University of South Wales signs partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales

Dr Richard Bevins, Keeper of Natural Sciences and David Anderson, Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, with Professor Martin Steggall, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Lucas Brown, Knowledge Exchange & Impact Manager at the University of South Wales.

The University of South Wales has signed a strategic partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum of Wales with the aim of making a positive difference to society and the lives of people across the region.

Both organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their collaboration and work towards their common goal of inspiring people’s strong sense of wellbeing and identity.

USW and Amgueddfa Cymru want to develop a sustainable, multi-disciplinary partnership to promote collaboration between the parties.

Under the terms of the MoU, both parties will commit to supporting the work of PhD students and new collaborative research projects; identifying opportunities for student work placements and staff secondments; site visits and field work with museums across Wales, and much more.

They are already working on the following collaborative projects:

•  The University’s School of Applied Sciences working to identify the source of the stones used to build Stonehenge
• Journalism students helping with Amgueddfa Cymru’s Saving Treasures / Telling Stories project to engage the public in declaring treasure found in Wales
• The School of Humanities working with Amgueddfa Cymru to retell the connection between the Welsh textile industry and the African slave trade
• The Faculty of Life Sciences & Education helping the museums to better understand their impact on people’s educational development, using new technology

An exciting new project is also underway to explore how the University’s Oriel y Bont Gallery could use augmented reality technology to develop its art collection and increase its public engagement.

David Anderson, Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales said: “Both the Museum and the University already benefit from working closely on research projects. This MOU, to further develop that partnership, will ensure that our relationship with USW goes beyond research, and extends to our communities, making our work relevant to the people of Wales and beyond.”

Professor Martin Steggall, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of South Wales, added: “We are delighted to be in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru. We already do research and this will help us continue to build on that. The University has a very strong mission in its research to make a difference to our communities, and this partnership is a fantastic way of developing this further.”