Yr Alwad/Embrace It - Cardiff University's Welsh Language Strategy

Foreword

Yr Alwad/Embrace It: the name of Cardiff University’s Welsh Language Strategy is a dual proclamation: a clear call to action and a heartfelt invitation to seize an opportunity to step up and connect, both within and beyond our institution.

We begin, necessarily, with sincerely held principles. We then move through ambitions and objectives towards a map of practical delivery plans. Underpinning it all is a holistic vision of a connected, naturalised Welsh-language culture-on-campus, across all our activities – one whose vibrancy and relevance are reckoned not by mere ‘compliance’ and quantitative measures (necessary as these are) but rather by reference to the values of connectivity, diversity, sustainability, wellbeing, cultural understanding and our duty to future generations. Our notion of a Welsh-language campus is not confined to our presence in our capital city (whose cultural energies owe so much to multilingual and multi-ethnic communities from around the world). It extends into the local communities we serve and into the global spaces in which we conduct our conversations, and our teaching and research, every day.

Our ambitions for the Welsh language are inescapably those of our internationalist university as a whole. A core premise and promise of Yr Alwad/Embrace It is that an innovative Welsh-language education portfolio (increasingly energised on digital platforms), together with an impactful Welsh-language research culture and a telling contribution to our civic mission and to the maturity of Wales’s young polity are not achieved at the expense of any other institutional resource or agenda. Rather, they are to be seen as what they are: a core part of wider ecologies in which our Campws Cymraeg and our Cynnig Cymraeg – our professional and personal interactions in our lived environment, and our teaching and learning experience through the medium of Welsh – are instinctively part of all our wider motivations, activities, commitments and ambitions.

And we are ambitious. Our distinctiveness as an institution, and our ability to participate meaningfully in debates with global partners whose own experience is of a world in which bilingualism and multilingualism are more the norm than the exception, enhance our reach and our international credentials and credibility.

The age of COVID-19 has brought home to us not only the value of human life, but with it, our capability to connect and support, flex and pivot – even when our ability literally to embrace is compromised.

Cardiff’s Welsh Language Strategy responds to Covid in its own way. Linking us up and creating new, sustainable campus worlds for students and staff, it is a blueprint for achieving an enhanced contribution to the cultural, economic and political life of Wales and the world.

Professor Damian Walford Davies
Pro Vice-Chancellor, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Part 1: Context

I. Preamble

I. The Welsh language is embedded in the composition of our university. We seek to contribute ‘to the social, cultural and economic development of Wales’¹ and ‘we are committed to providing an environment that promotes and facilitates the use of the Welsh language’.²

II. Our bilingualism is instantiated in our strategic vision, The Way Forward, with respect to the education of our students and our Civic Mission. We are committed ‘to promoting and celebrating the Welsh language’ and developing sustainable Welsh-medium provision, ‘preparing highly skilled graduates with the ability to contribute bilingually to Welsh economic, social and cultural life.’³

III. Realising these commitments entails an integrated approach, ensuring the Welsh language is embedded in our identity, institutions and all relevant day-to-day practices in a way that aspires to include all our staff and students. This present strategy presents the key principles, targets and functions that will embody and achieve this integrated approach.

IV. We will work to fulfil our commitments through our key partnership with Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. We will continue to develop a creative, mutually supportive and stimulating relationship, cooperating in innovative ways to meet our shared objectives.

V. Our commitments are premised on an assumption that Cardiff University both reflects the (local to global) communities within which it is embedded and contributes to their development. Expanding and deepening our commitment to our Welsh-language activity is a natural part of this development, encouraging our staff and students, regardless of their Welsh-language abilities, to support our efforts.

VI. The student experience this strategy aims to provide is to be in keeping with attributes we seek to foster in our graduates: placing value on the understanding of cultures, languages and difference, and understanding their responsibility in contributing as a conscientious citizen, wherever they are in Wales, or the wider world.

II. Principles

I. Languages are constitutive of our world. They do not simply describe a world to us that already has meaning; they constitute and create our world through social, historical processes. All languages therefore represent a unique microcosm of the world – an instantiation of the universal with distinctive forms, histories and meanings.

II. Cardiff University plays a central role in ensuring that the Welsh-language microcosm is one that extends across disciplines and boundaries and evolves on an intellectual plane. Celebrating Welsh means placing value on continuing and expanding the pursuit of knowledge in the context of its traditions, as part of the university’s wider valuing of freedom of enquiry and the right ‘to curiosity-driven investigation that may or may not have practical application’.

III. Cardiff University fosters the research and teaching excellence and the employer links that are the basis for providing an accomplished bilingual workforce across key sectors in Wales. This strategy therefore embodies not only targets for our institution; it embodies the aspirations of the government and people of Wales, as expressed in the Welsh Language Strategy, Cymraeg 2050 and the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.

IV. Our strategy is a commitment to the universal challenge of fostering and expanding an intellectual culture in a national language, alongside an Anglophone global academic culture. In this way, developing Cardiff as a bilingual and multilingual university connects us with universities across the globe, accentuating our outward-looking perspective and global credentials, orientating us by necessity towards global horizons.

V. There are important points of connection between the commitments entailed in this strategy and those wider commitments we have as a university to support our staff and students, in all their diversity. The aims proposed are in the spirit of inclusivity, seeking to support and buttress all our efforts in making Cardiff University an institution that celebrates our differences and treats everyone equally.

VI. More generally, this strategy aims to make explicit the linkages with other university-wide agendas and develop our Welsh-language activities in ways that support and expand ambitions in relation to, for example, our civic mission, education and research excellence, recruitment, widening participation, sustainability, and our strength as a transformative social actor. Investing in the Welsh language is not at the expense of our other agendas; rather, the Welsh language takes its rightful place in a wider, mutually constituting relationship.

¹ The University Charter
² The Student Charter
³ The Way Forward

III. Our identity – ‘Prifysgol Caerdydd’

I. Cardiff is the capital city and governmental and administrative centre of Wales’s fledgling democracy, with both English and Welsh as its official languages. It is a young, dynamic and global city built on immigrant communities from all corners of the world, all corners of the UK, and all corners of Wales. The Welsh language, the English language and a multiplicity of international languages are integral to its identity.

II. In seeking to reflect its lived environment (cynefin), Cardiff University engages with and serves the communities of the city and region, valuing diversity, culture and language – as reflected in our Languages for All and Cymraeg i Bawb programmes, and engagement projects such as the Grangetown Community Gateway.

III. Our position as a global, Welsh university, located in the capital city, is reflected in our research excellence, our Cardiff, regional and Wales-focused engagement and research, and our orientation towards Wales Studies in aspects of our teaching and our Welsh-language provision.

IV. This Welsh Language Strategy is premised on the assumption that our Welsh-language identity – ‘Prifysgol Caerdydd’ – captures this university identity as a whole, emphasising our research status and our contribution to the civic life of the region and a successful, sustainable Wales, with the aim of being as inclusive as possible.

V. This includes equipping our Welsh-speaking students with the cutting-edge knowledge, skills and experience to contribute to the city, the region, and the nation in a bilingual capacity, and providing them with opportunities to develop their careers through our employer links. Ours is a world-class university with a unique role in fostering bilingual citizens who will help to lead a progressive city and nation, with a global outlook.

IV. The University’s Welsh-language life – ‘Y Campws Cymraeg’

I. Y Campws Cymraeg captures the different aspects of Welsh-language life that form part of our student and staff experience within and beyond the university.

II. These range across social, sporting and society-based activities, reading and research, the seminar room and lecture hall, the built environment and the digital domain, pastoral care and volunteering, engagement activity and experiences in the workplace, public events and recruitment activity.

III. In providing the best possible experience and services, we take the Welsh-language standards to be a baseline, and not the limit of our ambition. This entails fostering a sense of collective ownership and connection to the broad endeavours captured in this strategy.

IV. Y Campws Cymraeg is not coterminous with the university campus; in educating our students and providing opportunities for staff, and fostering the intellectual life of the city, we can engage and influence beyond our boundaries, in collaboration with the wider community.

V. We will therefore take every opportunity to develop cooperation and partnerships through the medium of Welsh with our key partners in education and employment, and the public, private and third sectors more broadly.

VI. Promoting and expanding on our public-facing Welsh-language events will be key to our strategy, with a specific emphasis on local school engagement, particularly those schools in areas that score highly on the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Making our Welsh-medium provision attractive depends in part on demonstrating that there is a meaningful Welsh intellectual life in which our students can partake.

V. Institutional ambitions

We present this strategy during a period of change and challenge in Higher Education and the university itself, and it is framed therefore with particular considerations in mind, to ensure consistency and connectivity with wider developments.

I. Academic renewal: institutional change represents an opportunity to radically reconfigure our provision, our services and our ways of working academically and professionally in order to improve the Welsh-language student and staff experience.

II. Student recruitment: our Welsh Language Strategy serves our wider aim of attracting greater numbers of high-achieving Welsh-domiciled undergraduates, by emphasising our bilingual credentials that differentiate us from our Russell Group competitors.

III. The Student experience: the unique context for our Welsh-speaking students creates opportunities to explore innovations that can drive change on a wider institutional level, including piloting cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional provision and activities encouraging a sense of belonging to the university and wider community.

IV. Working conditions: the strategy seeks to contribute to working patterns that emancipate rather than create greater burdens for staff; it is also a means of encouraging greater appreciation of those working to realise our Welsh-language aspirations and fostering a stronger and wider sense of belonging and contentment among staff.

V. Branding: implementing a Welsh Language Strategy is intimately linked to our identity as a university, and the greater engagement with bilingualism, multilingualism and the dynamics of Welsh culture that this entails provides opportunities for developing our distinctive, multifaceted global brand.
VI. Interdisciplinarity: the strategy embodies an ambition to harness our distinctive language profile in order to lead on cross-disciplinary innovation with respect to teaching and research.

VII. Inclusivity: this is a theme prioritised by the university and the agenda entailed in this strategy will dovetail with these concerns. Developing an awareness and cultural understanding of the Welsh language should be one part of a wider effort to ensure adequate recognition of its status, responding to the constant need to promote inclusivity. Likewise, as outlined in the 2020-2025 Widening Participation Strategy, our Welsh Language Strategy embodies our aims in delivering change as part of that wider agenda. Our recruitment and engagement activity and our internal efforts to engage our Welsh-speaking students will emphasise the diversity of the Welsh-language community, the needs of part-time students and learners, and the need to inculcate our Widening Participation principles across all these activities.

VIII. Sustainability: focusing on and contributing to the sustainability of the Welsh language in a world where thousands of languages face extinction connects our goals with a wider effort to understand how we can change societal norms and behaviours – developments that are necessary if we are to ensure the conservation of our environment, the natural world and those more fragile aspects of human society we hold dear.

Part 2: Objectives and activity

I. Headline strategic objectives

I. Increasing student numbers on Welsh and bilingual (credit-bearing) provision and exceeding the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) targets for those students taking 5 or 40 credits of Welsh-medium provision a year;

II. Expanding, and enhancing our innovative, bespoke and high-quality Welsh-medium teaching provision, so as to reflect and invigorate our distinctive identity as a university;

III. Developing a Cynnig Caerdydd (our Welsh-language offer) for our students that constitutes a unique, dynamic and ambitious bilingual student experience;

IV. Developing the Campws Cymraeg that embodies a positive and inclusive Welsh-language culture for staff and students;

V. Developing a public-facing Welsh-language research community.

These objectives are set out with the recognition that they can be achieved only by acknowledging the interdependency of our activities and the need to establish and develop an integrated approach to the Welsh language.

II. In the sphere of education, we aim to:

• Review current provision;
• Develop a ‘Cardiff Citizen’ 5 credit pathway for all Undergraduate Students that provides the basis for a Welsh-language learning community that cuts across Schools and provides students with a sense of inclusion;
• Prioritise and plan the development of robust 40-credit pathways in selected schools;
• Prioritise innovative, cross-disciplinary teaching, with consideration given to cross-School modules, the nascent Philosophy, Politics and Economics programme, and the possibility of a liberal arts programme through the medium of Welsh;
• Embed Welsh language-use opportunities in English-medium activities;
• Develop a strategic approach to student scholarships at undergraduate and postgraduate level that supports our aims with respect to recruiting students from areas that rank highly on the Index of Multiple Deprivation, meeting HEFCW targets administered through the Fee and Access Plan, and expanding our Welsh-language teaching and research;
• Prioritise areas for expanding staff capacity in partnership with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol with a view to enhancing the university’s Welsh-language identity and specialisms;
• Ensure where possible that Welsh-medium students have access to experiences that encourage and prepare them to use their Welsh-language skills in the workplace;
• Ensure that wider work to implement the institutional strategy considers the needs of Welsh-medium teaching and learning, such as in relation to digital education, learning technologies and curriculum design;
• Further support the promotion of Cymraeg i Bawb and the Welsh-Language Certificate among the student body, and focus more generally on catering for non-fluent Welsh speakers seeking to improve their Welsh-language skills;
• Establish ourselves as sector leaders in bilingual education in Wales.

III. With respect to operations and the student and staff experience, our aim is to:

• Plan straightforward choice architecture and processes for students in making decisions on Welsh-medium provision – with specific attention to the principle of ‘making life equally easy’ for those wishing to pursue a bilingual education and providing them with ‘active’ offers, rather than expecting them to chase the provision;
• Embed robust systems for collecting data relevant to Welsh-medium provision and connected activities to help with the ‘active offer’;
• Work with the student body, its representatives, the Students’ Union, and other societies to expand and diversify Welsh-language experiences and create an enjoyable, inclusive and welcoming environment for all;
• Ensure that students are aware of and take advantage of opportunities with respect to Welsh in the context of employability and careers, for example, working with Student Development Skills to develop a range of employability skills training through the medium of Welsh;
• Emphasise Student Support and Wellbeing particularly with respect to specific learning needs (e.g. transition from school to university studies), ensuring appropriate support for Welsh speakers in our counselling service;
• Work with, and provide clear, consistent direction to, academic Schools with respect to promoting Welsh-medium opportunities for students from open days to graduation;
• Review arrangements with respect to the built environment in order to establish focal points for the Campws Cymraeg;
• Encourage Welsh language cultural awareness in the wider staff and student body, from UEB to our first-year students, through online, induction and other practical activities;
• Build on and leverage the work of Dysgu Cymraeg Caerdydd in order to support staff in improving their Welsh-language skills, while also taking advantage of this community of learning as a resource for strengthening networks and relationships in our institution;
• Develop the Welsh-language Staff network, particularly as a vehicle for creating a positive and inclusive Welsh-language culture and advocating for the specific needs of Welsh-medium teaching staff;
• Work across the university to ensure staff are confident and content in responding to the Welsh-language standards and normalising compliance as a baseline, not an objective;
• Resource adequately both Education and Professional Services to deliver the aims of the strategy;
• Review our processes with respect to creating, advertising and recruiting for posts where Welsh-language skills are essential, and ensure we are not in contravention of the Welsh-language standards by advertising all posts bilingually;
• Introduce standard regulations across the University aligned with the QAA Cymru guidelines on assessment and translation;
• Build up translation expertise and Welsh-language and bilingual capacity within our schools and departments, recognised through the Performance Development Review process, in order to improve standards and ensure greater subject-specific knowledge.

IV. In order to promote our civic mission, and thereby celebrate the Welsh language, we aim to:

• Review out current Welsh-language activity across the board, identifying and prioritising opportunities for enhancement, aligned with promoting student recruitment, widening participation and the Welsh-language identity of the university;
• Develop our strategic involvement in Welsh-language festivals with a view to prioritising recruitment and widening participation from areas that score highly on the Index of Multiple Deprivation;
• Pursue collaboration with other bodies such as the BBC, Cardiff Council, and Menter Iaith Caerdydd in pursuit of our common goals;
• Work with the Development and Alumni Relations Department and Employability and Careers to assist with the wider, externally facing work, such as the provision of placements for our students, through identifying and promoting Welsh-language opportunities and responding to the demands for a bilingual workforce;
• Increase our profile as a Welsh-language and bilingual employer and identify opportunities for increasing employment of Welsh-speaking members of the community;
• Prioritise intellectual engagement with the Welsh-language civic community, imagining the Campws Cymraeg as one that extends to the city and beyond.

V. In evolving our internal and external communications, we aim to:

• Develop a Welsh-language brand and identity for the university that:
  • are attractive to students;
  • demonstrate our importance to stakeholders in terms of the wider agenda of celebrating and promoting the Welsh language.
• Create a strategy for internal and external communication that will:
  • promote awareness of our Cynnig Caerdydd to potential applicants;
  • ensure Welsh-language awareness across the University;
  • promote awareness of activities to ensure ‘Prifysgol Caerdydd’ becomes a recognisable and distinctive entity in Welsh public life.

VI. In our marketing and recruitment, we aim to:

• Develop a bilingual recruitment strategy that connects closely with our Civic Mission work and is orientated towards reaching targets as set out in the Fee and Access Plan;
• Align recruitment with the activity of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol;
• Work on the engagement and widening participation agendas in the context of Welsh-medium provision to enhance current recruitment activities;
• Establish a Task and Finish group to provide the most attentive and welcoming experience possible for prospective Welsh-speaking students at Open Days;
• Review our engagement with the Seren Network programme for potential recruitment opportunities.

VII. In the area of research, we aim to:

• Conduct a review of current research in the Welsh language across the university;
• Establish a Welsh-language Interdisciplinary Research Network in order to develop a wide range of innovative and impactful research activities, aligned with the ethos of Public Value, our broader institutional research aims, and the social benefits embodied in the aspirations of both local and national government in Wales;
• Expand our engagement with Welsh political structures and international structures in ways that shape and lead on policy agendas tied to language, including language revitalisation, the challenges of multilingualism, and sustainability more generally;
• Ensure that the expansion of teaching capacity is, wherever possible, aligned with research priorities;
• Identify opportunities for promoting impactful research with external stakeholders in all three sectors and with the wider community.

Part 3: Structures and delivery

I. A cross-institutional ‘academy’

There are a number of key challenges facing staff engaged in Welsh-language activities in terms of achieving our objectives, which prompts the need to mainstream the importance of the language in our everyday activities:

• Connectivity: across a large and complex institution with around 7000 staff and multiple units, developing working relationships with key agents of change must be facilitated;
• A sense of community and common purpose: building direction and momentum and a sense of a shared mission with close collegial support is key where disparate individuals often operate on the basis of occasional, ad hoc, exchanges;
• Collective pride: mutual appreciation and building a sense of common achievement are crucial in an environment with sometimes limited daily interactions;
• Sharing best practice: innovation and driving up standards requires facilitation when staff do not always have opportunities to work closely together;
• Ownership of the agenda: a focal point is required for the university’s Welsh-language activity, so as to signal clearly and put into action our commitment and intent.

In the light of these challenges, the main institutional change required is the creation of a cross-institutional academy with the express aim of building a robust, interconnected network of both Professional Services and Academic staff, whose roles include elements of Welsh-language work. Such an academy will connect the key individuals engaged in achieving the various aims of the strategy, and will be open to all staff who wish to become members.

A physical space for an academy of this nature will be required (see below), but its online presence and the ‘virtual’ connectivity of members needs to be a priority with respect to everyday interactions, so as to provide the necessary support and infrastructure for working effectively and achieving strategic aims.

II. School and College structures

We will deliver our Welsh-language offer – Cynnig Caerdydd – primarily through our academic schools.

This requires attention across a range of activities from recruitment, open days and the welcome package, to teaching, assessment and graduation. While a Welsh Language Academy can provide robust institution-wide support across a number of these key activities, Schools will also need to deliver, through:

• Staff awareness;
• Staff capability and institutional memory;
• A supportive environment for the Welsh language;
• Robust structures in line with Welsh Language standards;
• Continuity and consistency in delivery.

Schools will therefore work towards establishing Welsh-language steering groups consisting of key personnel, with shared responsibility for delivery; Such groups will focus not on regular meetings but rather on establishing oversight , awareness and capability across the various School functions so that the question ‘where does the Welsh language fit?’ becomes a matter of course. Where Welsh-language activity is limited due to small numbers of Welsh speakers, Schools will be encouraged to form such groups across Schools.

Schools will need to be supported by College-wide activity, both in terms of opportunities for pooling resources and expertise, and in terms of ensuring the Welsh language is considered in high-level strategic decision-making. To this end, the College of Biomedical and Life Sciences’ Welsh-language network will be replicated both in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences’ and in the College of Physical Sciences and Engineering, with those networks feeding up directly to College Boards.

III. A Welsh-language hub

In order to meet student and staff needs across the University, our aim is establish a Welsh-language hub.

This will be located within the Welsh Language Academy that will also provide a home for the university’s branch of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. In addition, the Welsh Language Staff Network will establish a presence in the Academy as part of its work in supporting Welsh learners and building the university’s Welsh-language community.

This space will be a home and focal point for the Campws Cymraeg.

IV. Marketing and recruitment group

Fundamental to ensuring increased numbers and greater take up of our Cynnig Caerdydd – while developing a positive and inclusive Campws Cymraeg – is the contact with prospective students before they arrive at Cardiff.

This entails developing a bespoke approach for Welsh-medium schools and other further education institutions, which takes advantage of pre-existing activities such as the Seren Network and school engagement projects.

The Welsh Language Academy will facilitate greater coordination and cooperation with respect to these activities, but it is also vital that a core Welsh Language Group is established within Marketing and Recruitment in order to build the bespoke approach that ranges from open days to school visits and our civic mission events.

V. Ethos

A key aspect of this strategy is bringing to the fore the contribution of our Welsh-language activities to the wider goals of the university and setting out targets in order to leverage this contribution further.

An indirect result of this, it is hoped, is a wider recognition and appreciation of the work of those involved in our Welsh-language activities, and why it is of significance.

It is important that the contribution and workload of staff teaching through the medium of Welsh are fully recognised as part of the university’s activity. Further, there should be consistency with respect to how such contributions are quantified. More broadly, and in Professional Services in particular, sufficient value must be placed on – and suitable recognition given to – staff contributions in implementing different aspects our Welsh Language Strategy, and recognition where appropriate as part of the Performance Development Review process for those who choose to improve their language skills through our Dysgu Cymraeg Caerdydd courses and other training.

VI. The Dean’s role

There will be a number of key aspects to the Dean’s work in realising the strategy:

• The lead role in negotiating the relationship with key partners, the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedalethol;
• Strategic leadership, reporting to the Pro Vice-Chancellor for AHSS;
• Membership of key university groups;
• Responsibility for the Welsh Language Academy’s day-to-day business;
• Coordinating the Welsh Language Champions’ Network with Assurance Services;
• Working in partnership with Assurance Services with respect to the Welsh Language Standards.

VII. Governance

• Responsibility for the Welsh Language lies with the relevant Pro Vice-Chancellor, including oversight of the Welsh Language Academy;
• A new group, reporting to University Executive Board, will be established combining the leadership and strategic functions of the Welsh Language Strategy Implementation Group and the scrutiny and ‘best-practice’ role of the Welsh Language Advisory Board;
• The relevant Pro Vice-Chancellor will liaise closely, through the Dean, with the Welsh Language Staff Network, in particular with respect to the wellbeing of staff involved in Welsh-language provision.

Our Welsh-language commitment

Our vision is that Cardiff University becomes a world leader as a bilingual and multilingual university that provides students and staff with an exceptional experience and shapes the relevant policy and research agendas both within and beyond Wales.

We will achieve this through creating robust and effective governance and delivery structures to implement our strategy.

We will have five key commitments that incorporate our vision and fulfil our strategic objectives (SO):

I. Education, recruitment and enrolment

We commit to exceeding our recruitment targets and targets for enrolment on Welsh-medium modules (SO1, SO2).

We will do so through the interconnected activities of the strategy, supporting the development of exciting, bespoke Welsh-language teaching that reflects the nature of our institution and our location of culture.

To achieve this we will work across our Schools to develop innovative content and curriculum delivery, robust and attractive pathways, and study support.

We will know we have achieved our aim when we surpass our targets.

II. Marketing and communication

We commit to the extensive promotion of all the Welsh-language activities that range across the Campws Cymraeg, from our teaching provision to our involvement with public events (SO1, SO3, SO4).

We will do so by developing focused, bespoke marketing for our Welsh-language recruitment, and focused external and internal communications.

To achieve this we will form a Welsh Language Marketing Group, develop recruitment and comms sub-strategies, and implement a task and finish group for Open Days.

We will know we have achieved our aim when our Cynnig Caerdydd is recognised by students, when we have hit our targets with respect to recruitment figures and numbers taking Welsh-medium modules, and staff and public alike recognise the contribution of the university to Welsh-language life.

III. The student and staff experience

We will commit to creating a positive, inclusive and well-administered Welsh-language experience for students, staff and the public, embodied in our Cynnig Caerdydd and Campws Cymraeg (SO3, SO4).

We will do so by identifying and solving key issues, taking a holistic view of the Welsh language in the university’s everyday life.

To achieve this we will establish a Welsh Language Academy and work as one institution to develop and improve processes, enhance our translation practices, data collection, Welsh-language awareness, staff and student support, extra-curricular opportunities and digital and learning resources, and take full advantage of the opportunities afforded by Dysgu Cymraeg Caerdydd.

We will know we have achieved our aim when the vast majority of staff and students rate their experiences in relation to the Welsh language positively.

IV. Civic mission

We will commit to celebrating and leveraging the Welsh language to the greatest extent possible in pursuit of our Civic Mission aims (SO3, S04).

We will do so by developing and expanding the Campws Cymraeg and our involvement in Welsh-language festivals, and identifying and developing other Welsh-language activities.

To achieve this we will conduct a review of current activities, seek out new opportunities, and create a sub-strategy that will prioritise research activities, placements and recruitment.

We will know we have achieved our aim when the Campws Cymraeg is a recognised brand, we have a regular and varied annual programme of events, and our work placement targets are achieved.

V. Research

We will commit to engaging our Welsh-speaking staff in order to create a Welsh-language research community that carries out world-leading research (SO5).

We will do so by establishing an interdisciplinary Welsh-language research network charged with identifying research and research grant capture opportunities.

To achieve this we will identify all potential contributors and future contributors, recognise and disaggregate opportunities within existing research fields and funding, and provide an appropriate environment for investigating innovative, cross-disciplinary research.

We will know we have achieved our aim when Cardiff University is recognised on a global level for its innovative and original research through the medium of Welsh and for groundbreaking work in bilingualism and multilingualism.