Following last night's Week In Week Out programme on the University of Wales, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Wales has responded directly to the BBC claims in a video interview.
The full version can be seen here.
As an employee of the institution, I am deeply disappointed at the BBC's careful omission of certain facts about the University and its role within Wales. The fact that every penny of surplus (and more) generated by the University's overseas activities is reinvested within Welsh higher education (and Welsh civic society) is something that the BBC has regularly failed to report on.
- The Prince of Wales Innovation Scholarships which will be helping 100 companies in Wales to create wealth and innovation within our poorest communities;
- Eight new research chairs that have been funded to support the priorities of the Welsh Assembly Government
- Sponsorship of the Dylan Thomas Prize
- Support for the Pabell Len at the National Eisteddfod
These are just a few of the activities which the University of Wales is supporting financially every year from its surpluses.
Given this, it would have been good to see a more balanced programme that allowed the University to give its side of the arguments over its activities but I suppose such good news stories carry little weight in the corridors of BBC Wales.
In the absence of such a balance, I wonder if the BBC will now post the video response from the Vice Chancellor of the University of Wales onto their website?
If not, perhaps it can then publicise the very first Twitter interview with a Vice Chancellor from a Welsh institution later this morning where some of the questions that should have been asked during "Week In Week Out" may finally get an airing.
