Northern Ireland is the theme this week, so I set out to answer: How many students from Wales study in Northern Ireland?
The answer, at least for the 2021/22 academic year, was 160.
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Just over half are at Queen's University Belfast, and the rest attend Ulster University. This is a small number - comprising around 0.14% of all Welsh students.
Wales sends more people to study in Scotland than Scotland sends to Wales for study, despite having a smaller population. I think this reflects the impact of Scotland's higher education policy that seeks to retain students in the country for study.
But in the case of Northern Ireland, they send more students to Wales than Wales sends to their universities, despite having a smaller population than Wales. In this case, I think it reflects the relative strength, both in quality and quantity, of higher education providers in Wales.
But while the number of Welsh people studying in Northern Ireland may seem small, it still adds up to a bigger problem.
More than a third of people from Wales leave the country for study, and while there are hot spots outside of Wales where higher rates go (mainly near the border in England), generally they are spread across hundreds of institutions across the UK, and even the world. Often these students are attending high quality institutions as well, such as Queens University Belfast, a Russell Group university.
If we want to reach them, we will need to innovate. Technology gives us an opportunity to connect across distances in a way that has never been possible, and we will need this if we want to reverse the brain drain and address skills shortages in Wales.
Northern Ireland is the theme this week, so I set out to answer: How many students from Wales study in Northern Ireland?
The answer, at least for the 2021/22 academic year, was 160.
Just over half are at Queen's University Belfast, and the rest attend Ulster University. This is a small number - comprising around 0.14% of all Welsh students.
Wales sends more people to study in Scotland than Scotland sends to Wales for study, despite having a smaller population. I think this reflects the impact of Scotland's higher education policy that seeks to retain students in the country for study.
But in the case of Northern Ireland, they send more students to Wales than Wales sends to their universities, despite having a smaller population than Wales. In this case, I think it reflects the relative strength, both in quality and quantity, of higher education providers in Wales.
But while the number of Welsh people studying in Northern Ireland may seem small, it still adds up to a bigger problem.
More than a third of people from Wales leave the country for study, and while there are hot spots outside of Wales where higher rates go (mainly near the border in England), generally they are spread across hundreds of institutions across the UK, and even the world. Often these students are attending high quality institutions as well, such as Queens University Belfast, a Russell Group university.
If we want to reach them, we will need to innovate. Technology gives us an opportunity to connect across distances in a way that has never been possible, and we will need this if we want to reverse the brain drain and address skills shortages in Wales.
Gogledd Iwerddon yw'r thema yr wythnos hon, felly es ati i ateb: Faint o fyfyrwyr o Gymru sy'n astudio yng Ngogledd Iwerddon?
Yr ateb, o leiaf ar gyfer blwyddyn academaidd 2021/22, oedd 160.
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Mae ychydig dros hanner ym Mhrifysgol Queen's Belfast, ac mae'r gweddill yn mynychu Prifysgol Ulster. Mae hwn yn nifer fach - sef tua 0.14% o holl fyfyrwyr Cymru.
Mae Cymru yn anfon mwy o bobl i astudio yn yr Alban nag y mae'r Alban yn anfon i Gymru i astudio, er bod ganddi boblogaeth lai. Rwy'n meddwl bod hyn yn adlewyrchu effaith polisi addysg uwch yr Alban sy'n ceisio cadw myfyrwyr yn y wlad ar gyfer astudio.
Ond yn achos Gogledd Iwerddon, maent yn anfon mwy o fyfyrwyr i Gymru nag y mae Cymru yn eu hanfon i'w prifysgolion, er bod ganddynt boblogaeth lai na Chymru. Yn yr achos hwn, credaf ei fod yn adlewyrchu cryfder cymharol, o ran ansawdd a nifer, y darparwyr addysg uwch yng Nghymru.
Ond er y gall nifer y Cymry sy'n astudio yng Ngogledd Iwerddon ymddangos yn fach, mae'n rhan o broblem fwy. Mae traean o bobl o Gymru yn gadael y wlad i astudio, ac er bod mannau poblogaidd y tu allan i Gymru lle mae cyfraddau uwch yn mynd (yn bennaf ger y ffin yn Lloegr), yn gyffredinol maent wedi’u gwasgaru ar draws cannoedd o sefydliadau ledled y DU, a hyd yn oed y byd. Yn aml mae'r myfyrwyr hyn yn mynychu sefydliadau o ansawdd uchel hefyd, megis Prifysgol Queens Belfast, prifysgol Grŵp Russell.
Os ydym am eu cyrraedd, bydd angen i ni arloesi. Mae technoleg yn rhoi cyfle inni gysylltu ar draws pellteroedd mewn ffordd na fu erioed yn bosibl, a bydd angen hyn arnom os ydym am wrthdroi y draen doniau a mynd i’r afael â phrinder sgiliau yng Nghymru.