Latest news with #SwanseaUniversity
Business News Wales
9 hours ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
Landmark China Education Partnership is Largest Ever for Swansea
A landmark transnational education (TNE) arrangement to establish a Joint Education Institute (JEI) between Swansea University and Nanjing Tech University (NJTU), China, will deliver a range of degree programmes and is the largest of its kind for Swansea. The agreement will see the JEI deliver double undergraduate and postgraduate taught (PGT) programmes along with a Swansea doctoral degree programme. The undergraduate double degrees are to launch in September 2025 with the PGT and PhD provision to follow in September 2026. The collaboration will allow students to study a codesigned and assessed degree entirely at NJTU with face-to-face tuition provided by Swansea and NJTU staff in a dedicated space on the NJTU campus. Students complete one programme of study but receive two separate degrees – one from each university. The Swansea awarded PhD programme will be delivered and assessed by Swansea University with supervisory support provided by NJTU. The programmes are in the area of Engineering and it is anticipated that the JEI will, at full capacity, teach and supervise nearly 1,200 students. The JEI has received full approval from the Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Swansea-Nanjing proposal was one of 11 UK submissions to be approved. Professor Jiawei Wang of Swansea University has been appointed Vice-Dean of the Joint Education Institute, with responsibility for academic and teaching-related affairs. Professor Jiawei said: 'I am proud to support this unique collaboration between Swansea University and Nanjing Tech University. This partnership represents a significant step in global education, offering students a truly international experience and equipping them with the skills to thrive in a connected world.' Professor Paul Boyle, Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University said: 'We are delighted to partner with Nanjing Tech University, whose expertise in transnational education makes them an ideal collaborator. It is especially meaningful to us that both of our institutions are members of the Jiangsu–UK 20+20 World-Class University Consortium, a network that reflects our shared commitment to advancing global research and education. We are excited about the journey ahead and look forward to building a close, collaborative relationship that brings lasting impact to students and staff, through both teaching and research.'
South Wales Argus
a day ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
National Insurance rise costs Welsh universities 18m a year
The increase in employer contributions has led to higher expenses and deepened financial challenges in the higher education sector. The party said the additional cost is forcing universities to make difficult decisions, including staff cuts and course closures. David Chadwick, Welsh Liberal Democrat MP, said: "Labour's jobs tax is yet another blow to Welsh universities, coming at a time when they're already facing mounting financial challenges. "It's completely unacceptable that Welsh universities are now being saddled with millions in extra costs just to meet a tax increase that could and should have been avoided." Cardiff University faces the largest impact, with a £6.7 million rise in annual National Insurance costs. Swansea University will see an additional £3.5 million in employer contributions. Universities have said the increase came as a surprise and has placed further strain on finances.
South Wales Argus
a day ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Committee warns Welsh universities in 'precarious position'
This statement comes after an evidence session with leaders of all nine Welsh universities, focusing on their finances and the challenges they face. Concerns raised include declining admissions from Welsh young people, decreasing international student numbers, and tuition fees that are failing to keep pace with inflation. The committee, chaired by Ruth Jones, MP for Newport West and Islwyn, stressed the need for "funding security and long-term policy stability." They are urging the UK Government to re-evaluate how universities are supported, in collaboration with the Welsh Government, to ensure a sustainable future for higher education institutions. The committee also noted the significant role universities play in the Industrial Strategy, which acknowledges their contributions to skills and innovation. Professor Wendy Larner from Cardiff University described the situation as "an existential moment for universities," adding that they "need to be different for the future." Professor Paul Boyle CBE from Swansea University highlighted the difficulty of achieving financial sustainability within the current system, saying it "does not lend itself to that sustainability." The committee emphasised the unsustainability of the current system and called for action from the UK Government and its Welsh Government partners as part of "promised major reforms for higher education." They believe addressing these issues is crucial for the economic and civic well-being of communities across Wales.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Richard Collins: Baboons walk in line to be close to their friends
'Crossing the T' was a naval-warfare strategy. A commander would manoeuver his ships into a line at right angles to, and in front of, his opponent's. By doing so, he could deploy both his fore and aft guns, while his adversary could use only the forward ones. At the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, the British 'crossed' the German fleet twice, but the tactic failed in poor visibility. The British lost 6,093 sailors, the Germans lost 2,551. Eels, feeding on the corpses that autumn, were said to have grown as fat as human limbs. Sixteen years later, Captain Langsdorf scuttled the Graf Spee, just inside Uruguay's territorial waters, to avoid British cruisers waiting, in crossed T position, beyond the mouth of the River Plate. For wild creatures, moving in a particular order can be just as important. Migrating geese and swans travel in V-formation. The leading birds cut through the air, creating eddies which reduce the energy demands of those following. Elephants often travel in line, one behind the other; hungry big cats may be on the prowl, ready to attack a vulnerable member of the troop. By keeping strong individuals to front and rear, and the weaker ones in between, security is maximised. Musk-oxen, likewise, 'encircle the wagons' to protect their calves from marauding wolf-packs. So-called 'stoat funerals' are sometimes reported. These aggressive little carnivores are highly territorial, so the processions, if they really do occur, must be family-based in structure, a mother moving house, for example, with her youngsters trailing her. Baboons also walk in line, in what researchers call 'progressions'. But why these endearing African primates do so has been much debated. The 'risk hypothesis' suggests that, somehow, being in a line shields the vulnerable from predators. But how does it do so? Another suggestion is that dominant individuals are trying to 'seize the day', by installing themselves as leaders within the troop... the 'competition hypothesis'. Some studies suggested that, when forming processions, baboons follow Lady Macbeth's entreaty 'stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once'. Other researchers, however, maintained that the behaviour can't be random. There must, they suggested, be some underlying structure to a procession. They couldn't, however, suggest what it might be. Now, scientists from Swansea University have come up with a plausible explanation. The Swansea team fitted GPS tracking devices to members of a chacma baboon troop on South Africa's Cape Peninsula. Seventy-eight processions were recorded. The GPS data revealed an underlying order in what had appeared previously to be chaotic. Neither security nor feeding advantages seemed responsible for it. The key to the behaviour is family ties: a procession is not sequence of individuals but of groups. "Baboons show repeatability in their social order, which is best explained by patterns of social affiliation rather than adaptive responses to risk, access to resources, or decision making." As Vladimir says to Estragon in Waiting for Godot 'it's not what you do but the way you do it', that matters. This, it seems, is often the case also in the natural world.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
A new ocean is forming in East Africa
Rhythmic pulsing deep beneath landlocked east Africa is literally tearing the continent apart. But while the effects won't arrive on the planet's surface for a while, the end result is an entirely new ocean basin above it. An international research team reached their conclusion after analyzing more than 130 samples from young volcanoes located across a rare geological region below Ethiopia. The evidence is laid out in a study published on June 25 in the journal Nature Geoscience. The Afar Rift zone is one of the few examples on Earth where three tectonic rifts converge. Experts previously theorized this juncture of the Main Ethiopian, Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden Rifts contained an active, hot upwelling of molten mantle. If true, this area—often known as a plume—would display clear effects on the tectonic plates above it. Rift zones typically stretch and pull tectonic plates until they eventually rupture. But how the plume beneath Afar's is structured, how it behaves, and how it is influencing the crust above it have remained mysteries. To investigate, a 10-institution team led by Swansea University geoscientist Emma Watts traveled to Ethiopia where they collected over 130 rock samples from both the Afar region and the Main Ethiopian Rift. Researchers then combined sample analysis with existing data and advanced statistical modeling to explore the area's crust and mantle dynamics. As suspected, the Afar mantle plume isn't uniform or static. 'It pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures,' Watts said in a statement. 'These ascending pulses of partially molten mantle are channelled by the rifting plates above. That's important for how we think about the interaction between Earth's interior and its surface.' Tom Gernon, a University of Southampton earth science professor and study co-author, likened the chemical striping to a heartbeat. 'These pulses appear to behave differently depending on the thickness of the plate, and how fast it's pulling apart,' he added. 'In faster-spreading rifts like the Red Sea, the pulses travel more efficiently and regularly like a pulse through a narrow artery.' The team also confirmed that deep mantle upwellings are closely tied to tectonic plate motion. According to study co-author and earth scientist Derek Keir, the findings have 'profound implications' for how geologists can better understand surface volcanism, earthquakes, and continental breakups. As to when Earth will see the birth of a new ocean basin—experts like Watts aren't sure. But that doesn't mean anyone needs to start worrying. 'In terms of timescales—it's hard to put an exact number to it given that rifting rates can change, so to be honest we can't know for sure,' Watts told Popular Science in an email. She noted for reference that their study area's rifting rates range between just 5-16 millimeters each year.'[So] one thing we do know is that it will be on the order of millions of years,' she added. 'Hopefully, our next work will get closer to some probabilistic estimates.' CORRECTION: 6/25/25 12:50PM: A previous version of this article misidentified the annual rift rate cited by Watts.
