Cardiff University and the University of Waikato

We launched our strategic partnership with Cardiff University in November 2021 to promote innovative collaboration and cooperation in the pursuit of academic and professional excellence. Our shared vision is a sustained partnership, across multiple disciplines and themes, that increases our research performance and impact as well as enriching the staff and student experience at both institutions.

Our partnership with Cardiff University spans collaboration across research, student mobility, teaching collaboration, and professional services. The partnership includes funds to support collaboration projects. 

The Cardiff–Waikato Collaborative Seed Fund supports staff from the University of Waikato and Cardiff University to build ambitious, values-driven partnerships that contribute to global impact. 

The fund is a key mechanism in our strategic partnership, enabling collaboration across research, teaching, student experience, and professional services. It fosters new relationships, deepens existing ones, and lays the groundwork for long-term joint initiatives, including future funding bids. 

Since its inception, the Seed Fund has supported 29 projects, spanning disciplines from environmental sustainability to health equity, digital inclusion, and Indigenous language revitalisation. 

Following a comprehensive review and staff feedback, the Seed Fund is now more inclusive, flexible, and impact-focused, offering four targeted grant streams (Travel, Impact, Sandpit, and Online) to support diverse stages and types of collaboration. 

Open to academic and professional staff, as well as PhD students (with supervisory support), all projects must involve both universities and align with shared priorities, particularly those linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

We’re seeking ambitious, future-focused, and transdisciplinary proposals that contribute to global knowledge, innovation, and inclusion.

Waikato staff should visit the Global Engagement and Partnerships Toolkit on Te Hononga for guidelines, FAQs, and application details.

Our student exchange agreement with Cardiff University allows Waikato students to spend a semester or year studying in Cardiff and Cardiff students to do the same in Hamilton. Tuition fees are paid to the home institution and successful completion of papers abroad allows for credit to apply to the student’s home university degree programme.

There are many benefits to trimester exchange, including:

• Exploring different cultures
• Developing core intercultural competency skills, and
• Finding new ways to approach learning.

To find out more, please visit the Waikato Global Experiences website.

Student exchange testimonials

Cardiff University is a strategic partner of the University of Waikato, which means there is subject overlap between the two institutions, making it ideal for students like me who only have compulsory papers left to complete.

Anneka Sprangers, Bachelor of Environmental Planning

Read more Cardiff University exchange stories on the Waikato Global Experiences blog.