Interview with From Practice to Professor Penglais Mary King Hateful the man who loves not the country that nurtured him 29 Contents Moc Lewis brings together over 50,000 Welsh Culture Officer & UMCA President 2 University News alumni around the world with news from Aber, our latest research and key This year is quite different from the usual, but there is real 4 Creating a Centre of Excellence developments across the campus. excitement as Pantycelyn re-opens its doors and continues for Bovine TB to be a focal point for Aber’s Welsh culture. As part of the 6 Fundraising expedition to Make sure you’re getting the most drive to reopen the Hall I was struck by the importance of North America, 1890 out of this alumni network – see ‘Stay our alumni community and the invaluable contribution 8 Old College connected’ section below. that Pantycelyn has had over the decades. It’s now our turn to write the next chapter. My aim is to try to engage 10 Old Students’ Association (OSA) The Old College, medieval seals, UMCA with the wider University and to develop an active 12 From Practice to Penglais alumni volunteering, our new School and vibrant Welsh language community. UMCA is here to of Veterinary Science and lots more are 14 Interview – Professor Mary King protect the rights and interests of Welsh-speaking students packed into this latest edition. 18 Giving to Aber and we will continue to do so by sitting on various councils We hope you enjoy reading Prom, as Welcome and boards within the University. We are 20 New Impressions through always. If you have any comments looking forward with enthusiasm to the Medieval Seals please get in touch. Dealing with the implications of a global pandemic was not on my exciting Old College development and to 22 What’s new on campus radar when I wrote my welcome message for the last edition of . contributing to its Project Board. It is a Dylan Jones However, here at Aber we have faced the challenges head-on, and unique resource to increase Aberystwyth Alumni Engagement and Individual our staff and students have adapted incredibly well to new ways of University’s presence in the heart of the Giving Manager working and learning. town, and is a golden opportunity [email protected] for everyone, whether students or There is much to celebrate in this edition of Prom, not least the news residents in the area, to immerse that Aberystwyth is the best UK university for teaching quality and themselves in learning, culture student experience according to The Times / The Sunday Times Good Stay Connected and creativity. It will be a huge University Guide 2021 – this on top of another great performance in boost to the local community @aber_alumni the National Student Survey 2021. I do hope that all our news and as well as Wales and beyond. stimulating articles brings you further cheer as well as pride in the 14 Aberystwyth Alumni | Cyn-fyfyrwyr Aber continued success of your University. +44 (0) 1970 62 1568 I am grateful to all alumni and friends who have supported us in so Nate Pidcock [email protected] many ways. On p.2, we launch the exciting news of a major European Opportunities Fund providing grants for student placements in EU/EEA Students’ Union President aber.ac.uk/alumni countries in support of our strategic objectives for student mobility. It’s been exciting to welcome students back on to campus in I am deeply grateful to William for donating a total of £525,000 to what will be a quite different academic year. In my role I’ll be Remember to keep your contact establish the Fund. In launching the Fund with William in 2021, we making sure the student voice is heard across the University details and preferences updated, visit 20 will also pay tribute to the major impact of Aberystwyth alumni in the and the several committees I sit on. I’ll be looking to improve alumni.aber.ac.uk EU and Europe. These include Honorary Fellow Hywel Ceri Jones, all aspects of student life. One of my main aims is to work 29 | The Magazine of often referred to as the ‘Father of the Erasmus programme’, Gwyn with the University to support students who are struggling Aberystwyth University Morgan, EU Ambassador to Israel and South East Asia and Honorary with their mental health. This is a national agenda that needs Fellow Aneurin (Nye) Hughes, who sadly died in 2020 following a Privacy Policy our attention, made even more important following the Published by: Aberystwyth University distinguished career in the EU, including as EU Ambassador to Norway isolation that has partnered COVID. Having benefitted from Our privacy statement gives additional and Australia. Nye will be greatly missed by alumni friends around alumni funded projects myself, I recognise the importance Designed by: The Design Studio, information on the data we hold on Aberystwyth University the world and would, I am sure, have been heartened by the news and impact that support has on the lives of students and I you, how it is collected and processed, of the Fund. look forward to further developing the support Printed by: McLays what we do with that data, and your of our amazing global community of 60,000 rights under GDPR. You can read the Finally, thank you to all those who responded to the alumni survey and Cover: Seal of Sibyl de Bonville alumni. We’re excited by the Old College new privacy statement in full here for all the ongoing feedback we get from our alumni. As we approach project and want to play our part. It will bring www.aber.ac.uk/en/development/ our 150th birthday year in 2022/23, there will be many opportunities for much need facilities for our students in The views expressed in are those of data-protection you to re-join us here or meet us at an event elsewhere in the world, the town, creating a new hub of energy and individual authors and do not represent the so do keep in touch. In the meantime, enjoy this edition of PROM. events, bringing together students and the University other than where stated. Although community to support and celebrate every effort has been made to ensure the Professor Elizabeth Treasure accuracy and reliability of material published, each other. Vice-Chancellor the publishers accept no liability for claims made by contributors. 1 NEWS Awards and Accolades Aberystwyth’s Old College redevelopment Major research projects awarded funding University offers free Best UK university for teaching quality from European Regional Development and student experience fundraising wins global award online training on Aberystwyth is the best Aberystwyth University staff have won a prestigious global Fund domestic abuse during award for the first phase of their fundraising appeal to university in the UK for Two major research projects COVID-19 teaching quality and student redevelop the Old College. by Aberystwyth University experience, according to the A research project in the Department The relatively new Development and Alumni Relations team at and University College Cork The Times / The Sunday Times of Law & Criminology has been Good University Guide 2021, the University have succeeded in raising £12.3 million towards have been awarded funding offering free online training to as the University continues to the costs of redeveloping the iconic seaside building in the by the European Regional frontline practitioners across the climb the league tables. town as a major cultural and creative centre for students, the Development Fund as part of United Kingdom dealing with cases community and visitors. That fundraising helped to trigger a the INTERREG Ireland-Wales Aberystwyth is ranked 1st in the of domestic abuse among older UK for Student Experience and further £7 million from the Welsh Government and EU funding. programme. people during the current coronavirus for Teaching Quality, up from The fundraising efforts have now received world-wide The ECHOES project will 2nd last year. Aberystwyth has lockdown. recognition from the Council for Advancement and Support explore the effects of climate now been the top university in Based at the Centre for Age, Gender of Education (CASE) with a Circle of Excellence Award. change on the habitats of two Wales for student satisfaction and Social Justice, the Dewis Choice for five years in a row, and is The Old College project competed with 2,752 entries from species of coastal bird in Wales and Ireland. project has been delivering face-to- now the top in the UK. 27 countries. Explaining their decision, the judges said the The 3.5 year study will look at how the habitats of the curlew face training on domestic violence Aberystwyth team had delivered: “Impressive results for a Aberystwyth celebrates another great and the Greenland white-fronted goose might be affected by and abuse in later life to almost 6,000 new team in a short amount of time.” performance in the NSS changes in the climate and what mitigative practices can be put practitioners from the statutory and Aberystwyth is one of the UK’s Louise Jagger, Director of the Development and Alumni in place by land and site managers. the third sector for the past five years. Relations Office at Aberystwyth University said: “Winning this top universities for student The second project, entitled Brainwaves (Bilateral Regional Demand for the training increased satisfaction, according to the prestigious award is a wonderful boost to our fundraising Accord between Ireland and Wales for Agricultural Valorisation earlier this year following widespread latest National Student Survey as we launch the next phase of our appeal towards the and Environmental Sustainability), will investigate how slurry and (NSS) which was published in concern that the regulations on total project costs of £27.6 million.