Events

The 150th Anniversary came to a close during graduation week with the Fellows and Friends’ Celebration.

Photos from Fellows and Friends’ Celebration

A weekend celebrating the Old Students' Association 130^th anniversary along with the University's 150^th, a fantastic opportunity to reconnect and reminisce with old friends, meet contemporaries, and see the town and the University today open to all former Aber graduates, staff and families.

Video and pictures here.

Students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) performed at Aberystwyth Bandstand on Sunday 4 June as guests of Aberystwyth University. 

Free and open to everyone, the choir’s concert at Aberystwyth Bandstand included a collection towards the University’s Charity of the Year for 2022/23, the Bronglais General Hospital Chemotherapy Day Unit. More than £280 was raised in total.

Photos from the concert

A special charity evening was held on Thursday, 27th April to celebrate the University and the Scarlets 150th anniversary. 

A total of more than seven thousand pounds was raised and all proceeds have been split between The Phil Bennett Foundation and the University Charity of the year Bronglais Chemotherapy Day Unit. 

Photos from Scarlets & Aberystwyth University Charity Dinner

Special events were held at The British Ambassador's Residence Washington and the Culture Center New York.  

It was an opportunity to celebrate the long partnership between Aberystwyth and the US from our very first international student, back in 1875, to the first Principal, Thomas Charles Edwards’ tour of North America in 1890 to raise funds to renovate the Old College following a devastating fire.

Alumni, friends and supporters in the US were crucial to the survival of the University during those early years and the warmth shown towards Aber during the visit reflects that the relationship today is as strong as ever.

Photos from Washington DC Event

Photos from New York Event

200 alumni and guests came together to celebrate this special milestone in our history in the company of the Chancellor, Lord Thomas of Cwmgïedd.  Guest speaker, alumnus and fellow, Baroness Kay Andrews OBE spoke fondly of her time at Aberystwyth.

A truly wonderful evening was had by all and made even more special by the magnificent surroundings of the House of Lords.

Photos from House of Lords 150th Anniversary Reception

To mark and celebrate our 150th anniversary, a special webinar was held exploring some of the stories behind our recent publication Ceiniogau'r Werin / Pennies of the People.

A chance to delve into the history of the University and hear a range of fascinating stories from our past and present with Professor Anwen Jones, Chair of the Editorial Board; Professor Robert Meyrick, Head of the School of Art, and archivist Julie Archer.

‘The Worlds We Want’

The annual festival highlighted the world-leading research taking place at Aberystwyth University, and this year took place as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations.

Full programme and further details here

It was great to be able to return to South-east Asia to mark our 150th anniversary with events in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in the company of our Chancellor, Lord Thomas of Cwmgïedd, along with Vice-Chancellor, Professor Elizabeth Treasure.

Over 180 alumni and fellows joined together to celebrate and learn more about the recent developments at their much-loved university with alumni receptions held at Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.  A special celebratory dinner for Malaysian Fellows and friends was held in the company of honorary guest His Royal Highness Tuanku Muhriz.

Photos' from Malaysian Alumni reception

Photos' from Honorary Fellows and Friends dinner 

As part of our Black History Month celebrations, we had a thought-provoking presentation from visiting speaker Michael Jonas from Represent Us Rural. The presentation explored ‘The Unscientific nature of racialised thinking’, which sparked many discussions amongst our postgrad students and staff members.  This was a great event that created opportunity to share knowledge, experience, and learning.

Alumni, friends, supporters, staff and students gathered at Y Senedd, Cardiff Bay on Wednesday 19th October to celebrate in the company of honorary guests First Minister of Wales, Rt. Hon. Mark Drakeford MS and Llywydd, Rt. Hon. Elin Jones MS.

It was an opportunity not only to look back and reflect on our history, but to look ahead to the future, as we seek to deliver programmes suitable for the lives of people in Wales and beyond continuing to address some of the major issues facing society, working in partnership to strengthen the infrastructure of our community. 

Much has happened and much has been accomplished over the past 150 years but we remain true to our founding principles of delivering an inclusive education and innovative research responding to the needs of our time.

Photos from Cardiff Founders'

A special Founders’ Day celebration was held on Tuesday the 18th of October at the London Welsh Centre, Gray’s Inn Road to mark our Founders’ Day and 150th anniversary.  It was a fitting location since it was at the heart of the city that the vision of a University for Wales became a reality. 

We were honoured to be joined by guest speaker, the esteemed BBC journalist and broadcaster Huw Edwards, who spoke of the long-lasting connection between London and Wales and the influence in particular of the Welsh in London on Higher Education in Wales and beyond.

Photos from London Founders' 

Aberystwyth University marked its 150th anniversary on Friday 14 October with a Founders’ Day procession to kick the bar on the Promenade followed by a celebratory breakfast at The Great Hall.

The annual event commemorates the day when 25 students were welcomed to the Old College, a converted hotel, by Principal Thomas Charles Edwards in October 1872.

In keeping with tradition, the procession was led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Elizabeth Treasure, who was joined by members of staff, students, supporters and members from the local community along with representatives of the Old Students' Association who are celebrating their 130th anniversary.

Ceiniogau’r Werin / The Pennies of the People, a special anniversary volume has been published as part of the celebrations reflecting on a wealth of stories and people from the University’s past and present through 150 objects.

Photos from Aberystwyth Founders'

A Welsh language music gig was held in the Great Hall, Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Saturday 15 October celebrating the University's musical heritage over the years with the line up consisting of many of the artists and bands who studied at the University.

The performers included Mynediad am Ddim, Geraint Løvgreen a’r Enw Da, Linda Griffiths, Pwdin Reis, Los Blancos, Catrin Herbert, Mei Emrys and Bwca.

To coincide with the event there was also a special exhibition reflecting the connection between Aberystwyth and the Welsh music scene.

Taking place locally at Tregaron, the Eisteddfod provided a memorable starting point for the celebrations of the 150th anniversary year.

As usual, Aberystwyth University had a prominent presence on the ‘maes‘ and the focus was strongly on the 150th celebrations with several opportunities throughout the week to enjoy presentations based on the wealth of stories from the 150th Anniversary Publication.

There was a special welcome and a great turnout on the Wednesday afternoon at the much-enjoyed Annual Alumni Reunion. The UMCA Summer Reunion was held on the Friday afternoon to welcome current and recent students. Aberystwyth University featured prominently in the Science Village staging a busy programme of fun activities based on the latest research in the sciences. The University's Learn Welsh team was at the heart of the hustle and bustle of the Welsh Learning Village as the main local provider. Leading academics featured in numerous lectures and discussions as part of the programme of the Societies and Literature Tent.

Over 70 people joined Aberystwyth University Sports Centre Zumba team to mark the 150th anniversary with 150 minutes of Zumba.  All proceeds were donated to charity and split between the Welsh Air Ambulance (voted as University Charity of the Year for 2021-22 by staff and students) and the Ukraine Appeal.  They raised over £1,000 in total.

As part of our Founders’ Day Celebration in Aberystwyth the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Elizabeth Treasure presented Community Fundraiser for Wales Air Ambulance, Dougie Bancroft, with a cheque for £5,200.37, the total amount raised by staff and students. 

Students and staff have voted to support the chemotherapy day unit at Bronglais Hospital as the Aberystwyth University Charity of the Year 2022-23.

Photos from Zumbathon