubs where events, activities, and facilities draw public members, businesses, and organizations into the University environment.
I am delighted to note that the Welsh Government has approved the university’s request to purchase nine plots of land in the SA1 region of Swansea. This is an exciting development for the university and will enable us to realize our vision for a new city university campus, bringing together and celebrating the excellent work that has been developed over the years by Swansea Metropolitan as it looks to its future within the University of Wales Trinity Saint David brand. This prime waterfront location in the heart of the city will transform the educational experience for staff and students. It will enable us to provide a vibrant city experience, connecting our academic work with innovation, enterprise, businesses, and the community.
We aim to establish a new educational ‘system’ of universities and colleges committed to educating students of all ages and backgrounds and to stimulate economic development in the region and across Wales and beyond.
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David System will transform the delivery of higher education and training in Wales. Central to this new model will be establishing a new sustainable planning framework that will encompass, nurture, stimulate, and promote the development of coherent educational pathways across a wide range of institutions.
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