The Second Cardiff University Coleg Cymraeg Branch Research Symposium

From otters to law, from discovering new medicines to Welsh literature, it was evident at the 2nd Cardiff University Coleg Cymraeg Branch Research Symposium that there isn’t any discipline that cannot be presented and discussed interestingly and thoroughly through the medium of Welsh. Dr Huw Williams, Dean for Welsh Language, addressed the attendees to open the session, and discussed the importance of the continuation and development of a Welsh-medium scholarly discourse.

The first presentation was “New medicines to beat cancer: Getting the leaf to drop” by Professor Arwyn T Jones, School of Pharmacy. Arwyn has the ability of presenting science in an accessible and highly interesting way, he’s obviously well versed in discussing and presenting in Welsh to diverse audiences. Not everyone in the audience were scientists, but Arwyn managed to catch everyone’s attention. Lovely to hear Welsh scientific terminology used fluently and naturally.

Here is a brief outline of the other presentations.

Word and Music Studies are well established in England and further afield, but not so here in Wales, albeit our strong bardic tradition; this was the subject discussed by Dr Elen Ifan, School of Welsh.

Dr Heulyn Jones from the Medicines Discovery Institute discussed ‘Fragile X’ syndrome, a genetic condition which affects the X-chromosome and leads to various developmental problems like intellectual disabilities and cognitive impairment.

Nia Thomas, School of Biosciences, introduced us to the world of Otters and how they are repopulating the rivers Taf and Ely. However, we also heard how dangerous the recent floods can be for them.

To bring the afternoon to a close, Dr Huw Pritchard of The School of Law presented a paper on ‘Transplanting Law’. In his presentation, inspired by his recent visit to a conference in the Basque Country, we were given an overview of the comparative studies of legal cultures.

Thank you to all the participants for a very interesting and enjoyable afternoon with plenty of discussions and questions after each presentation. We look forward to the 3rd Research Symposium next year. This will take place on the afternoon of Monday 1 March 2021, following a St David’s Day Celebration lunch – put the date in your diaries now!

Author: Elliw Iwan, Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Cardiff Branch Officer