BLOG: an opportunity for in-depth exploration of the tertiary education landscape in Wales.

In being asked to provide some personal reflections of the two days, my first thought went to the meal hosted by Jonathan Morgan, Principal and Chief Executive of Coleg y Cymoedd, at their Nantgarw campus. Not just because it was one of the best meals I have had in a very long time, but because it was prepared and served by students of the college as part of their end of year assessment. When the students came out to receive their very well-deserved round of applause, I was very aware that everything that we were discussing was about the people who stood in front of us, and the thousands of others that will go through our post-16 educational system.

The question of how to shape our tertiary education system cannot be theoretical alone. In designing our new system, we must keep at the forefront of our minds the lifechanging effect of education on real people, families, and communities all across Wales. Discussions over the two days highlighted the breadth of reform involved; the scale of change can appear, at times, overwhelming. What I heard throughout the multiple sessions however, was i) we all want to do what is right for the student/learner, unlocking the skills and ambition that are within everyone, and ii) the appreciation that no-one can do this in isolation but that we have to work together across the entire sector, and beyond, to really make the most of the positive impact we can have.

There was valuable insight from those working both within FE and HE institutions but also those from business and policy, research and development organisations. Working within Wales’ higher education sector for the last 15 years, I have an understanding of the strong, and unique, nuances in our sectors; the four different economies of the south east, south west, mid and north of Wales and the importance of social democracy as examples. However, as the event had excellent attendance and input from people not just in Wales but from across the UK’s four nations and Ireland, I was also struck by how important it is to learn from, and work with, people from other countries who also have a desire to do what is best for their students and learners.

As a marketing and communications professional, I am always interested in the decision making behind brand names. Why not just stay with CTER (Commission for Tertiary Education and Research) rather than the move to Medr (a Welsh word meaning ‘skill’ or ‘ability’)? Put simply, it was explained that CTER is the regulations whereas Medr is the people taking those regulations forward. I think this is a really important distinction. The regulations alone won’t make a successful tertiary education system, but are the levers and framework that we need to use to enable us to make collective decisions to optimise this opportunity that we have.

The change to Medr will happen at the start of August. With 11 strategic duties, 5 strategic priorities, and the second largest budget provided by the Welsh Government, we cannot underestimate the scale of this change. Change can be unsettling but equally exciting and invigorating. I was struck by the openness of the conversation about how important it is that a regulator understands the sector it reguIates. This may seem obvious, but as Sixth Forms, FE colleges, universities, work-based learning providers, and adult community learning providers come together under the Medr umbrella, it will take effort for us all to learn more about each other and to think differently about the way we do our own work. This will not happen overnight, but by continuing to work together as a united sector, we can help to achieve Medr’s fundamental ambition to ‘deliver a tertiary education system which is centred around the learner and has excellence, equality and engagement at its heart’. And if that also means more visits to our colleges to receive some of the best food available, then that’s just the icing on the cake.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The College Alliance