UW and Cardiff University Sign Five-Year Partnership

Joint ventures in research and education will be developed between the University of Wyoming and Cardiff University in Wales, United Kingdom, as part of a new strategic partnership.

Collaborative research projects; an annual series of seminars, conferences and workshops; staff and Ph.D. student visits; and collaborative education programs are all planned as part of the five-year partnership, which was signed at an event this week at Cardiff University.

The agreement with UW is Cardiff’s maiden strategic partnership with a U.S. higher education institution. For UW, it’s an agreement with depth beyond those previously developed with other international institutions.

“This strategic partnership marks a substantial commitment to fostering meaningful collaborations across the disciplines,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “We envision projects that expand the scope and impact of our research; that create new opportunities for student and faculty exchange; and that will generate connections between Wales and Wyoming that will benefit both our universities and our broader communities.”

“Our partnership with Wyoming is our latest commitment to this civic mission, and I look forward to seeing the benefits unfold as our university communities coalesce over the coming years,” says Professor Colin Riordan, vice chancellor of Cardiff University. “This also is our first formal partnership with a university in the U.S. As a favorite destination for our students who decide to embark on periods of international exchange during their studies, Wyoming represents an exciting addition to our suite of global opportunities.”

The new five-year agreement builds on a memorandum of understanding signed by the two institutions in 2021 that helped start a software development program involving UW and Wyoming community colleges under the Wyoming Innovation Partnership. Among additional potential areas for collaboration are energy, computing, music, water, biodiversity conservation, social entrepreneurship, digital humanities, range management and plant health.

“This new partnership promises to create really exciting opportunities for UW students, faculty and staff,” says Isadora Helfgott, UW’s vice provost for global engagement. “We’re thrilled to have found a terrific partner in Cardiff University, a world-class institution with complementary interests and areas of specialization and excellence. We have already identified a number of areas where we have a lot of enthusiasm on both sides to work together, and we’re excited to identify even more going forward.”