Learned Society of Wales supports Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Strategic Plan 2026–31

The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the Learned Society of Wales have been working together for years on supporting scholarship in the Welsh language across all areas of study, from our joint annual lecture, to our Three Minute Thesis competition for Early-Career Researchers.

Together these two organisations are core to Wales’s academic and research infrastructure, ensuring that scholarship in the Welsh Language thrives at every level – from future talent to established leaders.

The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol does vital work with further education colleges, universities, organisations that offer apprenticeships, and employers to create opportunities to train and study in Welsh. Its new strategic plan outlines a long-term vision for the entire tertiary education system where all pathways are available through the medium of Welsh.

The Learned Society of Wales is Wales’s National Academy, an elected body of experts with a shared mission of using knowledge to benefit Wales. The Welsh Language is core to our mission, strategy, and values. The Society’s work reinforces and champions the Coleg’s mission in a number of ways:

• Our Researcher Development programme supports researchers at all career stages to conduct research and scholarship in Welsh – not only providing mentors and supervisors to the Coleg’s students, but also offering a visible pathway for using Welsh in the research sector, and helping to create a research environment that values and normalises the Welsh language.
• Our Early-Career Researcher programme provides an interdisciplinary community and training platform for PhD students and early-career researchers to develop skills, meet other researchers, and practice presenting their research in Welsh.
• Today’s students are tomorrow’s Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales. Our Fellowship offers an aspirational destination for young Welsh scholars, a body of top mentors and advocates, and also comprises Wales’s leading experts in Welsh language education and programming.
• We represent Wales in UK and international fora, arguing for investment in Wales, and parity of esteem for Welsh-language scholarship in the UK and global research ecosystem.

Going forward, the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the Learned Society of Wales will be collaborating strategically to ensure that the Welsh Language is supported and mainstreamed through the entire tertiary and research system. Watch out for further announcements coming soon.