Sail - Swansea University

Academi Hywel Teifi yn hybu’r
iaith Gymraeg yn Abertawe
Mae enw’r Academi yn dathlu cyswllt hir un
o fawrion y genedl, y diweddar Athro Hywel
Teifi Edwards, â’r Brifysgol ac yn mawrygu
ei gyfraniad aruthrol i fywyd academaidd,
diwylliannol a chyhoeddus Cymru.
Sefydlwyd Academi Hywel Teifi yn 2010 yn
ganolfan ragoriaeth ar gyfer astudio’r iaith
Gymraeg, ei llenyddiaeth a’i diwylliant, ac ar
gyfer addysg ac ymchwil amlddisgyblaethol
cyfrwng Cymraeg ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe.
Ddechrau’r flwyddyn hon penodwyd Dr
Gwenno Ffrancon yn gyfarwyddwr cyntaf yr
Academi. Meddai: “Y mae’n fraint o’r mwyaf
cael arwain academi sy’n dwyn enw Hywel
Teifi Edwards a chael cyfle i sicrhau bod ei
gyfraniad amhrisiadwy i Brifysgol Abertawe,
i addysg ac ysgolheictod cyfrwng Cymraeg,
ac i ddiwylliant, iaith a llenyddiaeth Cymru
nid yn unig yn cael ei gofio ond bod adeiladu
sylweddol ar y cyfraniad hwnnw yn digwydd
er lles Cymru.”
Tra bod yr Academi yn darparu cymuned
i holl ddarparwyr addysg ac ymchwil
cyfrwng Cymraeg y Brifysgol, y mae’n
gartref sefydlog i oddeutu 30 o staff, yn
ddarlithwyr a thiwtoriaid a gweinyddwyr, a
hynny yn Adeilad Keir Hardie ar gampws
Parc Singleton. Y mae’r Academi yn gartref i’r
Gymraeg fel disgyblaeth, gyda’r Athro Tudur
Hallam yn llywio’r gwaith ymchwil rhagorol
a gyflawnir yn y maes. Y mae hefyd yn
gartref i waith allweddol Canolfan Cymraeg i
Oedolion De-orllewin Cymru sydd yn darparu
a chynllunio ar gyfer dysgwyr Cymraeg yn
ardaloedd Abertawe, Castell-nedd a Phort
Talbot, a siroedd Caerfyrddin a Phenfro, dan
ofal ei chyfarwyddwr Aled Davies. Darpara’r
Academi felly ystod helaeth o raglenni gradd
sengl a chydanrhydedd ardderchog ar yr iaith
Gymraeg a llenyddiaeth Gymraeg Cymru i
fyfyrwyr israddedig, ôl-raddedig ac i oedolion
sy’n ddysgwyr.
Amcan Academi Hywel Teifi yw darparu
cefnogaeth strategol ac arweinyddiaeth ar
gyfer dysgu ac addysgu ac ymchwil cyfrwng
Cymraeg ar draws y disgyblaethau a gynigir
gan Brifysgol Abertawe. Ceir ym Mhrifysgol
Abertawe, er enghraifft, ddarpariaeth cyfrwng
Cymraeg gref ym meysydd Ieithoedd Modern,
Daearyddiaeth, Gwyddor Iechyd, Y Gyfraith
Sail – 10
ac Astudiaethau’r Cyfryngau ac mae gwaith
yn mynd rhagddo i ddatblygu darpariaeth
gyffrous ym meysydd Mathemateg, Peirianneg,
Hanes a Seicoleg. Mae’r Academi felly yn
darparu cefnogaeth ac anogaeth i ddarlithwyr
ac ymchwilwyr ac i’r 3,500 o fyfyrwyr y
Brifysgol sydd yn siarad Cymraeg, y nifer
uchaf yn yr ardal.
Cefnoga’r Academi, yn ogystal, waith y Coleg
Cymraeg Cenedlaethol ac ym mis Medi 2011
bydd cangen Prifysgol Abertawe o’r Coleg
Cymraeg Cenedlaethol yn cael ei hagor o
fewn Academi Hywel Teifi gan ddarparu
pwynt cyswllt ar gyfer myfyrwyr cyfrwng
Cymraeg sydd am fanteisio ar gynlluniau
cyllido, yr adnoddau a’r gefnogaeth addysgol
sydd ar gael gan y Coleg Cymraeg newydd.
Trwy’r amrywiol weithgareddau hyn mae’r
Academi yn cefnogi, cynyddu a chyfoethogi
darpariaeth addysg ac ymchwil cyfrwng
Cymraeg Prifysgol Abertawe gan hybu
cydweithio, mentergarwch a chreu cyfleoedd
trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. Mae cynlluniau
eisoes ar waith i sicrhau cyfleon profiad
gwaith mewn amrywiol feysydd i fyfyrwyr
cyfrwng Cymraeg gan ffurfio cysylltiadau
manteisiol a chyffrous â darpar-gyflogwyr, ac
mae gwaith yn mynd rhagddo i gynyddu’r
cyfleon sydd ar gael i fyfyrwyr cyfrwng
Cymraeg o ddisgyblaethau amrywiol dreulio
cyfnodau astudio neu weithio dramor. Y
nod yw sicrhau y bydd myfyrwyr Prifysgol
Abertawe yn cael y gorau o ddau fyd –
profiad cwbl Gymreig a Chymraeg mewn
Prifysgol ag iddi gysylltiadau amlddiwylliannol
a rhyngwladol.
Os hoffech ddysgu mwy am waith Academi
Hywel Teifi, mae croeso i chi gysylltu â ni
trwy’r manylion isod:
Gwefan: www.abertawe.ac.uk/
academihywelteifi
ebost: academihywelteifi@abertawe.ac.uk
ffôn: 01792 602070
If you would like an English translation of
this article, please let us know by emailing
alumni@swansea.ac.uk
Atgofion am Hywel
Teifi Edwards
Lansiwyd Academi Hywel Teifi yn Eisteddfod
Genedlaethol 2010. Gwahoddwyd ymwelwyr i
rannu eu hatgofion am Hywel Teifi Edwards, cyn
Athro’r Gymraeg a Phennaeth yr Adran Gymraeg
ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe, a chyn hynny tiwtor
llenyddiaeth Gymraeg yn yr Adran Efrydiau Allanol.
Dyma rai o’r atgofion hynny, a adawyd gan
gyn-fyfyrwyr a chydnabod:
“
‘Darllenwch!’ oedd geiriau H.T. ym
mhob darlith. Cwyno oeddem fel myfyrwyr
bryd hynny (1991-1994). Ond mae’r
gorchymyn yn dal i seinio yn fy nghlustiau
hyd heddiw ac ydw, erbyn hyn dw i’n
darllen bob cyfle ga i. Diolch i H.T. am ei
ysbrydoliaeth a’i anogaeth. Heb ei eiriau
a’i gerydd fydden i ddim wedi parhau
i ysgrifennu.
Mari George
“
Mae’n syml – heb eich help ni fyddwn
i yma i siarad am eich help yn ystod y
cwrs. Diolch am bopeth a dwi’n colli’r
chats bach ar y maes! Diolch.
Jason Mohammad
“
Gŵr gwefreiddiol a fu wastad yn
gymorth mawr ac yn ysbrydoliaeth.
Mark Smith
”
Llais unigryw gyda rhywbeth diddorol
“ a phwysig i’w ddweud – rhaid gwrando
arno fe!
”
Dienw
Cystadlaethau Creadigol
Academi Hywel Teifi
Yn ystod ei blwyddyn gyntaf mae Academi Hywel
Teifi wedi mynd ati i hybu ysgrifenwyr ifanc yng
Nghymru drwy sefydlu Cystadleuaeth Ysgrifennu
Creadigol cyfrwng Cymraeg flynyddol ar gyfer
disgyblion ysgol blynyddoedd 12 a 13, gyda gwobr
o £100 a dosbarth meistr i awdur y darn gwaith
creadigol mwyaf dyfeisgar ac addawol. Lansiwyd
hefyd Tlws y Llenor Ifanc , Academi Hywel Teifi,
yn Eisteddfod yr Hendy ger Pontarddulais – un o’r
eisteddfodau lleol mwyaf a hynaf yn ne orllewin
Cymru. Yn ôl Dr Gwenno Ffrancon, Cyfarwyddwr
Academi Hywel Teifi : ‘Bu’r Athro Hywel Teifi yn
weithgar iawn wrth hyrwyddo a chefnogi doniau
creadigol pobl ifanc ac mae’r Academi felly yn falch
iawn o fedru parhau yn ysbryd y gwaith clodwiw
hwnnw trwy gefnogi cynlluniau o’r math yma.’
Ceir gwybodaeth am y cystadlaethau hyn ar wefan
yr Academi:
www.abertawe.ac.uk/academihywelteifi
”
”
Alumni Profile
Alumni Officer Sally Thurlow met up with Penny Roberts, a journalist and
media consultant who graduated in 1980 with a BA (Hons) Politics.
Your parents and other members of your family
studied at Swansea. Did that influence your
decision to study here?
My mother and father, Rita Rhydderch and
Ron Roberts met at Swansea University in the
1950’s. My aunt also studied here, and my
brother followed a few years after me, so
Swansea is in my DNA. I knew it was a great
place to live and study and it was also close
enough to take my washing home, but far
enough away to be independent!
What did you enjoy most about your course
at Swansea?
I originally applied to read History, and was
influenced by a selection interview with Peter
Stead who remains a great friend to this day. In
my first year I also studied English and Politics
and decided later to switch to single honours
Politics. It was a fascinating course, Professor
Greenleaf was Head of Department and he led
a team of enthusiastic and supportive lecturers.
Dr Richard Taylor taught me Propaganda in
Nazi Germany and was inspiring. He later
became my supervisor when I embarked on
postgraduate work in the department.
You are best known as Chief Reporter for BBC
Wales. What are you doing now?
I spent 25 years at BBC Wales, first as a radio
presenter/reporter before moving to Wales
Today as programme anchor with Vincent Kane.
After my children were born, I was appointed
Chief Reporter which is the best job in journalism
as far as I’m concerned! I left to set up a media
training/video production company, Tower
Media, with a colleague Tony O’Shaughnessy
last year. Tony incidentally is another Swansea
politics graduate. We provide training for the
private and public sectors as well as making
films for use on a variety of platforms.
How has Swansea University and your course
helped you with your chosen career path?
I’d be lying if I said I’d always had a burning
ambition to be a journalist. It was a few years
after I graduated that I realised that journalism
was the career for me. Swansea University
certainly instilled a work ethic in me and
encouraged an inquiring mind – you’d be
surprised too, how many Swansea graduates
are out there. There’ve been many times that I’ve
turned up to conduct challenging interviews and
found that my interviewee had spent three years
in Swansea. Always a good ice breaker!
What are the most rewarding parts of your job?
I have always felt very privileged to be in a job
that on occasions, can make a real difference
to people’s lives. I have worked on a number of
documentaries that have influenced government
policy and corrected injustices. Of course, it’s
been great to have a front row seat at major
events and I’ve been very fortunate to have had
wonderful experiences during my career.
You have interviewed many people over
the course of your career – who stands out
and why?
There are perhaps too many to mention.
Dr Lyn Evans of the Hadron Collider fame was
inspiring. He was visiting the University and
I popped down to grab a sound bite with him.
I ended up interviewing him for more than an
hour. Quincy Jones was wonderfully indiscreet
when he recounted stories about his weekends
with the Rat Pack. Interviewing Howard Marks in
a Florida penitentiary was an experience, and
I couldn’t leave out Donny Osmond, my teenage
heartthrob. Ian Paisley was challenging…
he called me Jezebel after a particularly
combative interview, but I suppose it’s the
people who aren’t famous who have the most
impact, those whose lives have taken a sudden
turn because of extraordinary circumstances.
What was the best careers advice you
were given and what advice do you have
for new graduates?
The best career advice I had was to make
sure I enjoyed my work. How awful would
it be to have decades of your life stretching
ahead of you doing a job that doesn’t fill you
with enthusiasm? It’s so hard for today’s new
graduates, laden with debt and facing fierce
competition to get a job. My experience has
been that it isn’t necessarily the graduates with
the highest grades or the greatest experience
that make the most effective employees. Don’t
rush into a career and trust your instinct.
Twenty-one is very young to know exactly
what you want to do for the rest of your life!
What are your favourite memories of your
university years at Swansea?
Making great friends at Beck Hall and then
moving out in our second year to a house
in the Uplands that really should have been
condemned! No one cared though and we
did have some memorable parties. Walking
through Singleton Park in all weathers to get
to lectures, drinking coffee in the Crush Bar
and Tuesday Night Student Discos in Nutz
nightclub in Mumbles – who can ever forget
the polystyrene crocodile!
Do you keep in touch with your fellow
Swansea graduates?
I try to keep in touch and living in Swansea
means I do get to see people when they come
back to their old haunts. Andy Green, the
former Ents Officer when I was in university is
great at keeping everyone in touch. I used to
share an office as a postgraduate with Nigel
Evans MP now the Deputy Speaker and we’re
still in contact. The first person I met on my
arrival in Swansea was Mark O’Callaghan,
who is now the Head of News and Current
Affairs at BBC Wales… so not only did we go
through University, but worked closely together
for many years too. In the newsroom at BBC
Wales there are many Swansea graduates
like Jason Mohammad, so even if we weren’t
there at the same time we have a great deal of
common ground. The recent Varsity Match was
a wonderful opportunity to renew old friendships
and it’s been great to get back into contact
with alumni.
What have you done that you’re most proud of?
Bringing up two happy daughters.
What are your plans for the future?
Developing the new business is enormously
rewarding and is taking up much of my time.
In the immediate future I’m providing tea and
sympathy for my two girls who are going
through A-levels and GCSEs!
And finally, describe yourself in three words…
Inquisitive, driven, Mum.
Sail – 11