November 2007
Plans for new international college Wales cemented with signing
Swansea University has formalised an agreement with Australian-based Navitas to establish a new pathway college to prepare overseas students for university entry which will be located on Swansea University’s campus. It is envisaged that the first cohort of students will begin classes in September 2008.
Jane Hutt, Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, attended a signing ceremony at the University to mark the partnership on November 2.
The International College Wales will deliver bespoke undergraduate Foundation Certificate courses, College Diploma courses, and postgraduate Masters qualifying courses, which enable successful international students to obtain access to their chosen degree programmes at Swansea University.
The International College Wales will also partner with the University’s existing English Language Training Services, to facilitate the development of English language skills for overseas students who do not meet the new College’s English language entry requirements.
The College will focus on providing a quality-driven educational experience, which will give overseas students the practical learning skills and knowledge they need to maximise their experience of Higher Education in Wales.
Welcoming the partnership, Jane Hutt AM said: "The Assembly Government is committed to looking to build international links and to increase the number of international students coming to Wales. This initiative brings real opportunities to the student, Swansea University and the HE sector in general and I am sure these students will go on to become ambassadors for the city and Wales."
"I wish Swansea University and Navitas a successful venture and their international students a positive and life enhancing experience. Croeso i Abertawe, Croeso i Gymru."
Swansea University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard B Davies, said: "High quality global partnerships are vital for a successful research-led university; you must specialise in what you do best, investing in your own strengths, and working synergistically with educational or research institutions, near or far, that have the expertise you lack. It is in this spirit of partnership of excellence that we welcome IBT to join us at Swansea."
"International College Wales will bring hundreds of overseas students to Wales. We look forward to these students continuing their studies at the University, helping to create a genuinely cosmopolitan campus."
"This will give all students, home or overseas, new perspectives on their own country and international perspectives on their own academic area. It will also give them international networks of friends; a resource for life."
"International College Wales and this partnership with Navitas is an important milestone in the development of Swansea University as a world-class institution providing career-enhancing and life-enhancing opportunities for its students."
Navitas Chief Executive Officer Rod Jones said that the agreement to establish International College Wales Swansea in partnership with Swansea University is an important step in the international expansion of Navitas’s University Programmes division.
"This is an exciting time for Navitas, and today’s announcement again demonstrates the significant value that can be created through long-term partnerships with forward-thinking universities."
"By providing Navitas’s pathway and pre-university programmes to international students, ICWS will ensure that a much larger group of people will be able to be part of the unique student experience that Swansea University can offer," said Mr Jones.
"Based at the University’s stunning campus overlooking Swansea Bay, the college will complement the quality undergraduate and postgraduate programmes on offer at the University."
"ICWS is expected to commence teaching in September 2008 and offer a select range of pathway courses which will articulate to the University’s undergraduate and postgraduate courses."
"ICWS will target students from outside the EU and this initiative will allow the University to continue the expansion of its international student base."
"We believe the new college will present substantial long-term benefits for the University, its students and its academic staff, as has been demonstrated by our successful long-term partnerships with other universities in Australia, Canada and the UK."
ICWS will be Navitas’s first college in Wales and the third in the United Kingdom.
Further information on the programmes available can be found at www.swansea.ac.uk/icws