Wales could grant stay of execution to parts of exchange scheme

The Welsh government is “still discussing” whether it wishes to keep some aspects of its bespoke international exchange scheme, put in place when the UK left the European Union.

Despite concerns that the Cardiff government has been winding down Taith in anticipation of the UK’s £570 million reassociation to the EU’s Erasmus+ programme, Cefin Campbell has suggested the Welsh government is “possibly thinking about retaining some elements”.

The deputy minister for skills and tertiary education, who sits as part of the Plaid Cymru-led administration, told attendees at the European Association for International Education (EAIE) conference that some organisations may not be as adept at applying for Erasmus+ in the year the UK rejoins, 2027-28.

“I’m a little bit fearful that some of the smaller, third-sector, voluntary groups, who don’t have the capacity or experience to compete against larger institutions who have that capacity, may miss out on opportunities,” Campbell said.

“I hope they don’t, and that will take time. But we are possibly thinking about retaining some aspects of that Taith project for an interim period only, until we get those smaller third-sector voluntary groups up to speed around their awareness and ability to compete for funding.”

Prior to the May 2026 elections in Wales, its Labour-led government was urged to keep running the bespoke programme, which since 2022 has awarded funding for more than 18,000 participants to take part in international exchanges in nearly 100 countries.

But even though it was announced last year that the Taith initiative had been extended until 2028, the final funding call was then set for this year, with the expectation that all projects be completed by the end of August 2027.

Yet Campbell’s comments suggest discussions may have evolved within the nation’s fresh leadership. May’s election upset saw Labour ousted in favour of a Plaid Cymru minority government.

If Wales does look to keep some parts of Taith, it will diverge from the rest of the UK – where the Turing scheme, also brought in to address the country’s six-year absence from Erasmus+, will not run in 2027-28.

Speaking on the same panel as Campbell, Elwen Evans, chair of Universities Wales and vice-chancellor of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), praised the Welsh government for supporting the “international student” where it “has had the ability” to do so – despite policy changes in Westminster.

“The [international] student levy was not introduced in Wales,” said Evans, pointing to the incoming imposition of a £925 fee for English universities for each overseas student they enrol, to begin in August 2028.

“I don’t know what the long-term position there will be,” she added. “I don’t really know what the long-term position there is going to be in England either, with what’s happening at the moment around the international student position. But certainly, I would say, come to Wales every time.”

Evans and Campbell were speaking as part of a panel at the EAIE conference in Glasgow, considering the state of Welsh post-16 education.

georgia.luckhurst@timeshighereducation.com