Come to the Efail: A New Professional Network for Welsh medium and bilingual Tertiary Education

We are excited to invite you to join yr Efail, a group dedicated to promoting best practices and exceptional scholarship in pedagogy through the medium of Welsh and bilingually.

Here’s what it's all about:

1. Driving Research and Collaboration: to support educators in developing impactful pedagogical research in Welsh and Welsh-English bilingual teaching, with a focus on fostering meaningful cross-institutional partnerships.
2. Sharing Knowledge and Raising Awareness: to be a platform to share research insights and best practices, promoting Welsh and bilingual Welsh-English learning across the tertiary sector.
3. Professional Development and Mentorship: empowering practitioners through professional growth opportunities, including mentoring to support applications for HEA fellowships and awards at all levels
4. Building a Thriving Community: cultivating a supportive network of Welsh-speaking and bilingual educators, offering advice and camaraderie.
5. Championing Welsh Language and Bilingual Education: Together, we’ll advocate for and elevate the use of Welsh and bilingual teaching across higher education in Wales and in other bilingual settings where public policy supports teaching in the minoritized language.

6. Connecting Beyond Wales: to create links with educators working in minoritized and lesser-used languages globally, sharing best practices and innovative research ideas.

   Who we are?

    

   Myfanwy Davies
    

Myfanwy is a public policy expert and Dean of Welsh for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Bangor University. She has extensive experience leading large-scale enhancement project in HE and across partnerships extending over a decade, for Bangor University, the QAA and other national-level bodies. She has mentored staff in Bangor and across Wales. She is a PFHEA, a QAA reviewer and will complete her term as chair of the Wales Quality Network in the summer of 2025. She has particular interests in bilingualism, international partnerships, partnerships across Wales, and co-creation of curriculum with students. She is the principal investigator on a Coleg Cenedlaethol funded project on Welsh methods and Bilingual Teaching and Learning.

Annette Edwards

Annette’s role is supporting Academic Staff Development in Aberystwyth University (AU).   She is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE together with being a deputy TEAL for the National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) Advance HE awards in AU.  She leads impactful professional development for HE educators, with a strong focus on bilingual English-Welsh support. She coordinates Aberystwyth University’s Teaching for Postgraduates at Aberystwyth University (TPAU) programme and supports Welsh-speaking participants on the PGCTHE. Her expertise in bilingual delivery strengthens teaching excellence and academic development across the Welsh HE sector.

Our meetings will be held in Welsh, fostering an inclusive environment for Welsh-speaking professionals to lead the way in bilingual pedagogy.

Whether you’re an experienced educator, a researcher, or a passionate advocate for Welsh and bilingual education, we will offer a space for you to collaborate, grow, and inspire.
 

Are you ready to join us?

We plan to hold an initial meeting on the 2nd of July at 2;00 PM on teams to share ideas about the way forward. 

Register for the meeting: You can register for the event on Teams here

You may also be interested in joining our community group on Advance HE Connect. Simply search "Hwb addysgeg Cymraeg” and request to join. If you do not have an existing account on Advance HE Connect you can sign up for a free account and search for us, or you can email us and we can arrange to send you an invitation to join.