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Homepage Image credit: Aled Wyn Griffiths
The University has a unique place in Welsh life and we enjoy connecting and sharing this at the National Eisteddfod.
This year visitors to our Pavilion at the National Eisteddfod can find out more about Cardiff’s role in helping Wales tackle some of its biggest health challenges.
The secrets of life
Young (and not so young) visitors to this year’s National Eisteddfod at Wrexham will get the first chance to try out a brand new puzzle about one of the secrets of life.
A working model has been devised to show exactly how stem cells could be used to help create new organs or joints. After its debut at the Eisteddfod it will be taken to other events across Wales as part of Cardiff University’s mission to take its work out to the community.
“The model has been created by University staff in conjunction with Techniquest to be unveiled for the first time at the Science Pavilion on the Eisteddfod field,” said Dr Arwyn Tomos Jones from the University’s Welsh School of Pharmacy.
Again this year, he has been part of the University’s Team at the Eisteddfod Exhibition, one of the major events in which Cardiff University plays a leading role.
The annual festival is part of the University’s efforts to show how research and academic work are making an important contribution to life in Wales and beyond.
“The model is the latest addition to the Body Lab Exhibition which was put on for the first time at the Blaenau Gwent Eisteddfod last year,” says Arwyn. “We and the Eisteddfod succeeded in gaining a grant from the Science Research Council to highlight work in tissue engineering.
“The project also involves staff from the Schools of Medicine and Chemistry and involves setting up tissue engineering exhibits at various locations and activities in Wales. The exhibition at Ebbw Vale was extremely popular, far beyond our expectations.
“The Operation game, based on the popular children’s game, but much larger. Children between 6 and 10 years of age were particularly thrilled at being able to pull out ‘eyes’, ‘kidneys’, ‘bones’ and ‘tendons’ from a ‘human body’ in a race against the clock with the quickest being awarded at the end of each day.
“The whole exhibition is a great opportunity to give science a platform within Wales and is part of the University’s programme of public engagement with science.”
As well as being open all day every day during Eisteddfod Week, the Body Lab is being taken to other events. Students and lecturers from Cardiff University will be on hand to guide visitors and answer questions.
Arwyn, who is originally from Llanrwst, joined Cardiff University in 2001 after working in Germany and the USA. He has been a member of the Eisteddfod’s Science Committee for four years and is committed to promoting science in Wales. He is currently a Reader in Membrane Traffic and Drug Delivery focusing on identifying new methods for getting drugs into diseased cells in the body.
Welsh - the best … again
Cardiff’s School of Welsh has been named the best Celtic Studies Department in Britain - for the second year running.
The Complete University Guide compares universities according to different criteria including student satisfaction, entry standards and graduate prospects.
Head of Welsh Professor Sioned Davies insists that the recognition reflects the hard work and dedication of staff and students.
“What is particularly pleasing is the very high score for ‘entry standards’ – we have raised our entry requirements year on year and are now attracting the very best students in the country, offering them a challenging and exciting degree programme,” according to Professor Davies.
“The relevance of our provision is reflected in another high score for ‘graduate prospects,’ showing that a degree in Welsh at Cardiff University meets the needs of employers.
“As well as providing students with a range of specific as well as transferable skills, all our final year students undertake a period of work experience, giving them the edge in the job market.
“Many of our students have secured permanent positions in the institutions they visited as undergraduates,” she added.
Find out more about studying at Cardiff University’s School of Welsh at:
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/welsh/
Techniquest
Alongside the University-inspired collection of exhibits, visitors will also be able to try out some favourites from Techniquest’s main centre in Cardiff.
You can learn what makes an aeroplane fly, learn more about how your body works, or test your logic on one of the challenging puzzles.
“Techniquest is delighted to be working with Cardiff University at the Eisteddfod again this year,” said Techniquest Chief Executive Peter Trevitt.
“We hope that the exhibition will prove popular to Eisteddfod visitors of all ages.
“The partnership that we have formed with the University is going from strength to strength.
“Techniquest presents science in an exciting way and we are lucky to be able to work with researchers of international status to develop new ideas to inspire and motivate a new generation of scientists.”
Eisteddfod Map
Click on the link below to see a map highlighting the location of Cardiff University's exhibit:
Or click on the link below to see a PDF of the Eisteddfod map:
Photo Gallery
Click on the link below to view new images from Cardiff University's 2011 exhibition:
Last year the National Eisteddfod travelled to Blaenau Gwent and the Heads of the Valleys. Click on the link below to view images from Cardiff University's 2010 exhibition:
Discover more about how Cardiff University is contributing to the advancement of knowledge, culture and community
Click here to read the interactive edition
Download the 2011 edition of 'Engage' [945KB .pdf]
Sharing our literary treasures
People throughout Wales can now access literary and historical treasures using some of the latest digital technology being employed by Information Services at Cardiff University.
Readers can now ‘flick’ through digitised pages of some of the University’s rarest manuscripts and books – from a medieval musical score to a limited edition of one of Tennyson’s major literary works.
A new 40” digital 3D touchscreen holds the Turning The Pages software and a selection of the University’s fragile collection of 14,000 rare volumes. It can be taken out to events and exhibitions outside of the University, making available works that might otherwise be locked away for academic use. It had its first official outing at this year’s Hay Festival. Visitors were able to ‘turn’ the pages in 3D, zoom in, magnify images and admire some of the rare documents.
“We are eager to make as much as possible of the collection available publicly and we are the first institution in Wales to use this digital method,” said Peter Keelan, Head of Special Collections and Archives at Cardiff University Library Services.
“With the support of the Welsh Government and their museums, archives and library body, Cymal, we are now making portable versions of Turning The Pages available for touring around Wales,” he added.
Some of the books that have already been digitised include:
- The only copy of a Byzantine medieval musical and liturgical chant in Wales;
- A rare historical atlas, including the first individual county maps of England and Wales;
- The first medical compendium to describe the lymph system with detailed illustrations;
- Annotated copy of a players’ edition of Shakespeare’s King Henry IV including comments about a performance of the play in the late 1600s;
- Idylls of the King, an extremely rare limited edition of one of Lord Tennyson’s major works; and
- The Flower and the Leaf, a 20th century example of a book from a private press.
Further information on Cardiff University’s Special Collections and Archives is available by contacting:
Peter Keelan on: 029 2087 5678
or e-mail: keelanp@cardiff.ac.uk
Welsh for Adults Centre
Find out about Welsh courses starting in September
