THE Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth has welcomed a record number of students this term.

Across the nine postgraduate courses on offer at CAT’s Graduate School of the Environment more than 250 students have started their studies.

Around half of the new cohort are taking advantage of the part-time study route, enabling them to study while continuing with other family or work commitments outside of their studies.

Part-time and distance-learning study options are available for all our students, whether studying a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or a full Masters. The first two modules are via distance learning.

With the ongoing changes to learning and teaching worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, CAT will continue to build on already successful distance and blended learning programmes and will continue to do so as smaller groups of students are welcomed on-site for study visits this term.

After feedback from current students these past few months, Graduate School staff will continue with the mix of using Zoom and Skype to teach via distance, alongside recording all sessions for students to watch back on the Virtual Learning Environment. In addition, teaching staff will be further increasing their teaching capability this year with the use of Microsoft Teams.

Jane Fisher, programme leader for these courses validated by Liverpool John Moores said: “The surge of interest in climate solutions over the past few years has led to a growth in our student numbers, and the development of our new Virtual Open Days and Q&A sessions has made finding out about our courses more accessible for students from a variety of backgrounds and locations.”

Tim Coleridge, programme leader for those courses validated by University of East London added: “With the increase in applications and enrolments this year we look forward to the inspiring mix of viewpoints our students from the UK and across the globe will bring to our courses.”

New students join over 1,800 graduates as they begin their journey to gain the knowledge, skills and inspiration to help them make a real difference in their chosen field and act for a sustainable future.